Choose Nutrition...Live Longer!

“Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a three-in-one family nutrition and health program for all ages that presents the major body systems, how they function, their common health issues, the benefits of good food and the consequences of bad food.


Its 448 pages are divided into six units:

1. The Brain and Nervous System
2. Digestion and Elimination
3. Respiration and Olfactory
4. Muscular and Skeletal Systems
5. Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
6. Endocrine System and Emotions

Biblically-based and packed with hands-on activities, science and art projects, and nearly 80 family-friendly recipes, this program teaches and reinforces the whys of what we should eat, not just “because I said so.” Containing a complete reference guide filled with nutrition facts, charts, practical tips and an exhaustive index, Nutrition 101: Choose Life! Will serve as a constant resource for improved health and abundant living.” (from the Growing Healthy Homes website)

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Here's what you will find inside Nutrition 101: Choose Life!

• Colorful pictures and illustrations
• engaging and informative text
• health statistics that will shock you
• a new food pyramid
• WHY you need to eat nutritiously
• vitamins and minerals the body needs and where to get them
• delicious POWER recipes
• shopping lists, checklists, charts
• sample healthy menus
• how to choose the freshest foods
• the importance of becoming a label reader
• kitchen and home safety
• fun food/health facts
• homemade household cleaners
• discussion questions for several levels
• activity suggestions for a variety of ages
• many Bible references
• additional resources (books and websites)
• many appendices...I mean, lots of information here!

I think this curriculum is great. I am saying this in spite of not being a big health and PE sort of person. I believe in using life as the best teacher in these areas, using daily meal preparation and our discussions of why we are making sprouts for Daddy again (to keep him healthy and full of energy) as our health lesson, and working on digging fence posts or biking to a (far away) neighbor's house as PE for the day.

However, at some point, every student should be exposed to a formal study of the human body and how it works, as well as to the importance of balancing nutrition and exercise in their lives. Some families will want to do this yearly, using a formal health text, and others will do this by having students take Biology or Anatomy in their later years.

Still other families will seek something a bit more in the middle...something organized and measurable, yet purposeful and very useful. I think that Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is that middle ground. This nutrition/health/anatomy/biology curriculum can fill the needs of all levels of students in your homeschool for many years to come. It is definitely worth your time to check it out.

This fascinating, detailed, and well-written book will help your entire family learn to make healthier choices. It is unique in that it combines human biology and anatomy with general health and nutrition, as well as scriptural truths related to the body and spirit. It covers not just what we need to eat, but why. Nutrition 101: Choose Life! walks you through making healthy choices that will not only improve your quality of life, but perhaps prolong it.

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*Watch a video about Nutrition 101: Choose Life!:



**You can even see a sample of the beautiful illustrations and interesting topics HERE.

***Get more information on attending a FREE! live webinar for Nutrition 101: Choose Life! on Thursday, April 21, from 4-5:30 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT) by clicking HERE.

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During our review of this product, we chose to look at Unit 3: The Respiratory and Olfactory Systems (lessons one and two), since it seems everyone around us these days is dealing with one allergy symptom after another (especially Hubby). We hoped that we might find him some help for his endless sneezing and sniffling, or at least some temporary relief for us from having to listen to him snore so loudly!


What did we learn?

• Fun facts first...did you know that some guy can hold his breath for over 17 minutes? Are you kidding me? How long can you hold yours? Not even close to that long...don't try to, either. You'll pass out!! Another poor guy had hiccups for a looooong time. How long? 68 years. Yikes!
• Vitamin A can help soothe respiratory symptoms. We will suggest supplementing to Hubby. Perhaps it will help him out. Magnesium, Vitamin C, and Zinc are also useful for respiratory health. Time for a trip to the Health Food Store, I think.
• We will also be telling Hubby that he needs to cut out milk for a while. It can aggravate respiratory symptoms because it it is MUCUS producer (this was one of my brother's favorite words when he was a kid...I bolded and wrote it in caps for you, bro!). I cut out milk about six months ago and have had very few allergy-related issues this season...maybe that is why (well, I still use a little milk if I indulge in Oreos, but they are not very healthy, so let's just pretend I never admitted that).
• We cleaned our home filters, dusted our funiture with a damp cloth, washed our curtains and blankets, and vacuumed our few carpeted areas to cut down on airborne allergens.
• I decided that one thing I want for my birthday is a set of essential oils. Scents like lemon, orange, rosemary, and thyme sound lovely for cleaners and natural health products. I think I would like to make my own. I've already made my own hand soap and laundry soap on occasion, so why not furniture cleaner, too?
• Did you know that peppermint increases alertness and vanilla reduces anxiety? Maybe that's one reason I only wear vanilla scents. Unconsciously, I knew I needed help being less anxious and gravitated toward it...LOL. Actually, I have fragrance-triggered migraines (anything but things that smell like baked goods bother me), so reading about the Olfactory System in Lesson Two was very interesting for us.
• We tried out the very fragrant Basil and Garlic Pesto recipe one afternoon, and Tex LOVED it. He is a big basil fan anyway, and we had fresh basil from our garden (one of my plants survived the winter and is already going gangbusters), but we had to use minced garlic instead of fresh. He still enjoyed it on french bread. It was a bit too garlicky for the rest of us who helped, but his dad liked it, too.
• The little ones liked doing the experiments with smell by trying to tell the differences between leaves from a few natural items I picked and put into bags: bayberry leaves, basil, rosemary, mint, orange peel, pine needles, and cedar.
• Another activity we chose to do for smell was to pick a scent to represent each season. We chose the following: Spring=dirt, Summer= hay, Fall=wood smoke, Winter=pine. The little ones drew pictures about the scents and the seasons in lieu of writing poems as was suggested.
• We will be using this book more, this year and next (and for years to come) as part of our homeschooling curriculum. I feel very blessed to have recieved it. It is wonderful.

About the Price:


Yes, this book is a bit pricey. At $99.95 for the print copy, $79.95 for a cd copy (that can be put onto an e-reader, for example), or $129.95 for the combo pack, the price seems like a lot for one course's book. I am telling you in all honesty that if I had seen this at a convention, I would not have purchased it because of the price. You all know that my favorite price is FREE! and I do believe much of this information is available in various places on the internet (or in other books at your library) for free...

HOWEVER, you will not likely discover the same quality information without expending a lot of time and effort searching for it, and you will certainly not find it packaged in such a colorful, clearly illustrated, engaging, and useful manner. Nor will you find the delicious recipes, or the many, many fun, interesting, and applicable activities all in one convenient place.

AND since you are reading this review, if you go to the Growing Healthy Homes site and place an order using the code  TOScrew11 , you will get the same 15% discount you would receive if you were to purchase this product at a Convention. Does that make the price sound just a bit better? You betcha! Awesome!!


**My advice is that if you have been thinking lately that you need something a bit more formal for health/nutrition class before the kids graduate, or if you already plan to do a health class with your homeschoolers (or perhaps a co-op group), but find you are all getting bored with the regular BORING texts out there, take a look at this excellent curriculum, and decide to put forth the extra investment for the quality product you will obtain.

You will find yourself referring to it over and over again, over the course of many years and with many students. It is one text that will work for all levels, and can be used more than once without fear of its repetition becoming dull or tedious.

Buying this book will not likely be an investment made in vain...it may, in fact, be what turns your family's health/nutrition/life around.

Just a few more words: The author seems very firm in the stance of limiting many foods. I tend to take a more relaxed approach, with improving our diet overall as our goal (I am not going to tell my child to refuse cake at a birthday party, for example). Also, the author has very firm opinions on a few things like vaccinations and yoga that you may not agree with, but the fact that she shares her opinions made me respect her more, whether I agree with her or not. She always tells you why she has her opinion. You are free to disagree and follow the Lord's leading for your own life. Perhaps her opinion will make you think about something you've never deliberately considered before. It's not a bad thing.

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You can find out more information about this product on the Growing Healthy Homes website HERE.

See a sample HERE.

You can see more information about their pricing HERE. Don't forget about using the coupon code if you order (shhhh....it's TOScrew11)

You can read what other Crew members had to say about Nutrition 101: Choose Life! HERE.

Blessings,

Heather

Disclaimer: I received an ebook version of this curriculum in exchange for providing my honest opinion about it here on my blog. What you read here is what I honestly think of the product and how we used it in our homeschool. If you have questions I did not answer here, please feel free to contact me.