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The other night my 16yo daughter was reading through bits of reading matter that had made it home from the recent ASLM conference – one in particular was all about contrasting dietary guidelines of key western countries and comparing these using a more naturopathic lens.  The materials were glossy, gorgeous in their design and quickly conveyed some basic truths about healthy eating.  The fact that she picked it up and voluntarily read the thing attests to it’s aesthetic!  Anyway, about 2 minutes in she says, “Eat a rainbow of colours!” [snort], “Seriously?  Are you really supposed to do that?!”  Like either these naturopaths have been munching on the wrong kind of mushrooms or, even more outrageous, I had forgotten among my mother duties to mention this quintessential truth…either way she was momentarily taken aback.

Let me just give you some context, unless I’m assuming too much.

She is my daughter, my flesh and blood and has spent just about every day of her life eating food prepared by me…weaned on pureed organic beetroot (hilarious photos of vampire babies to boot!), drank organic goats milk we collected direct from the farm, was able to  annoy grandparents by scrutinising food labels by primary school and let me tell you at 16yo SHE EATS A RAINBOW EVERY DAY IF NOT EVERY MEAL! 🙂

I am dumbstruck.  I don’t know where to start…how about lecture one nutrition one (!) that I’ve delivered so often to students?  How is it possible that after 16 years of mothering, caring, guiding, educating, feeding and more feeding she could have missed the basic tenets?  There’s no time to lose, I think, I must start immediately, only 2 years left before she’s out in the world and she doesn’t even know the basics!  Wow, our moments will be full to overflowing with all the health education I had thought was implicit.

Meanwhile she continues reading through the brochure and the examples then says ever so slowly as she pieces together her average daily mouthfuls, “Oh, oh I guess maybe we do eat a rainbow… God!  Who would have thought!”

Okay call off the evening nutrition classes, the enforced listening to my entire collection of recordings !  I breathe a sigh of relief…the full knowledge may not be implicit, but the modelling of ‘how to eat well’ is firmly in place.  Relax mumma…

Oh & this is a pic of what she mixes with brown rice & fish to take to school….eat a rainbow you say?  Who would have thought! 😉

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