TOS Crew Review: Growing Healthy Homes

The Product:
Today I am reviewing something very different from my other reviews. Today's review is a nutrition and health curriculum for the entire family. The company, Growing Healthy Homes, is a family-owned company started in 2007 by a mom, her oldest daughter and daughter-in-law. Isn't that great?! The birth of this book came about from a desire to do better for their families and offer a way to teach their children in a way not offered before.


Nutrition 101-Choose Life 448 page book is available as a hard copy book, a CD-ROM or as a combination of  CD-ROM (to print out certain pages) and hard copy book. (I would prefer the hard copy but that's just me.)

Why would you need both? The CD-ROM and book contain the same information, so the value of having both is the flexibility to use the CD-ROM to reprint individual copies of the recipes, shopping lists, charts and any other relevant pages and still have a bound book to enjoy. 


Thinking about using this in a co-op setting? Great idea! Check out their FAQ for co-ops here.


This book is written for elementary ages as well as secondary students. Check out a 27 page sample!!


McMama's Opinion:
This review opportunity came up at a great time! We have been studying the human body in science so the lessons in Nutrition 101 have meshed wonderfully. I am thoroughly impressed with the amount of material and quality of information available here. I tell ya, these ladies know their stuff!! Each lesson is jam packed with information, facts, pictures, activity ideas and great recipes. They all tie together to make for a memorable experience.

Checking her pulse during our study on the heart.

For example, when working through the lesson about the digestive system not only was the material that we had learned from our regular science program reinforced but it was enhanced and we all (yes, myself included) learned how to better care for your digestive system and even tried a recipe that promotes a healthy and smooth operating system. Just think, fruit salad, green apple bean salad, quinoa vegetable risotto and spice cookies. Not only is this a health course but its cooking class as well!! The digestive system unit talks about acid/alkaline balance, water, enzyme supplementation and the importance of fiber, cleansing and probiotic supplementation. And after you complete the recipe there are more activities that relate directly to it. For the Fruit Salad recipe Elementary students have the option of choosing a fruit used and find out how it grows, looking up the word antioxidant, finding out what organic means and preparing an oral or written report about one of the fruits used. There is more than enough here to keep everyone busy for years to come!

Her play dough model of a heart.

Each chapter ends with discussion questions such as, "What Scriptures support the information we have learned about digestion?" "How many times do you chew each bite?" "How can you help your family to remember to chew slowly?" Activities follow with options such as tracing your child's body and butcher paper and drawing and labeling the parts of the digestive system, testing taste buds with different types of flavors, and finding out how much food your stomach can hold. (It's 1 liter by the way, just over a quarter of a US gallon.) There are also more options for secondary age students. Yes, this is a "hey, let's get the family together and learn at the same time" kind of a program. It fits across the board.


Honestly, I had to paraphrase quite a bit simply because some of the information was a bit heavy for my young children but it did not change the effectiveness or fun of this program. And because the authors have reading, comprehension questions, activities and recipes I think that Nutrition 101 would suit any type of learner!


Here's a sample suggested weekly schedule:

• Monday-Read over chapter and discussion questions, choose activity.
• Tuesday-Review the chapter highlights and pick up items for power recipes.
• Wednesday-Prepare the recipe for a snack or meal.
• Thursday-Choose activities related to the power recipes.
• Friday-Discuss what has been learned throughout the week during a family meal time.

A sample of the first page of chapter 1.

The Breakdown:

• Available as a CD-ROM, a hard copy book or in combination with the CD-ROM.
• Current price as of the time of this review is: CD-ROM: $79.95, Printed book: $99.95 or the combo: $129.95
• Great to use as a family health/science/cooking course. But be prepared to do some paraphrasing for the younger set. Mom will have to look at the material ahead of time.
• Plenty of extra activities and questions. Great pictures.
• Fun!!
• Here is a 15% off code: TOScrew11. This is the same discount you would receive at a Homeschool Convention.

If ya want to read what my Crew Mates thought of Nutrition 101 click on the banner and read away!!

**Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.**

Lovin' Learnin'