Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

After finishing "Dinner Diaries" I quickly ordered several copies for friends. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever thought twice about the real nutrional value of family meals. I've admired The authors writings from her Boston Globe days. How great to see her go from food critic to food sleuth. The research is astounding, from dietary nutriontists to the Marine Stewardship Council. The expert advice is all woven into an extremely funny mom on a mission narrative, I devoured it.

The Dinner Diaries
Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

In this 261-page book, Block, a former writer of food features and restaurant reviews for the Boston Globe, offers an extremely readable, relevant, reliable, and relatable set of suggestions that are both humorous and informative. Her book is thoroughly researched. Block is the mother of two, and in this book you not only get excellent tips for feeding your family nutritiously -- using locally grown ingredients that are toxin-free and healthful -- but you get something that is much more interesting and fun. You get a woman who, from the trenches, is willing to relate her daily challenges (eating with her children, faced with a picky husband, contending with busy schedules, dealing with lunch trades, snack machines, and permissive grandparents) in making decisions regarding everything from fish, to meat, produce, and plastics. Not only does Block offer creative tips and nutritional information, but in this book you will read about a very funny mom (Block) who is on a food mission and, lucky for us readers, lets us in on her mission. This is just plain good fun!

As the mom of a 5-year-old who would spend her days eating pasta and M&Ms, I know the numerous frustrations of trying to teach your kid how to eat well in a world where no one else seems to be doing so. How do you make it not feel like punishment, or eating into a big psychological issue? After reading Betsy Block's ideas, which are delivered in a warm, personal and non-judgemental tone, I was inspired to make giant changes to our family's eating and we are healthier and happier for it. My daughter still loves M&Ms but she understands they are "junky for her body" and are only for once in a while. Here's to an author who educates without preaching, inspires without lecturing. She surely added years onto all of our lives.

When I read reviews I wonder if I'd relate to the person who writes them. In a nutshell, I shop at Whole Foods and eat cookies after my kids go to bed. I've struggled with cooking healthy meals for my family - ones that they will actually eat, often dread the "what am I going to cook for dinner?" question and am overwhelmed trying to figure out when to pay 3x the price for organic, which fish isn't going to cause damage to the nervous system etc. I loved this book. It made me feel like I'm not alone in the challenge, gave helpful suggestions and succinct information that I'd never have the time to research myself and inspired me to keep trying. It weaves facts and very funny family moments so I found it to be totally entertaining to read and easily digestible - pun intended.

As the starred Publisher's Weekly review says: "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." Check out the fish chapter, for example. Block grapples with Omega-3's, toxins, overfishing and more, like multiple fish lists that are confusing enough for adults and don't even take kid health and development issues into account. She wrestles all this to the ground and also addresses my occasional "does it even matter" inertia with interesting new data and perspective. Plus, although I washed cloth diapers at home and can set limits with the best of them, my kids are old enough now to completely derail efforts towards healthy eating. I ruefully relate to Block's experiences in the trenches and finish the book recommitted to helping my kids learn to make good choices for themselves (not just sneaking vegetables in to them). Block's intelligence, wit and critical eye towards getting beyond the hype (guess that other reviewer missed the chapter assessing the merits of Fair Trade) is a great help in parsing out this complicated world. I loved reading this fun, educational and encouraging book, and I'm grateful for her work.

This book is funny, smart, informative, and a delightful read. I recommend it to anyone who eats food!

She quotes Michael Pollen's Omnivore's Dilemma several times, but perhaps she needs to read his more recent In Defense of Food. While some may find her seemingly random meanderings entertaining, I considered it agonizing.

She rips the "Certified Organic" movement a new one on page 19, yet her "Dinner of Her Dreams" at the end of the book contains "calcium added organic orange juice, organic peach and apricot juices..."

By the way, what do the terms "calcium added" AND "organic" mean together? Oh and "Certified fair-trade chocolate". She sounds more like a well marketed to mom than someone who's gone through any type of a journey.

I'll admit I skipped about 50 pages, but man, Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants. Michael Pollen started your journey; you should have just waited for his next book to end it, sparing at least this reader the details in between.