A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Plant-Based Buddha Bowls: 100 Recipes for Nourishing One-Bowl Vegan Meals by Kelli Foster

These vegan Buddha bowls feature delicious grains, from the familiar, like oats, barley, quinoa, and rice, to the newly popular, like amaranth, freekeh, and farro, along with all manner of noodles, including pastas, udon, rice noodles, and soba. Nutritious veggies abound, especially greens like spinach, chard, and kale, as do bold flavors and aromatics, like garlic, ginger, lime, tamarind, and lemongrass. Protein-rich ingredients like tofu, tempeh, nuts and nut butters, chia, hemp, and chickpeas make each of these bowls a nutritionally complete meal in just one dish.

You will find dozens of robust and filling dinners both for the weekday whirl and for relaxing weekend meals with family and friends. Beyond that, Plant-Based Buddha Bowls includes more than a dozen Morning Buddha Bowls for a power-packed start to the day; Buddha Bowls on the Go, perfect for packing for school or work; calming Mood Bowls, for light suppers and late-night snacks; and even Sweet Buddha Bowls, which use natural sugars only, for treats and desserts—and for the sweet-toothed kids in the household.

Whether you're a vegan or vegetarian—or an omnivore who enjoys a plant-based meal from time to time—you will love the taste and convenience of these Buddha bowls. Never has so much color and flavor made its way into one humble bowl.

An interesting book with some great ideas, I would have liked it more however if there had been options for 1 or 2 person servings and less nut based food but that is a personal preference! This does give a starting point to increase and expand on Vegetarian and Vegan food prep.

Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really is So Much More by Courtney Carver

In Project 333, minimalist expert and author of Soulful Simplicity Courtney Carver takes a new approach to living simply--starting with your wardrobe. Project 333 promises that not only can you survive with just 33 items in your closet for 3 months, but you'll thrive just like the thousands of woman who have taken on the challenge and never looked back. Let the de-cluttering begin!

Ever ask yourself how many of the items in your closet you actually wear? In search of a way to pare down on her expensive shopping habit, consistent lack of satisfaction with her purchases, and ever-growing closet, Carver created Project 333. In this book, she guides readers through their closets item-by-item, sifting through all the emotional baggage associated with those oh-so strappy high-heel sandals that cost a fortune but destroy your feet every time you walk more than a few steps to that extensive collection of never-worn little black dresses, to locate the items that actually look and feel like you. As Carver reveals in this book, once we finally release ourselves from the cyclical nature of consumerism and focus less on our shoes and more on our self-care, we not only look great we feel great-- and we can see a clear path to make other important changes in our lives that reach far beyond our closets. With tips, solutions, and a closet-full of inspiration, this life-changing minimalist manual shows readers that we are so much more than what we wear, and that who we are and what we have is so much more than enough.

Courtney Carver points out that generally we wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time, and so she sets out to lead you through the process of streamlining your wardrobe (so you stop spending ages trying to decide what to wear and then still putting on the old faithful clothes).  The 33 items are not set in stone (Courtney's own sister did say if it was she would have a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and 31 handbags!) and some items are excluded (eg workout clothes IF you actually use them as workout clothes and not just lounging around clothes).  Well worth a read and implementing (as of April 2020 I have done the former but not yet the latter).

The Victorian Kitchen Garden by Jennifer Davies

The tv programme was great (now on DVD for lots of gentle re-watching!) and this book allows you to see in more depth what they needed to do in order to try to resurrect a kitchen garden for a country estate - well worth a watch and a read!

The Big Book of Cidermaking: Expert Techniques for Fermenting and Flavoring Your Favorite Hard Cider, from Sweet, Bubbly, Botanical, or Hopped to Barrel-Aged Apple Brandy and Pommeau by Kirsten K. Shockey, Christopher Shockey

Best-selling authors and fermentation experts Kirsten and Christopher Shockey enter the realm of fermented beverages with this comprehensive guide to making hard cider that features techniques for achieving a wide range of styles and flavors.

An interesting book that shows how you can make apple based drinks of various types and various amounts!

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by B.J. Fogg, Doug Abrams

When it comes to change, TINY IS MIGHTY. Start with two pushups a day, not a two-hour workout; or five deep breaths each morning rather than an hour of meditation. In TINY HABITS, B.J. Fogg brings his experience coaching more than 40,000 people to help you lose weight, de-stress, sleep better, or achieve any goal of your choice.  You just need Fogg’s behavior formula: make it easy, make it fit your life, and make it rewarding. Whenever you get in your car, take one yoga breath. Smile.  Whenever you get in bed, turn off your phone. Give yourself a high five.  
 
Change can be easy—once it starts, it grows.  Let B.J. Fogg show you exactly how.

A fascinating look at how to improve your life in very small steps! I like the ideas that just changing one very small thing can gradually snowball. it also stresses the fact that what you think you want to change may not be the case, or at least not the first thing that needs to change, certainly something to think about and implement!

5:2 Vegetarian by Celia Brooks

The 5:2 Diet, also known as The Fast Diet, is gaining momentum worldwide as thousands of people who try it see how effective it is for weight loss and improving their general well-being. Many books about the diet focus on fish and meat and ignore the fact that as a vegetarian you are perfectly placed to follow the diet with amazing low-calorie vegetables. This book makes fast days interesting, fun and painless. Everything here is nutritious and vegetarian, with many vegan-friendly recipes. Most recipes are also gluten-free. The fast-day meal recipes are all super quick (30 minutes or less), accessible, satisfying, and nutrient-rich, yet all under 300 calories. If you’re cooking for non-fasters, there are suggestions for multiplying and bulking out the meals for family members.

With an introduction to the 5:2 lifestyle, advice on how to stock your kitchen, and easy and delicious fast-day recipes for breakfast, snacks, main meals, flavour bombs, drinks, weekly meal planners, calorie charts and plenty of fasting tips, this is the book to change your life, for good.

A useful addendum to the 5:2 book as that concentrates on meat and fish neither of which I eat! There are some great recipes in here that I would love to try out (and some I will give a miss to - but hey that is the nature of recipe books!)

The Fast Diet: The secret of intermittent fasting - lose weight, stay healthy, live longer by Michael Mosley, Mimi Spencer

The #1 New York Times bestseller!
Is it possible to eat normally, five days a week, and become slimmer and healthier as a result?

Simple answer: yes. You just limit your calorie intake for two nonconsecutive days each week—500 calories for women, 600 for men. You’ll lose weight quickly and effortlessly with the FastDiet.

Scientific trials of intermittent fasters have shown that it will not only help the pounds fly off, but also reduce your risk of a range of diseases from diabetes to cardiovascular disease and even cancer. “The scientific evidence is strong that intermittent fasting can improve health,” says Dr. Mark Mattson, Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, and Professor of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University.

This book brings together the results of new, groundbreaking research to create a dietary program that can be incorporated into your busy daily life, featuring:

• Forty 500- and 600-calorie meals that are quick and easy to make
• 8 pages of photos that show you what a typical “fasting meal” looks like
• The cutting-edge science behind the program
• A calorie counter that makes dieting easy
• And much more.

Far from being just another fad, the FastDiet is a radical new way of thinking about food, a lifestyle choice that could transform your health. This is your indispensable guide to simple and effective weight loss, without fuss or the need to endlessly deprive yourself.

We need to do something about my OH's diabetes and so we read this and plan to start doing it next week!

Knitting Masterclass: With Over 20 Technical Workshops and 15 Beautiful Patterns by The Knitter (Editor)

A master class can really help intermediate and advanced knitters learn even intimidating stitches and skills. This comprehensive collection from The Knitter recreates that experience on the page, with techniques drawn from the magazine's popular Masterclass series. The “seminars”—led by top teachers, lavishly photographed, and featuring exclusive projects—include Creating Perfect Lace, Steeking without Fear, Confident Cables, Provisional Cast On Methods, Flawless Fair Isle, and more. 

This is the type of book you want by your side whenever you are trying something new knitting wise - a great resource that I will dip into on a regular basis!

Chronic Pain The Drug-Free Way by Phil Sizer

 

Chronic pain affects nearly half the UK population - 43%, or a staggering 28 million people. Chronic pain is defined as any pain that continues for longer than three months. It has a variety of causes including arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, accidents or operations, although sometimes there is no apparent cause.

Self-management is an important approach to coping better and managing this long term condition. Written with humour, and making use of cartoons and line drawings, this book encapsulates 20 years of pain management courses given by Phil Sizer at Pain Association Scotland to patients, GPs, and other health professionals. Divided into three sections (Understanding, Managing, Coping) Its approach is based on a holistic, bio-psycho-social model of health including CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), positive psychology, relaxation, hypnotherapy, motivational interviewing and coaching.

Topics include:
introduction by Pain Association Scotland
understanding chronic pain - definitions, acute vs chronic
pacing – how to avoid over-doing
realistic goal-setting
stress management
relaxation and sleep
dealing with flare-ups
diet and foods to avoid
coping with unhelpful thinking (racing mind, anxiety and negative thoughts)
challenging limiting beliefs
relationships with others
accepting help
importance of humour – attitude and values
being a person not a condition

Well recommended for any one with a chronic condition/pain and indeed for their nearest and dearest! It isn't telling you to stop taking the drugs prescribed, what it is doing is giving you ideas on how to live with the pain and work around it to still give you a decent life!

The House Witch: Your Complete Guide to Creating a Magical Space with Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Your home is an important part of who you are—it makes sense to tie your practice of witchcraft closely to the place where you build your life. In The House Witch, you’ll discover everything you need to live, work, and practice in your own magical space. Follow expert Arin Murphy-Hiscock on a journey to building and fortifying a sacred space in your own home, with essential information on how to:

-Create magical cookbooks of recipes, spells, and charms
-Prepare food that nourishes body and soul
-Perform rituals that protect and purify hearth and home
-Master the secrets of the cauldron and the sacred flame
-Call upon the kitchen gods and goddesses.
-Produce hearth-based arts and crafts.
…and much more!

Learn how easy it is to transform your home into a magical place that enhances your practice and nurtures your spirit!

An interesting read, my only complaint is that the author assumes you have a decent sized house with gardens back and front, no changes are given for people who live in apartments or have houses that go straight onto a pavement (so no burying anything at the threshold!) and if people are still in the Broom Closet they may not want neighbours to see what they are doing!

Also any recipes are in cups, those of us outside the US don't often use this measurement system which makes it tricky.