Fostering Children and Real Food Recovery

Fostering Children!

Real Food Recovery

Fostering taught me about a deeper life. A life of wholeness, by reaching out to help others.

Beginning Real Food Recovery

When we begin to foster children, we notice each child is sick.

Working together with some allopathic and many holistic approaches; we found a great “sweet” spot where good health is possible.Our success dealing with so many challenges, leads us to share how to overcome: sicknesses, difficulties, and how to afford it hrough foods and diet.

In the beginning, at 12-years old, I decided I wanted to adopt children. In college I donated time in orphanages/children’s homes. And when a wonderful man proposed, the conditional acceptance was on his promise that we could adopt a child who didn’t have a family. His promise held true.

In the Trenches

Our first birth child entered the world with some medical complications, so we changed; our diet, our lifestyle, our education, and our work arrangement. Health improves tremendously.

As we seek to adopt after 3 births, my husband and I sit in a simple office with a very sweet girl who asks us what “kind” of child we want. The price is different based on ethnicity.

I was shocked and blurted, “As if one shoe is better than the other” as tears began to well up in my eyes!”

“Oh, no”, the agency employee gently responds, “It’s just supply and demand” We left the office a little shaken.

This shocking process affected us and began a journey to just roll with what’s given. After researching the options, consulting friends and family, fostering became our option.

What an adventure this has been. There are all kinds of stigmas attached to this, but the fact remains that over 400,000 US children and over 13 Million children worldwide need a family. So our family chooses to ignore the negative concerns and help these kiddos, but we find the most powerful way is by getting involved in the group homes and volunteering.

Career Change

Additionally, I had started pre-med course work after my first son’s birth challenges threw us for a loop. Then I switched to nutrition when my MD friends shared their stories of protocols and experiences. I really wanted to fill a gap. The medical course work teaches pharmaceuticals, but there was no training in food. Great opportunity to fill a gap.

However, although my Registered Dietician friends have a lot of material knowledge on calories required for each age and weight plans, as well as nutritional labels. Albeit amazing, this is not my calling. My interest is in learning what foods would help recover indications and diseases we face throughout life and eat those foods that taste the best.

As we begin to foster, every child we foster, has an illness: cancer, eczema, allergies, gum disease (at 18 months old), ADD, and more. It is sad that 1 in 3 children have a chronic illness. We see it in the children coming into our lives!

The Calling that Chose Us

Each of us has a calling, mine just happens to be a tough one. We have seen a lot of crazy things and it has completely changed our lives. Our hope in the Real Food Recovery effort for children at risk through foster children, is to turn around the fate of these children.

Then we hope to inspire others to really appreciate how wonderful home is and how fun it is to cook together in our kitchens. Using local, farm fresh, more organically-minded foods, we feel better. Knowing we are supporting local farmers and artisans who care about the earth is a huge plus.

Now our calling to foster has transformed into helping and volunteering at several locations for kids without parents and watch the education, new foods, and healing grow. Join us to watch the fun ideas, and build your bodies strong with us.

 

Mandy
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