I say hiding but the truth is that the Israelis have a way with understanding that good food is in a purer form.  The children in Israel eat lots of fruits and vegetables form a very young age and they want to, they crave it and spices and nuts are not even off limits.  In the little groovy neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, which is where I call home while I am in Tel Aviv, there is an ice cream shop called ANITA.  Its place where true food art is felt in both the décor and the flavors that comes out of this tiny site.  The ice cream is made fresh from scratch and only uses the freshest and purest ingredients and the ingredients they use are interesting and artistic to say the least, but always the ice cream is highlighting a fruit or a vegetable, or a nut in its purest form!

Take for instance all their sorbets, there is usually about 10-12 fresh sorbets to choose from, passion fruit, coconut, banana, anise, berry just to name a few and these sorbets are really just the fruit highlighted.  I see countless children ordering the sorbets and it is such a great sight to see, children choosing fruit over chocolate!

Now for me admittedly, as much as I love, sorbet, I am an ice cream girl so I must speak about the ice cream or should I say the art that is produced in the form of ice cream.  Where to even begin is the hard part, I know this segment is about children and the fascination I have with the Israelis having an easy time getting their children to eat healthy even when it comes to ice cream, but truthfully, the parents take their kids there just simply so they can indulge!  The ice creams are decedent to say the least but not over powering with sweetness and sugar, again the ingredients highlight themselves.  Fresh ginger and berries, fresh pineapple and coconut, plain vanilla with vanilla beans and not flavoring!  In fact there are no flavorings here, just fresh ingredients.  Graham cracker honey, almond peanut butter, chocolate mint, fresh mint, sweet shredded wheat and fig, phyllo dough walnuts and dates, cherry cream,   hazelnut chocolate nougat, and this is just to name a few!

This wonderful spot is a staple on my journeys to Israel and perfect for a hot day indeed.  When I travel to Israel with my nieces and nephews this was their favorite place to go and eat.  I was amazed at all the differ ice creams and sorbets they would try, utterly amazed and again I think in the end there is something to be said about artistry in food and having a food culture that revels in the art of it all, it is encouraging and exciting for children which makes them more apt to try new things, as opposed to simply being addicted to fat and sugars as many of our kids here in the USA are.  So let’s take a cue from the Israelis here and make even our sweets more naturally healthy and highlighting fresh ingredients, the children will be more open to it than we think, we simply must provide it to them!