This past New Year’s Eve wasn’t quite the drunken, push-your-sorority-sister-home-in-a-shopping-cart type evening I remember from, say, 1999.
It was more of an early affair this year, punctuated by baby’s bedtime and a glass of wine for mom. My husband and I sat on the couch and talked about our favorite parts of 2011. I asked him, what was the best book you read? He thought through the many books he’d gone through, finally choosing one.
He asked me, what about you? What’s the best book you read?
This was an easier question because in 2011 I proudly finished not one, but TWO books. Holy moly, between all the new mama chaos and confusion and sleep deprivation I am proud to say I read two full books cover to cover.
I bought this book because Matthew somehow found me (via Twitter?) after my appearance in Lemonade. And he’s one hell of a hilarious dude, mixing good ol’ smarts and friendliness with a mouth any mother would want to wash out with soap. So he became a friend – a friend who lives in Malta of all places, as if I have any clue where that is – and a friend who published a book. All things considered, I had to read this book so I must have been one of the first 5 Americans who ordered it.
When your mom was pregnant, was she happy? What was her health like? Was she on medication? Did she eat broccoli? Did you ever think about how her experience in those 9 months created you and your unique characteristics?
It made me wonder about my little boy (shown above at 18 weeks) and all that he is experiencing. He goes to yoga with me, eats what I eat and hears my voice all day long. But does he take in the sounds of the TV I watch? Does he feel when I try to squeeze into my pre-pregnancy leggings?
Last weekend I broke through a new cooking frontier. Well, baking to be exact. I’d never really wanted to make pretzels before, but then I got Kim Boyce’s cookbook, Good the Grain, and fell deeply and madly in love with her rye flour soft pretzel recipe.
I’m seriously happy I bought this book. Sure, I already have shelves overflowing with cookbooks but this is one I’d like to work my way through and follow meticulously. Most of the time I use recipes as suggestions but I’d be silly to mess with these carefully calibrated baking formulas. After all, I’ve struggled with using different whole grain flours and here she has it, all spelled out. Rye flour, amaranth flour, buckwheat flour, etc….there’s a chapter on each one. I imagine this makes my gluten-free friends very happy but it makes me happy too because now I can pounce all over the bulk section at our local co-op and buy all those flours I’ve never known what to do with!
Like I said in my previous post, the publishers of Victoria Boutenko’s Green Smoothie Revolution sent me the book to review awhile ago. I felt like a dummy for waiting so long but honestly, wouldn’t we rather talk about raw food when spring is just around the corner?
Well, happily the publishers are still letting me offer a giveaway for you guys! Yay!
Smoothies are a pretty hot ticket item these days. I see ‘em being sold for $8 at cafes and touted as healthy so everyone can feel good about themselves.
Let’s be honest though. Most smoothies being sold at restaurants or take-out places are full of sugar. They’re the “healthy” person’s ice cream cone.
Wait – I can already hear what you’re thinking! “There’s a place near me that makes fresh smoothies from real fruit!” I think that’s great if you have that nearby. But still, $7 or $8 for a smoothie? Yikes. Plus, I hear a lot of people talk about drinking fruit smoothies for breakfast. If that’s the case, chances are you will be starving by 10am. Most of us need some fiber and not so much sugar first thing in the morning. (Unlike juicing, smoothies include the whole vegetable with all of its fiber.)
As with absolutely everything, when you make it yourself you save big bucks and have 100% control over the ingredients. And so, I present to you….green smoothies!
And surprisingly, they aren’t even cookbooks. These are just three really awesome books that have captured my attention all at the same time and kept me hooked for weeks.
Do you tend to read more than 1 book at a time? I am usually monogamous with my books but right now I’m torn between all three so I’ve been rotating between them.
Real Food by Nina Planck
First and foremost, if you haven’t already heard about Real Food by Nina Planck, do yourself a favor and see what all the fuss is about. Lots of food bloggers have been writing about this one so I feel silly repeating the praise here. What I’ll say is that I have few books as complete, as readable and as smart as Real Food. This one book covers everything from milk and fish to topics like cholesterol and calcium. And while there’s some footnoting in there to satisfy the science types, there’s also enough personal story so the book reads like, well, a sort of food novel. Not a textbook.
So what’s Real Food about? Real Food. Real, whole, traditional food. Not Pop Tarts or Cheezits or Lean Cuisines, but rather farm fresh eggs, lovingly grown produce and traditional, natural animal products. You won’t see multi-billion dollar ads for real food on TV, so you gotta read about it here.
My very favorite thing about Real Food is the appendix called “Where to Find Real Food.” You can take the knowledge from the book and put it into action by following the authors recommendations for websites to buy fish oil and phone numbers to call for dark chocolate. I can verify that many of these sources are well-known and reputable. Others, I haven’t tried but am psyched to learn about for the first time!
I guess when there is a lot to absorb from a book I like to put it down and come back to it when I’m ready to absorb more. That’s been the case with Real Food! I read a little, put it aside and watch So You Think You Can Dance, read a little more a week later, etc. And in between I’ve started testing some of Nina Planck’s ideas. I made liver. I bought walnut oil. And I’ve got new fish oil on the way! It’s been fun, and I’m sure I’m going to keep referring to this book for myself and for my clients.
Ok, so what about those other 2 books? These are not food books but I’ve been devouring them all the same.
Who Would You Be Without Your Story? by Byron Katie
I first came across The Work by Byron Katie during my yoga teacher training. Man, this is powerful stuff. What are the thoughts that anger you, the things that cause you stress? For awhile, mine was worrying if my husband was ever going to propose to me! Ha! That one worked out. But back then, it caused me a lot of stress thinking about it and Byron Katie’s tools helped me relax and accept what is instead of wanting what isn’t.
This book is a transcript from her sessions with real people. As I’m reading it, I’m following along as if I were in the crowd at one of her events, listening to how she works with everyone to find what’s REALLY true and how their mind is making their lives more stressful than they need to be. She helps people step out of their stories and see things in a new light. I’m inspired by her patience and understanding. This is really an excellent book…can’t wait to read more by Byron Katie!
And finally…
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler
“Women are taught enough about their bodies.” I’ve always thought this applied more to my mother’s and grandmother’s generation than mine. But reading this book was a big WHOA for me. Whether you are trying to get pregnant or trying to NOT get pregnant, this is a book for you. I’m serious.
Part of me being healthy is getting really clear about what is going on with my body. So for instance, how does sugar make me feel? How do I feel when I eat dairy? By bringing consciousness to different areas of our health we can really create change. So I believe the same is true about women’s health. Read this book and your awareness will go WAY the heck up. Be prepared to feel more in control of your body than ever before!
Finally, I just want to say that I have created this Amazon store to help organize and present my recommendations to readers and clients. I have listed books, cookbooks and products for healthy living that I find really helpful. Should you choose to make a purchase, I will receive a small percentage of the sale. But totally go find these things at a locally owned shop or used bookstore if that suits your fancy! I support that 100%!
I help busy people find balance in their over-worked, over-stressed lives. Trust me, it's not an all-or-nothing situation! A few shifts in diet and lifestyle can rock your world like they did mine. Read on
