Over my 50 years of guiding people in how to live, eat, and navigate through this incredible journey we call life, I have frequently been asked this important question: “What do I feed my children to make them strong and keep them healthy?”

The answer is simple yet profound, and it begins with a basic understanding of what food and eating is.

Our first experience receiving human nutrition occurs over 40 weeks of gestation in the womb. Around the clock, nutrient dense building blocks of proteins (amino acids), fats, and carbohydrates saturate every tissue, gland, and organ—all of which are literally in the process of creation in the fetus. Further, these building blocks are based on the best resources available in the mother’s reserves. One of the definitions of the word mother (Latin mater, old Irish mathir) means “to nourish.”

After nine months of complete darkness, surrounded by life-giving fluids and nourishment, birth comes. The transition to the outer world is a monumental adjustment. The first twelve weeks out of the womb are known as the “fourth trimester.” This is followed by nine more months of food introduction. The cycle of this first year establishes the relationship that you will have with food and eating for the rest of your life.

Breastmilk is the first and most beneficial sustenance for newborns. A suckling infant stimulates the nerve endings in the nipple and areola, which signals the pituitary gland in the brain to release two hormones, prolactin and oxytocin. Prolactin causes the mammary glands to absorb nutrients (proteins, sugars, and fats) from the blood supply, rather than from the contents of the mother’s stomach, and turn them into breast milk.

Eating food brings the outer world into the inner world of the human body. It is an immunological event involving the endocrine system, the nervous system, and of course the digestive system. Since the 1940s, western cultures have, for the most part, lost their awareness of and connection to real food. What we eat has been adulterated to such an extent that it is no longer capable of nourishing the human population.

We have become a culture that no longer honors the life-giving bounty of nature provided by Mother Earth. Rather, we have become a culture laden with chemicals. Bleached white flour, high fructose corn syrup, pasteurized dairy, and trans and hydrogenated oils all contain little if any nutritional value, yet they make up 90 percent of what most of us eat.

How do we begin to feed ourselves and our children well? Local food co-ops are a good place to start. These networks of like-minded individuals can help you begin to understand the normal way to access balanced nutrition.

The best guidance for food shopping:

• Locally grown vegetables, organic when available.
• Farm-raised beef, chicken, and pork, including organs when possible.
• Muscle meat proteins (introduce after the first year).
• Raw dairy products only.
• Wild-caught fish.
• Whole grains (excluding wheat and rice). Amaranth, quinoa, and millet are highly recommended.
• Primarily organic berries. Minimize other fruit consumption.
• Nuts and seeds, preferably organic and raw. These should be soaked and offered in small amounts. Peanuts (which are actually legumes and therefore hard to digest) are not recommended. Unless peanuts are organically grown, they are heavily sprayed with insecticides.
• Nut and seed butters: Almond , cashew, and sesame butter (tahini) are easiest to digest.

The best guidance for feeding children:

• Nourishing Healthy Baby Babies: First Real Foods. This beautifully laminated chart from Monica Corrado outlines the best first foods for baby, the optimal age to introduce them, and the healthiest way to prepare them.
• The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Child Care. This comprehensive reference on childhood nutrition from Sally Fallon and Thomas S. Cowan is based on the dietary principles of Weston A. Price.

The best guidance for digestive issues and properly preparing foods for good digestion:

• Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride outlines how a range of medical conditions are linked to a deficiency in gut and intestinal flora. “Part Four: Having a New Baby in the GAPS Family” is essential reading for all new parents.
• The Complete Cooking Techniques for the GAPS Diet. This guide from Monica Corrado is one of the most complete overviews of the GAPS diet available today.

Guidelines for incorporating the joy of eating at mealtimes:

• Sit down together and begin eating at the same time.
• Do not gulp your food or eat too fast. Chew your food well. It is recommended to chew each bite ten times.
• Make the meal a joyous event. Laughter and light-hearted conversation is best.
• Never fight, argue, or have intense discussions when taking in nourishment. Follow the adage to “rest and digest.”
• Bless the food and the source from which it came—and especially those who prepared it.

Guidelines on beverages—what to drink, and what not to drink:

• Never start the day hungry! Incorporate nutritious shakes into family life early on, especially in the morning. (See my Children’s Nutrition Shake recipe below.)
• Eliminate soft drinks and fruit beverages. An alternative would be sparkling water with lemon or lime. (According to a recent study published in Gut magazine, up to 35 percent of people who consume fruit beverages such as orange, apple, or grape juice are more susceptible to colorectal cancer, the third leading type of cancer.)

Guidelines on whole food supplements:

• As you introduce solid foods, consider adding natural whole food supplements tailored to your child’s lifestyle. I recommend parents or guardians keep it simple and seek the guidance of a Standard Process holistic practitioner.
• Standard Process supplements stand out because 80 percent of the raw material in their products are grown on the company’s certified organic farms in Palmyra, Wisconsin.

Here are five supplements from Standard Process that provide nutrition for the most essential areas of a child’s burgeoning body systems and alliances:

1. Calcium Lactate Powder: Source of ionizable calcium, the most important mineral in the body. Supports immune, muscular skeletal and nervous system function.

• Children over 5: Take 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) in applesauce before bed, or added to the morning shake.
• Ages 1–5: Reduce dose to 1 teaspoon.

2. Catalyn Chewable: A multivitamin and mineral formulation.

• Children 5–11: Take 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening. If desired, crush using mortar and pestle and mix into food.
• Ages 1–5: Halve the dosage.

3. Congaplex Chewable: Contains vitamins A and C, calcium lactate, and thymus for immune strengthening and RNA (ribonucleic acid) for cellular protection.

• Children 5–11: Take 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening.
• Ages 1–5: Halve the dosage.

4. Tuna Omega-3 Chewable: A source of omega-3 fatty acids that assists in the handling of inflammation throughout the body and enhances mental acuity. Also contains vitamin D for added immune support.

• Children 5–11: Take 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening.
• Ages 1–5: Halve the dosage.

5. Lactic Acid Yeast or Lact-Enz:

Lactic Acid Yeast: A pre- and probiotic that benefits gastrointestinal tract balance and gut biome health and stability.

• Children 5–18: Take 4 wafers in the morning, chewed or crushed into a powder.
• Ages 1–5: Halve the dosage (2 wafers).

Lact-Enz: A probiotic formulation with enzymes for digesting and metabolizing proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

• Children 5–18: Take 2 capsules in the morning and 2 in the evening
• Ages 1–5: Halve the dosage.

In the end, food and eating comes down to awareness and choice. The body temple is blessed or cursed according to who is in charge. The awakened one is fully aware of the exactitude and outcome of food based on the laws and intelligence of nature. There is no cleverness that skirts around what is true and what is false about nutrient dense or empty substances we put into our bodies. Choosing wisely or poorly in all areas of life can always be observed at the table that we prepare for ourselves and others. I join you on this quest by blessing and attending to my personal life and through the lives of others.

We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme.
— Mahatma Gandhi

Below are additional recipes for children from my book Adjuvant Protocols for Healing: A Practitioner’s Manual.

Note: Do not give honey to children under 12 months old.

Images from iStock/FamVeld (main), monkeybusinessimages (family at the table), galitskaya (boy drinking).