Review of Eating These Foods Makes Me... by Kalifa Rodriguez M. SC, RD, CBS

 

Today I'm introducing to you a book you may end up adding to your classroom or home library. I'm giving you a peek inside with an excerpt as well as a guest post from the author letting us get to know her a little bit better. I also share my thoughts from the point of view as an early childhood Montessori educator. Be sure to follow the tour for more. Best of luck in the great giveaway at the end!

Is your kid a picky eater? Do you want your child to enjoy eating a variety of foods? Reading can be a proactive way to introduce your little one to the amazing world of nutrition! In this book, readers will explore healthy foods and learn how key nutrients benefit the body. These pages repeat positive affirmations that will empower and build your child's mindfulness about the foods they eat.

It is never too early to instill life-long healthy eating habits. Happy reading! Or should I say, happy eating!

Read an excerpt:

Fun Learning Activities to Promote Healthy Nutrition

1. Using paper and crayons or coloured pencils, draw a rainbow, and then draw a fruit or vegetable that is the same colour as each colour of the rainbow. You can even use this book for ideas. Remember to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 servings) each day! How many have you eaten today?

2. Do you like to play any sports or games? Do you like to walk to the park? Help your parents choose and prepare an energizing snack before the next game or walk to the park.

3. Eat your water? That sounds silly! Did you know that some fruits and veggies such as celery are mostly made up of water and can also help to keep you hydrated? Can you think of any others? Now try adding those slices of fruit or even cucumber to your water bottle to give it some pizazz.

4. Try introducing interactive sensory play for preschoolers (age 3 and older). Gather a variety of beans, nuts, or seeds on a tray or in a bowl with a spoon. Under adult supervision, let the preschooler feel, grab, and scoop the legumes, nuts, and seeds. See if the toddler can separate them based on different colours, sizes, and textures while the adult names each food and talks about how these foods make us strong from the proteins and smart from the healthy omega fats.

PURCHASE LINKS

GOODREADS - AMAZON US - AMAZON CA - INDIGO CHAPTERS - BARNES & NOBLE - BOOK DEPOSITORY

(affiliate link included)

**My thoughts**

I love seeing the smiling diverse pictures of kids on the front of the book. It makes it inviting. And I love the joyful, colorful illustrations within the book that also depict a diverse representation of children engaged in all kinds of familiar activities. Most children should be able to relate to these pictures. I only wonder why real photographs on the front and illustrations inside? 

The Montessorian in me loves the real photographs of actual foods that are being discussed within the book. Those concrete representations will better help children identify those foods at home, at school, in stores, and elsewhere in their environments. 

The story has a great positive message about the reasoning behind healthy eating. And positive affirmations are big right now, so this easily lends itself to creating new affirmations for kids to practice.

I only had one minor pet peeve with the way the affirmations/sentences were laid out. I understand the reasoning behind capitalizing the adjectives, to give them emphasis. But it makes me cringe a bit to see this in children's books because these are laying the foundation for later grammar and writing skills. I would not consider it a deal breaker in using this book, though. 

There are also four follow-up activities at the end of the book to inspire further learning. The first three are directed at children. The fourth one is directed at parents/caregivers. It reads a little weird to me with all four being in the same list when they have two different audiences. I would have split them up under two headings, like "For Kids" and "For Caregiviers." Again, a personal little issue and not a deal breaker for using this book.

It did inspire a lot of ideas and other follow-up activities and additional reading I would include in a full unit on nutrition. This book would definitely add value to that kind of learning, whether at home or in the classroom.

Overall, I'd give it 7 out of 10 stars.

I received a requested review copy from the publisher and Goddess Fish Promotions. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

10 Things You May Not Know About Me

1. I struggled with the idea of writing and publishing my own children’s book. I doubted myself and my credibility as an author. Now Eating These Foods Makes Me... has won a Mothers Choice Award and received a 4.5-star review from IndieReader. It has surpassed my expectations and has proven that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Never ignore what you are being called to do no matter how scary or difficult it may seem.
2. The hardest and most fulfilling challenge in my life was becoming a mother, I’ve overcome many challenges from a complicated pregnancy, premature birth (my daughter was only 2 lbs when she was born), difficult breastfeeding journey (this motivated me to become a certified breastfeeding specialist), picky eating etc... it’s all so worth it.
3. My best way to cope with stress is guided meditation and deep breathing.
4. I am a total foodie! Most people think because I’m a nutritionist I only eat healthy food but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Of course, I value healthy food choices and eating habits, but I also do not believe in restrictive eating of any form. One of my favourite things to do is try new restaurants and eat great-tasting food, especially traditional ethnic foods from different cultures.
5. I always wanted to adopt a monkey as a pet.
6. I have only written 1 book but I have many ideas for more children’s books I’d like to write. Especially nutrition/health-related and faith-based books for kids.
7. I have a bachelor’s degree in nutritional biochemistry with a minor in Biology. I’ve always been fascinated by the human body, did you know that studies estimate there are about 30 to 40 trillion cells in the human body? Well, I wanted to explore what was happening with our food on a cellular level.
8. My favourite junk food: Poutine. Anyone from Quebec knows how heavenly a good combination of French fries, poutine sauce and cheese curds can be! It’s my go-to comfort food but definitely not something you want to eat too often from a health perspective.
9. I love travelling! My top travelling moments are going on a wildlife safari in Cape Town, eating authentic Indian food in Bangalore India as well as swimming on the beaches of Costa Rica.
10. My favourite time of the day: This is a tough one, there are 2 times of the day I cherish the most and that’s my morning routine which consists go of waking up at 4:45 am doing 10 minutes of breath work, 10 minutes of stretching/yoga, 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of prayer and bible study, and 10 minutes of journaling. This is my quiet time for myself before my husband or daughter wakes up and then it’s go! Go! Go! My equally favourite time of the day is in the evening when we do my daughter’s bedtime routine. I especially enjoy the sacred space we’ve created for undivided family time as we read together, pray together and cuddle together. I bless my daughter each night with words of affirmation or declarations about her future before putting her down to sleep. It’s at this point all the troubles or challenges of the day seem to fade away, and I feel truly at peace with what I was able to accomplish.

Kalifa Rodriguez M.Sc, RD, CBS
Author of Eating These Foods Makes Me...

Kalifa Rodriguez is a registered dietitian and certified breastfeeding specialist. She currently works as a clinical nutritionist in Montreal, Canada. After receiving her bachelor's degree in nutritional biochemistry, she went on to complete a master's degree in human nutrition and dietetics at McGill University. Kalifa is passionate about promoting healthy lifestyle choices through nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness. She also hopes to leave a positive impact in the community through her work by giving nutrition education sessions to community groups and organizations. Kalifa and her husband are parents to their delightful toddler, who is the inspiration for this book.



CONNECT WITH KALIFA RODRIGUEZ

WEBSITE - Kalifa Rodriguez (kalifarodriguezbooks.com)

FACEBOOK - Kalifa Rodriguez Books | Facebook

INSTAGRAM - Kalifa Rodriguez M.Sc, RD, CBS (@the.nutrition.connection)

YOUTUBE - Power of Nutrition - YouTube

GOODREADS - Kalifa Rodriguez (Author of Eating These Foods Makes Me...) | Goodreads

Kalifa Rodriguez will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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