This is problematic for an omnivore who has always viewed hunting as cruel an unnecessary. I realized even before I read this book that this makes me a big hypocrite. It is ironic that we had guns in our home in Arizona that we could grab quickly if we spotted any javelina or rattlesnakes on our property but that was DEFENSE. Going out to intentionally kill something that wasn’t bothering us… barbaric! That is why I wanted to read Girl Hunter: Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time and I am glad I did.

It really did put it all out there how un-cruel hunting can be, especially when compared with the cruel lives inflicted on the animals that end up in our supermarkets. I know that factory farming is the epitome of cruel but I never quite understood that skilled hunting was and is the much more humane option of the two. It is one of those books that kind of reaches out and slaps you in the face with a big fat dose of reality. Of course if you have eschewed meat altogether then the logic will not mean much to you but for omnivores I think it is an important read.

The books follows Georgia Pellegrini to various places across the US and even in England, where she hunted various game. I appreciated the fact that most of the hunters she same in contact with were avid environmentalists and good stewards of the land they hunted. They also knew more about the animals they hunted and respected them more than most people in my opinion. There were only two hunters that left me with a bad taste in my mouth, the poacher that she calls out in one of her chapters, and also a boar hunter who I felt did not value his hunting dogs beyond their service to him.

Also in the book was information about hunting, the really strict laws that protect each species and the land, and also insight into the lives of all the species she hunted. The author was also refreshingly honest, even telling us about a bad shot that ended up causing an animal to suffer. Much of what I read was also stuff I have heard my husband say over and over, since he has tried to get me to hunt off and on for years. There is just something about reading it from a woman’s more delicate perspective that helped the message come through this time.

The best part of the book was hands down the recipes provided at the end of each chapter. Ms. Pellegrini’s background as a French chef translates into the description of each meal and your mouth is watering with the start of each new chapter. It made me want to try some things I never imagined I would want to try, like squirrel, which she calls the best tasting meat in the woods.

I cannot say that I am strapping on my rifle (I don’t even have one) and heading out into the woods tomorrow but this book was an important, eye opening read and I am glad I read it. My husband and I have been discussing it at length and dissecting our own preconceived ideas about hunting and living off the land. I would also love to meet the Girl Hunter someday!

How do YOU feel about hunting and the “messy bits” that some omnivores don’t like to be confronted with?

Anyway the 3 cookbooks…

Another Fork in the Trail – Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for the Backcountry. I haven’t missed grains in the least since I abandoned them but the muffins on the cover of this book look heavenly, no denying that! As you can guess this is a recipe collection designed for the veggie based diets of outdoor enthusiasts… hikers, campers, backpackers, etc. When I got this book I was really excited to try some of these recipes in the spring. The quinoa berry muffins, hazelnut fig granola, and pumpkin breakfast bars were calling my name. Even after reviewing it with my grainless, primal eyes I still see tons of value in this book though. There are plenty of veggie based meals that do not include grains/beans and I love me some veggies. If you are eating vegetarian or vegan then this is an excellent cookbook to add to your library, one the best I have seen in a long while.

The Raw Truth: Recipes and Resources for the Living Foods Lifestyle - I think this is an excellent beginner book for anyone wanting to explore more raw foods. The recipes are simple and not daunting as many raw recipes can be and they look appetizing. I have dozens of raw food un-cookbooks and I hate it when they take a glamorous photo of something that looks like baby vomit and expect that we will actually want to make it. Recipes that caught my eye were the banana date pudding, Pesto Wraps (which I plan on making), and the Black Raspberry Prickly Pear, which I would also make if I still lived in a place where I could get cacti locally. I AM an Arizona girl living in the Midwest.

Most of these recipes, while I am sure they delicious, are not going to make their way to my plate anytime soon because they have lots of nuts and high glycemic fruit. Nuts are getting harder for me to digest the longer I stay away from grains (same with dairy) so I think my gut is likely healing from sensitivities I did not know I had and now it is objecting to other hard-to-digest foods. Fruit is perfectly okay but I am staying away from dried fruits and fruits high on the glycemic index like bananas and dates. Raw food recipes typically utilize metric tons of all of the above. Still want to make that prickly pear recipe though. Eating cacti is totally primal!

The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook – Since I don’t eat grains it goes to follow that a gluten free cookbook would be perfect right? Yeah, not so much. This book is full of recipes that incorporate gluten free flours not recipes that are grain free. It is actually kind of grain centric with lots of bread recipes, pasta, rice, and corn. That may be typical for gluten free cookbooks though. I never looked at one before. The Pan Seared Scallops with Bacon and Spinach and the Prosciutto Stuffed Pork Chops look good but overall there are not a lot of recipes I can use. When I flip through and see all those grains I don’t get a “cooking light” vibe. All that stuff would make me feel bloated and heavy. I would pass on this one.

Anyway, since the publishers were nice enough to send these books my way I wanted to give them a quick review. Even though I am not eating raw or vegetarian anymore I would still recommend the first 2 books for any who are. Off to write down some recipes from the primal books I got at the library. Be well!

When I heard that my bloggy friend Deanna Duke (ie Crunchy Chicken) was writing a book called The Non Toxic Avenger, I knew it would be right up my alley. Not only do I love her writing and her humor, I love the subject matter. It is near and dear to my heart, especially since her husband was diagnosed with a type of cancer that is typical to elderly folks and so was I. When her husband and son both received a heartbreaking diagnosis within the span of one week, she wanted answers. I appreciated very much reading about her journey, the answers she found, and her insights into the toxins all around us, toxins that are making us sick.

Deanna decided to get tested for a wide array of toxins and measure her “toxic body burden”. While she had been furthering green and sustainable causes for years she really believed that things like shampoo and deodorant were safe or the government would not allow them to be sold. After her personal experiences with her son and husband though, along with some insights gleaned from a book titled Slow Death by Rubber Duck, she decided to make some changes. She wanted to see what her toxic body burden was and if she could reduce it by eliminating sources of toxins in her life. This book is the result of that personal experiment.

When she got down to the nitty gritty of her experiment she analyzed ALL her choices and habits from the material used to make her eyeglasses to the jewelry she had in her jewelry box. Going along with her on this journey was very eye opening as she did an incredibly thorough job researching all potential sources of toxins in her family’s life. It also had so many aspects that directly related to me and my struggles. My first child was just a mess as far as health was concerned so of course I wonder if my own choices and toxic body burden played a role in his issues. For more than 9 months he had a very unhealthy home in my womb. Were his issues caused by vaccines alone or were my toxic shampoos, hair coloring, MSG Chinese take out meals, and nesting activities that included a big bottle of Windex a factor? These are the questions that can keep you up at night.

This is exactly why books like Deanna’s are so important. Young folks need to be made aware of the all the choices they are making that could adversely affect their health and that of their as yet unborn children. It is books like this that should be making the high school reading list! Instead of debating abortion in college, like I had to do, have students debate issues like this… the toxic nature of our lives. The abortion debate did nada for me in real life but this was info I could use!

Also discussed in the book were common health issues and what may be causing them. I had no idea for instance that a Swedish study in 2010 had found that children raised in homes with vinyl flooring, which can emit phthalates, were more likely to have autism (had vinyl floors for years AND a son with autism – we had the decked stacked against us). This clearly shows that environmental factors can be a culprit. ADHD, cancer, and early puberty in kids are also explored.

Some of the products that Deanna analyzed in depth include:

• Non stick cookware
• water repellent fabrics
• food dyes
• candles
• mammograms
• perfumes
• nail polish
• deodorant
• tap water
• pharma drugs
• pillows and bedding
• hair care products
• house paint
• alcohol
• heating oil
• soap
• makeup
• lotion/sunscreen
• food
• holiday decor
• menstrual products
• cellphones and computers

What makes all of it infinitely more interesting is that you are not reading a dry list of factoids. The information is shared much the same way a friend would tell you about what she discovered when she researched this and that and what it meant to their lives and health. I especially loved that she got household items tested with an XRF gun. A necklace she frequently wore tested way over the federal limit for lead, as did a charm on a bracelet her daughter wore. A PC laptop charger tested high for bromine levels but a Mac charger tested with no detectable levels. A small sampling of items tested raised a lot or red flags and made her wonder about other things in her home. It just goes to show that all those government regulations can end up meaning diddly squat in the end.

Criticisms about the book? I found myself wondering about the need to find substitutes for some things… like a wrist watch, lotion, or makeup for example. I got to thinking that there was some rationalizations of silly things but then I had to own up to the fact that this can be chalked up to our differences as human beings. I found it incredibly easy to forgo wearing a watch, putting lotion on my skin, or wearing a stitch of makeup… but that is me. I am also not a former model and I don’t occasionally appear on TV like the author. I was also generally not a fan of the idea that flu shots are a necessary evil. I don’t think I have ever gotten a flu shot and I know my kids haven’t either. It is unlikely we ever will but then again I don’t live with someone who has immunity issues due to chemo. I cannot really criticize anything in the book. I only disagreed with a couple small things or felt the rationalization for needing certain products didn’t resonate with me personally.

Overall the book is a wonderful source of information about our toxic home environment and how that contributes to our health. It packaged in an easy to read and humorous format that kept me glued to the book from the first page to the last. Since I tend to lose interest in many books quite fast that is saying quite a bit. I am very picky about my reading material so am always pleasantly surprised to pick up a book and find myself halfway through the book in no time at all. I would recommend it highly to all parents and those seeking to move beyond planetary issues alone and include more education about body burdens and sustaining our own health.

And I just have to add that I read this book several months before it released and shared my feedback with Deanna way back when. She included my endorsement in the opening pages of the book. Booyah! This is like the 3rd or 4th time I have been quoted or mentioned in a book but it never gets old. ;)

Enjoy!

Book Link: The Non-Toxic Avenger: One woman’s mission to reduce her toxic body burden

At the library recently I picked up Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing, and Saving. It sounded like a perfect fit for me. I am fascinated by the Amish, who live very near to me, and I am a big fan of simple living. I have also recently delved into the world of scrimping and saving, something totally new to me actually. We have lived comfortably for years and without a budget of any kind, but we have also lived pretty much paycheck to paycheck. We have been one disaster away from real financial trouble for years because we could not manage to save. Didn’t even have a savings account until September of this year… pathetic I know. Anyway, a book changed all that about 2 months ago but I was still looking for ways to save money so that my burgeoning savings account and IRA could be beefed up even more. Once I got started saving it became like a game of sorts and I liked the challenge of finding ways to continually add more and more money to my these accounts.

In order to save more money I have been reading up a storm about great savers and the Amish definitely qualify! I have been in several Amish homes and it is absolutely amazing how they survive and thrive on so little. Money Secrets was written by a journalist after she read an article about how the simple people were actually thriving after the recession of 2008. She was so keen to find out how they do it that she decided to spend some time in their neck of the woods and interview many Amish families. What also makes it interesting is that she was experiencing lots of money hardships at the time and was looking to put what she learned into immediate practice. Learning their tricks was needed for its practical application.

It was an interesting look into the daily lives and habits of these people and also an interesting look into how the author applied everything she learned. One of the chapters that had the biggest impact on me was about the UWMW principle, “Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, Or Do Without”. The Amish use everything until it is threadbare or just a scrap of what it used to be and then they use it some more. I have to get MUCH better about sewing clothing that rips around here instead of just turning it into rags or finding someone to fix a broken piece of equipment instead of giving up and buying new. I also need to do a bit more “home recycling” of what might otherwise be considered garbage or recycle bin fodder. Right after reading the book I remembered how I wanted to go thrifting for some baskets to go under our bathroom sinks. After looking around our house a bit I found a couple cardboard boxes that will do instead and I can even paint them using Tempera paints we have on hand if I want to. When the Amish need something simple (like a storage container) they figure out how they can get it without buying it. When they need something big they still try to find out how they can get it free… scrap yards, junkyards, dumpsters, etc. I recall that when my grandmother died a few years ago there were some Amish at her estate sale. They bought up old stuff from the barn that I would have assumed was trash but I imagine they took the stuff home, cleaned up 20 years of grime, and it served them well for many years. I want to be that thrifty!

Other interesting chapters addressed things like instant gratification and how patient the Amish are when it comes to their want list, gifting during special occasions and holidays, buying in bulk, and being frugal foodies. After reading I really wanted to find an Amish grocer in my area so I can see their bulk offerings and I got a hankering for Shoofly pie. Oh and next spring I will insist that my hubby find an Amish source for grass fed beef because the prices the author started paying were staggeringly low.

The only thing that bothered me about the book was that sometimes the author would relate how she asked one of the Amish a question and then she would get sidetracked by some funny reponse or story and then never share the true answer to the question. A couple times I was left scratching my head and going “Is that it?” but otherwise it was a very enjoyable book and it really got my wheels turning about how I can bring some of that simple abundance into my life and save some pennies to.

Enjoy!

The concept behind it is very near and dear to my heart since I call myself a nourished vegetarian. That primarily means that I subscribe to WAPF ideas while maintaining a vegetarian diet. More specifically it means I try to eat a nutrient dense veggie diet. Thrive Foods is one of the best books I have read though that explains exactly what that means.

It was Brazier’s search for foods that would help him recover fast and make the greatest gains in his athletic training that lead him to the ideas in this book. He figured that if he wanted to keep improving his body and performance then he needed to concentrate on the regeneration process our bodies go through after we exercise. How well and how fast we regenerate depends on our cells – the biological building blocks. If our cells do not have everything they need to function they experience what he calls nutritional stress. At first Brazier did what most athletes do… consume mass quantities of food thereby consuming mass quantities of nutrients. When he didn’t get his desired results he decided to analyze his food choices more carefully and realized that being fed is not the same as being nourished.

He discovered that macronutrients is what he needed to be looking for. Foods that had the most bang for their buck or the most maronutrutrients per calorie, ie nutrient density. What amazed me was the idea that is our body’s search for missing nutrients is what causes us to feel hungry and not a need for more fuel (calories). I always thought  that when we felt hunger pangs it is was calories to keep the home fires burning that we needed. But after reading this book it was a light bulb moment for me because true enough if I eat a big handful of pretzels/crackers I will be hungry literally 5 minutes later. If I eat a banana though, I am satiated for awhile, even if it had less calories in it. It is in fact nutrients our body is asking for and here I thought my ravenous hunger of late meant I was not eating enough calories to support my increased exercise and weight lifting activities. For the past week or so I have been very mindful of nutrient density when choosing foods and have experienced almost no hunger even though I ate less calories than previous weeks. Whether that will mean more muscle remains to be seen but I am pretty convinced.

Where this book differs from WAPF ideas on nourishing foods is obviously the fact that it encourages plant based foods above animal products. While it is true that animal products may actually be more nutrient dense there are still rampant problems with them. Brazier goes into a step by step comparison of how efficient it is to eat animals versus eating select plants and when you consider all the resources used to grow feed crops and raise animals it is simply more efficient and less of a strain on our planet to go with plant based foods, even when considering shipping of more exotic varieties. The book even addresses grass fed and pastured animal products and does not dispute that they are favorable to other animal products for a variety of reasons. But he makes a convincing arguement for why these types of products could never be available to the whole planet. There simply would not be enough to feed everyone and that makes it unsustainable in the long run. I read the chapters that discuss this with great interest and I have read opposing ideas as well (ala The Vegetarian Myth) and Brazier definitely makes the most compelling and researched case.

The second half of his book goes through a variety of foods, page by page, highlighting why they are nutrient dense, healthy food choices. Then it concludes with 200 recipes. Many of the recipes came from celebrated chefs who specialize in plant based cuisine and this was done so we would get an amazing array of tried and true dishes that taste good. I plan on making many of them myself but I started with the Parsnip Oven Fries. I wanted an after school snack for my kids and this french fry look alike hit the spot. They cooked up nice and crispy but a bit too dark and that was my fault for gabbing on the phone while they were baking. Served them up with some catsup and the kids thought they were regular old fries (which excited them because I never make fries) with just a bit of an “off” taste. Plus they were full of healthy fats via coconut oil.

Will be trying some of the other recipes soon. I already see improvement in energy levels since reading Thrive Foods. It just makes you all that more aware of the nutrient density of the foods you are choosing and when I am aware I make better choices and get more nutrition out of my food overall. At the very least it has spurred me into eating more fresh fruit throughout the day, which has done wonders for the skin. LOVE the title too… it is about being nourished instead of just fed and it is about thriving instead of just getting by.

“Like” Brendan Brazier’s Facebook page for some free recipes from the book. Enjoy!

Tiffany: Why should non vegans look into adding more raw foods to their diet?

Chef Bryan Au: Vegans and everyone should eat more organic fresh fruit and vegetables because it is very healthy and doctors always recommend it too. With my recipes it is so much fun, fast and easy while being incredibly delicious too! And all my recipes are made out of fresh organic fruit, vegetables with some nuts or seeds so you don’t have to worry about getting “enough” because you will! It is also very new with amazing flavors and assortment of new desserts and recipes to enjoy. It really is for everyone. And everyone absolutely loves it!

Tiffany: Do you think your recipes are easy enough and tasty enough to fool those strapped for time or dead set against “health food”?

Chef Bryan Au: Yes definitely! I actually designed ALL of my recipes to look and taste even BETTER than everyone’s favorite junk foods, comfort foods and international menu. I did this on purpose because we all enjoy these foods the most. But I was able to combine all my years of being a chef, culinary expert and was finally able to combine perfectly the two worlds of junk foods and have it be actually the most healthy food on the planet! It is very incredible and you have to experience it yourself. My recipes are actually the most creamy, decadent and gourmet yet so simple and tasty!

Tiffany: What are some of your favorite recipe recommendations for those just getting started with raw foods?

Chef Bryan Au: Many people really love my Pasta Alfredo because it is so simple to make yet so refreshing and flavorful it is a great introduction into how amazing Raw Organic Cuisine can be and then of course ANY of the desserts will instantly make anyone and everyone a huge fan of Raw Organic Cuisine and they will totally understand and want more as a result! I have seen this happen many times. But I do have more than 100+ recipes to choose from and anything or everything that you already enjoy I have a raw organic cuisine recipe or version of it that is fresher, faster, healthier and even more amazing! My goal is to make Raw Organic Cuisine the Main Food Trend in 2011 and Media Diet because it is so delicious, fun, and new with tons of health benefits. No other new “diet” or cuisine even exists or can come close so please give my new recipe book ECO CHEF BRYAN AU Raw Star Recipes: Organic Meals, Snacks & Desserts In 10 Minutes a try I promise you will love it and it already has become a major Food Trend in 2011 all the schools will be using it and you will see it everywhere.

Tiffany: Do you need any special equipment to whip up these recipes?

Chef Bryan Au: In general you can make most of my recipes with a very sharp knife, a cutting board and a good blender. But for a few recipes you do need a Good4U Dehydrator but even if you do not have one you can sometimes use the sun or a oven to dehydrate the recipes. But I would say 95% of all my recipes can be made with the sharp knife, cutting board and a good blender and most people have those already in the kitchen.

When I was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 I moved from Ohio to Arizona so I could go to one of the best doctors in the country. His treatment is a mix of conventional and non-conventional and he encourages diet and other alternatives as methods of cure as well. One of the first things he told me was to stop to eating meat and dairy. The reason? They encourage acidity in the body and cancer cells LOVE acid environments. Meat and dairy would in fact contribute to an environment that makes cancer very happy. Later on a I read several books that backed him up and one of those is The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health.

It is a very eye opening book and shows with perfect clarity why a diet based upon acid foods like meat and dairy are NOT a good idea. Of course this is not to say that you cannot ever eat these things but the typical person is not striking a balance between acidic and alkaline foods. The book goes into the exact things that happen when our body is too acidic… it is like giving your cells and acid bath and giving a place for things like Candida (yeast) a place to thrive.

In all honesty the diet at the back of the book is quite radical and there is NO way I could live on it long term. Cold cucumber, avocado soup in the morning doesn’t sound yummy. But thanks to pioneers in the raw foods movement I can drink my green smoothies in addition to other greens and veggies throughout the day and strike a good balance. Or so I hope. ;)

This book inspired me to get some pH testing strips to test my pH daily to see how I am doing. I also got some  pH booster drops to add to my water. Eventually though that became cost prohibitive and I got an Alkamate, portable alkazing water bottle instead. LOVE it! One of the first reviews on that page was from someone who claimed they were to acidic and were getting hives. Ironically I get hives when I stop drinking my smoothies and let my diet get out of whack. I have never been able to explain way they come on but perhaps it too has to do with my pH. After filtering my tap I now add the pH drops and some lemon for the ultimate alkaline water. I have already seen a difference, especially in my skin. This month my period crept up on me and caught me by surprise. My skin usually gets oily and a just a bit blotchy a couple days before that time of month but this go round… nada. If the outside cells of my skin react this way to a more alkaline environment I can only assume the inside cells are swimming around in joy.

Do you know what your pH is?

Now she wasn’t depressed or even unhappy really. She had/has a very good life but she still found that she had trouble living in the moment and “feeling” that happiness that she knew she should be feeling. She was nagging her husband, being short with her kids, blowing off friends, and in general not making every minute count. So she decided to start a one year happiness project where she studied happiness, started singing in the mornings, acting happy even if she wasn’t feeling it, cleaning her closets, and trying to have more fun.

This book resonated with me for a couple reasons. Like the author I have a good life and tons of reasons to be happy. I have great kids, a great husband, a nice home, we don’t struggle with money or have any real problems. But I also have trouble sitting back with a smile and thinking .. “I am happy right now”. Why is that? I have the habit of thinking “I will be happy when”…. and then following that up with some dream or goal. The problem is… when you reach that goal it changes to something else or if you haven’t managed to reach that goal then happiness feels elusive to you. That might make sense if there were not a hundred other things you could be and should be happy about right now!

Another reason I liked this book is because I started my own happiness project of sorts at the beginning of the year. I just didn’t realize it at the time and I didn’t really discuss it here. I decided that instead of making a bunch of New Year’s Resolutions I was going to make this the year I took care of ME. Whatever else I accomplished this year I was going to get back to putting self care at the top of my to-do list. For the past 10 years I have put all of myself into taking care of my kidlets and putting my self dead last. With my youngest turning five I decided it was time to start taking care of me again. Of course my kids benefit when I am feeling good as well… I have more energy, I want to do more fun activities, and I snap at them less. Its a win-win for all and I am not sure why I allowed my needs to come last for so long. The other aspect I wanted to work on was my marriage… which has had an equally low place on the totem pole since kids came into the picture. But I quickly began to see that taking care of me was equally beneficial to my husband… I nagged less, I wanted to spend more time with him, and we got along MUCH better when I could see the forest through the trees.

Sooo… even though I wasn’t calling it a happiness project I had started one of my own design already and so reading this book and seeing the steps the author was working through was such an encouraging thing. Each month she chose a theme to work on and had a checklist of things she needed to accomplish for each. For the first month it was Vitality. Her main goal was to boost energy and she set about doing this by getting more sleep, exercising better, organizing her mental and physical clutter, tackling her to-do list, and acting more energetic even if she didn’t feel more energetic. Each month was similar to this and I LOVE the concept. I have been working towards vitality myself for awhile now. In the past month I decided to go to bed at 10PM instead of 11 or 12. I joined a gym that I love and have been taking water aerobics classes. I have also been organizing and decluttering. I categorized it as part of my self care plan but it fits nicely within the vitality theme as well.

My marriage goals work well with the second month’s theme… Remember Love. I also think I skipped ahead to month 7 with Buy Some Happiness because I have been buying myself flowers once a month to perk up my desk. Okay not quite flowers… some blooming branches, but same difference. They make me happy and normally I would feel guilty splurging on something like that. Why do moms always feel guilty when we treat ourselves?

Now I think I am going to be more mindful of having a theme and a checklist to work on each month. Breaking it down into bite size chunks makes it easier to tackle. The best part though is that you can really start to identify what makes you happy and that you are quite happy already most days. It is no longer that elusive thing you are aspiring to… it was already there you just had to learn to be mindful of it. We can get off the roller coaster of thoughts that tell us we will be happy when this or that happens. We can be happy now… as in right this minute, if we want to be.

Do you also have trouble being happy in the moment?

It follows along on the real life adventure of Kristin Kimball who was a writer working in NYC. She took an assignment in PA interviewing a young farmer who was running a CSA, local food operation. The interview was quite hard to get because she was put to work as soon as she walked onto the farm but she ended up being smitten by the gentleman farmer (Mark) and by his vision. Fast forward a little while later and they are engaged and moving to a ramshackle farm in upper New York. Mark’s vision is to create a farm where they provide everything their members need… milk, eggs, cheese, grains, maple syrup, honey, beans, herbs, flours, fruits, veggies, and meat (beef, pork, chicken). It was to be a very ambitious “whole diet” CSA. The price tag per person would $2900. Oh and instead of tractors and machinery they would use draft horses only.

Their journey was so engrossing and my goodness if anyone has romantic ideas about farming this book will put that to rest. It is VERY HARD work and while there were numerous moments of elation and satisfaction there were also numerous mishaps and sad moments. I felt exhausted emotionally just reading all of it!

The book really gave me a lot to think about. I have always wanted to start or be part of an eco village where we raised all of our own food. My husband always looked at me like I was nuts but in the past year he has been bringing up “his” idea of a commune where a small group of folks all live on the same large property, work together, share bio vehicles, grow food, raise livestock, etc. Uh..huh.. passing off my dream as his idea, LOL. He should read this book to get an idea of what is involved.

I really felt as though I was a part of a grand journey while reading and was deeply invested in getting the rat problem under control for instance. I was also devastated when an injury and old age claimed their original two draft horses. I was bawling my eyes out. It also made me face up to my discomfort with the idea of raising animals to eat. I am all over the place with that one. I always said I might eat meat again if I had a hand in caring for it because my aversion to meat is more related to health and my disdain for factory farming. After reading this I am confused again because it was a very graphic and candid look at what that entails. But on the flip side the way author describes the luxurious taste of liver makes it sounds almost orgasmic.

I was also less than thrilled with the hard work their draft horses had to do. It got me thinking that maybe I am a big weanie who just doesn’t understand the life of work animals. While growing up my grandfather had cattle dogs but no cattle and he had cutting horses but again no cattle with which to work these animals unless he was at a horse show. The work animals rarely had to work. I was literally biting my nails off when I read along as the draft horses got spooked and tore off down the road and Kimball was anticipating finding them dead or badly injured. Oh yes, I am a HUGE weanie. This type of stuff makes me ill to think about… animals hurting.

Anyway I LOVED the book and the way I got to take a peek inside the life of another and come to feel as though I knew them. This book has some great writing. The only thing I felt it needed was pictures. LOTS of pictures of their home, their farm, and all the people they spoke of in the book.

Below is a video put out by the publisher and gives us a peek at the author and a day in her life. Enjoy!

I just finished up an awesome new book last night. Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It! by Kris Carr. I was looking forward to this book for a long time because Kris Carr and her ideas have a lot of personal significance to me. Kris’s first book, Crazy Sexy Cancer, was the first one I read after my cancer diagnosis and it was amazing to read about her journey with cancer just as I was beginning my own. Kris was diagnosed with a rare and deadly cancer at age 31. She had lesions or tumors all over her liver and lungs and was told there was nada anyone could do about it. So she decided to find her own treatment which began with macrobiotics but ended with what you read about in Crazy Sexy Diet… “a low fat, vegetarian (or vegan) program that reduces inflammation and balances the pH of the body with lush whole foods, low-glycemic fruits, raw veggies, alkalizing green drinks, and superpowered smoothies”. It is not a diet book as in lose weight either… it is a diet book in the sense that it highlights how to create a lifestyle change.

Kris’s cancer went dormant and has been that way for a few years now. She is gorgeous, vibrant, and inspirational.

I appreciate this book and its ideas because they are soooo similar to mine.. although I am sure her earlier works and her website helped me to form some of these ideas. I eat vegetarian, I try to avoid grains and gluten as much as possible, I love to eat high raw and I am mindful of the pH of certain foods which is why meat is a no-no and dairy is not front and center. I am a mix of Crazy Sexy Diet, Nourishing Traditions, and The Kind Diet but the emphasis is usually on the first one and after reading this book is likely to remain so.

Nourishing Traditions folks eat too much meat for my liking and not enough veggies. The macrobiotic diet (Kind Diet) emphasizes too many grains… Crazy, Sexy Diet is “just right” when I add some pastured eggs, and small amounts of grass fed dairy. The only thing I saw in CSD that I did not care for was recipes with tofu… yeah soy is not a health food IMO. It is easy to just add double the veggies and get rid of soy though.

The book has a 21 day cleanse for those wanting to get started right away. It is a detox really. There are also recipes in the back for the cleanse and advice on doing a juice fast one day a week. Fasting one day a week is something I am now really considering.

But the book does not stop at eating. It also has advice on dry brushing (which I also plan to start), supplements (gotta buy some E3Live), meditation, exercise, positive thinking, bathing, a healthy home, ect. Spirituality too. I got a kick out of seeing an alter of sorts in the book (I assume it is Kris’s) that had a mish mesh of different deities/religious ideas.. aka Jesus on the cross right next to the Goddess Lakshmi. I have a mix of sorts like that as well. But if you are staunchly in one camp have no fear because it does not preach, just encourages spirituality in whatever form you wish.

It is really a powerhouse book with so much good information I could not put it down. I recommend it to all: Crazy Sexy Diet. As a side note it has already achieved best seller status and it has been selling out in stores and even Amazon. It’s THAT good!

I started reading it on Saturday morning and by noon I was knee deep in decluttering my bedroom , which is the first room mentioned in the book. Our closet was still full of boxes I never bothered to unpack, clothes I haven’t worn because I don’t like them, and full of kids clothing and possessions. Someone, who shall remain nameless, likes to make only one stop when putting away clean laundry and thus my walk-in closet is the catch all for everybody’s stuff. It took about 3-4 hours to completely clean that room. I ended up with 4 large boxes of giveaway stuff and all the dust bunnies were swept away, even the ones under my bed. And of course I had some serious “talks” with my kids about things like rotting banana peels thrown under there. No more eating in mom’s bed is a new rule.

I really thought we were very “decluttered” after two moves but I still had quite a bit of old clothing I no longer wear. My youngest son and my daughter had lots of clothes they have outgrown, and sorry but toys abandoned in the back of my closet weren’t being missed, so out they went. After the bedroom you follow the author threw other rooms until you have your fifty. I have held off on finishing because my trunk is full of stuff I have to donate and I want to get rid of that first. But afterwards I will tackle those rooms with gusto. The author also recommends the process be about two weeks in length.

The last chapters are all about clearing out the mental clutter and it has lots of good advice for that too. By far my favorite thing about this book though is the personal stories told about decluttering, they were quite funny. There are also green tips sprinkled throughout for how to recycle many of the items you may donate.

Anyone else feeling that itch to spring clean even though it is still winter?

I may be one of the last people to review this book but alas I was number #60 on my library lending list. Does that tell you it is good or what? Well, either good or controversial… perhaps both, but I “mostly” enjoyed it. The book is Radical Homemakers – Reclaiming Domesticity From a Consumer Culture by Shannon Hayes.

It basically seeks to show how we all used to be homemakers (even the men) and how industrialization caused men to leaves homes for work and women to become the main homemakers. The women then had the lions share of home work and upkeep thus making many of them feel subjugated and feeling the need for some “liberation”. Companies stepped up to the plate to offer convenience products and foods which made women’s lives easier but it also meant the creation of a consumer society. Homes went from units of production… growing food, preserving foods, sewing clothes, bartering within their community… to units of consumption. We became consumers who relied on companies and corporations for most of our needs and high paying jobs to support all of this consumption. Many families even found that both partners needed to work outside the home to support this lifestyle.

Homemaking though is essentially where it starts though. What we can or cannot do in the home is what requires us to make all of these consumer purchases and spend so much time working outside the home. Shannon Hayes makes a case for why returning home and being homemakers improves family, community, social justice, and the health of the planet.

The first half is rather like a thesis making a case for how we have became a society of consumers and what that has meant for families, communities, and the planet. The second half shows us what we can do to get back in the home and make it a more self sufficient, unit of production. It does this by highlighting the lives of 20 radical homemakers and sharing their thoughts about how returning or staying home (sometimes mom AND dad) has been life altering and empowering.

I kept reading this book and thinking I knew a person or two who NEEDS to read it… usually die hard Republicans who tout the benefits of a capitalist society. There was however one area of the book I really did not like. It makes a case for why we might want to forgo the healthcare system and traditional health insurance and all the reasons why. That was all good and fine and it did seem to make exceptions for children. Then in the next breath it condoned choosing to stay at home and not seek out employment to cover these costs and instead sign up for Medicaid. That whole section just rubbed me the wrong way but I fully admit I am not so liberal in my views on welfare and healthcare. Then a few pages after that it makes an argument for why it is perfectly okay to live off welfare.

Okay I am down with living with less, simplifying, sticking it to the man, becoming self sufficient, going off-grid, and doing without but how is using tax payer funded assistance programs taking care of yourself? It isn’t and the argument for why it is fell flat IMO. These programs are not meant to be lifestyle choices. It is kind of like saying that you choose to raid the tip jar on the grocer’s counter for the rest of your life instead of finding a way to pay for your own groceries. Oh and tip jar contributions are mandatory for everyone else. You are not a self sustaining productive unit if you are taking government aid. The goal should be to get by without that.

I did however love the idea of building your friendships and your community so that you can support each other. Bartering was discussed at length and I think that is a key ingredient of self sufficiency in this day and age. I also liked the section on homeschooling.

Overall I like the message in this book and I think there is a lot to be gleaned from it. I am glad I got it from the library though, since it won’t be a book I read more than once.

I read a book about Magick, a finance book, a Feng Shui book (which helped me decide on a headboard to make for my bed) and read one of the best dang non-fiction books I have read in years called… The Bucolic Plague. I was laughing out loud by the third or fourth page and refused to put it down until I had soaked up every last delicious morsel.

It is essentially the story of two professional guys living in New York City. One is a former doctor who took a job with Martha Stewart’s empire. The other is a former drag Queen turned ad executive. They both had rural upbringings so they took an annual country drive to soak up the country and buy apples. It was on one of these trips that they discovered the 200 year old Beekman Mansion for sale quite a ways away from the city. They decide to buy and become gentlemen farmers. So begins their journey to growing their own food, decorating a mansion, maintaining a farm with 80+ goats, starting a business, and reviving the local economy in the sleepy little town they now call home. Oh and they try to do it all with a Martha Stewart like perfection after they appear on her show and she mentions that she would like to stop by and see their new abode.

It is a really great story with many twists and turns… from buying the farm, to bringing in a co-farmer, to acknowledging they may lose the farm and mansion during the economic collapse of 2008 when they both lost their jobs. It gives you a look into a world you would very much like to visit with people you would love to call friend… which I guess is why these two gentlemen ended up getting their own series on Planet Green called The Fabulous Beekman Boys. Season two of the show will begin early in 2011 so be on the lookout for it.

It tells the story of a little boy named Liam who lives in a very urban, factory town where little to no greenery exists. The opening visual is of a dreary looking city with large smokestacks, an abandoned railroad bridge, lots of abandoned buildings, and badly maintained homes and skyscrapers. Everyone stays indoors except Liam who likes to explore outside. One day when he is exploring he is run under the railroad bridge by rain and he discovers a door with stairs that goes up to the tracks. There among the broken tracks he sees a spot where a little moss and a small tree are growing and he falls in love with this tiny little garden.

Liam becomes the city “gardener” and helps this little spot to grow. During the long hard winter he makes plans and he prepares to welcome his greenery back. Well long story short he helps the garden grow so that it takes off like crazy and when the other city folk see how beautiful it is they all start gardening and the city ends up with rooftop gardens, planter boxes on their skyscraper windows, trees, bushes, and the old and forgotten buildings and abandoned vehicles are overrun by greenery. The most lovely feature is the railroad bridge. Since there is no train, the bridge is a green belt of gorgeousness that weaves it way through the whole city. My kids (4, 6) and I loved the story and the pictures.

Of course I thought it was a bit unrealistic that the smokes stacks were allowed to be overrun with greenery. Do these people not have to work anymore? LOL. It is nice idea but that bit of fantasy didn’t seem right to me somehow. I love the idea of greening our most urban and economically depressed areas but greening the landscape does not mean industry goes away. That is my only criticism though.

I highly recommend this book for you and your kiddos! Great story, great pictures, and a great message.

I think my husband and I have a small addiction to cook books. Remember my healthy cook book roundup? Every time we enter a book store or thrift store or go to a yard sale we head right over to the books and search for new cook books. My husband will no doubt gravitate towards ethnic cuisine and dessert books. I like cook books for vegetarians, crock pot enthusiasts, and of course … those who like more traditional and nourishing foods. Two new books that found their way into our homes (via their respective publishers) and now have a permanent spot on our shelves are highlighted below.

The Real Food Diet – This book is not like your traditional “diet” books that are out there on the market. Instead of asking you to count calories it implores you to count nutrients and do the “food math”. In the info chapters at the beginning you will find information about real versus fake food, a list of the top 30 nutrient dense foods, and what frankenfoods to avoid… aka the white stuff, pasteurized dairy, conventional meats and eggs, artificial sweeteners, etc. I have really enjoyed this cookbook because it REALLY meshes with my own ideas about food. It is part nourishing foods and part raw foods and although it does have meaty recipes it also has plenty without. I LOVE the fact that it highlights nutrient dense plant foods because frankly some nourishing foods enthusiasts harp on liver, liver, liver all the time. That is just nasty if you ask me.

This book also gives us a ton of recipes that don’t use grains. The Grainless Granola? Yum! The gluten free Pumpkin Blueberry Pancakes? Yum! Each recipe has little symbols next it that symbolize the value in each recipe… aka Quick Recipes, Raw Food Recipes, Kids Favorites, Feeling Sick Foods, Low Energy Foods, Post Workout, and Inflammation. All the recipes I have made thus far were quite good and this book covers all the basics of a REAL food diet. It is one darn excellent cookbook. The only criticism I have is cosmetic and more about how the book was published rather than written. I LOVE the spiral bound pages because you lay the book open flat but the pages in this particular book stuck to each other… a LOT.

The Homesteader’s Kitchen – This book is also very much about real foods/nourishing foods but it has a distinct homestead and local foods movement feel to it. It concentrates on comfort foods made with local ingredients – from farm to table. I am hugely into the local foods movement so I really enjoyed this book as well. It has plenty of the basic recipes like Vegetable Soup but also some more exotic ideas like the Samurai Breakfast.. which I thought was awesome. This book also has meat recipes but they are not in the majority, which is nice for me and the book has a specific section for vegetarians. Another bonus is that is has instructions for making basic foods like your own yogurt, cheese, creme fraiche, sourdough starter, tortillas, and the like. It is an all around great book for the basics of local foods eating and farm fresh goodness with a very modern twist. It is in part something your grandmother would have had on her bookshelf and in part something brand new. It is mesh of old and new ideas and cooking and definitely a keeper.

I have been reading Young Adult paranormal fiction for a few years because quite frankly it is more mature than the stuff for adults. I am not a huge fan of gore, explicit sex scenes, and excessive swearing and with YA novels you get more story and character development because they can’t resort to such cheap tricks. If you like Young Adult novels like Twilight or Blue Bloods then Graceling is sure to please. It kicks Twilight booty… HARD.

The story takes place in a magical world with seven kingdoms. Some exceptional people are born with an extreme skill called a Grace, signified by the fact that they have eyes of differing colors. Katsa (with blue/green eyes) is a Graceling born with a killing Grace and she is forced by her Uncle, the King of the Middluns Kingdom, to use her Grace to punish and torture his enemies. Despite this Katsa has created a secret counsel that uses its resources to fight injustices among the 7 kingdoms. On one of her missions for the counsel she rescues and elderly grandfather who has been kidnapped for reasons unknown. It is here she meets Prince Po, his grandson, who has the Grace of Combat skills and some amazing eyes… one silver and one gold.

In Po, Kasta has finally met her equal and she fights to gain control of her own destiny so she can accompany him on a mission to find out why any of the other kingdoms would kidnap an old man. Their journey reveals hidden secrets and perhaps that their own graces were not what they actually thought they were. It also reveals a Grace so powerful that it could destroy all seven kingdoms, not with swords and war, but with words.

It is a riveting novel that has you hooked after only a few pages and you become so emotionally entangled with these wonderful characters that you can’t help but laugh and cry with them as they go on their amazing journey. It also does an incredible job of painting for us a whole new world… Nander, Wester, Middluns, Estill, Sunder, Monsea, and Lienid. Each kingdom is brought to life with such vivid detail you are ready to pack your bags and take an extended stay, if only to really see the gold and silver “Po” trees of Lienid yourself. I highly recommend this book!

Don’t forget to check out this prequel to Graceling called Fire. Both books can be read independently or together and in any order.

It has great advice on how to clean areas of the home including rugs, wood floors, curtains and blinds, antique textiles, and fireplaces. It goes into ways we can make our home feel “homier” with homemade potpourris, pomanders, and vintage linens. There are recipes for classic beauty creams and cosmetics such as Rose Water & Almond Cleanser, cold creams, and skin toner. There are also homemade remedies for illness and ailments. It gives insight into how women of days past cared for their homes and their families and teaches us some of that lost art. It is really fascinating how they lived and how much of the innovations they made back then are still practical today, perhaps preferred in many cases.

If you want a nice read for a lazy, cold Sunday this fall or winter I recommend this one. Just be warned, it may make you want to clean house!

I really wish I had a book like The Art of Pregnancy when I was was pregnant with each of my three kids. As it was I had a more mainstream pregnancy journal/planner book and it did more to make me anxious or fearful than to relax me and inspire me. As the natural parenting and childbirth movements gain ground we see more great books like these, books that empower women to gestate and give birth on their own terms.

It is a planner so it helps you stay organized during this momentous time and it follows the weeks of pregnancy giving information and inspiration for celebrating what is going on in your body at the moment. It is also an art book, which I LOVE. It is full of gorgeous artwork depicting pregnant women and the type of art represented is vast and varied. It made me swell with pride 4 years AFTER my last birth so I can only imagine how uplifting these photos of strong beautiful women would be while you are with child. Pregnancy is a time when so many women feel down on their looks but this book celebrates that gorgeous baby bump and those curves that are developing to sustain your baby.

I remember a lot of advice to shop for different things in the pregnancy planner I had. This books is quite a bit different. It offers advice on how to celebrate and appreciate where you are in the moment and to how stay physically and emotionally healthy for what lies ahead. Aka have an organic potluck, have your belly painted with non toxic paints, asks friends for a single bead with a blessing and make a birth necklace, prayer flags, massage your baby, do yoga, ect. There are several beautiful poems sprinkled throughout too. It really makes me long to have another baby, LOL.

This book would be a great gift for any pregnant mamas you know or for yourself too of course. It is a planner, a  journal, a guide, a source of inspiration and inner strength, and an art book. Enjoy!

Bento and I have had a long love story. I discovered the art of bento and packing cute lunches a couple years ago when my oldest son was in first grade. The above picture is from way back then. I fell in love with bento because it reduces waste and eliminates the need for baggies with individual foods because bento boxes usually have sections for different foods or clever ways to keep it altogether but still separate. I am 33 and I admit that I don’t like my food to touch. Packing in bento boxes also it makes it easy to pack REAL food for lunch! Things that were difficult to pack in plastic baggies like pasta, California rolls, omelets, or rice are really super easy to pack in bento boxes. Of course many bento enthusiasts have gone a step beyond and made the food resemble something closer to edible art and that is what the book Bento Yum Yum addresses.

What I Liked About This Book: I loved the ideas for cutting veggies into cute shapes like the carrot stars and flowers. The ability to make animals or make your eggs have happy faces is just too cute! See the little chickies made of eggs above? I also liked the advice on how to dye things different colors naturally… aka making the rice pink to make little piggies or green to make frogs. How well it will work on brown rice remains to be seen though. The themes of each lunch really creates a great place to get your lunch imagination working.

What I Dislike About This Book: The abundance of what I would consider junk food.. the white rice, the hotdogs, the deli meat, white bread, fried foods, ect. Yeah I get that hotdogs can be easily turned in an octopus but I would rather my kids not eat hotdogs, ya know? At least half of the book highlights ways to make lunches with the stuff that many of us are trying to get away from. It is discouraging to wonder how you can recreate certain theme meals without using what they used.

Still I can use the book as inspiration for my lunch making adventures this year and I will just have to find clever substitutes for the foods I am not so fond of. Just with the world of bento boxes and the abundance of cheap plastic crap you can get sucked into buying.. you take the good and find ways to ignore or work around the stuff you don’t like.

Ever tried the little jars of baby food from the store? Yuck! Even before I knew much about whole foods I knew that those little jars were nasty. Not only do they taste quite bad IMO and not at all like the like real foods they are imitating, they are not fresh foods and they are packed with preservatives usually. From the beginning of my career as a mom I bypassed those jars as much as possible and opted to feed my babes what the rest of us were eating… pureed of course. I have a video of my youngest eating his first real meal at about 8 months old (breastfed before that). He devoured a puree of 13 bean stew… and I mean devoured. On the video he is trying to dive into the crock pot and he screams when the food is out of his reach. This is significant because this was just after my cancer diagnosis and my release from the hospital. My family was taking care of the little guy while I couldn’t and the breast milk bank was now permanently closed. They tried to feed him some store bought baby food and he did NOT like it. But the 13 bean stew? The boy was screaming (literally) for whole foods.

Recently I was sent a copy of the book Organically Raised – Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers and I can’t say enough good things about it. Not only is it a beautiful book with tons of gorgeous pictures that had me drooling for baby and toddler food… the concept is so important for parents of young ones to grasp. Chemical laden baby food from jars is not really easier and more convenient than making wholesome organic, baby food yourself from whole foods. In my experience the opposite is true. I also believe that the BEST way to get your kids eating healthy whole foods, and tons of fruits and veggies as kids is to start by feeding them these foods as a baby in the freshest forms available. Is it any coincidence that my kids all ate REAL food as babes and that I now have zero problems in the getting kids to eat veggies department? I don’t think so. We went to a buffet recently and attracted much attention when my kids filled their own plates with broccoli, green beans, peas, mushrooms, and various fruits. Around me I saw several kids eating Jello and drumsticks for dinner… nuff said.

Also because they are so little and vulnerable, they benefit greatly from organic foods. They don’t need any more chemical exposure than they already get from their environment. This book gives lots of advice for feeding kids consciously with many delicious recipes. The toddler food is also great for encouraging adventurous eating. Greek falafel bites with cucumber-dill dipping sauce and quinoa primavera are healthy foods sure enough but they are also FAR from what kids who eat the SAD (Standard American Diet) are used to and that is a very good thing. Kids who are exposed to many different and unique foods as children will try more foods overall and have a more diverse diet as adults. That is code for saying they won’t be picky eaters. We all know those picky adult eaters don’t we? The ones who think anything but meat and potatoes is exotic and foreign.

I can’t wait to make some of these tasty toddler dishes for my youngest and thankfully there were lots of non meat recipes in the book because the boy isn’t big on eating things with faces. I know we will all love the food and I especially loved reading the book. The pictures alone made me sad that my young kiddo days are almost gone. If you are prone to baby fever you may not want to read it… the pictures of the babies and toddlers are just as delicious as the food ones.

This is THE cookbook for parents who want to feed their babies and toddlers organic, real, nourishing, whole foods. Thank you Anni Daulter for an amazing book!