Appetite for Life: The Thumbs-Up, No-Yucks Guide to Getting Your Kid to Be a Great Eater—Including Over 100 Kid-Approved Recipes
by Stacy Antine, MS, RD
The holiday “eating season” is officially underway and I’m not talking about Thanksgiving or Christmas yet. I’m talking about the true start of the season for my family—Halloween! Candy here, candy there, candy everywhere! Sneaking those little snack-size chocolate bars and chewy fruity candies can result in some very scary results including unpleasant trips to dentist and chills down the spine every time the scale is in sight.
It’s tough to avoid, but if you are like me, there comes a point where you just want to eat a salad. Now, convincing your family to eat salad as well? That’s the tricky part. Luckily, I received a copy of Appetite for Life by Stacy Antine for review, which has more than 100 kid-approved recipes in it that will keep you and your family happy and healthy. Stacy Antine is a registered dietitian who holds a Master’s of Science in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics from New York University. Alarmed by the long list of lifestyle diseases (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc.) faced by children today, she founded HealthBarn(R) USA to connect children to natural foods and where they come from.
I have an 8 year old who is actually a pretty good eater, but I am always looking for new and creative ways to incorporate more vegetables and other healthy foods into his diet. Recipes like the Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Herb Dipping Sauce, Spinach Pesto Pasta, Homemade Chicken Nuggets, White Bean Dip and the Rainbow Swirly Smoothie are definitely keepers on the menu in my household. All of the recipes are easy to make and contain healthy ingredients that you probably already have hanging around your house and if not, they are a breeze to track down. The one ingredient that pops up a lot of in this cookbook is flaxseed, which is a great addition to many recipes. Evidence has shown that flaxseed may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes with its variety of healthy components, including Omega-3 essential fatty acids and fiber. If you don’t have flaxseed, my advice is to immediately run out and stock your pantry!
The Appetite for Life cookbook not only includes hundreds of delicious and healthy recipes for every day and celebrations, but also contains:
• Useful information on how to engage children in the kitchen and the garden, and teaches them the difference between natural and artificial foods.
• Fun and educational games that families can play together
• Helpful tips for parents on how to be the facilitators of health, not the no fun rule enforcers
• A “Week-at-a-Glance Recipe” section to help parents avoid making a run for fast food during dinnertime.
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We are a busy family and our schedules get incredibly hectic. We’ve cut down significantly on fast food over the last year or so and with childhood obesity now affecting 17% (12.5 million) of all children and adolescents in the US, it definitely makes me think twice when I’m considering pulling into a drive-thru. The book highlights the difference between some of its recipes with a “Homemade v. Store-Bought” chart that compares many of the recipes with their unhealthier versions that you can buy at a store or restaurant. It is mind blowing to see just how many unnecessary and unnatural ingredients are added to a smoothie at the one of the largest and most popular fast-food chains. Compare 6 ingredients in the Rainbow Swirly Smoothie to 24 in the Strawberry Banana Real Fruit Smoothie that they offer! Both have the same two primary fruits—strawberries and bananas, but the fast food restaurant adds things like Xanthan gum and fructose. Um, no thanks.
With resources like Appetite for Life, enjoying homemade healthy mealtimes can be a little easier for us all. The author offers an excellent balance of unique recipes along with standards everyone knows and loves, which works well in my household for sure. The book is available where paperbacks are sold for approximately $17.99 and would make a great gift for anyone this holiday season.
Disclaimer: Kristine Snyder has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ. Please read our official rules for giveaways before entering. Two Classy Chics is not responsible for shipment of this product
I am glad that there are more books like this to inform parent how to get the picky eaters to eat other foods, even if it means hiding them in other recipes. Sometimes it helps to have the kids help you make the recipes.
Oh wow – never thought about it..an ‘eating season’ – yeah – that sounds about right.
My brother grew up a meat and potatoes kind of kid and lettuce repulses him. I used to rarely eat meat, and craved vegetables. It is really important to introduce all kinds of different foods to kids at a young age. I also remember my parents tricking me and telling me that Ritz crackers were cookies.
Ever since I was a little girl I crazy loved all fruit and thought of it like dessert or nature’s candy so I was shocked when one of my 5 kids- middle daughter Michae’la hated all fruit (not so much the taste but if it had any substance like chunks of it at all) so I didn’t have a wonderful book like the one you reviewed but I would put various fruits in the blender and put them in popsicle molds and she loved those and I would freeze bite size chunks of banana and put them in the blender with some milk and vanilla and she thought it was ice cream and loved that too. : )
Getting kids involved and having fun with cooking and learning about healthy choices all add to the enjoyment of meals. It actually gets kids excited to eat their fruit and veggies. Whether it’s cutting into sun shapes, tossing it to a family recipe favorite, or just adding color, kids can enjoy eating healthy.
The kiddies at my house are pretty good eaters. Except when it comes to broccoli and carrots. I find them hidden in the couch sometimes.
xo