This Christmas, I have the great joy of hanging out with my nieces.  Cooking is the name of the game and I thought it would be an opportunity to expose them to some really healthy choices that will help buffer some of the rich treats everyone gets into.

I loved teaching the eldest how to hand slice coleslaw! She had never seen a purple cabbage before. Here is a snippet of our conversation while chopping:

A: Why is that cabbage purple Julie?

J: It is purple because of a special nutrient called Resveratrol that protects your heart. 

A: Wow. You sure know a lot about food auntie!

J: I love that every food has a different gift for our body. The broccoli protects your skin. See those carrots? They protect your eyes and those yams heal your lungs when you have a cold.

A: It is like the foods are superheros. The cabbage feels like rubber!

J: Maybe you could be a superhero. Let’s make you a cabbage mask and you could become Nutrient Girl - Spreading Nutrition to all the kids who need protection!

We spend a few minutes fitting her with a cool Cabbage Mask and then proceed to slicing the cabbage into perfect ribbons. I loved showing her how she could chop it finely with a safe knife. She watches me use a huge 10-inch chef knife and wishes she could try it. I say maybe when her age rolls into the double digits.

As we put the ribbons into a salad bowl and she races away to show off her mask to the rest of the family, I think of my friends in the nutrition field that are doing such incredible work for kids.

I look forward to them getting this great kit this Christmas:

“Today I Ate A Rainbow!™” is an interactive nutritional chart that makes eating fruits and vegetables fun for your children! Consisting of a colourful rainbow chart and bright cartoon magnets this tool will allow your children to easily track the fruits and vegetables they eat throughout the day. You can check out Kia Robertsonon twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/eatingarainbow

I also love the incredible book series, Human Body Detectives, which was created to inspire children to be proactive and confident in striving for their own optimal health.

Dr. Heather Manley’s kids LOVE being a part of Human Body Detectives and are passionate about sharing their love of healthy eating with other families. Dr Heather is also on Twitter:http://twitter.com/#!/drheathernd

Her wonderful kids recently cooked up some of my creations from Meals That Heal Inflammation on YouTube:

http://www.humanbodydetectives.com/blog/2011/12/a-kid-favorite-snack-julie-daniluks-stuffed-sailors/

Another Nutritional SuperHero is my friend Lulu Farnell. She and husband David created Real Food For Real Kids. Their awesome crew creates amazing natural food for 8000 kids a day in the Greater Toronto Area! Check them out: http://www.rfrk.com/catering/lunchclubs/

The thing that connects all these 3 ladies is their passion to share healing food with their kids!

Tonight we plan on making a chocolate fondue with a Chocolate superhero, ChocoSol, with LOTS of fresh fruit.

I will post the recipe tomorrow so stay tuned!