Eat Healthy, Feel Great

-Puts the revised 2005 Food Pyramid designers to shame with its straightforward, clear approach (versus the revised pyramid 'stripes' that are supposed to indicate how much of each fod group to eat but who can figure it out at a glance?) Its concept for green / orange / red light foods is straightforward, extremely well presented and easy to understand and APPLY. The book provides clear and convincing explanations about each food group and their particular effects on your body. Surprisingly comprehensive introduction to key nutriets is also covered. Illustrations are appealing, colors of each food are accurate and therefore relatable for children (many other kids 'food' books are NOT!) While the illustrations are simple, they are easy to identify and relate to and several are funny and gain laughs. The typical obstacles for trying new foods is addressed, so kids start off knowing that these great greenlight foods may look and taste a little different but you quickly grow to like them and also that we can train our taste buds. Its straightforward approach provides convincing reasons for eating healthy - even 'grown-ups' may be surprised at just how clear the message is for such a relatively short book. My five year old is sharing with his Kindergarten friends why the hydrogenated oils and coloring are not good for one's body and showing an interest in reading food labels. This resource provides parents with a strong resource for arming children with appealing reasons to begin to make good food choices in such a carb/sugar overloaded environment and help them understand why their fresh veg, nut, yogurt, fruit lunches and snacks help them grow healthy and feel good far more than the donuts their best friend brings to school. I highly recommend this book for a family library shelf and also as a gift book. Note: Although this book is marked for Pre-Schoolers, in my view it would be appropriate through age 7 or 8 yrs because it has such a rare combination of simple yet superior reasons without any babytalk. The sad thing is that most of us grown ups need a copy too. Other books which are good on this general topic are Lizzy Rockwells. Her books have more detail and more explanations with illustrations featuring digestive systems etc. Her "Busy Bodies" is as good for fitness discussions as "Eat Healthy Feel Great" is for food choice discussions. By the way; for older kids say 9 plus will love "Food Rules! The Stuff You Munch, Its Crunch, Its Punch, and Why You Sometimes Lose Your Lunch" by Bill Haduch. Pre-Teens and teens will actually read it because the language, approach, illustrations and especially the 'footnotes' are hilarious, engrossing and clear.

My 2.5 year old loves this book. She asks me to read it to her often and we talk about the healthy eating concepts on a daily basis because SHE brings them up. She asks me if foods have food dyes in them before eating them, jokes in that overly silly 2 year old way by serving me a pretend bowl of hydrogenated oil (knowing how absurd and unhealthy it would be to actually do that), and is enthusiastic about taking her daily multivitamin because of what she has learned from this book. If a food is unhealthy for her and she's asking for it, I can now tell her in very specific and effective terms why she cannot have it, and she listens! She is eating a wider variety of fresh fruits and vegetables!! This book describes the importance of eating a wide variety of colorful food each day. We made a rainbow chart together after reading this book, and we chart what colored foods she eats throughout the day, trying to get all of the colors in each day. She often comes to me to fill it out. (it's just a crayon drawing of a rainbow on printing paper that I slid into a plastic page protector and draw pictures of food on it daily with a dry erase marker). One point of confusion for her 2 year old mind is the difference between the green light (healthy foods), yellow light (not healthy foods), red light (very unhealthy foods) system and the rainbow. Since they are both color systems, she was getting them mixed up, calling a banana a yellow light food, when it is a green light food that happens to be yellow, etc. So, we started calling green light foods "everyday foods", yellow light foods "sometimes goods", and red light foods "never foods". I simply replace the wording while reading the book and talkinb with her about it. That has helped. Overall, I do not review very often, but this is an excellent book that provides a lot of useful information in positive and motivating terms that my naturally verbal 2 year old can understand and enjoy.

I'm a certified heart coach through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute (yes, the institute is founded by the author of this book), and I LOVE this book! It summarizes many of the techniques I use as a health coach. But with or without a health coach, these concepts are simple to implement and simple to use as an individual or as a parent, as you can teach your kids these techniques to empower them to make healthy choices on their own. This kids book explains "traffic light eating", where red means stop and think (i.e. limit these foods), yellow means "slow down" (i.e. eat in moderation) and green means "go" (i.e. eat lots of these). The spectrum has processed junk foods as red and fruits veggies and other :grow foods" as green, with other in between stuff as yellow. This book also helps kids get a sense of what the various parts of food do for your body (carbohydrates give you energy, etc), and it address the importance of exercise for your body as well. This book is basically a kids version of the goals a healthy family should aim for. As a health coach I obviously love how simple it makes everything and it helps lay out foundational information that support large scale change. The basics in this book will set a family or child up for a lifetime of health. Good for about 4-8 year olds, depending on the kid.

I purchased this book because I've enjoyed some of the other books by Dr. Sears, and thought it would be a good way to teach my kids about making good food choices. I was expecting a very basic discussion of eating right - the "eat more veggies and fruits" and "stay away from junk" type discussion that we've heard a million times. I was very pleasantly surprised to find the book covering more in depth nutritional topics, like partially hydrogenated oils or refined sugar/flour. But they're presented in a very accessible way that's easy for children to understand. The book also talks about the need to drink plenty of water. The green-yellow-red food organization works well. I'm glad that the book doesn't try to tell you that you can never have treats like cake or pizza - just that that you don't want to eat too many, too often. The book also comes with a small poster that shows the "traffic light foods." We hung it on our fridge, and now both of our children evaluate what they're eating using the Green-Yellow-Red model. The message has really made an impression on my kids. Sometimes when we're in the store and my kindergartener reaches for junk food, I can tell him it's a Red Light food, and immediately he understands and stops asking for it. I'm so impressed. This book is truly an asset to families. I'd recommend it to anyone.

A bit dated now but this was text I used with my son when he was little to teach nutritional food choices i.e. "foods that help you grow" vs highly processed low nutritional value foods. Emphasis on foods not being "good" or "bad" but on making best nutritional selections when hungry.

My 4-year-old asks me to read this again and again. She loves classifying the foods we eat as "red light, yellow light, or green light," just like the authors do in the book. I like the way nutrition is explained in terms of how food makes our bodies operate and how much energy different foods give us. The tone of the book is light and positive while still conveying some pretty complex concepts such as why food dyes and preservatives are not healthy. I like that there is no "food-shaming" in the book; when a slice of birthday cake is pictured the text says, "Some foods are okay to eat sometimes." Even though I am a vegetarian myself, I was okay with animal products getting some page space in the book. The emphasis is heavily on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains as "green-light" (healthiest) foods, so I guess that's why the few mentions of fish and meat didn't bother me. This book is a great way to get kids started in the right direction for lifelong nutritious eating. I hope it helps spare the next generation from the Standard American Diet.

Great book for kids to teach them about eating healthy

We ordered this book for my almost-3 year old because we've been reading the potty book by the same author. This book has more words than my toddler can stay focused for, so we abbreviate it when reading to him, but it talks about food being green light (good for you), yellow light (ok for you) and red light (bad for you) and I think he can understand that a bit. He also like to point out and say the names of all the different foods that are pictured, and I honestly think it's helped us get him to try some new foods that he wasn't eating before.

The book us a little advanced for my 22 months old son but I really like the book. It will definitely help him to understand good food vs bad food and introduce to basic nutrients and common vitamins in good food

I bought it for my four year old to help teach her about healthy eating. She enjoys reading it together and asks for it often. I believe it is important for kids to understand that what they eat directly effects how they feel.