7 Non Diet Books for Kids and Adults

We are updating and reposting our gift idea posts from last year. We have 4 lists – 3 book lists and 1 kitchen essentials list. We will be reposting the 2019 updated gift guides over the next 2 weeks.

Elizabeth and I both love books and we love books that support positive body image, healthy relationships with food, simple cooking and rejection of diet culture. This gift guide is a list of books for children and people who care for children. Stay tuned for our list focused on adults and our favorite cookbook list!

I love giving and receiving books as gifts. What are your favorite books for parents, kids and caregivers about food, nutrition, bodies and self care? We’d love to hear about your gift ideas.

Books for People that Care for Children

1. Born to Eat by: Wendy Jo Peterson and Leslie Schilling Born to Eat is a fabulous book about child led weaning for a parent of a baby getting ready to transition to eating solids. However, this book is also a guide on how the whole family can approach food, weight and bodies from a weight neutral perspective. This is a resource that can be used for many years to come.

2. Child of Mine or Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family by Ellyn Satter Do you know someone who is either expecting a baby or a family that may be interested in learning more about how to take the stress out of feeding? Child of Mine is great for a new or expectant parent and leads the reader through feeding from birth. Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family may be a good gift for a family of young to older children. It also supports parents in establishing the Division of Responsibility in Eating and includes easy recipes to get dinner on the table. My favorite thing about these books is that they decrease pressure and stress on parents, when many “self help” books may leave someone feeling like they have a big “to do” list.

3. Social Media Wellness: Helping Tweens and Teens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World by: Ana Homayoun As a parent of a 7th grader, I’m finding myself being less concerned about how I feed my daughter and more focused on how I handle electronics. I love Homayoun’s approach to how to think about teens’ use of electronics, using a wellness model. This is a great resource!

4. Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes: Practical and Compassionate Strategies for Mealtime Peace by: Marsha Dunn Klein
This brand new 2019 book is written by an Occupational Therapist, who has used responsive feeding practices throughout her career. She offers practical tips for families to implement to help their selective eater.

Children’s Books About Our Amazing Bodies

1. Yoga Bear by Sarah Jane Hinder My 4-year-old’s Occupational Therapist recommended this board book, and it’s a big hit at my house. My daughter (and sometimes her family members) can pick up this book and make their bodies look like different animals. Big breaths are included, as is a sloth pose at the end. There are two other animal yoga books in the series.

2. Shapesville by Andy Mills and Becky Osborn This is a picture book for young children (preschool) that highlights that people have different sizes, shapes, colors, and talents. Talking to children about their own unique talents can model what is truly important. The book includes discussion questions for parents and educators.

3. Listening to My Body by: Gaby Garcia and Ying Hui Tan Elementary aged children enjoy this book about listening to the very wise signals of our bodies. When so many messages we receive is about controlling or overriding messages from our bodies, it’s awesome to reinforce the wisdom of our bodies to kids.

4. I like Myself by: Karen Beaumont and David Catrow This is a fun and important picture book about self esteem. It encourages kids to love and accept themselves just as they are!

Non-Diet, Body Positive Books for Tweens/Teens

1. Celebrate Your Body (And It’s Changes, too) by Sonya Renee Taylor. I bought this book for my daughter as soon as it was released. I loved the feeling of handing her a book about puberty that I knew had images and discussion of all different bodies and no diet talk!

2. The Intuitive Eating Workbook for Teens: A Non-Diet, Body Positive Approach to Building a Healthy Relationship with Food by Elyse Resch. This new book was released in April 2019 and has become a tool in my practice. It helps support teens’ bodies’ natural abilities as they are bombarded with diet messages at this critical age.

3. Conquer Picky Eating for Teens and Adults by: Jenny McGlothlin and Katya Rowell

I have purchased many copies of this workbook for me and my clients. This workbook walks the reader through thinking about what has influenced the way they eat and helps them take steps forward.