Yum: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition

Kalnins, Daina. 2008. Yum: Your Ultimate Manual For Good Nutrition.

This book is geared for the 8 to 13 year crowd. It thoroughly covers the basics of nutrition. Discusses nutrients both macro and micro. Discusses what nutrients our bodies need to be healthy, to grow, to develop, to function. Discusses how our bodies utilizes those nutrients. Discusses what nutrients different foods have. Teaches how to read labels. Teaches how to discern between good and bad choices. Not in a you-can't-ever-eat-candy way, but in a straight-forward way. It's all about fulfilling your body's need in the most efficient way. It offers advice on how to make the right choices for you. The book challenges the reader to become aware, to become involved. It encourages kids to get involved in food preparation and cooking. Even in grocery shopping. By taking those first few steps, then the rest will come easily and almost naturally. It urges kids (and adults) to try new foods, try new recipes, experiment with meals. Find what works for you, what you like. Sample meal plans and recipes are included. Also there is a six month challenge presented. It is a slow-and-steady plan to get to a healthier you in six months. It doesn't try to rush or overwhelm you. It knows that it takes time to break in new habits and break old ones.

Here's the product description from their website:

Many young people are trying to get on the road to good nutrition, or are being encouraged to do so. Chances are they've gotten advice from teachers, parents, doctors, and the media. But how can they use those suggestions to create a plan of action that makes sense for them and their lifestyle? It's time to get real, leave (most of) the junk in the dust, grab the next exit, and let YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition move readers into the right lane.

YUM gives kids the info they need to get healthy and have fun while they're at it! The author explains how to can get exactly what our bodies need from the foods we eat. Readers will become food label-reading pros, and discover delicious recipes and healthy snack ideas from kids who already make nutrition part of their lives. They'll hear from celebrities dishing on how they eat right. There's even a forward from professional chef, Paul Finkelstein, host of Food Network Canada's "Fink." Readers are sure to be hungry for more, and YUM serves up cool facts like:

• 100 trillion bugs live in your gut and help keep you healthy

• leftover hamburger from last night’s supper can be part of a nutritious breakfast

• there is such a thing as “good fat”

YUM empowers readers with great tools, including an action plan, that will help get them on the road to finding their own healthy body balance.