This week we welcome Dina R. Rose who has a PhD in sociology from Duke University and is the author of the popular blog, It’s Not About Nutrition where she focuses on helping parents find the right approach to get kids eating right.

After her mother’s premature death from obesity-related illnesses at the age of 65, Dina knew she wanted to give her daughter a better — and happier — food-life. Dina made helping parents solve their kids’ eating problems her life work. Most parents know what their children should eat, but have trouble putting this knowledge into practice. Dina offers parents the relief they need: practical, research-based strategies so they can stop struggling and start succeeding.

A Food Sociologist, Dina answers the how not the what when it comes to nutrition. The foods children should eat is not so much a mystery as getting them to actually accept and enjoy a regular healthy diet.

In her workshops and one-on-one sessions, Dina gives parents the tools to teach kids to eat right without having to rely on calorie counting systems, complex menus, or portion limits. By making smart decisions based on the latest in parenting, sociology, nutrition, and food psychology research, parents can learn to:

• Deliberately and consciously shape children’s eating habits.
• Identify why children eat the way they do.
• Manage events as they happen so unexpected treats don’t ruin your plans.
• Use taste and texture to teach kids to eat a wide variety of foods.
• Avoid the 3 most common ways parents inadvertently teach bad eating habits.
• Teach children how to try new foods.
• Identify how parenting style influences children’s eating.
• Solve eating problems that arise at different developmental stages.
• Know what to do instead of bribing and begging kids to eat.
• Consciously shape children’s relationships to food.

Look for Dina Rose’s upcoming book, It’s Not About Nutrition: Unexpected Lessons In Teaching Your Child Healthy Eating for Life. For more information on how to get a preview of this book, visit the It’s Not About Nutrition Web site and make sure you visit Dina’s blog as well for the latest in parenting and nutrition.

The clip below features Dina Rose on Better Connecticut where she provides tips for parents on how to feed their children healthy foods.

Are you a social media fan?

Join the It’s Not About Nutrition community on Facebook and catch up with Dina Rose on Twitter.

Teen Cuisine by Matthew Locricchio

Whether you’re a first-time or seasoned chef, you can prepare and take pride in the more than 50 mouthwatering recipes in this book for all times of day.

Here are just a few examples:

• Sunrise Muffins
• Grits and Cheddar Cheese Souffle
• Pizza from California, Chicago, and New York
• 4th of July Shortcake

And there are so many more flavorful dishes!  All the recipes feature organic ingredients and foods that are available in supermarkets from coast to coast.  No recipe is too hard for the beginning cook.  Just follow the step-by-step directions and enjoy making your favorite dishes from scratch.

With stunning photography by award-winner James Peterson, this one-of-a-kinda book will provide a show-stopping culinary experience!

Teen Cuisine from Marshall Cavendish Corp is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

DIY Cocktails: A Simple Guide to Creating Your Own Signature Drinks by Marcia Simmons and Jonas Halpern

Black Rose, Blood Orange Tequila and Soda, Kentucky Apple Sour: the newest trend in cocktails is creating your own! Now, the editors of DrinkoftheWeek.com have concocted the only guide that teaches you to create your own infallible thirst-quenchers. Using a simple system of basic ratios, you will learn to:

• Mix new flavor combinations for the perfect new blend using the Flavor Profile Chart as a guide
• Master advanced mixology techniques from infusing liquors at home to creating custom-flavored syrups
• Serve the perfect drink every time, whether it kicks off a rowdy party or winds down a romantic evening!

With only ten ratios to master, you’ll shake, stir, roll, and build literally thousands of unique and exceptional cocktails. All you need is a good thirst, an active imagination — and DIY Cocktails!

DIY Cocktails: A Simple Guide to Creating Your Own Signature Drinks from Adams Media is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Carrots ‘N’ Cake: Healthy Living One Carrot and Cupcake At A Time by Tina Haupert

Let them eat cake! From one of the most popular blogs on the internet comes an innovative, even fun way to diet. Carrots ‘N’ Cake is all about eating your carrots. . .and savoring your cupcake, too.

For some people, losing weight means restrictive dieting, obsessive calorie counting, and constant hunger. Not Tina Haupert! She learned that it didn’t have to be that way. Tina shows how to drop the pounds and keep them off by adopting eating habits that are healthy, balanced, and above all, livable. She serves up easy-to-follow fitness routines, food tips, and her most popular feature: cookie Friday.

TINA TELLS HOW TO:

• Hang with your friends on a Friday night without packing on the alcohol pounds
• Navigate buffet tables at parties
• Handle the holidays painlessly.
• And more!

Carrots ‘N’ Cake: Healthy Living One Carrot and Cupcake At A Time from Sterling is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.