Sanjay Raja’s new book, The Food Talk, offers tips on how to talk about food with your children and improve their eating habits. In the book, she makes the excellent point that talking about food with your children is just as important as talking to them about sex: Food and sex are very enjoyable, but they always carry risk. She also points out that if your kids can say “mac and cheese” or “chicken fillets,” they will be able to say “carbs” and “protein” and they will know what those words mean. We all want our children to eat better, more nutritious, and healthier foods. We just don’t know how to make that happen, and there are many culprits trying to sabotage us along the way.

Raja offers step-by-step instructions in this book so parents can do everything from starting to talk about food with their children to having them read food labels to cutting sugar out of their diets. Make no mistake, yes, children are required to eat sugar, but we can also teach them about the effects of sugar on the body and teach them to cultivate a taste for nutritious foods, including broccoli and cauliflower.

Raja also has tips for getting around the culprits that would sabotage you and your kids: birthday parties filled with sugary cakes and brownies, grandparents wanting to treat grandchildren, and school lunch featuring cheese and chicken pizza instead. green. vegetables. Based on Raja’s advice, you can create a plan to deal with each of these situations and help your children learn to make the right decisions for themselves.

You will also be surprised by many of the myths about food and children’s eating habits that Raja exposes and that, too often, we accept without thinking twice. For example, a myth or belief that we should not think about is “Children should not eat from the adult menu.” In response, Raja says, “What a mess. While portions may be smaller, children should not limit themselves to what is commonly offered on children’s menus: buttered pasta, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken wings. fried chicken, pizza, hot dogs, corn dogs and fried foods in general. ” Neither of these foods is really nutritious. Instead, children should be taught to eat what adults eat and to be adventurous in their food choices. Raja offers advice on how to make that sense of adventure prevail.

As Raja explains, each meal is actually an opportunity to talk with your children about food and the nutrients that food offers their bodies. Based on her own experience, Raja states: “Knowing more and more about the food they eat has become more and more interesting for my twins. When we buy ginger, we talk about the fact that ginger is a spice that is good for you because it helps reduce sore muscles. When a recipe calls for cinnamon, we remind ourselves that cinnamon helps keep blood healthy by reducing sugar, and that, yes, sugar is bad. My kids understand that vegetable pods, like green beans and green beans, and Peas and fruits and vegetables, such as zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes, are low in calories and have fiber and other vitamins. They understand that vegetable seeds, such as lentils, are a little higher in calories because they contain carbohydrates and are very rich in fiber, iron and magnesium. They also know the difference between a vegetable seed and a vegetable flower and the vitamins they contain individually. “

You may be thinking, “What are these miracle kids? My kids would never do that,” but as Raja states, “There is a fallacy in the American mindset that nutrition is a challenging and difficult subject that is best left up to you. of scientists with multiple degrees in biology and chemistry, certainly not a topic for kids! Nothing could be further from the truth. These are not difficult concepts. They are things your child needs to know to start making informed decisions and getting started. eat smart with no excuse. No parent would be upset if their kids started learning the alphabet or numbers before they even started school; they’d have a head start! We hope our kids learn the basics of math and reading at a time. young age because everything I do is based on these concepts. Even more so with nutrition! It is literally the building block of your child’s body and mind. Therefore, you should not hesitate to teach an ur children the basics of good nutrition and healthy eating. “

With each chapter of The Food Talk, I found myself more and more in agreement with Raja. Is it so hard to talk about food with kids or have we just never thought enough about it? I think The Food Talk is the perfect book for parents to start having these educational talks with their children. I also suspect that parents will find that they have to practice what they preach, which means they will eliminate some of their bad food choices and make better ones for themselves. If you read this book and start implementing its tips, soon you and your kids will be happier, healthier, and able to pass those candy bars down the checkout aisle. It is not a dream that cannot come true. Make it happen starting with this book.