How to eat raw with a family who does not

One of the most pressing challenges in eating raw with a family who doesn’t, is managing multiple family dinners.

Even in the most organized of households throwing together supper can be… let’s say…a challenging affair. This post will show you how to eat raw with a family who does not.

Throw into the mix different suppers for different diets (raw or plant-based versus a more standard diet) and it can be total mayhem, in fact so confusing many simply opt out.

But I don’t want you to opt out of your health dreams! This post will give you some ideas – and hopefully tools – to eat raw or plant-based with a family who doesn’t; everyone can have their cake and eat it too.

Of course family meals can vary greatly depending on the age of your family members. But this post is for those who still wish to remain the central meal-maker (at least the majority of the time) but don’t want to make 5 different meals in order to stay healthy.

 

The Overlap Strategy:

 

The most effective strategy that I’ve come up with – and I’ve used in the past – is the overlap strategy. The overlap strategy (coined by yours truly), is a way of making 2 meals at once by making your traditional centerpiece (like roast, chicken breasts, etc.) for the family (which is pretty simple right?), and then you overlap their meal with yours by sharing a dish with everyone.

For example, say you want a fabulous meal of a huge salad with pate and dressing (yum). While their meal is cooking, you throw together a pate (5 minutes), then throw together an easy – yet big – salad that the whole family can dig into. They get a roast with salad and you get a salad with pate (your pate makes a great lunch wrapped in a nori roll the next day too).

 Also, you may want to throw in a grain dish too and, if that’s the case, even better. So long as you keep the grain dish dairy-free and meat-free, you can partake in a little of that as well.

 

Simple enough? Good. Here’s the tip to make this work: planning.

 

And don’t go planning-berserk: start by planning only 2 or 3 days in advance. For most of us, planning a whole week in advance can be too daunting, so start small (it is a skill that is built over time).

 

Here are some other plant-based and raw dishes that make really excellent overlap meals too:

• Salads of ALL sorts, start simple and graduate up to kale salads
• Baked root vegetables (slow roasted makes them most delicious), like sweet potatoes, beets, fennel, Brussels sprouts, carrots, turnips, etc.
• Raw soups, like carrot, or harvest vegetable, which can be heated up for family and enjoyed cool for yourself.
• Shredded salads like coleslaw (so easy to make) and – for you – take your portion and toss it with a little bit of nut butter, lemon juice and tamari and roll this in a collard wrap for a satisfying supper while your family chomps on theirs.
• Many grain-based dishes, like simple rice (brown, black or wild), millet, quinoa, flavoured simply as to provide fibre for the family and satisfaction for you. As well, make grains in advance and plentiful (like 4 cups) so you can save cooking time the next day and make it stretch over 2-3 days’ worth of meals and lunches.

Another tip: Place condiments on the table also and refrain from too much seasoning. This way everyone can season their grain in a way that suits them.

 

Now, if you really want to gently nudge your family away from the roast, here are the easiest additions to any family, which you won’t hear much squawking about:

 

• Green smoothies (fruit based with or without protein powder), great for breakfast or snacks.
• Freshly made juices like carrot and apple with a few veggies.
• ANY raw dessert (in fact, you won’t even have to divulge it is healthy).
• And, for the healthiest meat, fish like salmon is an excellent way to transition your family. Salmon generally has the lowest level of contaminants if you purchase from a responsibly-farmed Atlantic fisherman (of course, Wild may be (arguably) ideal but wild Salmon is not a sustainable practise and that demand for wild will soon be extinct if current demand keeps up).

While it may feel like more work at first – it is! But – rest assured – it won’t be like this forever.

Making any meal changes requires more time at first until it becomes second nature, like throwing in a rump roast for supper.

Stick with it and don’t lose faith.  Persistence is key and good health is yours forever.

 

Do you like these tips? What about yours – have you developed any strategies to support a healthy lifestyle without leaving your family meals out to pasture? Please share in the comments below!

 

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