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Tales From the Treehouse: Life With Lily – Book 2 and 3

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Remember when we reviewed this book Life With Lily? We were thrilled with a great character and the cultural insights into Amish life for young girls. We hoped, at that time, that there would be a sequel. Well, earlier this year a sequel Book 2 and Book 3 were both released. We couldn’t wait to get our hands on these and about three weeks ago when my daughter returned from camp, the sequels arrived in the mail. Payton devoured both in about one week. Now they are making the rounds with her sister first and then she will share with every last one of her tween friends.

Life With Lily: Book Two and Three is by Suzanne Woods Fisher and Mary Ann Kinsinger, published by Revell Books, 2012, ages 8-12,  $12.99 $$$$$ out of $$$$$. 

We love this great series. It is wholesome and sweet and well written. The character of Lily is very appealing to my daughter’s age group and I love that she learns something from the cultural aspect of the books. As a comical aside: I just wanted to note that we were driving somewhere the other day when Payton told me she wants to “become Amish.” LOL.

Whole Foods To Thrive: A Runners Must Have Plus Free Recipes and a #Giveaway

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Brendan Brazier, a North Vancouver athlete and the best-selling author of the Thrive Diet, wasn’t actually on my radar until recently when Penguin sent me this book to review. Initially I was intrigued by the fact that he is a Canadian, and then I spotted the amazing endorsements on this book from world-renowned athletes and celebrities like Hugh Jackman. You don’t have to be a trend-watcher or buzz agent to know that the Whole Foods movement is hot right now. So the book had buzz, endorsements and a Canadian cool quotient that hooked me. But let’s face it these things are really more like icing on a cake or eye candy. So how about the book itself, or the cake if you want a food metaphor to follow? Is it every bit as yummy as the intial suggestions? The answer, in short, is yes. Whole Foods to Thrive is an amazing resource that I will keep in my kitchen for years to come. It is a self help book, crossed with a cookbook and lifestyle/diet guide. It is chock full of common sense science that supports the idea that people’s bodies get sick, physically and psychologically, because of the way we eat. Remove the processed foods, ditch the sugar and other stimulants and pay attention to how your body responds. Now I can’t actually say that I have hopped on this bandwagon yet. I aspire to get there eventually. Brazier’s recipes will help. The latter half of the book has the most remarkable whole food recipes like Zucchini Hummus, a recipe that is provided by Gorilla Food in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Pumpkin Gnocci from the Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco. There are over 200 recipes here and I can’t wait to get started making several. All of the recipes included are plant-based, allergen free and contain no wheat, yeast, gluten, soy, dairy or corn. Even if you had no interest in the rest of this book – which is highly unlikely if you pick it up and spend a couple of hours with it – the recipes alone are well worth the price. I love the natural approach and the science at the start of this book that explains how things like caffeine work on our bodies. This is a great educational tool for those remotely interested in nutrition and self change.
I learned from this book that despite my initial misgivings coconut oil is one of the healthiest and most easily digestible ways to fry food. It is the best and only way to fry according to Brazier, who notes that because it is so easily digestible it converts quickly to energy. This is smart eating and cooking and I can easily use much of this and pass the information down through my family.
The author Brendan Brazier
Some tips from the book:
“The consumption of chlorophyll-rich leafy green vegetables combined with moderate exercise is the best way to create a biologically younger body.”
“Squash – combined with the correct workout – will contribute to the process of muscle building.”
“Less energy spent on digestion equates to more available energy.”
      Two Free Recipes (Excerpts From the Book!!)
Ginger Pear Smoothie

                                             with Sunflower Seed Hemp Milk

                The riper the pear, the sweeter the smoothie. If you’d like it even sweeter, add one


                                or two fresh or soaked dried dates. Since ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory,
this is an ideal choice for a post-workout snack. (2 minutes, makes 3 cups)

                 1 banana


                                                                                                ½ pear, cored
                                                                                                    1 cup water
                                                                        1 cup Sunflower Hemp Seed Milk (see p. 126)
                                                                                         1 tbsp ground flaxseed
                                                                                        1 tbsp hemp protein powder
                                                                                        1 tbsp peeled, grated ginger
                                                       • In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.

          Chocolate Almond Smoothie

                                                           with Sacha Inchi Milk

                                         Rich in protein and omega-3, this smoothie will keep you going for hours with


                                                sustainable, non-stimulating energy. (5 minutes) Makes 2 lg servings.

                                                                                       1 banana


                                                                     2 fresh or presoaked dried dates
                                                                                       1 cup water
                                                        1 cup Sacha Inchi Milk (or chocolate variation) (see p. 126)
                                                                 ¼ cup almonds (or 2 tbsp raw almond butter)
                                                                                 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
                                                                             1 tbsp hemp protein powder
                                                                             1 tbsp roasted carob powder

                                                   • In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Whole Foods To Thrive: Nutrient-Dense, Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health, is by Brendan Brazier, published by Penguin Canada, 288 pages, May 2011, Adult, Nutrition, $28.00

This one gets a $$$$$ out of $$$$$ because it is the whole package, no pun intended. The recipes and the healthy cooking and eating tips all combine for a great resource and healthy eating guide.
Luckily I have a prize to giveaway too thanks to Penguin, Vega and the author. Open to Canada only. This is ideal for runners.
The prize pack contains six Vega smoothie mixes (either Shake & Go Smoothie mixes or Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer mixes) in an assortment of flavours like Vanilla Chai, Bodacious Berry, and Choc-a-Lot.)
GIVEAWAY:
1.To win you must follow me on Google Friend Connect -( see side bar of my blog).
2. Leave me your email and tell me which package you would choose – Shake and Go or Whole Food Optimizer).
I will contact the winner and forward their email or address onto Bronwyn at Penguin. Winner will be chosen here by me on June 10th, with help of random.org.
Shake and Go Smoothie Mixes (Prize package)
Whole Food Optimizer Smoothie Mixes (Prize Pack) You can win one or the other

An Amish Love: Three Novellas and Something Unexpected Review/Giveaway

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Drug addictions, forced marriages, deadly accidents, a fall out with the church and spouses who disappear mysteriously. An Amish Love contains three lovely novellas, set in Amish country-side, with a big dash of the unexpected. The novellas are all tied to place and characters flit in and out of each separate story. The prominent themes are: alienation and love. This is a perfect book for my February I Heart Books Event. An Amish Love is a triple threat. Usually in acollection like this, there is at least one weak link. But all of these stories are really well done and enjoyable. Each is a treat on its own.

Take for instance the first novella: A Marriage of the Heart by Kelly Long. Joseph Lambert has been away from his Amish ways for several years and has come back to live with a local doctor. Abigail Kauffman, motherless, lonely and a beautiful flirt, sees a way out of her ‘boring’ Amish life that she no longer wants to be part of and she tricks him into marriage. Well, as the plot progresses in this really charming story, she comes to love her husband and slowly reveals to her father that she has always felt lonely and unloved and was deceitful in claiming Joseph made advances towards her before their marriage. Joseph carries his own secrets. When an ex-girlfriend shows up with a vial full of painkillers and an old hold on his heart, the relationship is tested. 
In the second novella, What the Heart Sees, written by Kathleen Fuller, Ellie Chupp, who lost her sight in an accident, finds her jam business growing and her idenpendence tested with overprotective parents. Her friend is about to marry the young Amish man who is known to have been responsible for a deadly car accident. Ellie’s good friend is dead as a result and Ellie’s fiancee broke up with her, unable to handle her blindness. When Christopher Miller returns to town after being shunned, Ellie finds herself feeling romance again. But how could this individual love her, now that she is blind? And will Miller be able to forgive and return to the Amish life in time for his sister’s wedding?
And finally in Healing Hearts by Beth Wiseman, the father of a large brood returns home to his wife after being absent one year without explanation. While Naaman Lapp was not shunned, his family remains perplexed as to why he left. His son Adam is particularly angry and finds it difficult to forgive despite the Amish teachings. Naaman’s wife, Levina, has moved on and found a degree of independence despite the chatty gossip in town and the speculation that Naaman might have had another woman in Ohio. Eventually he will realize he needs to court his wife again and earn her trust back.

The end of this book contains a reader’s guide and some excellent Amish recipes from within the novellas. I cannot wait to try some out here. Yum!                 
 Am Amish Love, by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Kelly Long is a Thomas Nelson book. $14.99 US, 391 pages and is classified Fiction, Christian, Romance.
All books are provided free from the publisher but that in no way affects my review.
For this giveaway also Feb. 27th.
1. Follow me on GFC.
2. Follow @inkscrblr on twitter
and leave me your contact information so I can reach you if you win.
Extra two entries if you tweet this contest. “Amish Love book giveaway – not what you expected – enter on http://www.thriftymommasbrainfood.com/ ”

Bite Me: Not Your Granny’s Betty Crocker Cookbook Review and Giveaway

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My copy of Bite Me. Keep Your Hands Off. It’s Mine, All Mine
This is not your Grandma’s or your Mama’s Betty Crocker Cookbook. It is so much more. Need proof?
1. The title: Bite Me: A Stomach Satisfying, Visually Gratifying, Fresh-Mouthed Cookbook.
2. The hysterical drawings:
Like this one which tells a little about the sisters that created the book, Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat. One brings the funny and the other brings the palate. (No that’s not them in the picture)



And this one. Which prefaces the appetizers section of the book.

3. And the incredible recipes. (From traditional with a twist – Rustic Meatballs in Marinara Sauce to oddball unique – like Julie’s Tabbouleh – (I made the meatballs on our snow day here last Wednesday and I’ve got to say they are the yummiest meatballs I’ve ever made. My whole family agreed)
4. I am no foodie, but I can make these recipes. They are easy to follow and delicious. They make me laugh and they make me feel competent in the kitchen (which can be a stretch some days)
5. Smart tips that I tested and tried here. Luckily I had some very hard brown sugar rehabilitated thanks to the sister’s tip about bread.
 

 Tonight I made my fourth recipe from this amazing new cookbook and I am in culinary love with this extremely funny and irreverrent collection. The style of this cookbook reminded me a wee bit of that runaway success Looney Spoons by the sisters from Ontario that created a mini empire based on their funny cookbook and savvy sense of style that caught the eye of finance guru David Chilton. Bite Me is a funnier cookbook that makes you chuckle while tossing ingredients together. Frankly anything that helps me view cooking as less of a chore is a great investment for my whole family. The white chocolate chunk cookies in Bite Me, were the two sisters’ signature item, Chunky White Chocolate and Cranberry. Easy to bake and delicious. There’s nothing my kids and I love to make more than scrumptious cookies. The Balsamic chicken with sweet peppers will be a new staple in my regular rotation of dishes. This one will be a great gift book for pretty much any occasion.
Bite Me is by Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat, 2009, Pinky Swear Press Inc. Canada, $29.95, 272 pages can be purchased at http://www.bitemecookbook.com/
or http://www.pinkyswearpress.com/ and this one gets a $$$$$ out of $$$$$.
I was provided with a copy of this cookbook for free to review. The opinions on this blog are all my own. Bite Me!
My copy of Bite Me is mine I am not sharing. But the lovely authors will.
TO WIN: You can win a signed copy of Bite Me, a reusable Bite Me shopping bag and a Bite Me hat (you can enter until Feb. 15th)

1. Follow thriftymommasbrainfood on Google Friend Connect (it’s right there on the side of my blog) or tell me that you already do.
2. Follow @inkscrblr on twitter, or tell me that you already do.
3. Visit one of the sites above either http://www.bitemecookbook.com/ or http://www.pinkyswearpress.com/
and tell me something you learned from either site.

Extra entry (Not mandatory at all, but gives you more chances to win)
1. (1 extra entry) Follow one of my other blogs: http://www.thriftymommastips.blogspot.com/
or http://www.thriftymommagogo.blogspot.com/
2. (I extra entry for each tweet. Comment each time.)Tweet this or something like it:  “I just entered to win a copy of Bite Me cookbook with http://www.thriftymommasbrainfood.com/ ”
3. Blog about the giveaway once and earn 5 extra entries. Leave me the link.
I will draw for the winner with random.org and announce the winner Feb. 16th at 9 a.m. Please remember to leave your email address.