Natural Foods Books - Page 22

The Dinner Diaries

Betsy Block

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"I'd always thought food was pretty straightforward: you're hungry, you eat; you're not, you don't. Then I became a mother." So begins Betsy Block's humorous, life-changing book on the ultimate of all makeovers: improving the family meal. But how is her plan even possible when eleven-year old Zack's favorite food is Halloween candy; little Maya is so picky that she'll only eat cut squares of white bread; and her husband's idea of a gift is an electric fryer?

Determined not to give up the good-food fight, Betsy comes up with a creative ten-step makeover plan. She consults experts, visits farms, and shows how she and her family manage the pitfalls, struggles, and triumphs of eating well when busy schedules, surreptitious lunch trades, snack machines, permissive grandparents, and willful temptations intervene. With helpful charts, food lists, recipes, tips, and suggested culinary and farm programs for kids, The Dinner Diaries chronicles one family's intrepid ten-month challenge to change the way they eat—one forkful at a time.

Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants

David Foster, Bradford Angier

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Well-packaged but inaccurate 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I have long owned the earlier edition and excitedly bought this new one. This book is a good idea but poorly executed. (Let me say right away that I am the author of an edible plant book, so you can accuse me of bashing the competition if you want.) The older edition was one of the books that helped get me interested in this topic, and it is sentimental to me, so I keep trying to like this book but find it difficult.

While it does contain a lot of good information and covers an excellent selection of species, it is also full of inaccuracies - and how can a reader know what to trust? Out of the dozens of edible plant books I have, this is one of the least accurate and I believe is based on comparatively little first-hand experience. The misinformation and omissions are too numerous to list, but here are a few examples:

Jack-in-the-pulpit and skunk cabbage cannot be simply dried to eliminate their calcium oxalate. Believing this would be potentially dangerous, and painful at best. They require prolonged extreme dessication under hot conditions (I have some of both kinds that have been drying for 8 years and still have calcium oxalate a-plenty), or prolonged baking (days or weeks). Also, the book does not even mention that eastern and western skunk cabbage are completely different plants, nor does it specify which one it is talking about. The documentation of their food uses differs.

The drawing of arrowhead tubers looks so dramatically unlike the real thing that you would never know if you found them. The jerusalem artichoke tubers depicted are a cultivated form, which looks and tastes quite different from the typical wild type.

This book is not very good for identification and doesn't even use the scientific names of the plants. The preparation sections are typically 1-3 sentences - not much at all. Much of the text seems like space filler, although it is a good read.

All of the info in this book is easy to find in other books - the author doesn't seem to contribute anything to this field. If you have this book, keep it and refer to it. If you are considering getting into foraging, don't make it a priority. Depending on your location, check out Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie, Steve Brill's wild food book, Abundantly Wild (Midwest), The Euell Gibbons books, or Nancy Turner's books for the Pacific NW. These are all much better. Get a tree, shrub, and wildflower guide to your specific region for ID.

Editorial Review:

This illustrated guide to North American wild edibles has been a nature classic for over thirty years. In this new edition, David K. Foster revises Bradford Angier's invaluable foraging handbook, updating the taxonomy and adding more than a dozen species. Scientific information for a general audience and full-color illustrations combine with intriguing accounts of the plants' uses, making this a practical guide for modern-day foragers.

Vegetarian Planet

Didi Emmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not a healthy vegetarian cookbook 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I agree completely with the people who gave this book a low rating. The book is heavy on dairy (milk and butter). I read on the WW blog that it was recommended - but I don't understand how that can be. If a person on WW ate from the recipes in this book, they would be on WW FOREVER! Can't even resell this book for what I paid for it.

I may try later to revamp some of the recipes to be more health conscious by substituting healthier ingredients.

Creative Combinations, poorly explained recipes 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I like the huge variety of recipes, it sparks lots of ideas. However I have found the recipes strangely off at times. For example, page 283 has a Rice Noodle stirfry, where they have you make a sauce, then they never tell you what to do with it. Now this is a pretty basic recipe, but still I found myself almost done cooking with an orphaned bowl of sauce, which I just dumped in. Another recipe for coconut soup has 6 cups of water to one can of coconut milk - its almost not even worth adding the can of coconut milk at this point...

Editorial Review:

A culinary adventure in 350 soul-satisfying recipes. The vegetarian bible for a new generation.

Keeping Bees And Making Honey

Alison Benjamin, Brian McCallum

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Backyard Beekeeper 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I'm intensely interested in keeping bees in my backyard. This book is a wonderful introduction -- perfect for the newbie like myself.

Great Beginning Book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book for beginning beekeepers! Loads of info on bees,starting out with bees, and bee products. Answers to questions that I hadn't even thought to ask!

Editorial Review:

Bee keeping isn't just for the country dweller--bees can be kept in any situation from the simple balcony to the garden to acres of land. This comprehensive and attractive lifestyle guide to bee keeping takes readers from finding their bees to getting them home, housing them, collecting honey and using their produce. The book includes a detailed look at the history of bees and bee-keeping, and an extensive introduction to help readers to fully understand bees and keep them happy.

American Artisanal: Finding the Country's Best Real Food, from Cheese to Chocolate

Rebecca Gray

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

We have a growing hunger to know where our food comes from. In our increasingly corporate world, we are looking to get back in touch with our roots to the land. American Artisanal feeds this hunger as no book has before.

The book celebrates eighteen of America’s leading food artisans–from Wood Prairie Farms potatoes in Maine to L. L. Lanier Honey in Florida, from Reed’s Ginger Brew in California to Earthy Delights mushrooms in Michigan. These are folks who are returning to the basics of sustainable, small-scale, or just plain high quality production. Food is a second career for many of these producers, who decided to drop out of the office rat race and pursue their real passion, literally in the field. In their inspirational stories we also can see the emergence of a true national cuisine. Also, woven throughout each chapter is the engaging history behind our foods–their natural origins and long journeys to cultivation. Recipes and ordering information are provided so you can enjoy these culinary delights at home.

The Mushroom Lover's Mushroom Cookbook and Primer

Amy Farges, Christopher Styler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

No one has done more to popularize mushrooms in America than Amy Farges, food writer and co-owner of the national mushroom distributor Aux Delices Des Bois. And now that Ms. Farges made sure mushrooms are available, she shows what to do with them. THE MUSHROOM COOKBOOK AND PRIMER is an inspiration-a mushroom extravaganza with 175 exquisite yet easy-to-make recipes, plus a Mushroom 101 guide to selecting, storing, cleaning, and cooking, plus a primer with full profiles and photographs of 40 exotic mushrooms. Full of sweet succulence, toothsome crunch, and haunting flavors from earthy to fruity to seafood-like, mushrooms offer the home cook a dazzling range of possibilities. Here are finger foods: Morels with Calvados, Ovoli and Fig Crostini, Wild Mushroom Bruschetta. Lighter offerings: Porcini Carpaccio, Cream of Asparagus Soup with Roasted Cremini, Blewitt and Crab Rolls. Glorious pairings: Risotto with Corn and Chanterelles, Sirloin Steak with Wine Caps, Mustard-coated Lamb Chops with Wild Oysters, Truffled Lobster with Cilantro Butter, Duck and Shiitake Tortillas. And the unexpected: Black Trumpet Biscuits, Portobello and Basil Salsa, Hen of the Wood Ravioli. A dozen fitting mushroomless desserts offer the irresistible finish.

The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit for Life Kitchen

Marilyn Diamond

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Pretty good food but also has some problems 3 out of 5 stars.
7 of 15 people found this review helpful.

First, this book is NOT a vegetarian cookbook. It's VEGAN, and that's a problem for me. I don't want icky tofu substitutes for ingredients like eggs, milk, and cheese. For example, the tofu-based "egg salad" recipe isn't worth the trouble. If you want egg salad, make egg salad!

Second, although I've not tried many receipes, of those I have tried, I've found two already where the list of ingredients doesn't jive with the directions: the directions call for ingredients that aren't on the list of ingredients. Also, some ingredients named are just mysterious--I've never heard of them and can't find them.

Third, the recipes I've tried make HUGE amounts of food that overflow even my largest bowls, frying pans, and casseroles. The woman must be cooking for an army. (Of course, I can halve or quarter them down now that I know the problem exists.)

Fourth, portion-size information and nutritional information would be very helpful but aren't given.

Fifth, some recipes I've tried seem needlessly difficult. Why go to the trouble to steam and grate potatoes if you can find good, frozen, organic shredded potatoes (i.e., hash browns) to start with? Fresh isn't necessarily better than frozen, especially as fresh may have been in transit for several days, while fresh-frozen is actually closer to fresh off the vine or out of the ground.

So I'm not entirely happy with this book. I won't give it away, but I won't consult it first. I'm much more pleased with books from the *Vegetarian Times*.

Shrink Your Female Fat Zones: Lose Pounds and Inches--Fast!--From Your Belly, Hips, Thighs, and More

Denise Austin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Grab your workout gear, Denise Austin fans! The fitness star helps you conquer those problem areas-female fat zones like the hips, thighs, and tummy. Her program offers a fun, easy way to tone up, lose fat, build muscle, and rev your metabolism in just 10 minutes a day. -Remodel your body with a four-pronged, progressive program that adjusts to your current fitness level. -Zip through fast, efficient workouts that counteract surprising changes in body shape, tone, and composition that women experience at major milestones like post-pregnancy and pre-menopause. -Fat Zone workouts zero in on the trouble spots of three common female body types: the Pear, the Apple, and the Inverted Triangle. -Fat Zone eating program includes 6 full weeks of menu plans developed with a top nutritionist, complete with shopping lists, quick tips and hints, and dozens of Denise's favorite delicious, low-fat recipes. -An interactive 6-week workbook helps track individual progress with measurements of the targeted fat zone, a detailed food diary, and workout plans based on goals, fitness level, and personal schedule. -Inspiring stories and before-and-after photos from Denise fans who've seen major results from her workouts.

The Cardiac Recovery Cookbook: Heart Healthy Recipes for Life After Heart Attack or Heart Surgery

M. Laurel Cutlip

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Over 100 delicious recipes to help cardiac patients (and their families) to eat well on the road to wellness.

Proper diet and nutrition are pillars of success in cardiac recovery. But that doesn't mean bland and tasteless meals. In The Cardiac Recovery Cookbook, noted nutritionist Laurel Cutlip has compiled over 100 quick and easy recipes geared to the whole family and based on the science of good heart health.

The Cardiac Recovery Cookbook is packed with great-tasting recipes like:

• Appetizers and soups: Gazpacho, Homemade Turkey Soup and Rockport Fish Chowder
• Entrees: Black Skillet Beef with Greens and Red Potatoes, Grilled Chicken with Green Chile Sauce, Baked Salmon Dijon, Red Hot Fusilli and Summer Vegetable Spaghetti
• Sides: Italian vegetable bake, garlic mashed potatoes, parmesan rice and pasta pilaf
• Mouthwatering desserts: Apple Coffee Cake, 1-2-3 Peach Cobbler, Banana Mousse, and Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Apple-Raisin Sauce

All the recipes are reduced in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and come complete with detailed nutritional information. Eat to your heart's content with The Cardiac Recovery Cookbook.

Dr.Atkin's New Diet Cookbook

Robert C. Atkins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The TRUTH about Dr. Atkins death 4 out of 5 stars.
16 of 17 people found this review helpful.

It is astonishing to read the slam pieces here about Dr. Atkins so-called obesity and overweight condition at the time of his death. Here are the facts:
* He previously had a heart condition called cardiomyopathy -- a serious disease of the heart muscle which is unrelated to diet.
* He died of a head injury because of an accident falling on slippery ice and not of being overweight.
* His actual weight was 200 pounds when he was admitted to the hospital at the time of his accident. The erroneous reports of him weight 258 lbs was based on his weight at the time of his death. The extra weight was not fat, but an accumulation of body fluids linked to organ failure during his coma.
* His previous reported heart attack was due to a viral infection and not diet related. He spoke openly of his condition on various national news programs.
* The report that was released about him being overweight was leaked to the press by a group named "Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine", which is an ardent opponent of the Atkins diet. In short, they distorted his weight by reporting the weight at the time of death - 258 lbs, and not at the time of his admittance - 200 lbs...an obvious attempt to discredit and distort the facts surrounding Dr. Atkins death.
* A formal complaint has been filed by the Medical Examiner of New York regarding the suspicious leak of this information to the public by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine."
* The disinformation surrounding Dr.Atkins untimely death is politically driven by the AMA and other detractors of the diet.

Dr. Atkins book, New Diet Revolution has turned the AMA and other nutritional views upside down and has created a furor over the standard edicts of the medical profession. What is not said among the detractors of the Diet is that it is safe and it works. The information contained in this book will not only help you lose weight, it could save your life. The food industry, especially the bread and pasta industry have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of the low carb revolution. Is it any wonder that this diet is under so much fire? Keep an open mind and read the book.

As a side note, ignor the mumbo-jumbo rantings and ravings of the "Elixir Diet" system. The hatred and mis-information spread by the reviewer is evidence enough that the Elixir system is phony as a three cent penny. Nuff said. The guy hasn't even read the Atkins book! Sheesh.

Editorial Review:

Contains over 200 of the most asked for recipes at the Atkins Center.