In today's 6 For Your Health headlines... a nutrition expert is on a mission... she has started a national campaign to help ensure that kids eat healthier... and she's making it fun. Barbara Morse Silva has more.
"And this is the donut hat."
It's become a signature hair accessory for when Joy Feldman goes out to schools and organizations to read her new children's book: Is Your Hair Made of Donuts? This nutrition expert hasn't always been a health guru.
Joy Feldman, nutrition expert/book author: "I was a lawyer. I did corporate mergers and acquisitions back in the 80's."
In the early 90's she became very ill.
Joy Feldman: "It was after I delivered my first child... about 6 months after delivering, my joints started to swell in my body to the point where I couldn't walk."
Joy says she had some sort of auto immune issue. It was after she found a doctor who specialized in nutrition... and after she changed to a more balanced diet.
Joy Feldman: "Lots of vegetables."
That she felt normal again. And then she changed careers. And became a nutritional consultant... With clients worldwide. It was those clients who talked her in to writing this book: Joyful Cooking in Pursuit of Good Health.
Joy Feldman: "Which basically describes the entire nutritional balancing science program."
Then she was inspired to write this book... one day, while at the airport with her family... she saw lots of kids eat lots of sweets... like donuts.
Joy Feldman: "And I'm not joking, I walked on to the plane, I sat down next to my family and I said I just thought of the title of the book: Is Your Hair Made of Donuts."
Joy's message to our young and young at heart... make it simple... like this turkey veggie chili... which uses dark turkey meat.
Joy Feldman: "It has more nutrition and has a little more fat which I love children to have some good healthy fat."
It's chock full of vegetables and tomatoes and sauce... oh, and by the way it tastes great too.
Carrot juice is another biggie. In fact when she reads her book at schools, she's read to more than 6,000 children along the east coast, she prepares the juice in front of them.
Joy Feldman: "It's got a lot of vitamins, it even has bio available calcium in it and lots of good Vitamin A for your skin."
The book is silly... with a simple message... you are what you eat.
Joy Feldman: "What you eat affects your hair and your skin and all of your organs."
And while wearing Joy's donut hat is kind of fun... I would never want all that extra weight.
