As part of our Earth Week celebration we reached out to green mama extraordinaire Angeliquea Di Nino of @raisingthefree for some tips and tricks to help any family be more earth conscious. Angeliquea and her family started an incredible journey last year when they sold most of their possessions to travel the world together, and have recently returned to the states to welcome their fourth sweet babe. As a plant-based family dedicated to living an eco-conscious lifestyle, Angeliquea has some amazing insight into living greener as a family.
Question: How do you get your kids excited about helping to take care of the Earth?
Answer: We never miss an opportunity to explain to them the effects of their actions on the environment. I believe children are born with a strong and natural connection to this planet. So when we explain to them that something is bad for the planet, even if they don't fully understand exactly why it's bad, they always seem to care. The more we involve them in the conversation and explain to them the impact they can have (positive or negative) the more empowered they feel which in turn makes them feel valued.
Q: What advice would you give to families who are wanting to be more earth-conscious, but don't know where to start?
A: I think it's all about finding the JOY in taking care of the earth. So rather than guilting yourself into recycling, using less plastic, or reducing your carbon footprint, instead, try to think about the great things/memories our environment brings us and then connect your actions to preserving those things.
"The more we involve them in the conversation the more empowered they feel."
Q: Do you have any favorite products/gadgets that can help families reduce their eco footprint and live more sustainably?
A: We love that more and more businesses are offering more eco products. In general, we are trying to reduce our use of plastic as much as possible. We just got turned on to 100% plant-based diapers from @Brandless. They are definitely more eco-friendly and also very affordable.
Q: We see that your family is plant-based! Any tips, tricks or recipes to get kiddos excited about fruits, veggies and healthy eating?
Include them in the process! We start every morning with juicing or making a smoothie. The best way to get kids excited about it is including them in it, so they're all up on the counter, getting the produce out of the fridge, juicing it themselves—it makes it so much more fun. Also, if you know they're getting a full serving of fruits and/or veggies right away in the morning you don't need to be as concerned about it throughout the day!
Still not sold? Here are a few extra tricks from Angeliquea to make healthy eating fun for little ones:
- Get the kids excited about seeing the colors of there juice or smoothie
- Have them come up with their own ideas of which flavor combinations they want to try based on their favorite fruits or veggies
- Mix things up with an açaí bowl with chopped fruit on top
- Combine raw foods with a favorite dip, like carrots and hummus or apples and peanut butter
- Make it a game and have your kiddos pick something for every color to make a rainbow on their plate (strawberry, orange, mango...)!
