As you guys might know, I currently review books on my blog. While doing my reviews, I try to remain as objective as possible, meanwhile retaining my integrity. When reading a book about self improvement, whether it be physical or mental, I feel that it wouldn’t be fair for me to review the book without trying out out at least a few aspects of the book, especially if the book contains recipes.
When I first started reading The Ultimate pH Solution: Balance Your Body Chemistry to Prevent Disease and Lose Weight, it gradually made a lot of sense. In the book, the author Michelle Schoffro talks about how the Standard American Diet is wreaking havoc on our bodies and how it is creating the perfect acidic environment for acute and chronic illnesses to survive. The author, who is a doctor of natural medicine, acupuncture and is a biofeedback therapist- also talks about how the majority of our food is processed, and that all of the preservatives, dyes and sweeteners are to blame for the steady decline in the health of much of the westernized world. She also describes the chemical affect that food has on our body and blood when digested; making us either acidic or alkaline.The book also offers basic information that I already knew; drinking at least 8 glasses of filtered water a day, but she goes on to explain why exactly so much water is needed on a more physiological and scientific level. On a side note, I found it very interesting that it takes 32 glasses of water to counteract the negative affects of all the acid, preservatives, dyes and sugar in one can of soda!
Though the book made a lot of sense to me, at first I was a little overwhelmed at the thought of changing the dietary habits of my family. We are already on the road to healthy living and I have started to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our diet, but I was a little daunted by the list of foods that the author (as well as many studies) has proven over the years to be harmful.
She goes on to talk about how dairy products and a diet consisting of more than 30% meat (especially if it’s not organic meat) is causing our bodies to maintain a perpetually acidic state. According to her research and the research done by studies, dairy products cause the body to be acidic. The body compensates by leeching calcium, sodium and potassium from the bones in order to attempt to bring the blood back to an alkaline state. So instead of adding calcium to the bones and “doing the body good”, it actually has the reverse affect.
This was a little hard for me to digest, but reading further on just the first few pages, she explains that despite the US and Canadian citizens consuming over 18 gallons/13 gallons of milk a year, plus 12 pounds/13 pounds of cheese a year, that osteoporosis is on a steady rise in both of these countries. She goes on to say that in contrast, a typical Bantu woman in Africa consumes a diet devoid of dairy products, and receives “her calcium intake solely from plant sources”, and that even though she only receives one half the amount of calcium that Americans and Canadians do, osteoporosis is relatively unknown to Africans eating a traditional diet. You can’t argue with numbers.
Michelle also talks about how she has treated people for all kinds of illnesses over the last 20 years, including: Lupus, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, and allergies. Through years of practice, she has seen her patients conquer almost all of their symptoms, if not the illness in it’s entirety. I find that truly amazing.
I wondered to myself how exactly I was supposed to feed my family since they practically lived off of dairy products. When discussing the many negative affects of the American diet with John, he agreed that the information in this book is mind blowing yet daunting. His first response? “I’m not giving up cereal.” To which I responded, “Yeah, coffee is my problem”.
As with any information that goes against the very grain of our society, and the very foundation of everything we have learned about proper nutrition since grade school, I remained interested yet skeptical. My brain just didn’t want to believe that despite knowing the numbers and the results of many studies on what dairy products actually do to our body, our government still chooses to perpetuate the myth that dairy products are a necessary component to healthy living.
It is amazing what one voice can do, the power of knowledge. John and I decided that despite our reservations about radically changing our lifestyle, we would give the pH Solution a try. We both agreed that a steady and gradual shift was the best course of action as far as moving towards nondairy products, and that an immediate change was called for snack foods in the house. I cleaned out the cupboards and left only a small amount of emergency chocolate, and we went grocery shopping for more natural foods like organic fruits and vegetables. We are trying our best to change our diet to one that consists of 30% healthy acidic foods, and 70% alkaline foods as listed in the book.
Though finding organic eggs and meat is a bit of a problem for me where I live, we have gone organic, meaning that we have cut out 90-95% of soda (cola or pop), coffee, dairy, artificial sweeteners, processed sugar and salt, foods with high fructose corn syrup, and we have incorporated the all natural herbal sweetener Stevia into our diet. We’re not perfect, but we are trying. My kids still drink milk but are finding that they really enjoy the taste of soy milk as much as I do, and we have enjoyed nibbling our way through a 2 gallons of natural and organic trail mix in the last 4 weeks.
Since then, my girls haven’t been sick once, which is a miracle, they usually get sick during the winters months frequently. I realized last night, after a weekend filled with crappy fast food ( I told you, we aren’t perfect) that the constant aches and pains in my joints, and the sharp stabbing pain in my left arch had been gone for almost 2 weeks! That is until we ate the crappy fast food this last weekend. I had soda 3 times in 2 days, and my knees and foot began to hurt again last night. So I can honestly say that using the guidelines in this book helped improve my feeling of overall health.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is striving for a healthier body and lifestyle. I have had more energy, and after detoxing from coffee and the cravings my joint pain dwindled away to an occasional twinge. And I lost another 3 pounds. I guess what they say is true; you really are what you eat.
I recently got the opportunity to choose from a wide assortment of books at Collins, and I jumped at the chance to read Glamour, Interrupted: How I Became the Best-Dressed Patient in Hollywood by Steven “Cojo” Cojocaru. I have been a fan of his for a while and have always loved watching him on Entertainment Tonight or during Red Carpet events. His particular style of wit while critiquing the rich and famous is chicken soup for my sarcastic soul. In short, I feel a certain camaraderie.
Cojo’s book is filled with humor and sarcasm, and as I read his book I realized that I’m not sure that I could even be that upbeat if I had gone through what he did. In his book he talks about the exact moments he suspected serious health problems, later becoming diagnosed with a life threatening kidney disease, and his ongoing struggle to stay afloat in a cold and not so sterile world of kidney transplants and dialysis.
Steven’s book chronicles his struggles and triumphs, and eventually acceptance that life isn’t perfect no matter how hard you work to make it appear that way. Through his illness, Steven learns what real unconditional love is in the form of friends, fans, and family and he puts a very human face to kidney disease in spite of his fame and celebrity.
I applaud him for writing his story, and despite suffering so much, being able to do it in a way that is so honest and open… and so very, very funny.
I really enjoyed reading Steven Cojocaru’s book and I would recommend it to anyone, especially fans and anyone who has hit rock bottom and thought that there was no way up; his book clearly proves that you can overcome with the love and support of the ones around you. Glamour, Interrupted is scheduled for release January 22nd, 2008. You can click the links for more info.
I think it’s no real secret that I love reading humorous content, whether it’s fiction, self help… etc. This book is no exception! How to Eat like a Hot Chick starts off by giving the reader a glossary of terms commonly used throughout the book such as LSE (Low Self Esteem) and Mary Kate( having issues with food that cause you to starve yourself).
Though some of the ideas behind this book are pretty much no brainers, I have to say that I rather enjoyed reading it. There is some really good info in it about smarter choices and the authors tell you what foods you should save those extra calories for like chocolate, for example.
What I loved about this book is that the authors Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent fully admit that we, the dear reader, are going to make mistakes. They also say right up front that being a Hot Chick is not based on how you look per se , it’s more about how you feel. Garbage in, garbage out right? They believe that the key to being hot is to feel hot.
Literally, in their book, making mistakes are fixable. So you ate a piece of chocolate cake for breakfast, huh? That piece of cake that had been taunting you for days and finally you gave in. Lipper and Vincent say that it’s not the end of the world… just make smarter choices for the rest of the day, one of their favorites being spinach which is full of nutrients.
The book also discusses common pitfalls such as salad bars, sandwiches, and mixed drinks which can all be loaded with calories and fat if your not careful. There not saying that you should give up those things completely, but they give examples of better choices and substitutes.
The overall message is that we as women need to stop feeling so controlled by food. There will be days when we eat too much chocolate or have that extra slice of pizza, but that shouldn’t destroy who you are. Hot Chicks take these things in stride and try to make better choices later in the day and week, or make up for those extra calories by working them off in various ways- including *wiggles eyebrows* you know.
If you have a problem with the occasional curse word and slight sexual innuendo this book is not for you. I obviously don’t have a problem with it because I not only love, but LURVE this book.
I am giving away the copy I received for review. If you would like to win a free copy of this book , see the sticky post above.
Had I been given the opportunity 10 years ago to review a book chock full of history, I might have said no. In high school, try as I might, history was always the first subject that I fell asleep in- mostly related to the lack of decent sleep because of my childhood. That would be my history and we won’t talk about that today.
When I saw that The Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told (by Rick Beyer) was available for review, I seriously contemplated not doing it. I told my husband- a huge history buff- and his response was “Sweet! I definitely want to read that!”, vs. my response which I said in a joking manner “Wow, this is really- *snort snore* ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz….”.
BUT, I am here to say that this definitely is NOT the case. After reading this book for just a few minutes I was enthralled and I couldn’t put it down. The best part? For once I knew something of history that my dear husband did not! I realized that my inability to retain important dates and historical facts was because of my childhood, not because there was a lack of wanting to know.
The Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told is full of funny and interesting tidbits of history, from our founding fathers up to recent U.S. presidents. Some of the historical facts included in this book are:
George Washington could have been born a Brit, had it not been for his grandfather and a custody battle involving George’s father and uncle.
Aaron Burr, one of history’s more infamous characters, was responsible for the matchmaking of (then) Congressman James Madison to his future wife, Dolley.
Thomas Jefferson disliked the Bible’s New Testament enough that he cut and pasted the parts that suited him into what is now referred to as The Jefferson Bible.
Despite being known as one of the more self-disciplined presidents, John Quincy Adams was later discovered to have enjoyed bathing naked in the Potomac every morning, even after a near death experience.
President Lincoln had a premonition of his untimely death, just 3 short days before.
The Smithsonian isn’t named after an American, but after a British Chemist who left all of his money to the U.S. government after his death in 1853 to “increase… knowledge among men”- to the tune of a half million, which is roughly worth $10 million today.
These are just a few of the quirky facts in this book, and I really enjoyed reading every juicy detail. The information in this book sheds light on relatively unknown facts about the important men in U.S. history, but in an engaging and sometimes humorous way. What I loved about reading this book was discovering the human in our forefathers, the men that have become like gods and mythical creatures.
They were just men after all, only better dressed.
A few years back I found a web site that had simple substitutions for eggs and oil in baking recipes, things like apple sauce and zucchini purees. Though I thought that this was a great idea, I soon realized the irony of trying to feed my family healthy foods this way, but only being able to find recipes on that site for the very things that are supposed to be eaten in moderation. Man cannot live by zucchini bread alone.
Then I found another site that proclaimed the many virtues of baby food. Good idea in theory, until you actually taste the stuff. Sure, I managed to hide Emma’s unwanted green beans and squash in a few batches of spaghetti and chili, but using baby food for cooking just isn’t cost effective. Baby food is quite expensive.
A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to request another book to review for HarperCollins, and right away I went for this book: Deceptively Delicious- Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld. I had already toyed with the idea of secretly stashing veggies in our meals, and had even pulled it off a handful of times… so why not give this cookbook a whirl?
From the moment that I received this book, I was interested. For starters I LOVE the style and illustrations, it’s very 50’s. I’m diggin’ it! The book also has lots of yummy photos of the prepared food, footnotes and reviews from Jessica’s family (including her famous hubby, Jerry), AND tidbits of information from nutritionist Joy Bauer. Another thing that I loved about this book is that both the author and the nutritionist support not only sneaking in fruits and veggies when you can, but they both are aware that kids need to see actual fruits and veggies on their plate. Sneaking produce into your child’s diet isn’t a substitute for good eating habits but they do recommend it for kids who are reluctant to do so.
If you are like me, the thought of pureeing food may seem a little intimidating at first. What I loved about this cookbook is that the author tells you everything you will need to prepare the fruits and vegetables, and gives you tips on how to prepare them by various methods ( steaming on the stove, by steamer or rice cooker, or in the microwave, or baking/roasting in the oven).
The beauty of all of this is that you don’t HAVE to do all the prep work of washing and chopping if you don’t have the time or simply don’t want to. If you are short on time, are willing to spend just a little more money, or just don’t want the hassle of the first few stages of prep work- buy frozen fruits and veggies. These products are always picked at the height of ripeness and are flash frozen so that none of the nutritional values are lost, AND you don’t have to worry about a drawer full of produce going bad because you didn’t get around to it.
Jessica recommends that you put aside about an hour a week to get all of your pureeing done, that way you aren’t swamped with the prep work when actually making meals. She then recommends separating the purees out into 1/2 cup portions into freezer bags so that you can pull out a bag at a time as needed.
I was able to steam broccoli and cauliflower in my microwave in 2 batches, and I pureed while the other batch was steaming. In the meantime I roasted fresh sweet potatoes in my oven. It was all pretty easy since I used frozen veggies, just cooking them in the microwave allowed them to steam themselves without any added water.
I have to admit that I really enjoyed all of these recipes myself, but my favorite is the Chocolate Peanut Butter Dip (with non-fat cream cheese) for fruit, we all had that as a snack Tuesday. Oh dear Lord… scrumptious!
This cookbook isn’t one of those books where it’s full of fancy dishes you’ve never even heard of, it is full of American favorites, cover to cover. I’m looking forward to trying out her mac and cheese, meat loaf and brownies. Yes, that’s right. I said BROWNIES.
I couldn’t have gotten this book at a better time. Recently Anna has had BMI changes, and not for the good. Since John and I are both overweight, and since Anna is at the age now where eating habits are bad but changeable I am taking this very seriously. Anna is in the “at risk for being obese” BMI numbers, and that scares me. I’m not going to rely on the whole “she’ll have a growth spurt and lose the chunk” school of thought. I don’t want my child to struggle with weight issues her whole life because I didn’t stress the importance of eating healthy. I’m man’ing up, so to speak and it feels good!
So, I’m also looking forward to feeling better about the choices our family makes at meal time. Getting joy out of sneaking in a few veggies doesn’t hurt either. I get that victorious “muahahaha!” mom feeling, but in a good way. If you have issues with eating healthy in your family and are struggling to get the good stuff in, or just want to continue to give your family high quality food and need new recipes I highly recommend this book.
*Caution for first time flax seed/meal users- use smaller amounts than what the recipe requires at first. Since it is mostly fiber, it will have a laxative effect. I recommend using smaller quantities then building up to the recommended amount per recipe. *
I was offered a chance to review a few books, but just from reading the title of this book I was hooked. I will admit that I am one of millions who plays the lottery, and though I do not play on a regular basis I still get a thrill; so the idea of reading about the dark side to business was intriguing.
Throughout the book Ugel struggles with the morality of the Lottery Buyout Business, but he also gets into the more technical underbelly of what he assures the reader is the full fledged business- the lottery. He describes where the money made from the lottery is actually used and the way in which it divided in most states, and he describes the fact that in most states the money that is supposed to go towards a state’s education is actually divided differently. Yes, the lottery does give the state their yearly cut, but it is the state who chooses to take the money, cut back and reallocate state funds to compensate. Where is this money going? Good question.
In this fascinating book, the author Edward Ugel also recounts his life before the business and the aftermath of his actions towards hundreds of lottery winners… and himself. Ugel is quite frank about what it means to really win these days for most people, which is to end up flat broke months after winning the lottery because they make the mistake of taking yearly annuity instead of a lump sum payout. He describes the good, bad and the ugly of lottery winners by giving many examples of the type of clients he normally bought lottery winnings from by buying their next lottery check (for a cut of course), so that the winners could get their hands on the money they so desperately needed. Out of seeing a need, The Firm was born.
The most important thing to take away from reading his book, and something the author stresses periodically throughout the book? Take a lump payment. With an annuity, you don’t earn interest on the money the lottery owes you, and though 200 grand a year for 20 years may seem like a lot- in the end you have to consider inflation and the value that dollar will have in 20 years. 200 grand isn’t going to be worth what it is today.
If you play the lottery even on occasion, I highly recommend this book. It’s filled with insightful information, grit and many funny anecdotes about his life in the industry. To read more reviews of this book, click the image to go to Amazon.com. Happy reading!
If you are interested in reading this book, let me know in comments. I will mail it to the the first person to ask for it.
I often wonder what my life would be like if I worked in an office… I am a stay-at-home-mom but I actually don’t think my life would be all that different. I mean I do have deadlines, demanding bosses, all vacation time must be approved months in advance, and despite many, many promises I have yet to receive a raise. Oh yeah, and the benefits package is complete pooh- pun intended.
I am always amazed at the people who can manage to work so hard in an office environment yet find the time to blog, and if it were me… this is what my day would be like:
Anyway, I was recently presented with the opportunity to receive books for free (Collins, an Imprint of HaperCollins Publishers), no strings attached except for reviews on the books that I enjoyed reading. Since school started a week ago I decided that since I have only one ankle biter at home, I might have a little extra time on my hands. Besides pondering what I want to be when my kids grow up, I thought I would use this time to catch up on a little reading! Cube Monkeys: A Handbook for Surviving the Office Jungle is the first book I have read for review, and considering I just watched one of my all time favorite movies, choosing this book to review was a hilarious coincidence.
Cube Monkeys covers all the bases to coping with life in cubicle hell, such as:
New twists on dodging the bullet for a day and Calling In Sick… “I can’t stop the ringing in my ears, so I can’t hear what you’re saying. If it’s okay I take today off, let me know. Wait, I can’t hear you. I know, if it’s okay I take a sick day, just don’t say anything. Did you say anything? I’m just going to hang up. Is that okay? If it’s…”
The origins of the Neck Noose and what your office Wardrobe says about you… “Beige two-piece business suit: Smart and highly practical, these suits can go from office to hamper back to the office because you didn’t have time to go to the cleaners after [your child] got his head stuck in a bait bucket. They usually have rich textures and subtle patterns- perfect for camouflaging baby vomit.”
10 suitable greetings for when you’d rather say “Leave me alone!”: ” ‘Give me just a second.” Close your eyes and say softly to yourself,”It’s okay to ask coworkers for money, it’s okay to ask coworkers for money…’ ” And, ” ‘I’m too busy picturing you naked to talk to you right now.’ “
This book contains many other hilarious sections such as:
Boss-to-English Translator
Fake Doctors Notes
Game: Blame The Temp
Defusing The Loaded Question
Hide And Seek: Advanced Avoidance Techniques for the 4:59 PM Assignment
Time Killers: How To Look Busy Even When You Are Not
So if you are looking for The Survivor’s Guide To Not Going Postal , this book is sure to give you a laugh- and on the bad days at least good chuckle- when you start to feel those neutral burlap covered cubicle walls closing in.
After all, you don’t really want to turn into this guy, do you?
starts off by giving the reader a glossary of terms commonly used throughout the book such as LSE (Low Self Esteem) and Mary Kate( having issues with food that cause you to starve yourself).
