May Book Review
By Sue Petrofsky
Plant Powered Little People: A Practical Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition for Under-Fives, is easily the best book I’ve seen for feeding children ages 0-5 a plant-based diet. Not only is it filled with great recipes, but the author, Paula Hallam, thoroughly explains what nutrients a child needs, how certain foods can or don’t satisfy nutritional needs, and how you can best use supplements or other foods to fill in the gaps. The author also discusses in detail what and how much of certain important vitamins are needed for kids to stay healthy.
The book begins with a general introduction to vegetarianism and the six main types of vegetarian diets, then goes on to discuss Macronutrients and Micronutrients in Chapters 2 & 3. By chapter 4 she is breaking children’s diets into age groups, babies, toddlers, and then up to age 5. There are a wide variety of recipes, many suitable for the entire family. Each recipe is introduced as to why it is important, with added notes about its nutritional value. The one negative of the book is that since it is published in the UK, all measurements are in grams and will require converting to ounces. Other than that, Plant Powered Little People is an excellent resource for parents wanting the best nutrition for their children, served up with a wide variety of healthy food choices.
Paula Hallam is a registered children’s dietician in the UK for more than 24 years and has worked as a dietitian for the National Health Service (NHS) for 18 years. She holds a PHD degree in Pediatric Dietetics.
