Child Nutrition Books: My Favorites for Parents
October 14, 2022
Are you looking for the gift that keeps on giving? My list of child nutrition books is just what you need.
Think about it: If you could easily find the best books on health and nutrition for growing children, wouldn’t that be a game changer?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase a book from this list, I will receive a small commission from Amazon.com, which will help me cover the costs of running this site.
Why Parents Need More Nutrition Education
We all know good nutrition is essential for healthy kids. Child nutrition books are one of the essential resources for parents who want to raise healthy kids.
Why? Parents need good nutrition information.
Resources they can rely on. Not the latest food craze or fad diet.
There are articles, blog posts and social media posts about children’s health, teen health and nutrition, literally at your finger tips.
But, how do you know they provide quality information?
How do you know someone isn’t just sharing what they think? Or what happened to them?
You want to be sure you’re getting professional expertise, especially when it comes to growing healthy kids.
Child nutrition books and resources on feeding can be the perfect answer.
Why Nutrition Books are Perfect for Parents
I’ve written a couple of books myself. Writing a book isn’t a cake walk. It takes research. Creativity. And time.
Some of the best child nutrition books are written by healthcare professionals who put in the time to research their topic.
Not only that, they’ve had the professional experiences that give them insight and wisdom that’s unlikely found by scanning the internet.
They write creatively so you are spared the dry nutrition details or paragraphs upon paragraphs of research summaries.
Often, they showcase a deep dive into a particular topic, giving you the why and the how of implementing good food and feeding practices.
The Best Books on Nutrition Can Be a Big Help
If you’re a parent you are undoubtedly in the throes of feeding kids.
You’re shopping and cooking, gathering and planning, and probably negotiating food to some degree.
All in an effort to help your child be a healthy kid.
If you’re a grandparent, you may be seeing some undesirable eating habits developing in your grandchildren.
You don’t want to lecture, meddle or step on any toes. My child nutrition book list includes resources that can help you send a subtle message about good nutrition to your loved ones … without being a meddler.
I’ve reviewed these books myself, use them in my practice to help parents, and consider them the cream of the crop when it comes to nutrition for kids.
The Best Nutrition Books for Parents
I’ve selected what I have read myself and consider some of the best child nutrition books available to help you learn the latest in diet and nutrition advice for kids.
Of course, there are new books coming out all the time, so I may have missed some.
Books are perfect for the holidays, a baby shower, or a “just because” gift.
They can help anyone who receives them cook better, feed children more effectively, and manage the ins and outs of certain medical challenges in the healthiest of ways.
The Best Books on Child Nutrition and Healthy Eating for Parents
1. Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School, 2nd edition by Jill Castle and Maryann Jacobsen
Written by yours truly together with Maryann Jacobsen, the 2nd edition of this book is an update from our cutting edge, popular first edition (2013).
We teach you what to feed kids, how to do it in a positive way, and why kids behave the way they do around food at each stage of childhood. It’s a great resource for any family, covering 6 months through the teen years.
2. Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter
The Gold Standard reference for building trust in feeding children and establishing positive feeding, using the Division of Responsibility. A must-read for all new parents.
3. It’s Not About the Broccoli by Dina Rose
Take the focus off of food and put it on healthy habits. Rose provides a refreshing change from the “fix it with food” mentality, helping you mold healthy habits in your child.
4. How to Teach Nutrition to Kids by Connie Evers
Want to help kids learn about nutrition? Get creative with the way you present and educate about food!
This book is chock full of ideas and methods to effectively teach children about nutrition in an age-appropriate way.
5. Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater by Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock
Teach kids from birth through school-age how to become adventurous eaters, even if they are picky!
Written by a pediatrician and feeding therapist, this book gives you the how-to’s of navigating picky eating and raising adventurous eaters.
6. Born to Eat by Leslie Schilling and Wendy Jo Peterson
Want to embark on baby-led weaning and build a healthy relationship for your child with food? This book will get you started on the right foot.
7. How to Raise a Mindful Eater by Maryann Jacobsen
A step-by-step guide focused on 8 principles for raising a mindful eater and cultivating a positive relationship with food in children.
8. 101 Healthiest Foods for Kids by Sally Kuzemchak
Want to know which foods are healthiest and why? This book will tell you everything you need to know along with tips to help any eater eat healthier.
9. Adventures in Veggieland by Melanie Potock
Help your child learn to love vegetables with this book which is 100% focused on vegetables! You’ll find 101 tips, activities and recipes.
10. The Smart Mom’s Guide to Starting Solids by Jill Castle
Whether you spoon feed your baby or use a baby-led weaning approach, you still need to know about nutrients, food allergies and positive feeding. This book covers it all.
11. Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete by Jill Castle
I wrote this book to provide a guidebook to parents and coaches about sports nutrition for kids and young athletes.
It includes everything you need to know about fueling the young athlete from age 8 – 18 years, compiling the latest research available and turning it into practical, livable advice.
Learn what to feed and how to grow a performing machine.
12. “I’m Like, So Fat!”: Helping Your Teen Make Healthy Choices about Eating and Exercise in a Weight-Obsessed World by Dianne Neumark-Sztainer
World-renowned researcher on teen eating behaviors, Neumark-Sztainer summarizes her research in an easy-to-read, practical book to help teens eat and exercise with balance in mind.
No extremes here, and no diets. Neumark-Sztainer takes extra care to address disordered eating and eating disorder prevention.
13. Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on It by Scott Sicherer
Set up in a Q & A format, food allergies expert Sicherer covers the most common (and some uncommon) questions about food allergies in this informative book.
14. Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating: A Step-by-Step Guide for Overcoming Selective Eating, Food Aversion and Feeding Disorders by Katja Rowell and Jenny McGlothlin
Family doctor specializing in childhood feeding, Katja Rowell, joins forces with speech pathologist, Jenny McGlothlin, to help support children with food aversion and end meal-time anxiety (for your child and you) once and for all.
15. Food Chaining: The Proven 6-Step Plan to Stop Picky Eating, Solve Feeding Problems, and Expand Your Child’s Diet by Cheri Fraker, Mark Fishbein, Sibyl Cox and Laura Walbert
Revealing a new approach to helping picky eaters expand their diets, Fraker and co-authors teach the system they use in their daily practice with picky eaters.
Years of experience and success with picky eaters informs their unique approach.
16. How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder by Casey Crosbie and Wendy Sterling
Using the Plate Method and a family-based therapy approach, you can help your child recover from an eating disorder.
17. Differently Wired by Debbie Reber
Neuro-diversity is reality, especially with the growing rates of ADHD, autism and exceptionalism.
Learn what you can do to be the best advocate for your child, from optimal schooling and beyond.
18. Try New Food: How to Help Picky Eaters Taste, Eat & Like New Foods (The Workbook edition) by Jill Castle
Whether you have a new eater, picky eater or extremely picky eater, there are steps you can take to make trying new food fun, enjoyable and pressure-free.
19. Cooking Light’s Dinnertime Survival Guide by Sally Kuzemchak
Real Mom Nutrition blogger, Sally Kuzemchak, helps you get dinner on the table, pronto!
Kid-pleasing, family-friendly recipes to ensure nutritious meals for all…and you won’t lose your mind in the process!
20. ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family by Sally Sampson
Simple, healthy, and delicious dishes for children and parents to make together.
This cookbook is jam-packed with kitchen basics, ingenious tips, and meals that taste great and are fun to make.
21. No Whine with Dinner by Liz Weiss and Janice Bissex
The dietitians behind the popular cooking blog, Meal Makeover Moms Kitchen, showcase 150 easy to make, family-friendly recipes as well as 50 moms’ secrets for getting picky eaters to try new foods.
Every recipe in No Whine with Dinner was tested by moms and tasted by kids.
22. Best Lunch Box Ever by Katie Sullivan Morford
Katie has filled this cookbook with recipes, ideas, and strategies for packing creative and healthful lunches for kids, solving what is for many parents the most taxing of daily chores.
23. Rise & Shine by Katie Sullivan Morford
The answer for every parent who has struggled to get breakfast on the table and to get their child to actually eat it!
With 75 breakfast recipes that are entry-level-easy, with at least half requiring no more than five minutes of hands-on prep time, every delicious recipe is an exercise in good nutrition and good taste.
24. The Everything Kids Cookbook by Sandra Nissenberg
Nissenberg makes sure each recipe in this cookbook tells your child how hard it is and lets you know exactly what ingredients and equipment he will need so that he (and you!) can plan ahead.
You’ll both find something you like no matter what!
25. Smart Meal Prep for Beginners by Toby Amidor
Prep ahead techniques and tips, recipes, and more make this book for busy parents a must-have.
26. Baby Led Feeding by Jenna Helwig
A cookbook with over 100 recipes for getting babies off to a healthy start and including them in family meals from an early age.
27. Real Baby Food by Jenna Helwig
A cookbook for parents who want to make real baby food from scratch.
Child Nutrition Books: What’s Your Favorite?
Do you have a favorite child nutrition book? Did I miss one you consider a “best nutrition book for kids?”
Let me know over on The Nourished Child Facebook page!
And don’t forget to check out my favorite nutrition books for children that help them learn about food.
Jill Castle is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
This post was updated in October, 2022
