Because what our children eat COUNTS!
During my time living in South East Asia I had the honor of spending time with several elders ; in their 80s, 90s and even passed 100 – they weren’t crippled or suffering or in pain, they were STRONG.
They sat cross legged on the floor to eat their meals with straight spines. They walked from A to B, they grew and harvested their own crops. These elders were healthy!
One of my most impactful teachers in India was not far off 90 years old. I remember almost laughing in shock when I watched him demonstrate a yoga sequence; something almost unheard of in a Western world.
A few years ago I worked on a project rebuilding a school in Nepal that had been damaged by the Earthquakes. It was a TINY village up high in mountains with barely a hundred inhabitants. The work involved heavy labour. Like so heavy that it eventually burnt me out, and I worked alongside a group of women. One of the ladies I worked with was 84 years old. She worked from the early morning through the hot sunny days, carrying piles of sand on her back up the steep hills, digging holes, smashing boulders with a sledge hammer to build the walls of the school. I was and still am in absolute awe. How many people in their 80s have you seen working like this? Where I have been, this is normal.
And how is this even possible?
Lifestyle.
The traditional foods of these cultures are healthy. This lady for example had a mainly vegan diet, made up of locally grown rice, beans and vegetables. Eggs and meat were in the diet but were eaten on special occasions; the meat locally reared and due to space and location there wasn’t so much of it.
When I look at that generation compared to this one Ament.call am shocked. The food that our children are confronted with through advertising baffles me! Yes, we are in the age of awakening, but I am still shocked when I see the way so many children I have spent time with eat, ALL over the world. Information is only knowledge until it is practiced!
I have worked with children a lot on my travels. My first job when I left England for Thailand was a volunteer position as an English teacher on an island school, which had been rebuilt after the Tsunami .Traditional Thai food is nourishing! Full of fresh fruit and vegetables, herbs, seafood and white meats. In fact, most of the traditional diets of Asia that I have experienced are good for you! The food that was provided for the children at lunchtime was ok! It could have been better, but it was definitely better than the school lunches of fried foods that I remember getting at school!
The real problem lay in the tuck shops – with 20 baht, which at the time was less than a dollar, these kids could buy two sugary, milky drinks, a processed hot dog a bag of sweets and some other deep fried candy cake. That was if they had 20 baht, some kids had 100 a day. Where was the fruit? The coconut water from the trees that hung over the school playground? Why didn’t we have fruits at school? Why were 50% of my students obese or experiencing acne at the age of 10? Why in the 21st century are kids around the world getting sick – hybrid auto immune diseases, diabetes, asthma? Where are these new diseases and viruses coming from!?
We are blessed with soooo much knowledge and understanding on matters of health in our time, and yet I’m here in America, one of the leading nations of the WORLD and I am surrounded by fast foods, super size soda and 1 dollar candy. We are running in panic from a global pandemic and we can’t even fuel our bodies right. And the craziest thing about it is the information is all there. We KNOW this stuff is bad for us. So what’s going on here? And why are we putting our kids on the frontline of this battle of survival?
And so inspiration has struck and IndigoEats is born. Not as an attack or a judgement or smack in the sleeping face…merely as a VERY cute wake up call.
A project inspired by well fed babies with the intention of encouraging parents and caregivers to educate themselves and their children on the importance of healthy meals!
Let’s spread the word on the importance of children’s health together!
Our health is in our hands, it really is, and it is entirely our choice what we eat, even if it is clearly in our best interest to be mindful about what we put into our bodies.
On the other hand, it is our responsibility as parents/grandparents/caregivers/friends to feed and educate our children about their health. Awareness on this subject is a MUST; what our children eat COUNTS.
From a Middle Path Movement perspective, everything should be dealt with in moderation, and extremities on both ends of the scale can become unhealthy (this Mama has officially surrendered to her love of pizza and a beer night). However, without the knowledge, how can our children know what keeps their body running smoothly. It is their right to have this information.
Amongst Yoga and Mindfulness, healthy eating literally changed my life! I am not exaggerating when i say an accumulation of processed foods creates dis-ease – It is FACT.
Mums, Dads, Grandparents, Friends – our kids ARE the future. It is their right to be educated about foods properly; starting healthy young prevents dis-ease in the future. Let us not forget that please!
So we are starting with a hashtag and seeing where it’s going. We will share the food that Indigo loves on my story and you can share your kids favorite foods too! Just add the hashtag #indigoeats and if you want me to repost your kids favorite foods tag my account @jnoifeld and I will share for you too!
Let’s get this ball rolling and inspire the world to feed our children better.
I can’t wait to see what some of you are cooking! let’s have some fun! #indigoeats
Egolution 