kbutton Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 We tend to be a bit alternative in our eating habits (at least relative to where we live, how we've formally been taught). Does anyone have some good resources for teaching nutrition that aren't MyPlate, etc.? My kids are in k and 4th grades. We primarily eat whole foods, including animal products from the best sources we can afford and obtain (grass fed beef, etc.). I am not interested in spending a lot of time researching and writing my own curriculum for this, but I don't mind modifying a resource or using a study guide that I have to tweak. I would like to hear from you, even if you have information on just one aspect of nutrition, such as fats. We garden and talk about healthy food choices, but beyond that, we're not really unschoolers (doesn't work for my older son)--I really do want something tangible to go on if possible. I am gluten free, and there are extended family members on both sides of the family tree that do not tolerate gluten, so it would be nice if the source isn't heavily tilted toward whole grains as the only viable base for a healthy diet. I do not want my kids to feel deprived or perceive their remaining choices to be "unhealthy" if they are unable to eat wheat someday down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Maybe Kathy Jo's Paleo-based nutrition book would be a good starting point? That's at least not going to go overboard about the whole grains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Subbing -- thank you for this thread! Both of those above mentions look interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I find that this subject is best taught around the table - it should need no formal written curriculum. We are also now gluten free - I am a type 1 diabetic with suspected celiac and my children are definitely gluten intolerant. They do eat gluten free products though I eat mostly raw foods. Being in a medical field I have taught my daughter much of the medical side of why she cannot eat gluten and also explained her symptoms when she does get hold of gluten. Then we have approached it from a religious perspective - what God made vs how man has tried to reproduce it without it being quite the same. And finally what constitutes healthy eating and how people's opinions on that differ and what each ingredient (protein, carbs, fat etc) is used for in the body and why they are all needed. My DD does have some problems when she cannot eat what her friends are eating - we do find substitutes at times that work and having explained the medical side of things to her in enough detail that she can understand it well I have found that she is much less resistant and less likely to complain. If we discuss anatomy or physiology then I also link it to diet there. I find that nutritional advice has changed so often that I am not even sure if what we are being advised now is healthy or not (and no one seems to know that yet as no proper long term studies are out) that I just tell her why we are doing this now and that things could change, but that we are aiming to be healthy and this is what we think is best now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Maybe Kathy Jo's Paleo-based nutrition book would be a good starting point? That's at least not going to go overboard about the whole grains. I was coming in to recommend this one as well based on your lifestyle & what you are looking for. You can see a sample here. It is geared for kids in 1st-4th. Here is her page with more purchasing options. It won't take very long to go through it, but it would be a good starting point. (Echoing Dragons!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Maybe Kathy Jo's Paleo-based nutrition book would be a good starting point? That's at least not going to go overboard about the whole grains. I was coming in to recommend this one as well based on your lifestyle & what you are looking for. You can see a sample here. It is geared for kids in 1st-4th. Here is her page with more purchasing options. It won't take very long to go through it, but it would be a good starting point. (Echoing Dragons!) Yup, I was going to recommend the same thing. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SereneHome Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I don't have a curriculum, but we read Janice VanCleave's book http://www.amazon.com/Janice-VanCleaves-Food-Nutrition-Every-ebook/dp/B0024NK5PG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390608012&sr=8-1&keywords=janice+vancleave+kids+book+of+nutrition But mostly we just talk about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I do this without curriculum by having the kids help me plant the garden, harvest it, cook it, go to the organic farm outside of town and work, going to our pig farmer's place and feeding our spring pig, going to our egg lady's house and gathering the grass fed eggs, farmer's market and explaining why we choose the venders we do, etc etc etc. And yes, it comes together the best in the kitchen. Mine are 11 and 13 and they prepare smaller parts of the meal using our carefully chosen farm/garden foods. We do all this dropping bits of info as we go. We've also watched the foodie documentaries like Food, Inc, Food Matters, King Corn, etc.. I guess all in all, it's a lifestyle as opposed to anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I find that this subject is best taught around the table - it should need no formal written curriculum. That's what I think. I haven't ever seen a nutrition resource that matches our ideas, so we pretty much just try to model helpful attitudes/ideas and talk about them when the topic comes up. Our biggest priority is to encourage a healthy attitude towards food as part of a larger healthy attitude towards looking after one's body. So in a general way, we try to inoculate the kids against the dominant culture of body hatred and focus on appearance (no, my 8yo does not need to aspire to looking "sexy"!), and with nutrition we focus on choosing foods that will help them grow and be strong/energetic/etc, avoiding the moralistic ideas about food items being "good" or "bad". We have shown the kids things like the food pyramid and the "healthy plate", but mostly we try focus on simpler and less prescriptive ideas such as that we like to eat whole foods and things made from scratch. I would love for my kids to grow up never experiencing any feelings of stress or guilt over what they eat - probably an impossible dream if they are going to live in western society lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I do this without curriculum by having the kids help me plant the garden, harvest it, cook it, go to the organic farm outside of town and work, going to our pig farmer's place and feeding our spring pig, going to our egg lady's house and gathering the grass fed eggs, farmer's market and explaining why we choose the venders we do, etc etc etc. And yes, it comes together the best in the kitchen. Mine are 11 and 13 and they prepare smaller parts of the meal using our carefully chosen farm/garden foods. We do all this dropping bits of info as we go. We've also watched the foodie documentaries like Food, Inc, Food Matters, King Corn, etc.. I guess all in all, it's a lifestyle as opposed to anything else. Very true. Our kids love to see the whole process of food from garden/paddock to plate, whether it's digging up the spuds to cook fries or going to the farm to check on our pig and later helping daddy prepare bacon. Once they have the basic idea that food begins with somebody planting something (or raising an animal, or hunting or collecting), they seem to carry that awareness around and be more interested in getting better quality stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I agree with y'all, and we do all of that too, but for the portfolio requirements, something that generates paperwork is helpful. Sometimes my kids just don't feel like writing a creative paragraph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Besides everyday real life teaching, I also purchased this curriculum. My kids really enjoyed it and we had some great discussions while we were going through it. http://www.foodrenegade.com/realfoodnutritiontext/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Besides everyday real life teaching, I also purchased this curriculum. My kids really enjoyed it and we had some great discussions while we were going through it. http://www.foodrenegade.com/realfoodnutritiontext/ We are huge Weston Price fans. Thank you for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsH Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I don't have a portfolio requirement so take this with a grain of salt, but could you take pictures and just include one sentence? Veggies at the farmers market with a line about what you talked about. Kids in the kitchen with the recipe they prepared. A flyer from the nutrition exhibit at the science museum. Feeding that pig... Just an idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 We also use the Real Nutrition for Kids from Food Renegade and really enjoy it. It helps to organize our conversations, and gives us some paper work to add to the portfolio. We also really like using the Whole Kids Foundation website from Whole Foods. They have a section called Better Bites with lots of free printouts that have nutrition info., kid friendly recipes, and stuff. https://www.wholekidsfoundation.org/kids-activities/better-bites/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Has anyone actually used Kathy Jo's Primal Kids? I'm so tempted to buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 We also use the Real Nutrition for Kids from Food Renegade and really enjoy it. It helps to organize our conversations, and gives us some paper work to add to the portfolio. Adding a link to the Real Nutrition for Kids e-book (with samples). I'd never heard of that one before. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Has anyone actually used Kathy Jo's Primal Kids? I'm so tempted to buy it. I have both of the nutrition books, and skimmed them last month, but have been overwhelmed with all my prereading and scheduling right now. I'm planning on using both. I know the author is not as pleased with the kids book as the teen book, but sometimes she is hardest on herself, where she has actually done the best job. Triage is hard. I'm always impressed by logical triage and the realities of needing to dumb down complex information. I saw nothing but good in both books, but I have not read them cover to cover or used them YET. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Do Primal Kids and Primal Teens have worksheets or the like, or are they just books to read? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Do Primal Kids and Primal Teens have worksheets or the like, or are they just books to read? No worksheets or written output requirements. This appears to be a CM style living book, not a textbook. The important vocabulary is highlighted. There is short section of recipes and an even shorter section on further resources to explore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Someone linked to the Schoolaid health books at http://www.milestonebooks.com/list/Schoolaid_Health/ They struck me as a more "old fashioned" look at diet (talking about balancing the four food groups) rather than the more recent government descriptions. I just thought I'd mention it, although it is certainly not paleo, as a textbook option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Adding a link to the Real Nutrition for Kids e-book (with samples). I'd never heard of that one before. Thanks! Oops! Sorry- I thought that's what other posters were linking too :) The kids version is very simple and easy to go over, and each lesson has copy work (print and cursive), plus a coloring sheet, and an activity (crossword puzzle or word search). Then I just add in the Better Bites things and we're good to go :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomandlorih Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 These used to be free. :( They might still be what you are looking for though. http://nutritionforhealthykids.com/shop/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalaborg Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 We are using Vintage Remedies for Tweens from Vintage Remedies. It doesn't cover things like food groups, but talks about whole foods, wholesome treats, local foods, organic, etc. Each chapter has reading and "projects" to do - the food chapters have food recipes, and there are several chapters that deal with homemade body products as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I have both of the nutrition books, and skimmed them last month, but have been overwhelmed with all my prereading and scheduling right now. I'm planning on using both. I know the author is not as pleased with the kids book as the teen book, but sometimes she is hardest on herself, where she has actually done the best job. Triage is hard. I'm always impressed by logical triage and the realities of needing to dumb down complex information. I saw nothing but good in both books, but I have not read them cover to cover or used them YET. Thanks! I caved and bought it. I've been reading through it, and I like it. It's pretty much exactly what I think good nutrition really is. Worth the $6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 We have enjoyed Michael Pollan's book, Food Rules. I see from his website that The Omnivore's Dilemma now comes in a young readers edition. We also like documentaries. Food Inc is a favorite and also the one about the man who ate fast food for a month. (Supersize Me - but preview before watching, as some comments not suitable for littlest kids.) Lots more pop up on netflix once you see those. Somehow, learning about bad food is almost more effective than learning about what you 'should' eat, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 If I had to produce something for a portfolio then I would get my children to do a number of possible things: make a model of healthy food, write a sentence and draw a picture, do an oral presentation that I filmed where they just talked about what they had learnt, if they were older maybe make them write the pros and cons of various dietary choices (this would be quite a bit later as you want them to learn healthy first). Filling out worksheets seldom is more than busywork and nutrition while a big subject is dealt with everyday so should actually need less work produced. Get them to cook a healthy meal and write/type out the menu could also be something that could go in a portfolio. Luckily I am not having to do portfolios - do they have more specific requirements - is there a minimum that you have to do for the subject? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 I don't have to do a portfolio as such, and I don't have a minimum. We have a list of topics that need to be addressed periodically throughout their education (like state history, which doesn't have to be covered every year), and we have to have a teacher say, "this education is appropriate for their grade" or take a standardize test. If I believe we're teaching our kids to eat well, I think it would be nice to have some sources to back up what we say, such as we would for other science topics. I don't want to have to dig a lot or invent a curriculum. While it's a good start, I want to be able to say why something is good for us beyond being a whole food, something that grows, etc. Conventional nutrition does talk about how the body uses food, but it doesn't always differentiate between things derived in a lab from chemicals vs. from a whole food. It focuses on calories in, calories out. It talks about fats but doesn't always address how fat from a factory fed animal and a grass fed animal might be different. I just want to be able to find some sources for this information other than, "Grandma ate this way" or "I read this blog article by Gracey Granola..." (no offense if such a blog actually exists!). I can certainly work on gardening, preserving food, food safety, etc., but it's nice to have some nuts and bolts from time to time. I get a lot of good information from my chiropractor about all kinds of things, but he often spouts stuff that he learned from someone he trusts--it's not like he's giving me peer-reviewed articles. But, he wants to argue with conventional medicine on that basis, and that's not really helpful. (Especially when I think both sides are just spouting off about heads or tails and stubbornly choosing to ignore that they are discussion the same coin!) I would be disgusted at a mainstream doctor for doing that; I'd expect him to have some sources. At some point, I do like hard evidence and want my kids to know that the information we give them is from trustable sources. I hope that makes sense. I appreciate the many recommendations from everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 I find that this subject is best taught around the table - it should need no formal written curriculum. We are also now gluten free - I am a type 1 diabetic with suspected celiac and my children are definitely gluten intolerant. They do eat gluten free products though I eat mostly raw foods. Being in a medical field I have taught my daughter much of the medical side of why she cannot eat gluten and also explained her symptoms when she does get hold of gluten. Then we have approached it from a religious perspective - what God made vs how man has tried to reproduce it without it being quite the same. And finally what constitutes healthy eating and how people's opinions on that differ and what each ingredient (protein, carbs, fat etc) is used for in the body and why they are all needed. My DD does have some problems when she cannot eat what her friends are eating - we do find substitutes at times that work and having explained the medical side of things to her in enough detail that she can understand it well I have found that she is much less resistant and less likely to complain. If we discuss anatomy or physiology then I also link it to diet there. I find that nutritional advice has changed so often that I am not even sure if what we are being advised now is healthy or not (and no one seems to know that yet as no proper long term studies are out) that I just tell her why we are doing this now and that things could change, but that we are aiming to be healthy and this is what we think is best now. ITA. I think parents are perfectly capable of teaching their children what kinds of food are best for them to eat with only the actual food for visuals. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Filling out worksheets seldom is more than busywork and nutrition while a big subject is dealt with everyday so should actually need less work produced. Get them to cook a healthy meal and write/type out the menu could also be something that could go in a portfolio. Luckily I am not having to do portfolios - do they have more specific requirements - is there a minimum that you have to do for the subject? We don't have a minimum, but sometimes I resort to worksheets for stuff like health, simply for the "make sure it gets done" aspect. I happen to believe, personally, that nutrition, health, and the like are best taught organically, as you're growing, procuring, and preparing the food, but sometimes a quick worksheet serves its purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Here are some articles you could look at. Much of this is new research and also medical articles are usually alright for high school students - younger than that and you would need to adapt it quite heavily. Nonetheless the research is out there - but of course you may also be able to find papers that disprove these things too - that is just how research works. http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/raw-food-research.html http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/06/genetic-modification.aspx There are tons of articles on the internet about these things - just google them and you will find way more than you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 We have enjoyed Michael Pollan's book, Food Rules. I see from his website that The Omnivore's Dilemma now comes in a young readers edition. We also like documentaries. Food Inc is a favorite and also the one about the man who ate fast food for a month. (Supersize Me - but preview before watching, as some comments not suitable for littlest kids.) Lots more pop up on netflix once you see those. Somehow, learning about bad food is almost more effective than learning about what you 'should' eat, lol. I read this (the bolded) with my kids and it is a great book! And we watch documentaries, garden, cook together, and discuss food/healthy choices, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Adding a link to the Real Nutrition for Kids e-book (with samples). I'd never heard of that one before. Thanks! We used this (I'm not sure it was the kids one, DD is older, our says Real Food and Health) plus documentaries. It was pretty enjoyable! Oh, I also added some selected readings from Omnivore's Dillema and Fast Food Nation. Not the whole books, just parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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