TOS Crew Review -- Nutrition 101

Whole foods, nutrient dense, intestinal flora, and freshly ground grains meant nothing to me four and a half years ago. "Healthy" to me meant eating more vegetables and less junk food and trying to exercise more. Then, I read a book or two that really changed my perspective on food. Now, I have a book that covers similar material, but geared toward teaching your children (as well as the whole family) about nutrition and its impact on the body.

Nutrition 101 written by Growing Healthy Homes, offers you a thorough nutrition guide book, health curriculum, and eye opening look at the food you eat all rolled into one.

The facts:

• 448 pages!
• 6 Units covering the 12 key body systems
• Biblically based and interspersed with Scripture verses
• Covers health and nutrition and the relationship between the two
• 31 Appendices covering extra topics and information like health statistics, cancer, asthma, the milk debate, essential oils, enzymes, etc.
  

What we loved . . .

Although designed as a textbook, Nutrition 101 takes health out of the classroom and integrates it into life where it belongs. Recipes, fun activities, detailed descriptions, and plenty of background and extra information make this a wonderful resource even after the "class" ends.

This book lends itself well to notebooking which we have enjoyed more of this year.

At least some of my kids enjoyed each of the recipes that we tried (I would never expect everyone to love everything, although they each tried it), and I loved the real life application of what we learned filling our plates.

What we tweaked . . .

This book has activities for all ages, but some of the vocabulary and explanations are better suited for a high school level health course. I read through the chapters with all my kids, but knew that some of it flew high above their heads. We focused on what they could grasp and saved the rest for another year (yeah, we will probably hit this again in a few years . . . Nutrition seems a topic that needs "renewing" now and then in our household).

If you want even more activities to go along with this course they are easy to come by around the internet, like these brain hats :

Would I buy it or recommend it for someone else to purchase?

Tough question. I do think this book covers a lot of material. It easily could fill a year of science, health, or home ec, or even all of those topics combined. And, as I mentioned it could easily satisfy high school level academics. However, it is more than I would typically spend or recommend others to spend on one book. If you are looking for a health or nutrition curriculum and the price fits in your budget I would recommend it without hesitation. It is thorough and an interesting read with lots of ideas to keep you exploring together as a family.

To take this jump into greater understanding of the food your family eats and should (and shouldn't) eat, you can order this book in either a print ($99.95) or CD ($79.95), or both ($129.95). Whichever format you choose you will have colorful pictures, information, and activities that will likely change the way you look at food.

Enjoy more reviews at the TOS Crew blog