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You can never stop learning about healthy eating. This kind of info is really helpful if you find yourself with picky eaters in the family. Some kids take a long time to get turned on to variety in the menu. Others have allergies. The best way to get around these hurdles is to learn all you can about the foods you eat and choose wisely to meet your own needs.

Something new is always coming up. Vinny Grette keeps you in the know. He’ll tell you where to find great stories and articles where food sets the mood, as well as tasty recipes to keep you sharp and strong.

Besides his own book on healthy eating where Vinny gives kids and their families basic info on nutrition, there are tons of  other great reads out there starring food. Here are some of Vinny’s favorite picks.

DK Children’s Cookbook , Canadian Edition. This thoughtfully planned, brilliantly photographed, and clear guide to healthy eating makes a great buy! Whether you are just learning how to crack an egg, slice fresh fruit, and whisk an omelet…  or are moving on to parboiling, deseeding, scoring, and stir-frying, this book shows you what tools to use and how it all looks as you put these yummy dishes together. Recipes for things like curries, crumbles, smoothies, naan and popovers are scored easy to hard. Steps that a kid might need adult help with or that involve heat or sharp tools are marked. Cooking terms are highlighted at the top of each page and described in the glossary.

Recipes feature good foods like tofu, veggies, egg noodles, berries, and yogurt. And an attempt is made to cut down on saturated fats, salt and sugar. But baking is not entirely ignored. Some delicious desserts are included with a caution to have just a little, as a treat. Delicious, imaginative, and healthy, these recipes are worth trying! Posted here March 30, 2011.

Fast Food Fight

Mary-Kate and Ashley’s favorite Chinese restaurant is being put out of business. Once people eat across the street at Quick Food, they can’t help going back there for more. But why? The girls go under cover to find Quick Food‘s magic ingredient. Lots of  gadgets, disasters, and some mysterious sesame seeds add to the fun as Mary-Kate and Ashley teach two warring brothers a lesson about good food and family. Get Fast Food Fight by Alexa Rose from your local library or  book store. 58 pages, 2003.

Just like the tales in Cook Up a Story, Fast Food Fight holds some seeds of truth. This story about family is just the kind of thing Vinny likes to read. You might like it too! Posted here March 30, 2011.

Secrets of feeding a healthy family

Here’s a great read that gives you the goods on any food question your family may have. Secrets of feeding a healthy family puts you right on track for smart eating.

Take bacon, for instance.  Yummy! But you feel a twinge of guilt. Isn’t it too fatty for a healthy heart? Aren’t there  chemicals in it that may be a cancer threat?

Author Ellyn Satter says relax… we can enjoy it! Although there is for sure a lot of fat in bacon, the kinds of fats are reasonably good for us. And she says the nitrites used as a preservative are needed. They slow the growth of deadly bacteria that produce botulism toxins. Ergo, a little bacon in a recipe once in a while doesn’t hurt, says Ellyn… in fact,  it gives flavor a zap. And THAT’S the secret to feeding a healthy family!

Are you struggling with picky eaters? Ellyn has great  advice on how to encourage them. Her recipe notes on what to do the night before and how to get the kids involved are just what you need to feel confident about cooking healthy meals at home the family wants to eat.

Don’t judge the book by its cover. Ellen’s advice is worth digging for.

The book might scare you off with its fine print and somewhat stuffy appearance, but it’s easy to read and full of facts you want to know. It’s not particularly for kids but it’s about kids…  a wonderful resource for families. Well worth reading. 302 pp. Posted here March 30, 2011.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. 2008, 374 pages. Food is scarce in Panam, a country that exists where North America stands today. Its 12 poor districts are controlled by a relatively few, rich people in the Capitol.  People in the districts have to work long hours at dangerous jobs for low wages. Families must hunt and scavenge to find enough to feed themselves. Folks in the Capitol, however, live in comfort, eating many-course meals full of flavor and goodness… as much as they like.

The terror lies not so much in the stark contrast between the haves and the have nots, although that is terrible enough. It’s the method of control that is the real kicker… the televised hunger games. Once a year 24 children from the districts are forced to fight to the death. Only one can survive.

The story’s like a video game in book format. The heroes are faced with ever more chilling obstacles at every turn, which they have to hurdle using whatever tools they have managed to scavenge. Death lives on every page.

Well reviewed, The Hunger Games is the first of a trilogy, for teens and young adults. Not for children or the faint of heart! A riveting story, where food certainly sets quite the mood. Fantasy. Posted here 9 December 2010.

Greener Grass, by Caroline Pignat.  2008, 276 pp.

What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and there was nothing to eat? In Greener Grass we find out what the families of Ireland did in the face of hunger in 1846. A fabulous story about the power of faith and the politics of food. Governor General’s award winner for childrens’ literature. Historical fiction at its best. Posted here 2 December 2010.

I’m Just Here for the Food, by Alton Brown. 2006, 321pp.

Food + Heat = Cooking. The classic cookbook for people who want to understand their food, especially, MEAT. Guys love this book. Don’t most guys love meat? Vinny does! Posted here 2 December 2010.