Avoid Processed Food · Kids Books · Nutritional Health · Parenting · Taking Care of Ourselves

Children’s Fiction Book Looks to the Future

If we educate our children on merits of healthy food today, they will change nutritional expectations tomorrow.

Ask a 10-year-old who Ralph Nader is… and you’ll probably draw a blank stare. In fact, many thirty-somethings might not have a clue, unless they had studied his life’s efforts in school.

I recently heard an interview with Dr. Robert Lustig, who has, and continues to direct much of his energy toward changing the current perception of nutrition, and the root causes of many, if not most, metabolic diseases today.

In the interview… and I’m paraphrasing from memory, so that’s like two strikes against me…lol… 

Dr. Lustig pragmatically, and wisely, stated (and I must agree) that his efforts, and the efforts of others, who hold similiar beliefs (based on scientific fact, btw), may not be the ones to actually effect the change, that he himself… and by extenstion… me, and many others… may not achieve his/our goals, dreams, visions, etc. in his/our lifetimes. 

(Just being realistic, I suppose.)

So, on the one hand…, my realistic side, agrees. Some things may feel as difficult as ‘climbing Mt. Everest’, but we ought not allow the difficulties to hold us back. If it’s the right thing to do… then ‘go for it’. 

So thank you Dr. Lustig and everyone else! 

Thankfully, many people, down through the pages of history, have endeavored to do just that… go for it! And, future generations are thankful, whether they know it or not

On the other hand, my hopeful side and… I dare say…, the hopeful side of anyone who endeavors to make their lifes’ work to improve quality of life…, is to see, with our own eyes, those changes come to pass, within our lifetimes. 

If we, those of us who want nutritional lifestyle changes, didn’t hope… didn’t expect to see those changes to begin… “like, yesterday”, to coin a popular phrase… would we put in the effort today?

On that note, I submit the work of Ralph Nader. Mr. Nader saw the need to confront the huge automotive industry and demand that seatbelts be, not an option, but a necessary part of every vehicle manufactured — just as important as, let’s say, the engine. 

He wrote a book, he formed groups, becames a spokesman, etcetera, etcetera. 

And… guess what — no internet, cell phones, twitter — no, none of that. No violent protests. Just hard, dedicated work. Think Phil Donahue interviews here, as an example… lol.

My point here… is to say, that it is possible to begin the efforts of change, and see it to its fruition. Mr. Nader saw the fruits of his labor. He undoubtedly drove a car, right off the lot, fully equipped with safety-minded seat belts. 

To that end… I throw my efforts, into that huge visionary pot. 

  • The food guide is not accurate. 
  • Added sugar is killing us. 
  • Healthy-saturated fats, such as butter and beef tallow, are not the bad guys – heavily-refined seed oils, aka, vegetables oils are the real killers.

Much of what is sold in our supermarkets should be tossed in the trash.

Processed foods are potentially toxic and are the leading cause of many diseases, including Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Dementia, Insulin Resistance, several types of Cancer, and Cardiovascular Disease.

Children today, will be the adults of tomorrow.

We may begin the change now. We may hope to see those changes become reality tomorrow, but the truth of the matter is… that it does take time.

Hopefully… They will grow up and live within the framework of our vision for healthy-nutritional lifestyles.

Granola Brea, Health-nut Books, written by Suzanne Rightley, is part of an effort for change. Kids who read these books today, will grow up with the facts, they will question what it is they are eating, and begin making right choices, expecting nothing less for their health and their future health.

The Granola Brea Books, available now on Amazon

Book 1 Granola Brea Confessions of a Health-nut

Book 2 Granola Brea Spotlight on a Health-nut

Lifestyle Changes · Parenting · Workplace

‘Quiet Quitting’ a Parental Opportunity?

Quiet Quitting has garnered a lot of interest in the business world these days. It’s advantages and disadvantages are being debated and evaluated on several levels.

So… Can this growing trend assist parents?

As most parents know – parenting is a 24/7 job – no quiet quitting allowed for them.

While children are young, they are their parents’ #1 priority. As a parent, you know where your children are… at all times… and you strive to make sure they are safe while they enjoy the fullness of childhood.

Quiet Quitting, in the workplace, might work for parents in unseen ways…

Why not consider this a time to kind of free up some mental space in order to…

  1. Gain emotional skills – Less stress in the workplace might mean a more balanced response time to typical parental triggers. No flying off the handle when laundry ends up under the bed instead of in the hamper.
  2. Planning opportunities – On those coffee breaks, a relaxed employee might take a few minutes to update chore schedules or browse for craft-making ideas.
  3. Evaluate current listening skills – When a working parent isn’t obsessed with the next spreadsheet or how to score points at an upcoming meeting, he or she might be thinking about the last conversation they had with their teenager. Did he tell me he has a new set of friends last night over our spaghetti dinner or is he going to the game with the same kids I know?

Really… the list could go on and on. A less occupied employee might easily mean a more occupied parent. A parent’s job is no easy task but coming at it with a peaceful, calm attitude rather than a harried one, might mean relationship benefits with your kids.

Although… as a word of caution

‘Quiet Quitting’ might sound like the perfect answer for the workplace, but don’t overdue it… 

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

It would be a real bummer to Quiet Quit to the extent your boss Quietly Decides… 

“This dreamer has to go!”

thanks for the visit

Suzanne Rightley Books for children available on Amazon.

Avoid Processed Food · Habits to Change · Lifestyle Changes · Nutritional Health · Taking Care of Ourselves

Getting Back to Real Food

For Ourselves/For Our Children

Never has there been a time, when so many people, are suffering so many problems and diseases—largely of our own making.

In less than one hundred years, we have witnessed drastic changes to human health, to the point that we do not share the same general appearances of our ancestors.

Of course the basics would remain the same – arms, legs, eyes, ears, and so forth. What would not be the same is our body composition. A group photo from the early 1800s would be vastly different from similar type photo now.

To explain: If our predecessors had the ability to take selfies, snapshots, family portraits and group photos, we would be immediately struck by how different we are in our physical characteristics today.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

‘Vastly’ would be the intended pun of our sad observations.

Being overweight, obese, and/or morbidly obese were not problems common to humanity for the span of our history.

This is a phenomenon that crept-up on us, beginning in the late 19th century to this present time—with the 21st experiencing the greatest growth…

Therefore, it is a unique time in our history, for many reasons. However, on a uniqueness level, none compares to the wonderful possibilities that have arisen to reverse it.

This is our time, our opportunity to effect change.

Furthermore, there has never been a better opportunity to educate ourselves—we can make significant changes to our own health but to a greater extent…

We can help our children

We can (and should) feel obligated to prevent them from ‘falling down the rabbit hole’ that we ignorantly inherited.

We were ignorant—not so anymore

They do not need to suffer the diseases and problems that are now, unmistakably proven to be associated with—processed-foods.

We can do something about it.

It’s the right thing to do..

Avoid Processed Food · Fiction story for kids 10-14 · Insulin Resistance · Kids Books · Nutritional Health

Granola Brea Book Series

Fiction for kids 10-14 who enjoy a few laughts while learning how to make healthy choices.

Brea isn’t your average 12-year-old girl. Nope! She’s a HEALTH-NUT (all caps).

Wholesome food is her thing… she studies and she knows a lot.

What Brea doesn’t know, is how to keep her big mouth shut.

She better figure it out…and soon…or Brea might find herself–on stage–at her brother’s high-school…gulp…as the keynote speaker!

In Confessions of a Health-nut… Granola Brea follows her destiny…

But challenging a crowd of unruly, junk-food obsessed teenagers — might mean an urgent call for the police!

In Spotlight on a Health-nut… Granola Brea’s destiny seems to be following her…

What do acorns, sleepover, school assembly, and a farmer’s market have to do with making healthy food choices?

Get ready to find out!

Move over doctors and scientists – it’s time for a kid to step up to explain what’s what!

Granola Brea Books 1 & 2 Available on Amazon

Granola Brea Books are hilarious tales of what one determined girl can accomplish with just a little bit of nutritional knowledge…

Note to Parents and Teachers

  • Ideal for indepedendent readers 10 +
  • Lively dialog between friends, family, community
  • Plenty of hilarious predicaments/occasional clashes, appealing to a child’s natural love of all things humorous
  • Delivers valuable healthy lifestyle info; instils the value of healthy choices
  • The main character is an independent thinker; she’s brave, sets goals, and demonstrates a willingness to battle her own fears, with the support and encouragement of family/friends
  • Health-conscious readers can identify with Granola Brea; navigating in a world of poor health choices, is a challenge for us all, yet this 12-year-old presses on, through all sorts of adversity…holding on to the nutritional facts
  • Ultimately, this series of books aims to increase awareness; topics such as Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, and other metabolic-related diseases are explored… via the gentler, less-threatening format…we love…fiction

Book 1 Confessions of a Health-nut

Book 2 Spotlight on a Health-nut

Book 3 Coming Soon