Saturday
Jan032009
Book Review: Whining & Dining (by Emma Waverman & Eshun Mott)
Saturday, January 3, 2009
I own or have flipped through many books on toddler and preschooler nutrition and this one is my favourite by far, so I wanted to share it with my readers.
Whining and Dining: Mealtime Survival for Picky Eaters and the Families Who Love Them
is a great nutrition and recipe book for helping picky kids eat better. 
It includes great information on why kids are picky, how to create a healthy relationship to food within the family, and get kids to be more willing to try new things. It has good basic information on the nutritional needs of children.
It has information on how to introduce first foods to children, including what to introduce when, how to introduce different textures, what you should wait to introduce, and so on.
The remainder of the book is recipes (more than 100 of them), for breakfast, lunch, snacks, family dinners, dessert, and parties. It even has a section called the "picky eater hall of fame" that includes recipes for the pickiest of eaters. It finishes off with a picky pantry list - i.e. what you should have on hand at home to help you make these great meals and snacks.
What I love the most about this book is that the food tastes great and it is nutritious! A lot of the recipes are enhanced with extra ingredients that make them more healthy (different types of fibre, fruits, vegetables, etc.) but they aren't purposely "hiding" vegetables by making complex purees and deceiving your child. So many other kids recipe books that I have either aren't that nutritious (lots of white flour, not many vegetables), the food isn't that great, or you are spending hours making purees and hiding them in food (for minimal added nutritional value).
Some of our favourites from this book include:
There are excellent tips on introducing brown rice to your kids and other ways of shifting over to healthier choices from less healthy ones that your kids may have come to love.
It didn't solve all of our problems! No, seriously, I wasn't really expecting it to. That said, dinnertime still is chaos at our house with a 4 year old and a 1 year old with vastly different tastes and eating habits. Other than not being a solution to everything, I don't have many complaints about this book.
My only one would be saying that it is really best to wait until 6 months to introduce solids (which is right!), but well if you think your baby is ready anytime after 4 months might be okay (there are many reasons why it is best to wait until 6 months).
Buy this book! The recipes are great and even if your kids don't like them (which I'm sure they will), you will love them and it will help get your family on track with more healthy eating and including more good ingredients in the food that you eat.
Overview
Whining and Dining: Mealtime Survival for Picky Eaters and the Families Who Love Them
is a great nutrition and recipe book for helping picky kids eat better. It includes great information on why kids are picky, how to create a healthy relationship to food within the family, and get kids to be more willing to try new things. It has good basic information on the nutritional needs of children.
It has information on how to introduce first foods to children, including what to introduce when, how to introduce different textures, what you should wait to introduce, and so on.
The remainder of the book is recipes (more than 100 of them), for breakfast, lunch, snacks, family dinners, dessert, and parties. It even has a section called the "picky eater hall of fame" that includes recipes for the pickiest of eaters. It finishes off with a picky pantry list - i.e. what you should have on hand at home to help you make these great meals and snacks.
What I Like About This Book
What I love the most about this book is that the food tastes great and it is nutritious! A lot of the recipes are enhanced with extra ingredients that make them more healthy (different types of fibre, fruits, vegetables, etc.) but they aren't purposely "hiding" vegetables by making complex purees and deceiving your child. So many other kids recipe books that I have either aren't that nutritious (lots of white flour, not many vegetables), the food isn't that great, or you are spending hours making purees and hiding them in food (for minimal added nutritional value).
Some of our favourites from this book include:
- Our Favourite Dried Apricot Bars: These are fabulous! Nice and moist and packed with things like oatmeal, wheat germ, dried apricots and other healthy ingredients. Everyone in our family loves them and they disappear quickly!
- Roasted Chickpeas: These make a great appetizer or snack and are so simple to make.
Just a Wee Bit Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies: I made these with my son for the first time today (see picture). We used a mix of dark chocolate and white chocolate chips and they are yummy! This recipe also includes oatmeal and wheat germ.- Beyond Boxed Macaroni and Cheese: This is hands-down the best mac & cheese I have ever had. It includes lots of milk, a bit of dijon mustard, tons of cheddar cheese and a crumbly topping. We sometimes add bacon and/or spinach to it for some extra flavour.
- Many great veggie sides: We love the garlic-roasted carrots, quick dark greens saute, fresh corn fritters (although I thought cheese would be a good addition to these next time), roasted root vegetables, curried lentils, and more!
There are excellent tips on introducing brown rice to your kids and other ways of shifting over to healthier choices from less healthy ones that your kids may have come to love.
What I Don't Like About This Book
It didn't solve all of our problems! No, seriously, I wasn't really expecting it to. That said, dinnertime still is chaos at our house with a 4 year old and a 1 year old with vastly different tastes and eating habits. Other than not being a solution to everything, I don't have many complaints about this book.
My only one would be saying that it is really best to wait until 6 months to introduce solids (which is right!), but well if you think your baby is ready anytime after 4 months might be okay (there are many reasons why it is best to wait until 6 months).
Recommendation
Buy this book! The recipes are great and even if your kids don't like them (which I'm sure they will), you will love them and it will help get your family on track with more healthy eating and including more good ingredients in the food that you eat.
- Buy Whining & Dining on Amazon.com (for US readers)
- Buy Whining & Dining on Amazon.ca (for Canadian readers)
Reader Comments (4)
I personally don't like the term "picky eater", I think it is a very parent-centric perspective. The parent perceives a child to be "picky"; a very normal behavior by a child maybe called picky based on the tolerance level and the goals of the parent.
Come to think of it, sometimes even adults show extremely picky behavior!
Still, it is good to know that there is some specific advice out there for parents. We follow Dr. Spock's suggestions in our household. I will probably consider this book for its recipes - they sound very good.
Thanks for sharing.
This has actually become my favourite cookbook (even just for us). The recipes go beyond the "traditional" fare and include Chinese Five Spice Chicken and curry recipes. Best part, Peanut LOVES it. She actually asks for the "broccoli book" all the time (oh, and the oatmeal scones made the savory way-- with cheese... so good).
@Michelle
Thanks for your comment and for the recommendation on the oatmeal scones. I haven't made those yet, but I love scones, so I will give it a try.
[...] Whining & Dining (by Emma Waverman & Eshun Mott): This is my preferred cook book for little eaters. It includes meals and snacks that the whole family will love and that are nutritious too. [...]