For the past 7 years or so, I've been on the eternal quest to get my son to eat fresh, whole foods. Aren't we all in this same boat? I checked out the book Deliciously Deceptive, by Jessica Seinfield, but found the recipes way too time-consuming for my summer of leisure. I am so happy to live in Chicago where there is an amazing array of restaurants with healthy options that appeal to both kids and parents.
One of our favorites is Karyn's on Halsted. Karyn Calabrese is committed to offering fresh, delicious, "living" foods. You may have already heard of the raw diet: Raw foodists believe that cooking depletes the enzyme activity in food and prevents the ideal absorption of nutrients. Whenever we're on our way to the zoo or out and about in Lincoln Park, we make a pit stop at Karyn's for her delightfully creamy ice cream. It's fruit based, non-dairy, non-soy and entirely organic. My son loves strawberry or blueberry, while I love the vanilla. If your sweet tooth is especially hungry, try her cakes - you'll swoon.
Though I love cheese and butter to much to ever be able to committ to a vegan diet - let alone a raw foods one - I do love the idea of incorporating as many living, fresh fruits and vegetable as I can into our family meals.
I've recently experimented with my own "raw" ice cream. It's easy breezy to prepare and guarantees seconds requests from your kiddos. I've even been indulging for breakfast!
"Raw" ice cream
Freeze bananas (at least 8 hours)
Place frozen bananas in your food processor until soft and creamy peaks appear. For even more sweetness, add dates or maple syrup to taste. Experiment with flavors by adding seasonal fresh fruit, coconut or nuts.