Baby Cakes by Erin Mckenna- Book Review March 6, 2013

I give this a 5 out of 5 because I love polka dots….just kidding…it’s would probably be a 5 out of 5 if I was just looking for a great gluten free baking cookbook but since I am also trying to be natural and low carb I give it a

★★
2 out of 5 stars

*over usage of Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour and spelt (essentially still wheat)
*why do i need guar gum and xanathan in the same recipe
*she says that she uses coconut oil because it’s high in omega-3?? not true
*uses soy milk powder (eww non-fermented soy products)
*alot of sugar and agave (1+ cup measurements are sighted all over)
*great pictures, would be a great coffee table book
*cover is bland, compared to inside
*like the chapter breakdown
*celebrity shoutouts are cute
*recipe layout uber cute, each page looked like a gorgeous piece of edible art

But still really fun book to look at and I would love to visit her store

If you are interested in buying this book you can get it here and I will get a small commission

Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo- Review February 16, 2013

I don’t eat paleo but in general I agree with the principles and the recipes are always healthy so I tend to lean towards paleo when looking for advice, tips, and recipes….. and I LOVE this book. Even if you don’t eat paleo it’s good reference book for just how to eat healthy.

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

*luxurious large coffee table sized book
*Large colorful pictures of food
*everything is nicely labeled in terms of whether it has nuts, eggs, is a nightshade
*alot of really nice recipes (excited to try recipe for homemade sausage and chorizo)
*easy to read colorful guides throughout and then again in the back to tear out, like guide to: food quality, guide to: fats and oils, guide to: dense sources of paleo carbs [update:(free download of guides! yay!)]
*Dark chapter markers contrasting to the crisp white and bright colors makes the book feel sophisticated and fun at the same time

LOVE LOVE LOVE this book.

to learn more about Diane Sanfillippo go here

to buy the book go here and I will get a small commission

the conscious kitchen by Alexandra Zissu- Review February 11, 2013

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

It wasn’t that I hadn’t heard whispers of these dark secrets…seen blog postings here and there…seen a warning in a magazine….but to have it all compiled in one book…thankfully within the first chapter there is the statement “every little bit helps” or I might have just giving up eating all together.

*nice beginners primer to how to be more conscious of what goes into what we buy/eat
*no colorful pictures but a quick read (reminds me of a health friendly hints from Heloise)
*nice little further reading boxes
*some recipes scattered through

What I learned:
*ins and outs of grass fed beef. what grass finishing means and why you know your beef isn’t 100% grass fed if you’re buying it fresh in the winter
*why free range doesn’t mean anything (why I should just stop reading the stupid labels on supermarket chicken and just go to the local farmers even if it’s weird to bring home warm, not cooked freshly killed, chicken)
*why to be concerned with what my chicken is being fed even at a local farm (arsenic is found in poultry feed to help them grown fast and to make the meat look “better” gross)
*details on how to pick good bison
*why Whole Foods chicken says air-chilled, I just thought the chickens just needed some air conditioning
* details on healthy and not healthy pots, pans, and food storage

definitely a good book

click here to buy and I get a small commission

Gluten-free for a Healthy Life by Kimberly Tessmer- Review February 10, 2013

I’m not going to give this book a star rating since I am not gluten free and I didn’t read most of the book. But my first reaction was:

* ugly cover
* no pretty pictures
* very text book

I don’t hold it against the book it’s meant to be textbook….

but the reason why I bothered to write this review was because pages 66-77 are great! 🙂 Alot of nice tips about gluten free flours and how to bake gluten free that should be able to help me make more recipes from scratch. SO if you are interested in some nice textbook facts about gluten free baking to help you create your own recipes great book!

If you are interested in this book you can go here and I will get a small commission.

Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam February 2, 2013

Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

*Bright, cheery
*Nice cover
*great pictures sprinkled throughout
*alot of the recipes use coconut flour which i have not used yet, nice to have some help
*not too many weird ingredients like xanatham gum
*like the recipe text’s colors and layout
*liked that there were only one recipe per page
*like shape and size of book, fits nice in hand
*each recipe has levels of sweetness: low, medium, high
*like the chapter categories like fruity cupcakes, warm and spiced, and savory

Of special note are three recipes: one with no flours just shredded coconut, the next with hazelnuts that you grind yourself into a flour and a 3 ingredient flourless white chocolate cupcake

You can buy this book here and if you buy it through this link I receive a small commission

from container to kitchen- D.J. Herda- Book Review February 1, 2013

from container to kitchen

★★★
3 out of 5 stars

*A nice beginners book/reference manual
*humourous
*I like the tips and anecdotes
*The pictures are nothing worth calling home to mom to which was unexpected since the cover is so nice
*very informative on the basics

I have tried having a garden several times since living on my own. The first attempt with just a 3×3 ft area of dirt where I rented turned out pretty well. Now that I have a whole yard to work with I have had 2 years of fails. The biggest problem is in the heat of summer I don’t feel like dragging a hose out to the edge of my yard every other nite after work to water. So I’m going to try to container garden on my patio (my coworker who had boatloads of tomatoes last year thought it was hilarious that I refused to water my garden and only got a handful of veggies…what they aren’t my children tell them to water themselves)….hose is in close reach, I don’t have to walk very far in the heat, and I can keep my eye smaller than my watering bucket….The books begins by telling you the general health benefits of just involving yourself with or in nature more. It even references a study on postoperative heart patients that showed that just looking at a landscape painting while in the hospital led to a lower incidence of anxiety and a greater tolerance of everyday aches and pains. I love seeing something grow big from something so little, and it’s nice to see results from care you give into something…and they give such nice tasty gifts back…So this year I’m trying Container Gardening!

“When you are looking intensely at something, or you bend down to smell something, you bypass the function of the mind,” she said. You naturally stop thinking, obsessing, worrying. Your senses are awakened, which brings you to the present moment, and this has been shown to be very effective at reducing stress”

To buy the book yourself you can go here…or here for the kindle version….and I will receive a small portion of the proceeds

Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking- Book Review January 31, 2013

Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking

★★
2 out of 5 stars

*I like the cover
*Recipes were pretty basic
*I didn’t like the amount of use of gluten free flour. I don’t what I was expecting it’s a gluten free book not a paleo recipe book. I’m trying to keep low carb and wheat free not just gluten free
*I like the font of the recipes
*I didn’t like that the pictures were all in the center and they weren’t high quality pictures. I can take better ones than that with my phone

I only found one recipe worth saving the red lentil dip on page 49 which is a chickpea hummus alternative because soaked chickpeas smell like poop.

If you would like a copy of the book you can get one here and I will get a small portion of the proceeds