Saturday, August 6, 2011

Book Report

I am reading so many books right now, and am loving all of the information, opinions and the stories about sugar consumption and other nutritional advice. I haven't completed one yet from cover-to-cover. I mostly pick it up and start on a section that I'm interested in reading about (as of late, beverages).


Book #1 Eating Between the Lines, Kimberly Lord Stewart
This author takes you on a grocery store tour, as she helps explain to the average consumer how to read nutritional labels and make meaning of all of the symbols and common-phrases that plague the packaging on our food. This has been, by far, one of my favorite reads as she intertwines some personal remarks among a plethora of facts behind the labeling rules.


Book #2 Suicide by Sugar, Nancy Appleton, PhD
Written by a former sugar addict with multiple health problems, she is very passionate about educating people on the adverse affects sugar has on the body. Her biggest push is over having homeostasis. This read is all about sugar, with a very extreme outlook on staying away! She offers some recipes in the back, although I haven't tried any yet.


Book #3 Food Matters, Mark Bittman
I have only gotten a few chapters into his book, and then have opened it to specific topics as I have been gathering research. He starts by discussing the environmental impact our food choices have, lowering our meat consumption, and not relying on the government to not to tell us the healthiest way to eat. His overall outlook seems to parallel the popular Michael Pollan as he encourages his readers to eat whole foods (fruits and veggies).


Book #4 Sugar-Free Toddlers, Susan Watson
A mother, frustrated with the few sugar-free snacks for her toddler adapted over 100 recipes to be sweetened by natural flavors and not include white sugar. "Natural sweeteners" mean using 100% juice, typically in her recipes. I have made a few of them, and they have been mediocre. My favorite thus far was a peanut butter-banana muffin (I added spinach too). Michael gobbled them up. The thing I appreciate most about this book is the information in the beginning about certain ingredients commonly used in baking, and she promotes using half white/wheat flour in multiple recipes, which has been good for us!

1 comment:

  1. I'm thinking about reading Suicide By Sugar. Did you like it or was it too extreme? I'll be interested to see what you think about Bittman's book. I prefer Pollan- though I do love Bittman's How to Cook Everything (regular and vegetarian versions).

    I'm currently going through sugar withdrawal myself as I am trying to cut back on processed food. I read Nina Planck's _Real Food_ over the weekend. It was a very interesting read with an unconventional take on saturated fat.

    Now I'm reading Nourishing Traditions which seems like the extreme version of Real Food (even though N.T. came first). I think I'll try some of the recipes but not take everything to heart.

    What are your thoughts on raw milk? I'd like to try it to see what it is like but I'd have to buy it from an actual farm. I think it is legally sold in stores in WA?

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