Cooking For the Whole Family
 
Nutrition Basics
 
Nutrition need vary on a kids age and level of activity, but all ages can benefit from a healthy balance of food groups and vitamins.
 
A balanced plate will be a ratio of:
  • half produce (fruits and vegetables)
  • one quarter protein
  • one quarter starch (grains like cereal and pasta)
  • a side serving of dairy (like milk or yogurt)
For specific requirements by age, check out this guide from Cleveland Clinic.
The Mayo Clinic advises parents to reduce their kid's added sugar intake, especially fruit juice with added sugars. Look for drinks labeled as 100% juice. They also recommend reducing saturated fats like those in pizza, burgers, and desserts, as well as salt intake. While not harmful in moderation, these additives can bad for kids' health when consumed too often and too much.
 
Getting Kids Excited About Food and Cooking
 
Experts agree that the best way to get kids to care about nutrition and what they're eating is to involve them in the process! Encourage your kids to join you in cooking using these simple tips:
  • use kid-friendly cookbooks (selections below)
  • include everyone
  • give your littlest kids simple tasks like stirring and throwing things away
  • give your oldest kids responsibility and room to make mistakes
  • be patient, they're learning!
  • let them taste-test
  • bring your kids grocery shopping and encourage them to grab ingredients
There are also great online resources for making cooking and nutrition a fun activity for kids. Check out this comprehensive menu from the USDA that leads to resources, games, and recipes as well as MyPlate, the go-to website for childrens nutrition.
 
For local aid, connect with Wholesome Informed Choices (WIC), a program assisting low income families that need nutritional support. Informational flyers available at the Handley Library.
 

Books about Family Cooking and Nutrition
Dinnertime SOS: 100 Sanity-Saving Meals Parents and Kids of All Ages Will Actually Want to Eat
by Amy Palanjian

A collection of super-fast, accessible, and delicious family meals that appeal to both kids and parents. This is your playbook to make the most of your limited time in kitchen, embrace quality shortcuts, and ditch the guilt. This is the cookbook that parents with little kids have been waiting for. 
The Fuss-Free Toddler Cookbook: Mealtimes Made Easy With Healthy Recipes for the Whole Family
by Barbara Lamperti

Family meals with a picky toddler can be more food fights than fun--or the same five foods on repeat. Your days as a short order cook are over with The Fuss-Free Toddler Cookbook. This family-friendly toddler cookbook is your guide to delicious meals with simple adaptations that will please the little ones and the big ones.
Born To Eat: A Baby-led Weaning Guide That Supports Intuitive Eating for the Whole Family
by Leslie Schilling

Focuses on self-feeding and baby-lead weaning and provides age-based advice, step-by-step instruction, help for parents, and easy recipes to ensure an infant gets healthy and tasty food.
How to Raise an Intuitive Eater: Raising the Next Generation with Food and Body Confidence
by Sumner Brooks

A mother and licensed registered dietician nutritionist offers relatable advice to parents to teach them how to reject diet culture and help their children grow up to be healthy eaters with a good relationship towards food.
The Little Gardener: Helping Children Connect with the Natural World
by Julie A. Cerny

The Little Gardener is an engaging illustrated guide for family, caregivers, and educators who want to help children explore the natural world through gardening. Part how–to, part teaching tool, and part inspiration, it's a thoughtful combination of detailed instructions, tips, anecdotes, and seasonal activities designed to connect gardeners to natural systems.
Stories of Extreme Picky Eating: Children With Severe Food Aversions and the Solutions That Helped Them
by Jennifer Friedman

In Stories of Extreme Picky Eating, Jennifer invites you into her nutritional therapy office to meet real kids struggling with serious food aversions, and learn the strategies that helped them come to eat a wider variety of nutritious foods with more ease.
What To Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting
by Heidi Eisenberg Murkoff

This brand new edition of the pregnancy food bible provides a fresh, fun, realistic and body-positive approach to help moms-to-be navigate nutrition through the nine months of pregnancy.
The No-Cook Cookbook
by Rebecca Woollard

Designed to promote kitchen independence, a lavishly photographed collection of cooking-free recipes teaches children the basic skills of grating, peeling and zesting ingredients as well as growing and preparing vegetables at home. Illustrations.
E-Resources for Cooking
Parent TV - Nutrition
This research-based database aimed at parents of children ages birth to adolescent includes short video clips by experts in the field on many topics that parents/caregivers need.
Cooking and Baking 101
by Universal Class

Designed for novices and those looking to refine their culinary techniques, this course promises a holistic journey. From understanding the foundational differences between cooking and baking to mastering the art of meal planning, we've curated a syllabus that ensures a well-rounded culinary education.
 Storytimes
Attend a Storytime at the Library
Middle Grade Book Spotlights
Need help finding your next read? Check out what we're spotlighting.
 Teen Homework Help
Access free help with your library card.

Handley Regional Library System
 100 W Piccadilly St
Winchester, VA 22601
(540) 662-9041
https://www.handleyregional.org/
Facebook Instagram LinkedIn