Update: You can finally ORDER THE SIMPLE HAPPY KITCHEN book!

In my recent Medium article, I discussed the importance of using the non-threatening approach when talking about veganism. Today, I want to talk about another issue I’m really passionate about — the importance of introducing plant-based nutrition to kids as early as possible.

Up until a few decades ago, kids knew meat came from the butcher, eggs from the coop and milk from the cowshed. We humans, more or less understood the immediate connection our food had to animals. As years went by, and industries became bigger, this connection disappeared. In fact, today it is quite easy to make a complete separation between the food on our plate and its source. This of course is no coincidence — the milk, meat and eggs industries are doing everything in their power to convince us there is nothing “industrial” in the process of manufacturing. Many people have now completely lost the ability to recognize that a hamburger is made of an actual cow, or that a milk bottle could only have been filled due to artificial insemination of a cow.

This brings me to kids. Food has such a powerful effect on our memories. We can imagine and crave childhood dishes with such nostalgia. Our grandmother’s special beef recipe, our mother’s cheesecake. Once we’re adults, changing our lifestyle also means changing those memories and that’s no easy task.

These nostalgic feelings are not just a result of our family’s great cooking. The products themselves become part of our personal history. That yogurt we loved with the cute logo of a smiling cow, that ice cream we bought every Tuesday after school, those McDonald’s desserts they don’t make anymore. They are all part of our childhood. Who would want to let go of beautiful memories?

In recent years, I’ve tried figuring out why kids were so unfamiliar with healthy nutritional food until one day it just hit me: healthy food is not memorable. How did I figure it out? by sheer luck! You see, most of my close friends have my Protein, Calcium and Iron sources posters hung in their kitchens. Quickly i recognized a pattern: soon after my friends would hang the posters, I would start getting “thank you” messages from them — their kids were suddenly asking them about vegetables! They wanted to buy peas, walnuts and tomatoes. They loved their cute “friends” from the posters and wanted to get more.

Initially made for adults, I found my Simple Happy Kitchen project was really appealing to kids as well. All I did was to turn lots of plant-based food to relatable characters — but apparently that works wonders on kids. Parents, both vegan and not, tell me their kids love coloring the characters, talk to them and ask questions about them. They want to know what “protein” means and why almonds are placed higher than cashews in the poster. I find that amazing as all these reactions are coming from the kids themselves.

When a kid asks about the source of meat, most parents feel uncomfortable telling them the truth. Some choose to hide it thinking it’s too harsh. I’m not a parent, and don’t wish to tell people how they should raise their children. But I do know sharing information and helping kids learn more about nutrition and its importance can widen their understanding of the world that surrounds them. Empowering them will help making sure they have a fair shot in making knowledgeable decisions later in life. When plant-based nutrition is part of their childhood memories, they’ll simply have more choices in hand.

We can help by exposing them early on to the richness of plant-based foods and by helping them see it is just as interesting and relatable as other foods:

Plush dolls of — well — veggies!

Or by making plant-based food part of their daily story:

The meal-planning plate, full of characters and veggies.

Believe it or not, kids can actually LOVE kale. At least when it looks as cool as this guy right here: