Customer Reviews

Healthy Food For Healthy Kids: A Practical and Tasty Guide to Your Child's Nutrition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book because I don't like to cook but, gee, had to feed the kids. This book offered quick, very simple recipes that included ingredients I would have on hand. I also liked the variety of recipes that give me an opportunity to expose my kids to different foods disguised in more recognizable dishes (not just with pasta or in casseroles). Great for meal ideas, includes a lot of info on feeding suggestions--a good read. I wouldn't recommend for children under 1 year old since this is the pivotal age for many food allergies. 4 stars because this book tries to cover all bases by including info on breastfeeding and baby feeding, pages I would rather have seen spent on more great recipes. Includes monthly meal planner, handy meal quickies, and fat/cal/chol/vitamin/mineral breakdowns for each recipe.

I saw Bridget Swinney on NBC's Later Today and thought what she said made a lot of sense: "You have to give kids options to get them to eat right."

I realized that I hadn't given my children any options. Because all they would eat was hamburgers and frozen pizza, that was all I would cook. So I bought Bridget's book. WOW! My kids are eating a wide variety of foods. They may not love everything, but I'd say that out of the 12 dishes I've made, they've loved eight.

As a mother of two, I recommend this book for any parent who's worried about getting their kids to eat right.

Don't let the title of this book fool you. Sure, it may include recipes with all of the four food groups, but take caution.....
they are not presented in the most wholesome and healthful ways. For example, whole grain breads piled with chocolate chips, lentil chilis flavoured with dry onion soup mix, desserts made with instant pudding mixes, soups made with canned soup (I still don't understand that concept - if you are going to make a homemade soup from scratch, why spoil it with canned soup?!) I could go on and on, but the underlying theme of this book is somewhat healthy food mixed with highly processed convenience foods. This may be good for some families, but I am choosing not to feed her food to my children. For families that are choosing not to feed meat to their children for various reasons (my 19 month old twins don't like the taste of meat and have chosen the vegetarian path on their own), this book offers no alternatives to the traditional "meat and potatoes" type meal. There is not one tofu recipe in this book at all. Plus, she only includes a handful of inadequate bean and lentil recipes. Boy, is she ever missing the big picture! Now is the time to develop good, healthy eating habits with our children (whether they are 2 or 12). We need to make every bite count nutritionally for our children, especially since the incidence of childhood obesity is on the rise. Snacks are just as important for your children as meals and they should be taken seriously. Bridget Swinney's suggestions for snack food are crunch munch mix(popcorn, pretzels, dressing mix) or dirt cake (instant pudding, whipped topping, cookie crumbs, gummy worms). Who would feed this to their kids on a regular basis? How about fresh fruit and vegetables or homemade muffins and loaves for snacks? Our families deserve the best and because of this, we should be feeding our children as well as ourselves more natural, wholesome foods. Don't assume that because they are natural and wholesome that these foods don't taste good. For a much more appropriate cookbook that addresses good nutrition with a major emphasis on good, wholesome, natural foods, try Shelly Null's "Healthy Cooking for Kids: Building Blocks for a Lifetime of Good Nutrition". Although, it is almost a completely vegan cookbook, her approach and her recipes will build a strong foundation for a lifetime of good nutrition and health. This book definately gets five stars. As for Bridget Swinney's book, the only reason that she got one star was because zero stars was not an option for rating this horrible cookbook. I am sending this book back to Amazon tomorrow with no regrets.

I'm a first time mom of a one and a half year old, and I am really grateful for the advice given in this book! I purchased the book when my baby started to eat solids. I liked it so much I also bought one as a gift for a friend in my Mom's Group. It's wonderful that the recipes were test tasted by lots of children. I look forward to offering my son a varied diet...I'm even looking forward to eating these new recipes myself! Also, the information on choosing healthier fast foods is helpful for those of us who work and can't cook a meal _every_ night. Now _that_ is practical information! I learned a lot of new information by reading this book, like peanut butter is a tooth-friendly snack. I would have never thought that peanut butter on a graham cracker would be good for teeth.

Since when was ketchup, Marshmallows, ranch dressing and mayonaise 'healthy'? This book was recommended (by Amazon) when I searched for kids recipes including dairy free. There's almost nothing dairy free in it! If 'healthy' means including a section about vegetables then fine but I wanted something that didn't suggest hiding them in cheese.

That one star up there is for the cover. Its great.

Our family was bored with same old recipes and this book has GREAT ideas - using "normal" healthy foods! My 2 and 5 yr. old have loved every recipe so far and so has my husband! A must book if you seek refreshingly simple recipes with healthy foods.

I bought this book hoping to find some tasty recipes for my five-year-old. I did! And I found a whole lot of practical advice on everything from how to make fast food healthy to what to pack in school lunches. Some of my favorite tips include the "Parents' Ten Commandments of Healthy Eating" and "Ten Tricky Ways to get Your Kids to Eat Their Veggies." The recipes are also great. My son absolutely loves the "Batman and Robin Noodles" and the "Raging Ravioli."

All of the recipes are quick, easy, and very good. This book is well worth it!

When I got this book I thought it would give me a lot of quick and nutritional meals for my family, but the author covered so much more. She covered nutritional balance; allergies; and how to change your family's current habits. I was very pleased. Also, I was pleased that even as a dietition she recognized that not everyone has the time to devote to meal planning. I would much rather spend time laughing and playing with my children. This comes from a woman who planned on being that perfect stay at home hippie type mother.

I actually won this book at the American Baby Faire in Atlanta last year after the author gave a talk. It is an invaluable resource that I refer back to time after time. I especially valued the information on bottle feeding, and how to introduce solids. The first few chapters that included information on cancer, pesticides, etc. were also very helpful. I have recommended this book to other new moms who were just as happy with it. Because I've been so happy with this book, I plan on buying Swinney's book "Eating Expectantly" for my next pregnancy.

Great book and it is helpful for me to cook for my son. Fast shipping!