Several years ago sisters Charlotte, 11, and Hailey Louks, 13, each traded their sweet tooth for a green one. Instead of gorging on ice cream, cookies and chicken nuggets, now they satisfy their taste buds by eating healthy breakfast bowls and soups and sipping on nutritious smoothies.
Charlotte, a sixth-grader, said eating nourishing foods is better than eating nonhealthy goodies.
“I have so much more energy,” said Charlotte, who is a vegetarian. “If there was a sickness going around I don’t feel like I would get sick because eating healthy food gives me a strong immune system.”
The sisters began a lifestyle of nutritional dining seven years ago, after their mother, June Louks, began a raw vegan diet in response to health issues. June said until 2006 her family had the usual diet.
“We ate what everybody else ate,” she said, “Vanilla ice cream, French fries, donuts, pancakes and waffles, candy, Cheetos and Oreo cookies.”
Then, Louks began suffering from a host of health issues, including intense migraines, memory loss and failing vision. Her hair was also falling out.
“I was watching myself degenerate,” she said. “I ate salad and exercised. I was California healthy. I became totally desperate because I didn’t want to go on medication.”
So, Louks eliminated all white sugar and white flower from her diet and began eating 100 percent fresh whole food. Within a matter of days, she said she noticed her body begin to transform. Soon her husband, Jeff, followed her healthy eating example, and then they decided to change the meals of their children.
“We were getting a new lease on life, so we decided to take the kids off the drugs of white sugar and white flour,” June said. “That was challenging. It wasn’t the path of less resistance. When you love your kids you are willing to forgo the cheap, quick and easy for the higher road. We did it for the health of our kids and their future.”
Charlotte said at first she and Hailey were against the switch from sweet tooth foods to more plant-based foods, but adjusted. That adjustment has led to the two youngest Louks writing two books—one with their mother and another with their mom, dad and 17-year-old sisters, Heather and Lauren. Charlotte and Hailey have also helped June spread healthy eating tips throughout the community by speaking to groups and other kids.
The three penned “Fresh Whole Foods For Kids: Fun Poems About Food” in 2011. The whole family wrote “Rawumptious Recipes: A Family’s Adventure to Healthy, Happy, Harmonious Living” in 2009.
The 62-page “Fresh Whole Foods For Kids” is a book of poems about healthy foods. The rhymes are motivators to stay away from junk foods and explain healthy vegetarian options. The paperback also includes a biodynamic composting recipe and “veggie games.”
Louks said her two youngest daughters share information about eating wholesome meals whenever they can.
“They share their book everywhere they travel,” she said.
Hailey, an eighth-grader who is vegan, said when she and Charlotte address groups they really like to get people involved.
Hailey enjoys making avocado sandwiches on whole spelt bread and smoothies with either fruit or hemp seeds, greens, and bananas.
“When I cook I like to prepare vegetable stir fried with a little sea salt and coconut oil,” she said. “My favorite is potato and sweet potato fries with herbs and spices because I love the way it smells in the oven and it is really fun to make.”
The 204-page “Rawumptious Recipes” details how to prepare delicious plant-based meals, how to get children involved in healthy food choices, how eating healthy can improve your lifestyle and a multitude of raw food recipes.
June, the founder of the Malibu Agricultural Club, said her message in the book is that fresh whole foods can be delicious and that by eating plant-based meals a person helps leave a smaller carbon footprint.
In addition to the eating books, Louks holds healthy eating and cooking classes twice a month. During the classes, which generally host about 20 people, she shares some of her recipes for meals such as the Ground Chia Breakfast Bowl and Mama Louks Citrus Bomb. She also has these recipes on the family’s website at www.rawumptiousrecipes.com.
During one of last month’s meetings, ultra-endurance athlete Rich Roll, the author of “Finding Ultra,” addressed guests, and Charlotte and Hailey talked about healthy foods during the meeting.
Getting grade-schoolers to eat healthy has been on the national consciousness recently in light of the health issues that can afflict youth, such as childhood diabetes. In September, Whole Foods Market and PBS Kids launched a national effort to offer families the tools to eat healthier.
Charlotte said a restful night’s sleep comes with plant-based meals.
“It makes kids happy and cheerful,” she said.
Hailey said healthy eating is everything.
“It’s a foundation of life,” she said.
