The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World

By Betsy Block

"I'd always thought food was pretty straightforward: you're hungry, you eat; you're not, you don't. Then I became a mother." So begins Betsy Block's humorous, life-changing book on the ultimate of all makeovers: improving the family meal. But how is her plan even possible when eleven-year old Zack's favorite food is Halloween candy; little Maya is so picky that she'll only eat cut squares of white bread; and her husband's idea of a gift is an electric fryer? Determined not to give up the good-food fight, Betsy comes up with a creative ten-step makeover plan. She consults experts, visits farms, and shows how she and her family manage the pitfalls, struggles, and triumphs of eating well when busy schedules, surreptitious lunch trades, snack machines, permissive grandparents, and willful temptations intervene. With helpful charts, food lists, recipes, tips, and suggested culinary and farm programs for kids, The Dinner Diaries chronicles one family's intrepid ten-month challenge to change the way they eat--one forkful at a time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565125703
• ISBN13: 9781565125704
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
• Length: 261 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

I Agree with Publisher's Weekly

As the starred Publisher's Weekly review says: "Beset by conflicting expert advice, Block manages to carve out a narrow path between what her family should eat and what they actually will eat." Check out the fish chapter, for example. Block grapples with Omega-3's, toxins, overfishing and more, like multiple fish lists that are confusing enough for adults and don't even take kid health and development issues into account. She wrestles all this to the ground and also addresses my occasional "does it even matter" inertia with interesting new data and perspective. Plus, although I washed cloth diapers at home and can set limits with the best of them, my kids are old enough now to completely derail efforts towards healthy eating. I ruefully relate to Block's experiences in the trenches and finish the book recommitted to helping my kids learn to make good choices for themselves (not just sneaking vegetables in to them). Block's intelligence, wit and critical eye towards getting beyond the hype (guess that other reviewer missed the chapter assessing the merits of Fair Trade) is a great help in parsing out this complicated world. I loved reading this fun, educational and encouraging book, and I'm grateful for her work.

A real mom with realistic, well researched advice

This book has great advice with lots of humor and wit---it's a fun, easy read with awesome tips to help create healthier eating for your family (and bonus! a healthier environment too). The key tips are pulled out in the book and there's a great reference area in the back---chapters focus on daily life of eating with children (and a picky husband to boot!) and what to do about fish, meat, produce, plastics, sustainability, fair trade and much more---it's all thoroughly researched but focuses on what a busy mom wants---the bottom line! The author and her family are very real and very relatable---whether you have picky or very healthy eaters or somewhere in between, you will truly benefit from this book...and laugh.

Funny, mom on a mission narrative, loved it.

After finishing "Dinner Diaries" I quickly ordered several copies for friends. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever thought twice about the real nutrional value of family meals. I've admired The authors writings from her Boston Globe days. How great to see her go from food critic to food sleuth. The research is astounding, from dietary nutriontists to the Marine Stewardship Council. The expert advice is all woven into an extremely funny mom on a mission narrative, I devoured it.

Laughter and change - one dinner at a time

A fantastic read written by a mom that is passionately concerned with the health of her kids and the health of the planet. But, forget those preach-y 'you should' books - this one will have you laughing out loud out as you follow our heroine's adventures and misadventures (a day of cooking authentic colonial food, a lice outbreak before the girls 'n grains dinner party) on her journey toward a healthier, more sustainable diet. Her can-do, realistic attitude is a breath of fresh air. Yes - eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables - sage advice. But throw in a couple kids, school lunch cafeterias, Halloween, a picky husband and the challenges of eating local in a cold climate and it gets just slightly more complicated. The triumph of this story is that she pulls it off - with humor and imperfection - and shows all of us out here in the trenches that doing the right thing when it comes to food is possible, enjoyable and absolutely essential to the health of our kids and our world.

I laughed, nodded my head, and we're already eating better

Well, I had all but given up on my efforts to encourage healthy eating in our family. I am a tired, older mom of 2 kids who would be happy with mac and cheese and fishsticks for dinner every night, as long as it included a sugary dessert. I was giving in to their food "choices" more and more frequently, and then I read this book. Not only did it make me laugh and feel like I wasn't the only one being bamboozled by my kids, it has re-energized my efforts to steer us all back to healthier and more delicious eating habits. Reading this book felt like I had lots of support from a mom who knows exactly what I'm going through every day as we swim against the tide of our culture's eating habits. It's readable, relatable, and relevant, and I thank Ms. Block for being able to share her journey with such humor and candor.