TOS Review: Growing Healthy Homes

I am always trying to get my family to eat healthier.  I have one child who will try just about anything.  She loves broccoli, green beans, carrots and almost all fruits.  My son, on the other hand, lives on chicken nuggets, pizza and grilled cheese.  Even though he has never been officially diagnosed, I believe he has sensory disorders.  He says that he likes the taste of things but the texture and smell makes him sick.  He literally gets sick when someone around him eats ketchup or other things that he doesn’t like.  

I was really excited when I heard I would be getting to do a review for Growing Healthy Homes.   I think all mothers want their children and families to be healthy but it is really hard to incorporate that into everyday life.   I received Nutrition 101:  choose life and couldn’t wait to get started.   It is a beautifully written book by four mothers who want to help others lead healthier lives.   The pictures in this book are AMAZING.  I will definitely print some of them out to laminate and make posters out of.  We received the e-book version and I immediately wanted to print it out.  When I saw that it was 448 pages I decided to just print out the first chapter due to low ink and a printer that wasn’t quite working right. 

We started learning about the brain and read the first chapter together as a family.  My husband works as a surgical assistant and he had to add to the reading by drawing pictures of what an actual brain looks like.  Yuck.   

We did have fun making play-doh brains and learning the different parts of it.  They were disappointed to learn that playing video games is not good for your brain.  They are still trying to get me to change my mind about that one.  

The company states that this is appropriate for all ages but I feel like it was a little above my children’s learning levels.  I think it would be great as a health and science course for junior high or high school students.   We finished the first chapter but I am going to wait until they get a little older to do the remainder of the book.  We are  going to learn about the food pyramid this year so we can learn better ways to incorporate healthy food that my kids will enjoy.   They have a great example of their version of the this that I have printed out and hung on our refrigerator. 

Although the language used in this book is too hard for my kids, there are so many great ideas that it would be worthwhile to go through this with your family and simplify it so younger children will understand.   There is a great shopping list that includes healthy foods and a serving checklist to help make sure you get the recommended amounts of these daily. 

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a three-in-one family nutrition and health program for all ages that presents the major body systems, how they function, their common health issues, the benefits of good food and the consequences of bad food.  There are six units in this program and includes the answers to questions such as:  How does food affect the human body? How does impact my health as I age? How can I help my family make good choices?   Each chapter includes experiments, projects, reading and writing assignments.  My favorite thing was the recipes.   I am always looking for new ways to incorporate healthy eating into our meals and my family loved the No dairy, No chocolate, “Chocolate Pudding”.   

I cried when I read the section on asthma and healthy eating.   My son has asthma and suffers daily with breathing trouble.  I am definitely going to try the things she suggests to help alleviate asthma.  It breaks my heart to know that I have probably contributed to his problems by allowing him to eat unhealthy.   If these suggestions work, this book will not only change our eating habits, but will have changed our lives.

You can get this as a CD-rom for $79.99 but I highly recommend buying the printed version for $99.99.  You will want to refer back to the book over and over and this would eliminate the need for printing the entire book.    You can use this book in a co-op setting and can learn more about that here on the website.   This would be a great way to let older kids actually read the book and younger kids could join in on the experiments and recipe preparation.  They also offer free downloads on the website that you can enjoy.

Go to www.healthyhomesllc.com to purchase this for your family.  I don’t think you will be disappointed. 

Another book, GENTLE BABIES: Essential Oils and Natural Remedies for Pregnancy, Childbirth and Infant Care for $12.95 plus shipping and handling is also available for purchase.