In this week’s post, we will explore reasons behind the declining sales of textbooks and discuss why textbooks are still relevant and important today.

Attending a conference has numerous benefits – visiting new places, sharing knowledge and ideas, connecting with colleagues, and ideally renewing oneself personally and professionally. When it’s over, the wise traveler builds in some margin to recover before resuming the pace of work and home responsibilities. But the true measure of a conference lies in its lasting impact. How can you avoid the tendency to do nothing of lasting value with your conference experience and inste

In this post, I will review the second edition of the book, Culture, Foodways, and Counseling: A Guide to Culturally Sensitive Nutrition Care in the United States, published in 2025 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

In this post, we will explore World Food Day, hosted each year by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and what they tell us about the innovations and barriers to feeding the world.

A great way to celebrate and experience culture is through hosting a festival. Attending a festival is a great start, but hosting one is even better. In this post, I will share my experience planning and hosting a cultural festival and share key ideas others can put into practice.

In this post, we will explore why getting to know our neighbors is important and describe 5 easy steps to get acquainted, possibly making neighbors into friends. Or, at least, friendly neighbors.

Have you noticed how often headlines and social media scream at us to fear food? Fear of…food making us fat… food-related diseases… ultra-processed food… non-organic food… So much fear! Is it helpful? I don’t think so. When I talk about food, I prefer to focus on fulfillment, not fear. Food fulfills us on so many levels. In this post, we will explore 5 facts about food that help us focus on how it fulfills us, not on fears that don’t support our health or well-being.

Successfully promoting family meals requires two things – overcoming the barriers and boosting the benefits. This post explores ways to accomplish both.

We teach reading developmentally: ABCs, letter sounds, words. We teach math developmentally: numbers, value, addition. But when it comes to food, we too often skip development entirely. When we teach kids about nutrition, we often begin with abstract ideas like health, balance, nutrients, and disease prevention. But what does “healthy” mean to a five-year-old? What we teach and what a child understands are not always the same thing. This is where child development matters.

In this blog series, I am sharing the key principles from materials I created with a Team Nutrition grant that was titled RECIPE for Growing Healthy Children. In this sixth and final post, we will cover the second E, which stands for Enjoy eating together.

In this blog series, I am sharing the key principles from materials I created with a Team Nutrition grant that was titled RECIPE for Growing Healthy Children. In this post, we will cover P, which stands for Partner with parents. This segment of the workshop was not in the original plans until we surveyed and interviewed the childcare providers and they asked us for help in reaching parents more successfully.

In this blog series, I am sharing the key principles from materials I created with a Team Nutrition grant titled RECIPE for Growing Healthy Children. In this post, we will cover I, which stands for Involve children in food and fun.

In this blog series, I am sharing the key principles from materials I created with a Team Nutrition grant titled RECIPE for Growing Healthy Children. In this post, we cover C, which stands for Create delicious and nutritious meals and snacks.

In this blog series, I am sharing the key principles from materials I created with a Team Nutrition grant that was titled RECIPE for Growing Healthy Children. In this post, we will cover E, which stands for a mealtime Environment that encourages children to practice healthy behaviors.

In this blog series, I will share the key principles from materials I created with a Team Nutrition grant that was titled RECIPE for Growing Healthy Children. In this post, we will cover R, which stands for role model what we want children to be, say, and do.

A great children’s book has captivating pictures, a wonderful message, and words that are fun to read for adults and fun to listen to for children. Great books for children about food have relatable themes and create fun opportunities for learning. In this post, I will share 10 of my favorite food books for kids and how they enhance learning.

The book Food Positivity, by Dani Lebovitz and Diana Rice, is reviewed and summarized in this blog post. Learn ways to ditch diet culture, food guilt, body shame, and fear about food and eating, and replace them with safety, trust, joy, and whole-child well-being.

Would you like to create food and nutrition experiences that young children love and are fun to teach? You can. Try the simple formula I created more than 30 years ago. It’s as easy as ABC. Begin your “lesson” with A – assessment and anticipation, follow with B – building blocks for learning, and end with C – closing and commitment.

Over the years, we may use different tools to teach, but the principles of effective nutrition education are timeless. Let’s explore what those are. In this week’s post, I will share what I believe are the three most important concepts children need to be exposed to and the three overarching principles of teaching young children.

When I began working on the second edition, I updated the titles to not only serve as SOCOs for the chapters but also to be a directive to the reader. In 42 statements, readers of the second edition will not only learn the essential nutrition communication knowledge and skills covered in each chapter, but also will be directed to put them into practice.