The Restaurant Critic's Wife Book Review

     The Restaurant Critic's Wife by Elizabeth LaBan is about Sam and Lila Soto who have just moved to Philadelphia for Sam to begin his dream job of working as a restaurant critic for a newspaper. Sam is very insistent on keeping his identity a secret so that no one in the restaurant industry will know it is him when he dines at their restaurants. As the story begins, Lila, a former crisis manager for Addison Hotels, is pregnant with their second child and knows almost no one in their new town.

     For the most part, I liked the book. I, however, didn't really care for either of the main characters. Sam is obsessive, self centered and selfish. Lila is insecure, selfish and self centered. They don't communicate with each other at all and act very immature and childish too. It was hard for me as a mother of five to read about a woman that is so insecure in her parenting but doesn't actually parent. I felt like she spent the entire book just distracting her kids so that she could do what she wanted. 

     I don't want to come down too hard on the book because there were several things I enjoyed. The different restaurants and menus was very interesting and fun. I liked how real the author was with a lot of parenting issues, with children throwing fits and fighting and dealing with other moms. But, unfortunately, the main character of Lila was very hard for me to read. She was very insecure and immature and selfish in my opinion. Overall, I liked the authors writing style and the way she described the scenes. I felt as if I was actually there. I just didn't care for Sam and Lila Soto.

I was given a free advanced copy of The Restaurant Critic's Wife from Netgalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

THM Easy Whole Grain and Honey Bread Machine Bread (E) by Kristen Hay

THM Easy Whole Grain and Honey Bread Machine Bread (E)

The Trim Healthy Mama Sprouted Whole Grain and Honey Recipe has been moved to Kristen Hay's new blog here: https://kristenhayphotography.smugmug.com/Blog/THM-Easy-Sprouted-Whole-Grain-

You can also pin the recipe using this link: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/50172983324328197/


Thanks everyone for stopping by.

Living and Active Update Week #2

 

I didn't have a chance to post the first week of the challenge. To recap that week, I did very well. I exercised four days that week, mainly walking and I memorized the scripture verse as well. My eating habits are still in dire need of change and I'm reading a few books to help with that, but I've not made any changes at present.

For this second week, I didn't do as well. I didn't exercise at all this week. In my defense, I started the week out canning 49 jars of applesauce in around 24 hours so I really think that should count for at least 2 days of exercise, haha. I did memorize the verse. Well, I already had the verse memorized because it is one that I need to remember often and it was wonderful to use it in this new context.I'm looking forward to this new week, a chance to start new and fresh. I've already exercised this morning, so I'm very optimistic. :)

How is your exercise routine? Are you doing Clare's challenge too? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Simply Delicious Amish Cooking

Do these blueberry muffins look good or what? They sure were!! I baked them with a recipe from a new cookbook that I was given to review.

Simply Delicious Amish Cooking is a cookbook with wonderful Amish/Mennonite recipes and anecdotes as well as stories of the Pinecraft Amish/Mennonite Community in Pinecraft, Florida. This book has lots of wonderful recipes with little to no processed ingredients. And most of the recipes have a small amount of ingredients too, hence the title. This is a wonderful ebook that I highly recommend. I enjoyed reading about the start of their community in Pinecraft and learning about different aspects of their lives as well. So many recipes to try, they all sound so yummy! I can't wait to cook another!

You can purchase Simply Delicious Amish Cooking at ChristianBook.com or Amazon.com




Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure

If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure

 

From the publisher's website: "Life can be hard . . . but food, faith, and fun are three amazing gifts from God to satisfy and refresh us every day. Yet all too often, we focus primarily on what we can not do, and what we should not eat—which leaves us feeling deprived and depressed. Instead of being energized by following Christ, we waste our days feeling bored and burnt-out on our faith, while battling the guilt that comes from craving the food that we love. In If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure, best-selling author and speaker Sheri Rose Shepherd encourages you to embark on a new adventure with faith and food. She reveals the food coaching tips that enabled her to lose over 50 pounds and keep it off, and shares fun recipes in celebration of the healthy, delicious food our God created for us to enjoy. It’s time to let go of guilt, grab hold of grace, and recapture the life God craves for us to live! “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8)"

I really enjoyed this book. I have met Mrs Shepherd in person at a women's retreat and she is just a lovely woman with her heart focused on helping others. At the end of each chapter is a QR code that you can scan with your mobile device and it will take you to a video that summarizes the chapter. I liked that. I thought it was a fun way to incorporate the book with social media. Also, each chapter has life recipes to go along with the food recipes to help your spiritual life. She recommends passages in the Bible as well as tips such as "have a date night, go out with girlfriends" and the like. I highly recommend this book. I unfortunately haven't been able to try any of the recipes, but I will be posting about those when I get a chance. You can't go wrong with this book, get it now!!

Buy If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure here.

CSA Box #5

Beets, Swiss Chard, Carrots, Lettuce, Onions and Broccoli.


The only new veggies this week were the onion and broccoli. Actually it is a different type of lettuce, so we will probably put that into a salad.


From our previous  CSA Box #4, we also got Swiss Chard which my husband made into Swiss Chard and Onion Tacos.

Linking up with:

http://www.thebettermom.com/

and

http://www.raisingarrows.net/

and

http://www.themodestmomblog.com

My New Challenge

I decided to give myself a new challenge. I have read several blogs where they post pictures of what they ate that day. In the spirit of trying to keep track of what I eat, I figured this would be a good way to do that. I'm calling it, What I Ate Today!

Sunday July 15

Not Picture: 1 Tootsie Roll, 1 Hershey's Kiss, and 1 Slice Dutch Apple Pie with Ice cream.

What did you eat today? I'm sure it was way healthier than me! :)

Linking up with:

http://www.thebettermom.com/

and

http://www.raisingarrows.net/

and

http://www.themodestmomblog.com

CSA Box #4

Friday, we received our fourth box from our CSA share. It contained Kale, Collard Greens, Fennel, Bok Choy, Lettuce, Green Onions and Turnips.

I plan on making the Kale Chips again. They were so delicious. For that recipe, check out my blog post here.

The Collard Greens will be going to our Benny Rabbit of course. He just loves them! He will also get the tops and stems of any of the veggies that we don't use.

My husband, who is an AWESOME cook, used some of the green onions and fennel in a corn salsa that he made on Saturday. Sunday evening he used some of the swiss chard and bok choy in pasta. Both were very good!

I'm not sure how will use the turnips just yet. I have heard that they are good mashed, so we might do them that way. Please share any comments or recipes that you have tried in the comments!

CSA Box #2

Our second CSA box has arrived. We received a few new things this week that we are eager to try.

Spinach, Carrots, Garlic Scapes, Strawberries, Green Onions, Strawberry Spread and Collard Greens.

As you can see we received spinach, strawberries and carrots again this week. The garlic scapes look really neat up close with a swirl at the top. They are what is at the top of garlic, who knew?

Apparently, they can be used the same way as regular garlic. My husbad used some of them on pork steaks that he grilled. They were delicious!!

I plan on using the strawberry spread on toast and pb&j. I was going to cook the collard greens, as we've never eaten them before and some of my husband's family come from the south and had good southern recipes for me, but we recently got a rabbit and I read that collard greens are good for them, so our Benny Rabbit will get them. He also loves the tops of the carrots!!

So my questions for this week's box are:

Have you ever eaten Collard Greens or Garlic Scapes?

Linking up with:

http://www.raisingarrows.net/

and

http://www.thebettermom.com/

 

http://time-warp-wife.blogspot.com/2012/06/titus-2sday-link-up-party_25.html

Blog #2/New Years Resolutions

Today's church sermon was really good. Pastor Bruce talked about how we can do nothing without God's help. We can do all things through him. It made me think about my weight struggles and whatnot. Every time that I've tried to lose weight and have prayed to God to help me, I've always lost weight. So, the question in my mind is, why don't I do this more? Pastor Bruce also said that we can only really change when we actually change our habits, instead of always going back to our same routine. We have to make different habits and create new pathways in our brains.

So, I'm thinking this is what I need to do. I need to start making a habit of praying every single day (probably in the morning would be best) and asking God for help in losing weight and getting healthier. All things are possible with God, so why wouldn't me losing weight be possible? I've also thought about posting my daily food intake on this blog. I think it would be kind of an accountability thing because I'd have to live with everyone knowing that I ate like an entire bag of laffy taffy or half of a 5 gallon ice cream bucket with 3 brownies.

Which brings me to another interesting thought that I had today. I think in a way I'm a binge eater. I've really been thinking about it and I really have no self-control over eating. If we have a bag of peanut butter cups, I eat and eat and eat it until they are all gone. The same goes for ice cream, brownies, cookies, and lots of other things. I also almost never eat a meal without getting seconds. Its ridiculous. I just can't seem to get it into my head that I can always have more another time. I don't have to stuff myself with it or eat it all like I'll never have it again. Part of me wonders if it doesn't stem from when I was a kid and I would get a lot of food and not finish it and then get in trouble for not finishing my plate. I feel really badly if I leave even a little bit of food on a plate. I feel like I'm wasting food.

So, I've been thinking of incorporating this into my New Years Resolutions. I think they are going to be as follows:

Not getting seconds every single time I eat a meal.
Only having one treat a day.
Limiting my intake of diet soda or any soda period.
Not feeling bad if I don't finish a meal.
Reading my bible every day and trying to read the entire bible in a year.
Praying to God everyday to help me in losing weight.

I know the saying goes that people only make resolutions so that they can break them, but I really feel like I need to make some changes in my life. I'm not where I want to be, and its time to change that. If anyone wants to join me on this journey please follow me here on this blog and let me know. It would be wonderful to share this with someone.

So, in closing I wanted to share scripture from today's sermon that really struck me.

Matthew 12:36 & 37

But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgement.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.