Eat This Not That! for Kids!: Be the Leanest, Fittest Family on the Block!

In parenting as in life, it's all about making good decisions. The trick is knowing which choices are the right ones. This small colorful book tells you very simply which food choices are the right ones. It not only tells you, but also shows you with hundreds of color photos. Although it is supposedly for kids, the information is useful -- and fascinating -- for anyone. We've all heard the scary statistics about the rise in obesity, especially in children. Food marketers are doing everything they can to keep that trend alive. According to the Federal Trade Commission, kids ages 2 to 11 will see 26,000 TV ads this year, 22 percent of them marketing food. "The message -- that junk food equals instant happiness -- is one that sticks with a child for all his life." Eat This Not That! gives sound advice on how to combat this problem. The first chapter has eight simple rules for kids and families to follow: Rule #1: Never Skip Breakfast. Ever. Rule #2: Snack with Purpose. (A good idea: popcorn; not the kind saturated with butter and salt, but natural popcorn. Another good idea: Kids must ask permission for a snack, but never need permission to reach for a piece of fruit.) Rule #3: Beware of Portion Distortion. (A good idea: Buy smaller bowls and cups.) Rule #4: Drink Responsibly. (A good idea: Keep cold, filtered water in a pitcher in the fridge.) Rule #5: Eat More Foods and Fewer Science Experiments. (A good rule of thumb: The shorter the ingredient list, the healthier the food.) Rule #6: Set the Table (A good idea: Keep mealtimes as structured as possible.) Rule #7: Kick the Sugar Habit. (A good idea: Eliminate foods with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup at the top of the ingredient list.) Rule #8: Eat the Rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple foods have a multitude of benefits. You'll be surprised, finding out whether some foods are on the good or bad list. Learning that Applegate Farms organic uncured turkey hot dogs are on the Eat This! side isn't so surprising. But José Olé shredded steak taquitos? Breyer's Double Churn creamy vanilla bean ice cream? It seems "Double Churn" is Breyer's code word for low-fat, which makes this dessert a go. Oscar Mayer bacon scores a Yes, while Oscar Mayer turkey bacon scores a No, because of the extra sodium in the supposedly more healthful turkey option. I had to wrestle Eat This Not That! out of my 14-year-old daughter's hands to write this review. She was captivated, poring over it exclaiming on the different foods we now eat that we should swap for others. She wailed when she saw the Cadbury Creme Egg as the very worst in the "Worst Candy" section. And she can kiss those Hershey's Kisses goodbye. Oh no! Sun Chips are on the Not That! list! Some of her favorites were on the Eat This! list, though: Marshmallow peeps, Tootsie Pops, Boca burgers, Eggo Nutri-Grain low-fat waffles, MultiGrain Cheerios, Egg McMuffins and Kraft Tangy Italian spaghetti dinners. I could go on and on about this book. It covers school cafeteria food, fast-food restaurant food, vending machine snacks, kid-friendly recipes, how to read nutritional labels, holiday meals and fun exercises for kids of different age groups. Each food lists its complete nutritional information, including the portion size, calories and grams of fat and sugar. Other books I recommend on this topic: In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto , Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life , and Deceptively Delicious . Here's the chapter list: 1. Feeding the Future; The 8 rules of kids' nutrition 2. At Their Favorite Restaurants; The best and worst meals at 40 fast-food and chain restaurants 3. The Eat This, Not That! Ultimate Menu Decoder; Strategies for eating right at any restaurant 4. At the Supermarket; The complete Eat This, Not That! For Kids! grocery list 5. At School; How to survive and thrive in the cafeteria and beyond 6. At Home; Making your home the healthiest in the neighborhood 7. A Legacy of Fitness; Shed pounds with your kids with these fun family activities

My family is not fat by any means, but these books help the average person get the foods that are more nutritious than others. These books are absolutely brilliant. I buy food, but don't pay attention at the outside as much as I should. This woke me up to that topic. For example, potato chips that are labeled baked are better for you. Even the Kraft Mac and Cheese isn't as good as I thought either. Never thought of the nutritional value. I want my kids to eat healthier. My one is more fussy than the other and since she is more fussy, I have to be a little creative. Recommended by me and it should be for others.

The book is fine and informative, but I could not understand why on the spine of the pages there was a black dot made with a felt pen or various sizes. Not too big, but on some the ink leaked through, so you can see a small smudge of black on the page. I returned them and Amazon was good about replacing them, but when the second replacement batch (I bought 7) came with the same mark, I could not understand. It was too late to try again to return and the third time, I may get the same thing. The salesperson was nice enough to give me a small discount. The books ordered from a commercial company where I had to pay the postage, did not have the black mark. The books were supposed to be new. Why do they make that black mark? As gifts, you do want them in good condition. MKH

Our family purchased this book at a companion to the adult 'Eat This, Not That'. It is a great way to encourage our daughters to eat healthier, and to teach them how to eat healthier. Both of our girls have gone through this book, and have used it when making choices at restaurants, and when helping us grocery shop. One does not need to "diet", just make better choices. I can't say enough about this book. For kids (and myself) the pictures make it more interesting. Who wants to just sit and read lists? This is by no means a 'diet' book; it just shows nutrition information that is necessary in making smart choices. I highly recommend this book to parents. If you are like our family and eat out often, it really helps to know exactly what to order.

Let me first start with the good: This is an excellent book for families who eat out a lot. When you go to out to eat the menus don't have the calories/fat grams listed so you hope that your going to make the right choices for your children. This book helps you make better choices. The not so good: I wasn't very thrilled with the shopping side of the book. I feel like some of the comparisons were bias. For example while flipping through I noticed a trend, the horizon organic was nine times out of ten on the don't eat side, being compared to food I would not call comparable. They compared horizon regular cottage cheese to a low fat non-organic cottage cheese, seems a little unfair considering that horizon has a low fat cottage cheese also why not compare that. I have issue with a book that would compare items that aren't really the same. Another example they compared quaker organic oatmeal to a low sugar oatmeal, really? The health benefits to eating organic are unquestionable, foods that have had pesticides, herbicides and hormones added or used during production contain phytoestrogens which increase estrogen levels which in its self can lead to obesity and children developing way too early. I did give it 3 stars so I'll end on a positive, I did like that on a few items, they compared a low fat version to the same brands regular version. example: Club cracker you only save a gram of fat in the low fat version but get more sugar and sodium, not worth it eat the regular. I'm not say don't buy the book, I'm just saying take with a grain of salt. And keep in mind this is is giving you better options to what you may already be feeding you family, not the license to feed you family only items on the eat list because there are far better options out there then even those.

I saw the author to this series of books on The Bonnie Hunt Show. His presentation was eye opening. If you are at all aware to what is happening to people and weight issues in present time, these books will explain why. I'm very health conscience and I was appalled to see many of the things I was eating are laden with calories, fat, sugar and salt. David said one thing that may sense to me. "Know what you are putting in your mouth." These little books need to be used like a reference book and stay handy on your book shelf. It is no wonder people are packing on the pounds when we are consuming mega calories without knowing it. A real good read.

If you are not a label reader- this breaks it down very simply and even shows you pictures of (names and brands) products that you may be using now, and then shows you some alternatives that are much healthier- and why- so you can make better choices. It explains alot about how to read labels as well - some really easy switches that will cut down the fat and sugar intake your kids are eating. You'll be surprised at what you THINK is healthy and what REALLY isn't! This is not a "diet" book- but it can help you make some simple changes that are more nutritional and not just a waste of empty calories.

This is definately a must read for every parent. A couple of years ago I converted my household to a nearly no trans fat and partially hydrogenized living place. With a family history of breast cancer and heart disease, I felt it important to keep my two boys (ages 3 and 1) as healthy as possible. The series of books (Eat this not that) are great for both people like me who do infact read every darn label and limit processed foods and for your everyday McDonald's supporting family. Too many people think "diet" to be healthy when all they have to do is read the ingredients to see how much sugar is pounded into processed and canned goods. While I'm not perfect (I had a Red Robbin burger last week!) I do think its important for us, and by us I mean Americans, to realize that our society is heavier than it should be and it starts at home with our children and what they learn. My 3 year old is in a "I don't want to eat anything" phase, so sometimes I really REALLY need suggestions and ideas of what he might go for, and the books help. Its worth the few bucks on the entire collection, which I keep on my counter for every day easy access.