A mother-of-one has revealed that she only feeds her five-year-old daughter RAW fruit and vegetables.
Raw vegan and recovered bulimic Rhiannon Griffin, 27, from Hertfordshire, eats only an uncooked plant-based diet – and encourages daughter Molly, five, do the same.
Rhiannon, who battled against bulimia in her teens and early twenties, adopted the raw vegan lifestyle after discovering YouTuber Danny Glass, better known as Sun Fruit Dan, in March 2015.
Rhiannon Griffin has revealed that she and her five-year-old daughter Molly (pictured together) only live off raw fruit and vegetables
And one year into the lifestyle change the single mum felt so ‘wonderful’ she wanted the same for Molly.
Are you REALLY a Bake Off superfan? Tricky quiz asks you to…
Is this the secret to having it all? Author tells women to…
‘It was the last roll of the dice’: Woman becomes a mum at…
While some may question whether Molly wanted to adopt the same diet Rhiannon says that after explaining the ethical implications of consuming animal products the youngster started to ask for more fruit and veg instead of meat or dairy.
Now the pair spend every meal devouring organic fruit, smoothies and salads and say the dietary change has transformed their lives, boosted their immune systems and given them a healthier attitude to food.
Rhiannon says that Molly is keen to follow her raw vegan lifestyle after hearing about the ethics behind it
Now the pair eat nothing but raw fruit and veg except for Molly who is allowed seeds and nuts to provide her with essential fats
Molly even enjoys the super trendy green juices having one for breakfast each morning
Self-employed businesswoman Rhiannon said: ‘I had tried for so many years to find a way of living that would make me feel healthy.
‘Everything I tried, my body never really felt like it was working the way it should but a year into raw veganism I felt absolutely amazing.
‘It’s only natural as a mum that if you’re feeling so wonderful then you want that for your little girl too.
Rhiannon previously struggled with bulimia and says that her new diet has helped her to overcome her obsession with counting calories
Rhiannon says that Molly gets excited about eating fruit and vegetables
‘As soon as I explained to Molly in an age appropriate way the ethics of eating animal products she wanted to be vegan too.
‘I never thought about the ethical side of things until I was a mother.
‘Then I was watching a documentary and I saw these cows having their breast milk and their babies stolen from them and I couldn’t do that to another mother.
Rather than ask for sweets or junk food Molly looks forward to tucking into fruit
Rhiannon says that she and Molly are both very happy and have plenty of energy thanks to their diet
‘Instead of asking for junk and sweets like a lot of kids do, Molly asks for fruit and vegetables and seeing other children eating vegan stuff makes her so happy too.
‘I love how excited she gets about fruit and veg. I want to give her the best possible start in life so knowing that she respects and loves her body is an amazing thing to see.
‘We’re both so happy and have loads of energy. Molly sleeps well unlike a lot of children and I can’t even remember the last time either of us were ill.’
She says that if she saw the diet have any negative changes on her daughter she would switch it up and try something new
Rhiannon says that she is keen to promote a respects for your body with her young daughter
While Rhiannon says that she has never felt better she admits that she would eat differently if the diet didn’t work for her daughter.
She continued: ‘If I ever noticed any negative changes in her health, we would try a different diet but for now this is working.’
In her early teens, Rhiannon enjoyed gymnastics and karate classes but when she hit puberty she piled on the pounds.
This meant she became obsessed with dieting and developed a ‘fear’ of food that saw her stop eating altogether, starving herself until she was so hungry she would binge until she threw up.
Rhiannon says that her vegan diet helped her recover from her bulimia because she was able to eat what she likes without the worry of gaining weight
Rhiannon hopes that her new found body confidence will have a positive impact on her daughter
When Molly was born in 2011, the 5ft2in mother-of-one fell so ‘in love’ with her daughter she was inspired to take up healthy eating and running.
But she found her body would not recover properly and her fitness worsened when she moved into her own home – slipping back to 11st and a size 14.
When Rhiannon’s bulimia flared up again she turned to raw veganism to recover which not only saw her shed three stone and drop three dress sizes but also finally rid her of the crippling insecurities and obsession with calorie counting that triggered her eating disorder.
Now Rhiannon says she can eat as much as she wants and feel completely fulfilled without ever worrying about putting on weight – and feels her newfound confidence and respect for her body will have a positive impact on Molly.
Rhiannon has also turned her lifestyle change into a career as she now runs workshops for adults and kids
Rhiannon says that she and Molly are very rarely ill and she credits her diet for this
While both mum and her daughter are raw vegans, Molly eats a lot of extra nuts and seeds due to the importance of children having a diet high in healthy fats.
Rhiannon said: ‘I did loads of research and started trying to do different diets again but I’d piled on the pounds and it just wouldn’t come off.
‘Before I knew it, my bulimia started to flare up again and I just knew I had to do something, anything to put a stop to it.
‘I wanted to be the person I knew I was inside and that is a good role model to my daughter.’
‘When I went through puberty and I started to feel rundown and put on weight I had no idea how to be healthy.
RHIANNON AND MOLLY’S TYPICAL DAILY DIET
BREAKFAST: A green smoothie made with spinach, dates, bananas and soaked chia seeds
LUNCH: A papaya.
DINNER: Salad of lettuce, baby chard, spinach, courgettes and cucumber with a dressing of blended mango, red peppers, tomatoes, celery, fresh oregano and basil.
EVENING SNACK: Raw nuts or seeds.
‘And that obsession saw me completely abuse my body and I do not want Molly to ever have to go through that.
‘I explain everything to her now in a respectful way so that she completely understands the value of nutrition.
‘We don’t eat just because we are hungry, we eat to help and heal our bodies.’
Rhiannon has also turned her lifestyle change into a career as she now runs workshops for adults and kids with her ’11 steps to happiness’ promoting learning to forgive and love yourself and then spreading that love and happiness outward to others.
Rhiannon, who is releasing a recipe book the next two weeks, runs her program at workshops and online through her blog and YouTube channel Happy On Fruit.