Sugar is fattening. Harmful to the brain. Damages teeth. Causes diabetes and heart disease. Damages the kidneys and liver. And so on and so forth: when you read the health news, there is not an article that does not spit on the sweetest ingredient in our lives.
How to preserve the tastiest moments of the day without harming your body? And how do parents reconcile healthy eating principles with their children’s weakness for sweets?
Awareness-raising in the family
While some believe that it is the educational institution a child attends that shapes healthy attitudes, experts agree that the family is the main and much more influential instigator of healthy eating habits. Mindaugas and Gražina Vyskupaičiai, the founders of the organic farm Mėta, suggest that parents should avoid extremes and follow the simple principles of the mint in their daily diet: choose locally grown and naturally produced products, avoid exotic diets that do not match the specifics of our region, read the ingredients of products carefully (the quality of a product can usually be predicted by the number of ingredients in the product – the more ingredients, the more unnatural the product is, and the more potentially harmful to our health), and, most importantly, it is necessary to always exercise moderation.
Eating a healthy and nutritious diet may require very few foods per meal, but it is important that they are natural and properly prepared. Unlike unhealthy carbohydrates in the form of starch and sugar, real food provides the body with vitamins, minerals and fibre, which are just as important as the final daily calorie intake.
“It is not theoretical instruction but the example of the parents’ lives that shapes a child’s lifestyle habits,” emphasises Gražina, adding that the food consumed by her own family – adults, children and grandchildren alike – is made only from raw materials grown in their own home, or bought from organic farms.
A sweet solution from carrots and pumpkin
Farmers are not hiding the fact that they are most worried about radical dietary trends, where one or other food category is eliminated from the daily diet altogether. According to Mint’s owners, dietary diversity should be one of the fundamental human aspirations, and radical prohibitions, such as eliminating sweets from life, not only deprive life of enjoyment, but also go against human nature.
So instead of educating or forbidding, Mindaugas and Gražina themselves are looking for ways to reconcile the human passion for gourmet food with ecology, naturalness and body-friendly ingredients. For years, supermarket shelves have been showing
Mint natural sweets ‘Morkius’ and ‘Pumpkin’
– These are not just playful names. After all, until now it has been difficult to convince children that vegetables can be not only healthy but also tasty. And these natural delicacies are the best proof of that, and you want to taste and taste and taste…
Mindaugas Vyskupaitis, when asked about the production process of organic sweetmeats, talks with inspiration about the birth of carrot chips (“Morkius”). First, fresh organic carrots are grown and harvested. They shall be thoroughly cleaned and chopped. Quince juice and natural pectin are then added and heated to form a smooth mass, which is then dried at 40 degrees Celsius with active ventilation after being poured onto baking sheets. Finally, everything is chopped and packaged. Sweets such as ‘Carrots’ contain only the minimum amounts of sugar and pectin needed to ensure consistency, while flavour and colour enhancers are completely eliminated. Products made in this way are becoming a good alternative to sweets and chocolates, not only in the diets of children, but also in the diets of adult gourmets.
The best dessert – bread?
It’s no secret that humans are always looking for pleasure, and diet is no exception. But mass-produced brands offer to replace real food with the artificial world of “flavour enhancers”. To get out of it, the founders of Mint Farm suggest that we develop our taste buds at every opportunity, tasting natural products individually, slowly, and freeing our imagination. For example, Mindaugas suggests that anyone who has the urge to put “something sweet” in their mouths should enjoy eating a slice of real bread, which is the best dessert for him.
Real bread
is made without any additives. It is made with rye, the producer’s own flour, sourdough starter, water, honey and a little salt. “Bread should not be rushed, it should not be disrespected or disliked,” smiles the interlocutors, who make Mint’s baked goods with their own hands, and remind us once again: wholemeal flour baked goods are the best alternative to baked industrial sweets made from highly processed raw materials (white flour, margarine, food additives, etc.)
“Mėta develops an extensive line of top-quality natural products, grown and produced only in Lithuania, on land owned by the Mėta founding family. Most mint products are organic. All food, bath and household products are created with respect for their word, for themselves and for their environment, and with a sincere wish for the best for the prospective buyer.
