The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World [Paperback]

Betsy Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2008

"I'd always thought food was pretty straightforward: you're hungry, you eat; you're not, you don't. Then I became a mother." So begins Betsy Block's humorous, life-changing book on the ultimate of all makeovers: improving the family meal. But how is her plan even possible when eleven-year old Zack's favorite food is Halloween candy; little Maya is so picky that she'll only eat cut squares of white bread; and her husband's idea of a gift is an electric fryer?

Determined not to give up the good-food fight, Betsy comes up with a creative ten-step makeover plan. She consults experts, visits farms, and shows how she and her family manage the pitfalls, struggles, and triumphs of eating well when busy schedules, surreptitious lunch trades, snack machines, permissive grandparents, and willful temptations intervene. With helpful charts, food lists, recipes, tips, and suggested culinary and farm programs for kids, The Dinner Diaries chronicles one family's intrepid ten-month challenge to change the way they eat—one forkful at a time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this healthy living self-help memoir, food writer Block makes the decision to improve her family's diet based on the latest research in nutrition and sustainable, earth-friendly food sources; with that choice, she and her husband find themselves rowing against the strong currents of popular culture, powerful food lobbies and reluctant children. Beset by conflicting expert advice, Block manages to carve out a narrow path between what her family should eat and what they actually will eat. Each chapter takes a semi-comic look at serious issues like child-targeted advertising, fish farming, school lunches, picky eaters and sourcing local produce. With plenty of research on each issue, Block presents her arguments from all sides, and her role as mother to two active children makes her an authentic and relatable source. Her keen sense of humor doesn't hurt either; after finding a local source of organic meat, she happily reports, "Andy gets both bacon and a content wife; I get a healthier family and world; daughter Maya gets pasta, as usual." Though not as straightforward as the latest hide-the-veggies cookbook for sneaky moms, this guide to healthy, responsible family eating is a practical, insightful read for any concerned parent.
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Review

"If you are one of the many who have experienced the difficulties of getting your family to eat something that isn't processed, that isn't loaded with chemicals, or that you can't pronounce then you are going to love Dinner Diaries. . . .   The best thing about this book is that not only is it informative . . . but it's also laugh out loud funny."--Project Foodie (Project Foodie )

"Dinner Diaries" documents Block's efforts to make family eating fun, appetizing and as healthy as possible in a Pop-Tart nation. Never underestimating her opponent --the great pillars of sugar, salt and fat supporting American food culture-- Block writes with knowledge, wit and humor in her quest for "an all-family meal makeover."”—Baltimore Examiner

(Baltimore Examiner )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 261 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565125703
• ISBN-13: 978-1565125704
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,462,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I laughed, nodded my head, and we're already eating better, July 14, 2008

By 

working mom (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World (Paperback)

Well, I had all but given up on my efforts to encourage healthy eating in our family. I am a tired, older mom of 2 kids who would be happy with mac and cheese and fishsticks for dinner every night, as long as it included a sugary dessert. I was giving in to their food "choices" more and more frequently, and then I read this book. Not only did it make me laugh and feel like I wasn't the only one being bamboozled by my kids, it has re-energized my efforts to steer us all back to healthier and more delicious eating habits. Reading this book felt like I had lots of support from a mom who knows exactly what I'm going through every day as we swim against the tide of our culture's eating habits. It's readable, relatable, and relevant, and I thank Ms. Block for being able to share her journey with such humor and candor.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughter and change - one dinner at a time, July 15, 2008

By 

Massachusettes Mom "MA Mom" (cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World (Paperback)

A fantastic read written by a mom that is passionately concerned with the
health of her kids and the health of the planet. But, forget those preach-y
'you should' books - this one will have you laughing out loud out as you
follow our heroine's adventures and misadventures (a day of cooking
authentic colonial food, a lice outbreak before the girls 'n grains dinner
party) on her journey toward a healthier, more sustainable diet. Her can-do,
realistic attitude is a breath of fresh air. Yes - eat food, not too much,
mostly vegetables - sage advice. But throw in a couple kids, school lunch
cafeterias, Halloween, a picky husband and the challenges of eating local in
a cold climate and it gets just slightly more complicated. The triumph of
this story is that she pulls it off - with humor and imperfection - and
shows all of us out here in the trenches that doing the right thing when it
comes to food is possible, enjoyable and absolutely essential to the health
of our kids and our world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real mom with realistic, well researched advice, July 27, 2008

By 

Mom of three "mom of three" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World (Paperback)

This book has great advice with lots of humor and wit---it's a fun, easy read with awesome tips to help create healthier eating for your family (and bonus! a healthier environment too). The key tips are pulled out in the book and there's a great reference area in the back---chapters focus on daily life of eating with children (and a picky husband to boot!) and what to do about fish, meat, produce, plastics, sustainability, fair trade and much more---it's all thoroughly researched but focuses on what a busy mom wants---the bottom line! The author and her family are very real and very relatable---whether you have picky or very healthy eaters or somewhere in between, you will truly benefit from this book...and laugh.