hey guys I'm definitely a newbie to this stuff and need a little bit of help. I'm trying to get more healthy in my life and my family's life but it's been tough. I'm looking for a healthy or vegan cookbook and I found this site http://www.squidoo.com/the-best-recipe-cookbook-ever-top-vegetarian-vegan-healthy-new-cookbook and I think the practical paleo: a customized approach to health by diane sanfillipo is something that i'm really interested in after reading some reviews. I was hoping some of you guys might have some experience with the book or suggestions for me. any help would be great!

Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious. I love most of the recipes and my kids do too!

ty for the links

Anonymous wrote:Appetite for Life, a kid cookbook. Highly recommend.

+1. It's a terrific book, but I find it's best for the snack and breakfast ideas.

Anonymous wrote:Hi, OP, thanks for posting this topic b/c we have a similar problem with my 7 yo dd. Does anyone have recs for websites with recipes, vs books? Thanks

http://www.drsearswellnessinstitute.org/resources/recipes-3/

http://www.elliekrieger.com/recipes

Hi, OP, thanks for posting this topic b/c we have a similar problem with my 7 yo dd. Does anyone have recs for websites with recipes, vs books? Thanks

Also, have you tried cooking classes? He's old enough to maybe enjoy engaging. This woman runs kid-focused classes and camps out of her N. Arlington home: http://www.creativekidskitchen.com/ Our DD is only in preschool, so I don't know what the older kids' classes are like, but we love the little kids' ones. Check around for some others that would expose him to new flavors.

Weelicious.com and her new cookbook are other options for a healthy range of food.

I've also found lots of recipes for burgers and such using lower-fat ground turkey or chicken. I even found a fabulous recipe for burgers that uses babyfood prunes instead of egg as the binder. It sounds crazy, but it adds a bit of sweetness and an extra fruit into the meal!

Anonymous wrote:We have "Pretend Soup" from one of the Moosewood Cookbook authors. Might be a bit on the young side for your kid, but the recipes are kid friendly & healthy

Yes, this is a really cute book and if you have two kids, one being younger, this might be fun to do together. (There's also Fairy Tale Feasts by Yolen, which has stories.) I just looked on Amazon and there's a Harry Potter Cookbook too if he likes that.

I would get the books from the library first and see if one resonates with him. Also, I would ease into the lifestyle change (you don't want him to feel he's being singled out or punished). As they get older, it's hard to limit what food they come across. With our 8 year old, we used to say he could have soda only at birthday parties. Now he asks for it, so we said he could have it once a week when we realized every time we were out and about he was asking for a soda.

Make it fun. I would start incorporating a few easy meal themes, like taco night. We use these shells:
http://www.foodfacts.com/NutritionFacts/Taco-Shells/Garden-of-Eatin-Organic-Yellow-Corn-Taco-Shells-55-oz/22157

The kids can choose their own fillings--beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, ground meat, guacamole.

You might also want to look at your regular brands of bread, cereal, English muffins, waffles etc. I would replace with whole wheat (or whole grain) to up the fiber count. At least 2 grams or higher. (I had a friend whose tween DC tested pre-diabetic although active and not obese but definitely holding weight in her middle. These small changes helped tremendously.)

Your post has inspired me b/c I feel like we've been sliding on the nutrition front.

We have "Pretend Soup" from one of the Moosewood Cookbook authors. Might be a bit on the young side for your kid, but the recipes are kid friendly & healthy

Thanks so much PPs - I'm ordering each of these books and checking out the website. I feel so responsible for not getting a handle on this sooner. I realize now that things got a little out of control when he was 5 or 6, he had a newish sibling who had some (minor) health issues that sucked up all my energy. And the older one was one of those hyper kids who never recognized when he was hungry and behaved badly when he was - so my automatic instinct has always been to feed him, more is better.

We're lucky that he's likely to stay super tall (almost 5ft at his 9yo appointment) and most of the time it's not terribly obvious how heavy he's become. But I heard some (younger, not intentionally mean) boy call to him at the park recently - hey you, fat kid, and I just wanted to cry. Since I was part of the cause by letting him eat junk, I need to be part of the solution by learning to cook healthy food that he will like.

Appetite for Life, a kid cookbook. Highly recommend.

I like skinnytaste.com.
I also like the Cooking Light book "Real Famiy Food."

Kudos OP for taking this on. I think getting him involved in the cooking will help as well. (There are a few places for classes--Cookology in NoVa and L'Academie in Md.)

I like Ellie Krieger. She's a nutritionist:
http://www.amazon.com/Comfort-Food-Fix-Feel-Good-Favorites/dp/0470603097/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365872085&sr=1-1&keywords=ellie+krieger

Also, Jamie Oliver's series on school food was really interesting. It maybe something to watch together if you can find it online.

Small tips--smaller plate size, getting enough sleep, and limiting screen time also helps. Fostering anything to get him moving--doesn't have to be competitive or a team--is also good.

My 9yo son has a weight issue that we are working on. He has always been off the charts for height but now his weight is catching up. The ped is not alarmist since he is an active kid and his growth curve is encouraging. But we need to get a handle on his terrible eating preferences - over the past few years he has become one of those kids who won't eat anything besides chicken fingers and cheeseburgers. I have another child who eats wonderfully and is a string bean (which also happens to be one of his favorite foods!) so I know some of this is related to my big kid's eating preferences. PLEASE help me change those. Any tips on recipes your (picky) kids love, cookbooks that have simple healthy recipes? We're going to see a nutritionist for more help but I'd be grateful for any ideas from the DCUM crowd too. Thanks!