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Dietician and Literacy Advocate Writes Meal Planning Book with
Support from the NLS
by Karen Graham |
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Meals for Good Health is a beautiful book that is easy-to-read. It has actual-size photographs of a month of meals and includes everyday, easy-to-make, low-fat recipes. This book is a must for all consumers. See the book on NALD’s Website at http://www.nald.ca/meals.htm Unique features of Meals for Good Health: Easy-to-read and easy-to-understand. The text reads at a Grade 6 reading level, and the life-size photographs of the meals make this book useable by someone who does not read or whose first language is not English. Additional bonuses to the book include colour coding for each section in the book, side bars to highlight key information, and large font size in the text. A guide to healthy living. The number of calories in the meals have been worked out for you. Multiple uses. This book was published in cooperation with the Canadian Diabetes Association. It is, however, more than a book for people with diabetes. It will help if you need to lose weight or control high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Multicultural. An excellent guide for making changes within the framework of your usual food intake and cultural food habits. Simple recipes. The Meals for Good Health Manual is available in all chain bookstores, and most independent bookstores across Canada. In the United States, sold in some bookstores. US bookstores can order the book from Associated Publishers Group distributors.(1-800-327-5113). In Canada, order by calling your local Canadian Diabetes Association (listed in your phone book) or the Canadian Diabetes Association national office at 1-800-BANTING (1-800-226-8464) in Canada, or outside Canada call 1-416-363-3373. The book can also be ordered directly from: Paper Birch Publishing New literacy and parenting skills program provides tools for Aboriginal parents Bow Valley College has launched its Aboriginal Literacy and Parenting Skills (A-LAPS) program and training workshops. Created in collaboration with Aboriginal specialists and groups, it is designed to meet the needs of low-literate Aboriginal parents. Through group exercises and discussion parents can improve their literacy skills, strengthen their parenting skills and nurture literacy development in their children. Interest for the program has already been expressed across Canada and even in the United States due to its success in combining literacy and parenting skills with Aboriginal history, stories and legends. 
“The combination of culture, literacy and parenting skills makes sense,” says Laureen MacKenzie, project coordinator for Bow Valley College’s Literacy and Parenting Skills program. “Most low-literate parents know first-hand the importance of reading. They want to be able to read to their children and encourage their children to read themselves - this program can help them do that.” The A-LAPS program is the third in a series of family literacy programs developed by Elaine Cairns and Laureen MacKenzie at Bow Valley College. Existing Literacy and Parenting Skills programs for mainstream and English as a Second Language populations are currently offered in women’s shelters, community centres, schools and family drop-in centres across Canada. The LAPS program also provides two or three-day training workshops that prepare community workers to deliver the program in both rural and urban settings. Workshop topics include strategies for working with low-literate aboriginal parents, how to develop a family literacy program within a community, and how to facilitate a parent education program. The Aboriginal Literacy and Parenting Skills project has been generously funded through the National Literacy Secretariat. For more information, contact: |