The fight might be more about who gets to first read this new book from National Geographic Kids. Food industry leader Tanya Steel has put together a five star look at the history of food and also a peek into the future. Fifteen chapters are each centered around a time period. The colorful and in-depth look begins with the prehistoric era and takes you all the way to what imagined life on Mars will be like.

Here are my eight delicious, delectable, and delightfully favorite morsels of what you’ll find in every chapter. It’s a feast fit for young and old.

1. Each chapter begins with a history of what was happening at the time. It’s not so much about the food, but a look at the major events that impacted life. You’ll get a real sense of how far we have come and how much more work we have to do.
2. What was it like for a child’s typical day? A Day in the Life breaks it all down from rise and shine to bedtime. Included is how they learned, worked, played, and ate. Read how life was much different during those times. I was fascinated by  the Renaissance and World War I to name a few.
3. Common foods eaten at the time is a list that will have you surprised at some of the commonalities to our food today and at the differences. There’s nothing like a woolly mammoth to get your taste buds going!
4. Spicing Things Up! and Table Manners are all about how food effected life and how you behaved at mealtime. How times have changed!
5. A feature called Kitchen Tools gives you a peek at what was used to prepare the food. Images are included and will have you comparing to what we use today. Fun stuff. A cast iron pan goes all the way back to Mongolian times in 1210!
6. In Menus of the Rich and Famished readers get a taste of what the well-to-do did for meals.
7. Each chapter is followed by two kid friendly recipes from the period (thirty total). Some are modified to fit today’s healthy lifestyle, but you will want to try them all. I loved the kid comments from teens and tweens who made and tasted the recipes. Grant (age 9) loved the UNCRUEL GRUEL from the Renaissance period, calling it “Amazing! It tastes just like a cinnamon roll.”
8. A fun multiple choice POPCORNY Quiz completes each chapter. Test your memory on what you’ve read.

For more features on the book and to order visit the Food Fight! page at National Geographic Kids.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TANYA STEEL is a global food industry leader. She initiated the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids’ “State Dinner” with former First Lady Michelle Obama, an annual event that was held at the White House. Steel is the former editorial director of Clean Plates, Epicurious.com, Gourmet Live, and Gourmet.com; she was an editor at Bon Appétit and Food & Wine, and wrote for the New York Times for four years. She co-wrote the award-winning Real Food for Healthy Kids, and The Epicurious Cookbook, a New York Times best seller.

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Coming up next week is another…

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