Book Review: War & Peas {Emotionally Aware Feeding-EAF}

I am both excited and honored to be writing a review for author Johanna Cormack's  book War & Peas. 

Jo and I met via Twitter through our common interest in picky eating. Jo's interest in picky eating is a personal one. As a therapist who worked with clients having eating disorders, she began to notice the parallel between them and her own children with regard to food battles. Both seemed to use food to challenge boundaries and attempt control. Because of this, Jo began to research ways of getting through the emotional side of food battles and her approach, Emotionally Aware Feeding {EAF} was born.

War & Peas is unique in that it doesn't focus on WHAT you should feed your child but HOW to feed your child in a way that preserves their emotional well-being and allows you to maintain your sanity by avoiding struggles at the table and around food. EAF is a program that resembles the Division of Responsibility but with more explanation of research, psychological theory and therapeutic principals.  It gives the WHY and the HOW,  is written in parent friendly terms with clear steps and will also appeal to the professional looking for more "proof" as to why they should begin using EAF with clients. 

War & Peas promises not only to help families end the battle with picky eating but also to explore a parent's own feelings about food that might be adding to how things play out at the table with their own children. Jo cautions the reader that if they aren't ready to explore this, then perhaps they should put the book aside and explore that concept with in other ways or, perhaps, with a therapist. Refreshing to have such an honest, straight forward approach that looks at the entire situation and not just what is going into {or not into} the child's mouth. 

Outstanding Features:

• End of the chapter "crib-sheets" summarizing the theory and rules at the core of EAF-making it easy for parents and clinicians to use while they are in the trenches.
• The coverage of what is "typical" with regard to eating at different stages of development. She spends a good amount of time discussing that picky eating IS typical at certain ages/stages and there will be battles. She includes THEORY that helps one understand WHY a child may limit certain foods or choose certain foods.  She offers guidance on judging whether the issue is more than you can handle alone and offers her expertise on how to seek help in this area. {as a therapist, I often take issue with books on picky eating for this very reason. When writing about picky eating, there MUST be information included for what to do when it is "more" than picky eating. Remember, picky eating is not a one size fits all approach as I wrote about here.} 
• Excellent explanation and examples of the different "methods" parents typically resort to in order to get their child to eat. Again, this is very helpful for both parents and clinicians as it helps to identify in very clear terms what may be contributing to the picky eating. This is a hard concept for many, many families {and clinicians} as they try to follow programs like EAF.  They have trouble identifying what they may be doing to pressure {Jo calls it giving "attention"} their child to eat. Anything of this sort will thwart an entire program. Having it clearly outlined is extremely helpful. 
• Multiple examples throughout the book of "theory"which are then followed by what it looks like in "practice." This is particularly excellent with regard to the EAF principles. After explaining what each principle is, she offers many real world views of how it might play out in your home or therapy. 
• One of my absolute favorite features is how peppered throughout the book are times for "Reflection." Jo asks a series of questions for you to consider at each stage. This keeps the focus on the family as a whole , keeps you honest about the many emotions that surround feeding in your individual case and assures that you are continuing on the correct path of following EAF. 
• The premise of feeding/picky eating being fueled by emotions and the idea of helping the child become internally vs externally driven with eating, is woven throughout the text. A KEY feature that successful programs each have. 

Final Thoughts

War & Peas is a unique, refreshing and well rounded resource on picky eating that I believe will assist countless families and therapists who are dealing with children who have eating challenges. Although the book is not specifically geared toward those who have children with selective eating, the EAF principles will also be an excellent fit for them as they progress through the various stages of their journey.  An important thing to remember, when following any program, is that each family is unique and will need to take the foundational aspects of the program and make it their own. Because of it's design, War & Peas makes this an easy to implement concept.

Buy It

War & Peas is now available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback forms. If you'd like more information on EAF, join Jo's community on Twitter or visit her website. 



Until next time, keep growing and blooming!

Jen

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