Review and Giveaway: Treasures of Healthy Living Bible Study
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If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you know that in the last two years I have lost 90 pounds. As part of that process, there has been a definite shift toward healthier eating for my family.
For that reason, I was excited when I was approached to review Treasures of Healthy Living, a Bible study, with accompanying homeschool curriculum, that focuses on ferreting out what the Bible has to say about food, nutrition, and healthy living.
![Treasures for Healthy Living[4]](https://weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Treasures-for-Healthy-Living4.jpg)
Born out of the author’s desire for and successful achievement of better health for her own family, Treasures of Healthy Living is a 12-week Bible study that covers topics such as:
- Beverages
- Grains
- Fruits and vegetables
- Proteins and meats
- Fasting and self-control
- Exercise
- Environment and toxins
Each topic is covered in what has become a very familiar format in Bible studies – five days of study with scripture references, lines for notes and fill-in-the-blanks, and room for the reader to write down her thoughts and reactions to each day’s lessons.
The optional homeschool curriculum breaks each lesson down into what is supposed to be more manageable chunks, spending two weeks on each week’s worth of lessons from the main text.
Each lesson in the homeschool curriculum contains material for both older and younger students, as well as opportunities for your family to prepare foods together and serve others. The foods prepared in these lessons come from the Healthy Treasures Cookbook.
The homeschool curriculum is designed to be a stand-alone Bible study when used in conjunction with the Treasures of Healthy Living adult study guide, but you will need the Healthy Treasures Cookbook to prepare the meals referenced in the study. There is also an optional DVD series, which I did not review, and the book, Treasures of Health Nutrition Manual is also referenced in both the curriculum and the adult Bible study.
![Nutrition Manual[4]](https://weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Nutrition-Manual4.jpg)
I found that I preferred to look at Treasures of Healthy Living as a course in nutrition and healthy eating from a Christian worldview, rather than a Bible study, since it, for me, was more about gaining a better view of nutrition from a Biblical perspective, than drawing closer to Christ or gaining a better understanding of His word, in general.
Don’t misunderstand, I did enjoy some of the things I learned and we’ve even begun to make further changes in our diet based on some of the facts that were brought out by this study. However, I did not necessarily agree with all the spiritual applications that the author was trying to draw.
I think the homeschool curriculum has the potential to make a good choice for a health/home economics course, particularly for high school credit. However, the time frame for the lessons was really long – most were estimated to take about two-and-a-half hours. That’s a really long time a daily Bible study – for any subject, really.
Even the “short” lessons were designed to take an hour. Thirty minutes would have been more appropriate unless you were setting aside one day a week for each lesson. At the pace we’d need to go for our homeschool, this curriculum would last a lot longer than 24 weeks. With my younger two kids, 20-30 minutes a day would be the most I’d expect to spend on a Bible study. I might bump that up to 45 minutes if it were doubling as a high school level health/home economics credit.
At only $9.99 for the digital download, the homeschool curriculum might be worth tweaking for time to fit your family’s needs for a Biblically-based nutrition study. It does contain a lot of games and fun extras for the kids to make learning about nutrition enjoyable for a variety of ages.
I spent about 20-30 minutes a day on the adult Bible study. Most days I was able to finish the full day’s work, but even some days in the adult study required two sittings to finish with the time that I had available to spend on it.
You can purchase the adult Bible study material from the Designed for Healthy Living site for $21.99, though it’s currently on sale for $18.99. The Nutrition Manual is regularly priced at $21.99, as well, but is currently on sale for $18.99. You can also visit the site for some of their favorite healthy recipes.
I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I also received monetary compensation for the time invested in writing the review. The opinions expressed are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
I learned a lot about soy which I didn't know before. I tend to steer clear of soy products because I always heard they were bad for you. I didn't know why though. It's when soy is overcooked that it may be cancer-causing . Soy is actually very beneficial if it is consumed in raw and organic form. I will now be looking for ways to incorporate it into my everyday cooking. Thanks!
First I found you on Facebook didn't know you had a blog with amazing stuff! This year I am trying to lose weight Chanel mine and my family's mind frame if how and what we eat. I am not done reading nuts about nutrition but love it. This is exactly what I been looking for. I am actually disgusted reading about splenda, they advertise that its from real sugar…yeah right just like the rest of the sweeteners filled with chemicals and that sort of things. Not attended for kids…geez I wonder why? Sarcastically said…..I wish farmers, big food corps would get back to the basics instead of making a fast Buck and slowly kill us.
Kim
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I hadn't really lnow about the link of dietary wellness and specific body parts. I mean I knew some foods were good for your eyes, etc., but did not know that there was such a comprehensive list. Food for thought most definitely!
I shared the link on FB. ( posted as Teri Piver)
Wow – I hadn't realized all of the health benefits of honey, including calming frayed nerves and helping with asthma and sleeping. There is so much more to learn about on their site (like protective foods, and all of the benefits of water). Thanks for sharing
I looked through the fruit section and what it helped in your body. I did not know that cranberries are good for asthma. My son is a newly diagnosed with asthma so I may have to get him so cranberry juice and see what it does.
First of all, I'm incredibly impressed that you've lost 90 pounds! I have 50 pounds I've been trying to shed for years. The older I get the harder it is to lose anything. I read facts about fats and learned that if you put a punctured vitamin E tab in your olive oil it will help keep it from going rancid. I'm going to try that. I'd love to use this curriculum with my 17yo son whom we just pulled out of public school last year. My goal with him before he graduates is to focus on life skills. I entered the cookbook giveaway too. Maybe I'll win that too! 🙂
https://Oursafehaven.wordpress.com/
I shared on fb
Oursafehaven
Learned that Vitamin E helps with aging…..which I was glad to hear about since I found my first 2 wrinkles on my forehead this weekend!
I knew that honey could be used as a natural substitute for sugar…I use sucanat, real maple syrup, or honey (raw when I can) for all of my baking and sweetening needs. I had no idea that honey had so many ingredients though. Thanks for the chance.