March 2015 Cookbooks

100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake

After checking this book out from my library and not having time to finish it, I just decided to go ahead and buy it. I was already familiar with Leake's blog of the same name, so I knew this one would be worth owning. This is a great book and Leake shows how with a little work and planning you can cut out most of the processed food in your life. The few pages where she had reader comments about how Real Food had changed their lives was very impressive. I'm convinced (even before reading this book) that diet is a MUCH bigger component to our health than the food industry would have us believe. I really like how she walked the reader through her thought process and food "conversion" and gave tips about how to do this with kids and/or a reluctant spouse in the first half of the book and then in the second half she includes 100 Real Food recipes. Overall, this is a fantastic book that really breaks down Real Food in an easy to understand and easy to implement way. If you are looking to revamp your diet or just want to improve on your "real food" skills - this is the book for you!

Eat Right for Your Sight by Jennifer Trainer Thompson and Johanna M. Seddon

After my father-in-law was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration it definitely made me more aware of trying to help my husband do everything he can to prevent this. I'm not sure how much of a genetic component there is, but either way it can't hurt to try to eat better for overall health. The forward of the book is written by Chip Goehring who is the President of the Board of Trustees for the American Macular Degeneration Foundation. He explains how his own diagnosis compelled him to quit his job and go into research about this disease and how to prevent it, which led to the creation of the American Macular Degeneration Foundation and this book. All the recipes include ingredients known to help with eye/vision health and macular degeneration. Of course eating lots of fruits and vegetables would be good for anyone's overall health. There are a few recipes I'd like to try and overall this book just encouraged me to eat better for my overall health.

Good Food, Good Life by Curtis Stone

I have always liked Curtis Stone ever since I saw him on the Take Home Chef TV show. In this book he focuses more on recipes he uses for his own family. I liked how he emphasized growing your own vegetables and herbs to use in cooking. There were also lots of great pictures of Curtis and his family at home cooking. There are definitely a few recipes I'd like to try as well.

Brown Eggs and Jam Jars by Aimee Wimbush-Bourque

The author grew up in a rural homestead growing and making all their own food. As an adult and parent she wants to instill those same values in her children, but needs to live closer to where there is available work, so she and her family are urban homesteaders. They live on a few acres and grow tons of fruit and vegetables and raise chickens for meat and eggs. This cookbook is divided into the 4 seasons to promote eating seasonally, but she also talks about the importance of canning to preserve summer produce to enjoy year round. This is right up my alley! There were definitely some recipes I'd like to try and I'm also going to check out her blog Simple Bites too. A must read for any home gardener/canners out there!