Drink Books

I enjoyed meeting Alyce Sorokie in Chicago as she glowingly debuted her wisdom in the form of Gut Wisdom. As I watched the packed room absorb her wisdom, I knew Alyce KNEW her stuff! Clearly, this woman is on a mission to help us all understand our `second brain.' You'd be wise to dance with this wisdom.

The book mixes well researched information with first-hand experience. I enjoyed a healthy dose of dry humor. This book presents a no-nonsense review of facts folks normally shy away from thinking about - let alone talking about.

I recommend this book to all my clients who use any liver cleansing program. People often wonder how my cleanse can do so much for them in nine days. I tell them to read Alyce's book and they'll understand how a happy, healthy liver plays a key role in a happy, healthy digestive system. As Alyce points out many times, a happy, healthy digestive systems works miracles in more ways than shedding unhealthy weight.

Happy Cleansing!
Souldancer

This is an excellent source of information for anyone who has chronic gastrointestinal problems. It is well-written, easy to read, and easily accessible to anyone from the layman to the professional health care provider. We like the way the author covers such topics as diet, bowel relaxation and cleansing methods, psychological factors and much more. This book is highly recommended. It's the best we've read on the subject and we've read many.

Spiral-bound to wrap its front cover around and lay flat for easy reference, The Happy Camper's Cookbook: Eating Well Is Portable is a collection of recipes and cooking tips ideal for anyone on the go, whether camping, living in an RV, or just trying to scrounge up dinner when there's "nothing" in the house. Recipes range from a versatile "Country Pork Rub" ideal for use on meat to be cooked in the smoker, to "Cajun Stir Fried Rice Dinner", side dishes like "Maggie's Green Beans", "Chili Torta" (the perfect way to use up leftover chili), "Pink Salad", and much more. The tips and tricks range from how to effectively reheat food to how to turn cabbage soup into a hearty supper. An easy-to-use recipe guide especially recommended for anyone short on kitchen or refrigerator space who tends to run aground of too many leftovers!

I might not camp out a lot, but I do love my barbeque! And this book satisfies that, with delicious recipes you can make on an indoor electric grill or on your deck. Even better, you don't need a grill for the side dishes, salads and dressings and desserts. I love the cornbread recipe and the Rocky Road Fudge is to die for! Easy to read. Binding lays flat so the pages don't turn while you cook. It's become a staple in our house.

You gotta love the Dummies books that have become so firmly ensconced into American culture that nobody is ever offended by them and actually flock to these books like ants to a lollipop! With over 150 million books in print covering over 900 topics, it should not be surprising to learn that the Dummies books are the world's best-selling reference series of all time with their signature yellow and black covers (They remind me of the old Cliff's Notes books I used to see people using in high school when a book report was due on Shakespeare. Really, it was other people, not me. Honestly. Trust me. Well, maybe once!).

But the latest in this famous series of books is about a subject near and dear to my heart -- low-carb. Can you believe it?! The book is called the Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies and was written by freelance writer, recipe guru, and low-carb lifestyle enthusiast Jan McCracken. You really ought to get to know this engaging woman who will make you laugh at the simplest things while sharing with you the knowledge she has gleaned from her more than a quarter century of cooking experiences.

"Change Your Mind ... Change Your Heart ... Lose Weight for LIFE!" That's the motto McCracken lives by and it is evident throughout this entire book how much she genuinely believes in that.

Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies, like all of the Dummies books, is very easy to read and is designed to come back to time and time again for a refresher on various topics which are conveniently outlined at the beginning of the book. McCracken summarizes what the low-carb lifestyle is all about, how you can incorporate healthy and delicious recipes that are sure to please even your finicky eaters, tips on how to make low-carb living an easy transition, as well as over 100 very unique and absolutely tantalizing low-carb recipes to sink your teeth into while maintaining your weight.

Whether you have been livin' la vida low-carb for years or if you're a low-carb newbie, Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies is sure to have something in it that will useful to you in your low-carb lifestyle. Many of the basic concepts McCracken shares in this book completely dispels most of the rumors and lies about this way of eating that are too often repeated in the media and by so-called health "experts." With a grin and the truth, McCracken shares information that will help people be able to stay on low-carb for the rest of their lives as a permanent change in the way they eat and live. That's the secret to lasting weight loss and McCracken gets it as a 10-year veteran of livin' la vida low-carb.

As a 180-pound low-carb weight loss success story, I am always looking for new and exciting recipes to try to keep my low-carb program fresh and vibrant so it never gets boring (that's another lie the media often tells about low-carb!). Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies contains plenty of recipes to keep you busy for a while. I am always telling people who are on the low-carb lifestyle to try at least one new recipe a week to spice up their menu. McCracken has so many to choose from in this book you'll have a hard time deciding which one to try first!

I like the fact that McCracken advocates exercise as part of your low-carb lifestyle change because it is so important for people who may think they only need to eat foods low in carbohydrates to lose weight. While that is technically accurate, your body craves exercise (as strange as that sounds!) and wants to be moved. It is something that anyone who has been successful at keeping their weight under control will tell you is vital.

However, there is one point I personally disagree with McCracken about and that is portion control on your low-carb plan. She believes you should watch the size of your meal as well as your calories and fat to do low-carb right. While I agree we shouldn't be eating "platefuls of high-fat meats, foods dripping in fatty oils, tons of calories, or lots of highly processed foods" as McCracken writes in her book, I don't think obsessing over the fat grams, calories, or amount of food is necessary when you are livin' la vida low-carb. Throughout my weight loss in 2004 and in my weight maintenance ever since, not once have I paid attention to fat grams, calories, or food portions as part of my method for controlling my weight. Just the carbs. Maybe I'm weird, but doing that has worked wonderfully for me and I'm not about to change that method now.

Much of Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies is filled with all those delicious and easy "real food" (as she calls them) recipes, including gorgeous color photos of many of these dishes. It'll make you wanna jump in the kitchen right away and start cooking all day! McCracken would be proud of you for making that all-important first step in a low-carb journey you will travel on for the rest of your life.

See, even "dummies" can appreciate a low-carb book like Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies. Hee hee!

I have been part of the low-carb community for several years, watching the trends and the ups and downs of low carb advocacy. I've always leaned toward a healthy version and moderation. From the beginning I preferred "real food" made healthy, and this delightful book offers a wonderful variety of down to earth and delicious, "real world" recipes. This book is a realistic and humorous guide for living a healthy life for real people. It addresses ease of preparation, economy of effort, consideration of meal budgets, and most importantly abundance of flavor - all with health as the underlying factor. I love every recipe I've tried so far.

As any "Dummies" reader knows, there's more to a "Dummies" cookbook than recipes. And in this book, there are terrific, common sense, and again, realistic, advice, tips and information on how to get the most benefit from living right in this fast-paced world. I also appreciate that the author obviously knows her chops, so to speak. She has done her research and provides information that I have not found readily available about low and healthy carb.

I've been researching and reading about all angles of low carb eating for several years, and this book actually gave me some fresh information, new perspectives and a fun read. If you have any curiosity or interest in low or healthy carb cooking, I highly recommend getting a copy of this book.

This is a great cookbook. It has good recipes which are simple to make using a lot of healthy Indian spices.

The Healthy Cuisine of India is a GREAT cookbook. I LOVE the recipes in this book. This is my first and only Indian cookbook so I can't really compare it to other Indian cookbooks. But I do know that I enjoy the food from these recipes even more than eating out at Indian restaurants. The author gives lots of details explaining the different types of spices and how to prepare them. There is also some discussion of the lore associated with the various recipes. And the food tastes GREAT. Highly recommended.

This is a great resource for helping any individual improve their dietary intake. It is evidence based, so there is a greater chance that it change past behavior, unlike fad diets. It is applicable for all adults, easy and enjoyable to read, and provides a foundation of knowledge and assessments needed to understand the next steps needed to take to become healthier.
Holly Pope PhD (c) of Public Health

This book has some really great ideas about not only losing weight, but also maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I especially liked the strategies on how to order healthier options at restaurants.

I enjoyed reading this. I'm one of those people who feels unsure about eating a lot of fat, and this book put my mind to rest about fat. There is so much information in this book about nuts, not only about nutrition but where it came from and such. The only thing that would improve Healthy Nuts is adding a few recipes, but they do give ideas for how to use nuts. I read this when I could eat nuts, but now I am allergic. If you're allergic like I am, don't read it- it will only make you depressed knowing what you are missing out on!

The author tells about the healthy benefits of eating "all natural" nuts as a part of everyone's diet. He details how tree nuts and peanuts are a great and provide a satisfying snack and compliment food--that will help you lose weight. I learned the "fat" in nuts is healthy. The "low fat/fat free" free diets make you eat twice as much with half the satisfaction. Great recipies and ideas!

Gorgeous coffee-table book. Fascinating history of Spanish cooking, when new world foods were brought to Europe and how they were incorporated into a multiple culture's way of life. Has beautiful photography, recipes and paintings from the Spanish masters.

A wonderful collection of recipes which offers a very authentic taste of Spain while presenting the history behind each traditional dish. Large close up color photographs enable the cook to take a peek at what his final creation should look like. Delicious, flavorful, and not difficult to make, these recipes taste like old home Spain while the artistic way in which they are exhibited in this beautiful book make it a great gift idea.

For all true oyster lovers this is a must have book. Excellent recipes and well presented.
Any one who has access to fresh oysters will find this book invaluable.

Ms. Pomo has hit the nail on the head. I've tried several recipes, they all were winners! What a suprize!

Indiana is rich in agricultural heritage and independent, local farmers dig in their heels against soulless agribusiness. Until the past few years, though, Indiana lacked consumers willing to appreciate and pay for this bounty.

With the publication of Scott's and Christine's book, Home Grown Indiana, those of us passionate about local and sustainable food have a reliable resource guide to farms, markets, restaurants and shops with high-quality food produced in our state. Home Grown is a watershed in our awareness of the table of communion all around us.

The book is practical, sensible. Protected by its plastic cover from tomato sauce stains in the kitchen or dust from the glove compartment of the car, the authors divide Indiana into geographic regions. Special stories about those creating local cornucopia teach us to wander away from the megastores and onto the backroads.

The book has an added attraction. I no longer have to worry about what I'm going to buy for Christmas. Everybody's getting a copy of the book this holiday.

I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book for a few months. My copy arrived this morning and I can enthusiastically say, "The wait was worth it and the book is even more than I had hoped it would be!"
Unlike many of the books published today, the quality of the book far exceeds the price in terms of both the quality of the book itself and the content.

The book is divided into seven regions. For each region Christine Barbour and Scott Hutcheson introduce the reader to Indiana places where food is produced with a personal and local touch. They go far beyond the basic facts (e.g., address, website URL, hours, etc.) and introduce the reader to the people that put heart and soul into their product and the places that make that food homegrown.

This personalization and connection is sometimes accomplished through stories and biographical snippets. For example, the entry for Cook's Bison Ranch begins, "In 1939,Everett Cook invested %5,000 in 83 acres with a house and a barn." Sometimes the entries are made personal through the inclusion of a recipe such as that for "Wild American Persimmon Pudding" which brings back childhood memories for Duane Smith of Walnut Grove Spring Water Persimmon Valley Farm. In other cases it is the observations of the authors that add spice to the entries. The combined effect is the feeling you might have at the end of an evening that included an excellent meal and even better conversation and laughter shared with good friends.

In some books the extra stories and observations might come at the cost of depth or breadth in covering the subject matter. This is NOT the case in Home Grown Indiana. Along with sharing the specifics about the producers of everything from caviar to cheese and popcorn to bison, Scott Hutcheson and Christine Barbour offer additional information on topics such as: ideas for eating local year round, the meaning of the label "organic," what is meant by a CSA, and some of the issues surrounding raw milk. They also include lists of farmer's markets, wineries, microbreweries/brewpubs, places to eat local while dining out, and food festivals that can be found in each region.

The book feels polished and complete in large part because of the way it is indexed. The book closes with a list of recipes, a index by county, and an index by product.

I was pleased to see several producers I know and rely on listed for Northwest Indiana but I found several new places to explore here in Northwest Indiana. The book's size is small enough to carry easily or keep in the car for unexpected foodie adventures and making the most of local foods when I find myself in other parts of the state. I expect that like my nature field guides this book will soon be well-loved and personalized through notes and much use.

While the content of the book would have been reason to celebrate in any form, I appreciate the actual quality of printing as well. The paper is crisp and the clarity of the typeface is clear and easy to read. The text fills the pages but with adequate space in the margins for making notes. The page edges are coded to make it easy to locate the section pertaining to a specific region of the state. Within each region the main entries are arranged alphabetically making it easy to look up the hours of a favorite producer.

Thank you Scott and Christine for creating this wonderful resource. Now if someone would just do the same for Southwest Michigan.

Starts with an intriguingly traumatic near-death experience in San Francisco, and moves on to a search for sweetness and light across Europe and Asia. The opening is vivid, the odyssey is reflective. A beautifully written account of one man's wanderings and wonderings.

After a hit-and-run driver left him near death in San Francisco, Piers Moore Ede had to rebuild his life on several levels. Ede's painful recovery involved healing his psyche as much as tending to life-altering physical wounds. Shattered, shaken, and feeling utterly without focus, Ede began a journey to search for reasons for his continued existence.
During a stint working on an organic farm in Italy, Ede encounters a beekeeper who ignites his enthusiasm to visit hives around the globe. From the rooftops of New York to the cliffs of Nepal, Ede takes readers on a guided tour to places both familiar and exotic. The bulk of Honey and Dust details travels in the Middle East and Asia; African adventures are sadly and inexplicably missing from Ede's travelogue.
Using his formidable strengths as both a storyteller and a journalist, Ede cleverly integrates accounts of traditional ways of life now perilously close to extinction with humorous anecdotes of his encounters with a wide range of characters and experiences in faraway settings. Included in his fast-paced tale is the obligatory "confrontation with alarming foreign foodstuffs," which Ede describes with such clarity as to make the readers stomach churn slightly on his behalf, even while chortling over his clash of cultures.
Ede has clearly done extensive research for this wonderful book, citing a wide range of factual and literary sources. He masterfully intersperses historical facts about the role of honey in various cultures with his first-hand observations of current political and sociological events affecting the lands he visits. Honey and Dust is written with Ede's highly evident love for the planet and the myriad inhabitants that contribute to its vibrancy. Lamenting those changes that imperil the environment, as well as the negative impact that the increasing encroachment of Western way of life is wreaking on ancient civilizations, Ede provides readers with a bittersweet account of his adventurous quest. Thoughtful, engaging, and moving, Honey and Dust is an irresistible treat.