A few weeks ago, a wonderful post was floating around social media circles about making your own fruity popsicle treats.  I just loved the idea and with my little culinary inclined daughter, we made these one afternoon after school.

We gathered up some of our organic fruits and began slicing.  My job was to cut up the fruit, it was my daughter’s job to arrange the fruit in the popsicle molds.  Once they were jam packed in a stunningly beautiful arrangement, we poured in some diluted juice.

What I loved about this was it was a wonderful way to spend time with my daughter, while at the same time, teaching her about healthy eating.

One of the aspects of conscious parenting is to be present with your child.  Meaning no distractions, no television in the background, no phone conversation as you are cutting up the fruit.  Being 100% with your child, doing something together.

Modeling presence is a valuable tool to share with your child.  Being able to focus, eliminate mind chatter, and be present, is a life skill that I wish I had learned long ago.

I have always told people that cooking is my meditation.  For some, it’s yoga.  For some, it’s being out in nature.  For me, I experience such presence when preparing a meal, that I get lost in the exercise.  When my dear husband wants to make dinner one night, I actually get sad.  I know he loves to cook as well, and I want him to be able to do that, but selfishly, I feel a void when I don’t cook for my family one night.  Some people think that’s weird and would welcome a night when they don’t have to make dinner.

I relish it.

One conscious parenting tidbit is to know that nurturing our bodies with pure, unadulterated foods, and putting our effort in preparing the food, actually makes it healthier to the body.  We’ve all heard of Emoto’s work on the consciousness of water, and how thoughts and energy change the molecular structure of water, right?

Creating healthy, nourishing food for your family, with care and love, infuses the food with increased life force energy.

Compare that to food made in a factory by machines, with chemical ingredients, by people we’ve never even met.

Many ancient traditions and cultures honor this concept of preparing food with love and attention.   The idea is that the energy of the person preparing the food is transmitted into the food.

So basically you hope if you eat out that the chef did not have a fight with his wife before making your meal.  🙂

In any case, I know I love to cook.  Always have.  At one point I flirted with the idea of culinary school, not to open a restaurant, but just to learn techniques and immerse myself in one of my passions.

Now, I am seeing that my little one seems to have an interest in it also.  Most evenings, she is standing on her stool, next to me at the counter, helping me prepare whatever is for dinner that night.   Wearing her apron with her name embroidered on it that she got from her uncle for her birthday.  

Does she love cooking?  Or does she just love the time with me?  I don’t know.  And I honestly don’t care.

I know that I love it, and find myself in such gratitude when we are creating our meal together.  These will be some incredible memories for both of us down the road.

Besides all of that, when given the choice between a boring old high-fructose corn syrup and food dye filled junk popsicle from the store, what child wouldn’t pick this interesting, homemade treat that they had a hand in making?

For the recipe we used, click here.

Time with daughter?  Check.

Teaching healthy eating?  Check.

Modeling presence for my daughter?  Check.

Loving life?  Check.

Win/win in my book.

How do you practice presence and mindfulness with your child?