THE EATING GAME LINE OF PRODUCTS

Since 2007 many Eating Game products have been developed:

1) the original Eating Game, in a 3 ring binder, ready to use is available in English, French and Mi’kmaq

2) the MIY (Make It Yourself) Kit in English, French and Mi’kmaq

3) the Digital Downloadable Edition, available in English and French 

4) the Eater’s Choice Daily Meal Planner offers the user the same convenient reusable meal planner without the pictures; available in English for ages 4 - 51+ 

  

5) the Digital format of The Eater’s Choice Daily Meal Planner 

The Eating Game now has Patent Rights ~

US Patent #8,333,593 B2 granted in Dec 2013

Canadian Patent # 2,612,218 granted in Jan 2014  

To learn more and order the edition that is best for your family go to www.theeatinggame.ca For further information contact us via email from this website

THE EATING GAME 2007 - 2014

The first copy of The Eating Game was completed on March 1, 2007 for Ethan who was 6 years old and is autistic. At the time he was happiest eating just hot dogs and rice! He was very excited the first day he used The Eating Game because had hot dogs and rice for breakfast! - a story I like to tell to illustrate that a key feature of The Eating Game is that the child is in control of the choices! They like that!

The user needs to have only 2 skills:

• be able to make a choice

• be able to match 4 colors (blue, yellow, green and red)

 (NOTE: verbal or literacy skills not needed)

 There are over 200 food pictures in four different food groups and colors: 1 inch pictures, 5 mil laminated card stock with a hook and loop button that will support alternative choices made by those on CFGF diets or any other dietary restrictions

• Milk and Alternatives - Blue

• Grains - Yellow

• Fruit and Vegetables - Green

• Meat and Alternatives - Red

There are planning charts for each of the age groups in Canada's Food Guide: five are included in the binder: 2-3, 4-8, 9-13, females 14-18, males 14-18 but there are also 4 more that are available if needed: females 19-50 and 51+, males 19-50 and 51+. It is being used in some group homes and by folks in assisted living programs. The charts are also 5 mil laminated card stock with hook & loop buttons to accept the food pictures. There are storage pages to put the pictures on that the parent chooses to present to the child.

Initially the parent chooses the food pictures to present based on:

• foods the child can eat (special dietary considerations)

• foods the child has eaten in their lifetime

• foods available at the time

• foods the parent chooses!

Once the pictures are presented for the child's choice, it has to be totally their choice. They must choose pictures to match the colored squares on their planning chart. Once they have done this they have chosen to eat the foods recommended by Canada's Food Guide for their age group. They can later be exchanged but the new choice must be the same color.

NOTE: The choice Ethan made of hot dogs & rice for breakfast only happened once, because then he realized he couldn't have it for lunch or supper! However, he was pretty excited to be able to make that choice which also convinced him he was in control!

There are some pictures that Canada's Food Guide might not recommend, like chocolate cake with the "grains pics" but I felt they needed to be included. The reality is that these foods will be eaten and perhaps not all that bad a choice when made in moderation (and the parent is really in control of what is presented!) If a child who is a poor eater can start eating most of what Canada's Food Guide recommends then maybe they deserve a treat too! The cake or other choice could also be used as a reinforcer to enhance motivation!

Ethan was eating over 200 new foods in 15 months and he still (after 29 months) uses The Eating Game although is eating almost everything! Being able to make the choices and being in control is important. This makes mealtime very predictable and the visual supports are a great communication tool! Meals are no longer a surprise - pretty significant for a lot of kids with ASD!

Since 2007 other The Eating Game products have been developed and it is now available in English, French and Mi’kmaq. There is a MIY (Make It Yourself) Kit and a Digital Downloadable Edition. The Eater’s Choice Daily Meal Planner offers the user the same convenient reusable meal planner without the pictures.

The Eating Game now has Patent Rights ~

US Patent #8,333,593 B2 granted in Dec 2013

Canadian Patent # 2,612,218 granted in Jan 2014  

THE EATING GAME FOR ADULTS

Do you have  an autistic/aspergers adult in your home who restricts what they eat and would benefit from a more varied, healthier diet? At the request of adults who wanted the benefits of The Eating Game but did not need the pictures EYECAN CREATIONS Publications developed the Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners.

The first set of planners was for ages 14 - 18, 19 - 50 and 50+. Then a friend was interested in one for his 5 year old daughter who was very focused on reading and printing words. She used the food pictures in The Eating Game to find the foods, with words, she was looking for! It was a hit and she benefited from learning to make healthy food choices and expanding on the variety of foods she ate. So planners are now available for 4 - 8 and 9 - 13 year olds too. Some families work at meal planning together with perhaps one person using The Eating Game and others using Eater's Choice Meal Planners.

I believe very many on the spectrum self restrict their diets to a manageable number of foods they can keep track of so they always know what they will be eating - no surprises, less change to remember. This allows them to be in control too, which is something many on the spectrum struggle to do. With this planner they are very much in control and mealtime, planned ahead, becomes very predictable!

It is a dry erase reusable double sided chart.This is a sample picture of the planner that you can purchase from www.theeatinggame.ca either as a ready to use product or you can download a digital copy to print yourself and laminate. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

If it would help we can offer extra resources: 1) a list of foods in the 4 food groups used in the Eating Game 2) pictures (with words) of the foods in The Eating Game. Just contact with your request via www.theeatinggame.ca after you have made your purchase. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. It is always great to hear about everyone's success! Happy, healthy eating!

A Very Special Visual Support System

As a special education teacher I had created many visual support systems for children but never had the time to prepare more than what was needed. I knew what I had created for this little boy (see http://on.fb.me/gDWmRd ) could help many more children and families and now as a semi retired person I had the time to make more. So I did! It was a very special visual support system that would enable many to plan and eat a healthier diet.


What I had created for this little boy he called his "Canada Food Guide Game" I wasn't sure such a serious issue should be called a game and his response was "Well, it is FUN!" So a "game"it was and I used it as an acronym for Get Awesome Meals Everyday.

The name changed to The Eating Game to accomodate Copyright and the Patent Application and my innovative and actually quite simple solution would continue to help hundreds more children and families deal with helping picky eaters, obsessive eaters, those who are non verbal, those with developmental delays.

Since the launch of the original Eating Game four years ago, I have launched 2 more Eating Game products:

1) Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners for those who need an eating game to help them have a healthier diet but don't need the 200+ food pictures for their visual planner. This was in response to customer request and is being used by many to eat a healthy diet. It has helped some of us lose weight or battle eating obsessions and has helped some eat more as needed.

2) The MIY Eating Game Kit - it is The Eating Game in a Make It Yourself format; I supply all the materials you need(laminated charts and pictures and velcro type fastener) to make your own Eating Game. This was in response to many folks who said they would love to have an Eating Game but could not afford it; this enabled me to cut 38% off the price of The Eating Game so that more kids could benefit.

And now you know the rest of the story ~ that was four years ago and because The Eating Game has helped so many children and their families it has become my passion to share it with others in the hopes that it will maybe help even one more person! I have to honestly say that each day my passion is enriched as is the health of many children!

A Family Planning Meals Together

I was very pleased this week to get some feedback from a family who has been planning meals together for this past month using Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners. Here is what mom has to say,

"I purchased three planners so my two younger girls and I could have some fun while learning to eat well. It has taught us that we don't actually eat enough! It's a fun way to start the day before they're off to school and to plan what to have for school lunch."

They are enjoying planning healthy meals and have the opportunity to learn as well! I am hoping we will hear from other families using Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners, telling us about their experiences.

Are you in Control?

The main purpose for eating is to maintain good health and have the energy we need to have an active lifestyle. That sounds so simple but it is far from simple for many people. So many factors affect how well we eat; knowledge, finances and time are probably key factors in determining how healthy our diet will be. Perhaps we should include one's ability and desire to prepare food too!

Are you in control of your eating?
Those of us who enjoy eating have to be in control!
Those of us who eat because we are hungry have to be in control!
Those of us who don't eat enough have to be in control!
Those of us who eat too much have to be in control!

There is a National Food Guide to help us make wise choices when planning meals and buying food. We have Canada's Food Guide and our American neighbours have a very similar Food Guide Pyramid.

It definately takes time to plan meals, purchase groceries and prepare meals! The Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners help you with this time factor and ensure that you have a plan that encourages healthy eating. It is based on Canada's Food Guide, so offers in 8 different packages based on age, a planner that guides you to be in control and plan healthy meals.

By going to http://www.theeatinggame.ca/resources/default.asp you can access:
1) a suggested food list, to help you make a wider variety of choices
2) a weekly planning sheet, would could become your grocery list

By using the Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners you will be better able to
1) control calorie consumption, to ensure more or less as needed
2) control food costs to what you plan as necessary for a healthy diet
3) control food wastage by buying only what you need and following the plan!

The package includes a copy of Canada's Food Guide which explains healthy food choices and serving sizes; the knowledge we need to have a good plan! This is a plan that will help us be in control of a healthy diet; to allow us to gain, maintain or lose weight as desired.

Planners are available for 8 age groups from age 4 to 51+ . They do require that one have skills to read and write or have assistance to do so. For those who can not read and write the same goals can be attained using The Eating Game

Dad Bought Meal Planners for Everyone

September 20th was my last day at The Pictou Weekend Market and it was a very good day! I always meet very interesting people at the market and this day was no exception. Today I was to meet a dad with 2 adult sons at home, both with disabilities and both with eating issues. One sometimes didn't eat enough, at least not a variety of healthy foods and the other son ate too much, too frequently between meals.

This dad wanted to know about The Eating Game and The Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners. The Eating Game caught his eye because one son is autistic, but perhaps too old for this. The Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners would be a good thing for both boys, one would maybe choose a wider variety of foods and the second would perhaps be able to restrict eating to the identified 6 meals.

Before he left my booth, he had also purchased a planner for himself and his wife. He thought it would be a good family activity to plan healthy meals together. Of course I agreed wholeheartedly that this sounded like a great idea!

Now we have 8 different Eater's Choice Meal Planners for ages 4 to 51+, so the resources are available for any family to decide to make meal planning a whole family activity. Work out a way to do this that suits your family and empower everyone with the tools to plan healthy meals every day!

Come back to this site and let us all know how you do this in your family and how it works out! Periodically we will have a draw from those who send in a comment with an email address. The prize will be a choice of 4 meal planners that you might give as a gift to a family you care about. Would make a nice gift for this December!

Don't forget to go to http://www.theeatinggame.ca/resources/default.asp to get a list of foods a weekly planning sheet you can print for your own use!

A Healthy Fundraising Idea!

Planning on doing some serious fundraising? Think about purchasing Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners at a wholesale price.

Your organization will be raising funds and supporting healthy meal planning which is a concern today for everyone, a large target market for sure:
children
teens
adults
seniors needing support
adults in supported living programs
families planning meals together
those supporting an overweight child
those supporting an overweight teen
an adult concerned with weight control
Click on the title above to contact us at http://www.theeatinggame.ca/contact.htm for more information.

Plan Healthy Meals

COMMENT below with a contact email address, tell me about a special project you are doing with a group of teens and I may be able to give you a special price on an order!

The Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planner is an affordable and easy to use product to help anyone plan healthy meals every day! For just $10 you will get a planner for your age group( based on Canada's Food Guide recommendations), a copy of Canada's Food Guide and a dry erasable pen. This planner is reusable, to be used every day!

There is not much we can buy for $10 and it could be the beginning of a lifetime of healthy eating - a healthier you! Maybe you can think of lots of folks you would like to wish "Be Healthy". This would make a great gift for anyone in the following age groups:(separate planner for each age group)

- 4 to 8 years (those who are reading and printing)
- 9 to 13 years
- Females 14 to 18 years
- Males 14 to 18 years
- Females 19 - 50 years
- Males 19 tp 50 years
- Females 51+ years
- Males 51+ years

Think of all the occasions to give this planner as a gift!Would make a great stocking stuffer for anyone and everyone! It would be great to give one to each member of the family so all could plan meals together.

What a great teaching tool for children, learning young for a lifetime! For children with disabilities who would need a plan with pictures to place on a chart there is a product for them too called The Eating Game. Many children, now internationally, are eating healthier planning healthy meals themselves every day! They are having fun doing it too! In some families the children are using The Eating Game together - imagine they are working cooperatively planning healthy meals! A great family gift from mom & dad, grandparents, godparents, friends, aunts & uncles!

NOTE: for info re The Eating Game go to www.theeatinggame.ca
(link at top right of this page)