book roundup

People frequently ask me what I'm reading or what cookbooks I use.  They've figured out, correctly, that I've always got a stack by the bedside (and the coffee table, the kitchen counter, my desk in my office....) and I'm constantly learning and reading.  I'm one of those people that love to read cookbooks, yes, cover-to-cover, as well as fascinating books about all different kinds of things.

I thought I'd share with all of you my Top Ten of 2010 (in no particular order), I hope you chose to read some of them.


Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef - I love this book.  Great stories, delicious pictures and fabulous recipes.













SOS! The Six O'Clock Scramble to the Rescue - this was a book that I found myself returning to several times as I got close to the dinner hour and realized that I hadn't planned as well as I should.












Origins - Truthfully I'm still reading this one but it is definitely a top ten book.  This book really highlights how much of an effect our diet has, not only on our own heath but on the health of our unborn children.












White Coat Black Hat - This book provided a frequently startling and almost surreal look at how the pharmaceutical industry has infiltrated the medical industry.  And not to our benefit.












Hope's Edge - I had read this book before but chose to re-read it to remind myself that there is a lot of good stuff going on in the world.  Places where positive change is being made.












The Crazy Makers - This was a "preaching to the choir" kind of book.  So much information about our food and how it affects us.













What I Eat - a great follow up to Hungry Planet: What the World Eats which itself was a great follow up Material World: A Global Family Portrait.  This book is a fascinating look at food and the world we live in.












Ready for Dessert - because, after all, who doesn't love dessert?  This was a great cookbook because there were some favorites in there, a lot of updating, and he's a great writer.













Silent Spring - This is a revised version of the seminal work by Rachel Carson.  Definitely worth a read.













In the Green Kitchen - Just because there is so much to learn from this amazing woman.













I'm always looking for a good book to read.  There are a lot of fabulous books out there and I'm looking forward to more reading.  In the meantime, what are your favorites?  What made your personal top ten list and why....maybe I'll add it to mine.

gluten free cookie fun

Walking into The G's Healthy Gourmet with a couple of borrowed kids I am greeted by the sounds of Christmas carols playing over the speakers and the sight of children rolling dough and sprinkling flour.  Tiffany, the Pastry Chef, and her husband, Nick, the Executive Chef at The G's, greet us at the door.   We settle at a table while Tiffany brings us our supplies...rolling pins, a block of cookie dough, a bowl of her own specialty gluten-free flour, cookie cutters, milk (because what goes better with cookies than milk?) and a plate of cookies to munch on while we are working.

Rolling out the slightly cold dough and pressing the cutters into it is a lot of fun for the kids.  It's hard to get the cold dough started, the adults help get things going.  Some of the children seem to really like the idea of flouring the table, the rolling pin, the dough, the floor; Tiffany assures the adult guests that they have someone coming in to clean up after the event is over.  Rolling, cutting, reshaping and re-rolling the dough, the kids are having a lot of fun.  Excitedly chattering away about the choices of cookie cutters they are using the children quickly fill up their baking trays.  After getting each child to initial their parchment paper lined tray Tiffany and Eric, her assistant, take the cookies back into the kitchen and slide them into the oven.


Ten long agonizing minutes.  Waiting and waiting for those cookies to come out of the oven.  Playing with flour.  Making shapes out of left over dough.  Is it ten minutes yet?  Are the cookies ready yet?

Then the wait is over and the warm cookies arrive.  A pretty pile of holiday shapes all waiting for their final transformation.  With them come bowls of fluffy frosting (a serious temptation for little fingers), parchment paper frosting-filled bags and the excitement of creating a masterpiece.

It was clearly obvious that everyone, kids, parents, the folks at The G's, had a good time.  Each child went home with their cookies carefully placed into a stack of take-out boxes, proudly carrying the haul of their handmade creations.  What a  sweet way to start the holiday season.

what's in your water?

Water | Abhijit Tembhekar | Wikimedia Commons

Everyone seems to be drinking more water these days, that's a good thing.  Unfortunately though many kids are drinking flavored water drinks that are presented as healthy.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  They come with names like Vitamin Water and Fruit2O.  Let's not even start with the whole sports drink issue.

I was horrified when the pediatrician told my daughter that she needed to add more water to her diet, suggesting that she start drinking Propel.  My daughter was thrilled and turned to me with a gleeful look on her face that faded when she saw my expression.

I am continually amazed at how manipulated we are by manufacturers.  There is no other way to say this other than to just say it.  Water is water period end of story.  Why are they trying to fancy it up with all sorts of chemical additives for color and flavor, and why are they adding preservatives.  Preservatives?  What's in water than needs preserving?

Are many of us dehydrated?  I believe the answer is yes.  Do we need 8 glasses of water per day?  That depends on what your bio-individual needs are.  If you live in a climate that causes you to lose a lot of moisture or you exercise a lot or you don't eat high moisture foods and take in other liquids it all adds up.  However I also believe that by the time we feel thirsty we are generally more dehydrated than we realize.

Dehydration is known to cause headaches, can lead to worsening asthma, hypertension and other health issues.  Proper hydration is also key to helping the body eliminate toxins.  That is why it's important to make sure that we are getting enough fluids to stay well hydrated.  Breathing, digesting, sweating, and excreting all cause us to lose fluids.

If what we need is to stay well hydrated what we do not need is all of the extra chemicals that come with most packaged water drinks.  Not only that if you look at the label you will see that they are misleading you by claiming to only have a certain number of calories.  What you need to remember is to look at the label and see how many calories are in a serving and how many servings are in a bottle.  One bottle of VitaminWater has 50 calories and 13g of sugar per serving.  The label purports to contain 2.5 servings per bottle.  Most people I know drink the whole bottle; that means 125 calories and over 32g of sugar per bottle.  And those are empty calories.  Providing no nutritional value and not filling you up at all.

Let me give you a hint, there are no calories in water.  If you are looking for a little flavor in your water consider adding a slice of fresh fruit, a squeeze of citrus, a slice of cucumber, or a sprig of mint.  These all add a lot of flavor without adding sugar, calories, "natural flavors", or other chemicals.  Just drink water.  It's what your body needs.