New Book: "Simple Food For Busy Families"

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Do you or your kids:

• Crave sugar or salty foods?
• Routinely crave fatty foods like pizza?
• Feel hungry even after your stomach is full?
• Dislike vegetables?
• Experience mood swings or “crashing” between meals?
• Feel lethargic?
• Prefer sedentary activities over physical ones?
• Have erratic sleep patterns?
• Have poor attention spans or tension headaches?

Then you’re definitely experiencing common symptoms for the SAD Lifestyle. That’s the Standard American Diet Lifestyle. This sampling of questions above is less than half the imbalances listed by authors Jeannette Bessinger, CHHC, and Tracee Yablon-Brenner, RD, CHHC of Simple Food for Busy Families: The Whole Life Nutrition Approach, a new book that landed on my doorstep recently. Thanks to Ten Speed Press who contacted me asking if I’d like to review it, giving me the opportunity to read it in the name of work—and learn even more smart ways to keep our kids (and families) healthy.

Now, as many of you probably already know, I’m not the type to follow a diet or so-called “meal plan.” There are just too many rules and “no-nos” that end up making even the most avid diet-monger eventually feel deprived and down-and-out. And that ultimately spells disaster for any diet, short- or long-term. So any book that says one must eat a certain daily ratio of specific foods or count calories is not one that gets me going—except maybe in the other direction!

But thank goodness that this book doesn’t fall into that category.

One of the things I liked best about Simple Food for Busy Families is that it truly educates the reader. The hows and whys of dietary choices and selections are laid out in easy-to-understand English and reasoning. For example, the book opens by sharing what’s really going on with the Kids’ Health Epidemic—why are American kids getting fatter every day?

Modern day stress has taken on whole new proportions—the authors detail how “junk” food and “junk” entertainment has been used as an escape. But it’s not really an escape at all—it’s a path leading us to the SAD Lifestyle: Standard American Diet choices that include fast food, restaurant food, processed food and screen entertainment, all topped off with a serving of stress.

But lest this get you down, know that this book details very specifically and precisely the ways you can build a much more fulfilling lifestyle, one that’s based on a Whole Life Nutrition foundation. One that brings your family back into balance to enjoy the natural rhythms AND conveniences of modern life. It really is about finding the middle ground in a smart way to keep us all healthy and happy, yet one that is still manageable amidst other daily commitments.

Sometimes it’s small changes like exchanging white bread for wheat, or replacing one prepackaged meal per week with a home cooked dinner. But more than anything, the authors state it’s about becoming more of a Natural Eater. This was a way of life (and eating) that existed naturally only a few generations ago. And the authors have detailed how you can bring health, balance and vitality back to your family’s tables and bodies, based upon their experiences with helping adults and children in their health counseling practice.

But best of all, it’s not a guilt trip. It’s a practical, real-life based book that covers everything from eating seasonally to vegetable basics, complete with recipes. Check it out and see if it doesn’t provide a welcome kick-start for stepping into spring.