Dear La Leche... we are not stupid
920955
The tone of this book is awful.  Supremely judgmental and very short on helpful tips.  I remembered a friend who'd been a La Leche leader had given me this book during a moment of extreme frustration and pain when my son was a week old so hoped it would be a helpful resource.  However, it instead made my hormonal self cry with its judgment about working mothers and other topics.  It completely turned me off to the La Leche League as a rule, so the frequent encouragement to "visit your local chapter" was completely lost on me.  Thankfully I was able to figure out nursing, pumping, and going back to work on my own.  I threw this book away because I wouldn't even donate such a piece of judgmental trash.
4848201
Virginia Willis, French-trained chef at Anne Willans La Varenne, is the author of several outstanding cookbooks that merge Southern cooking with French sensibilities (the excellent Bon Appetit, Yall and the follow-up Basic to Brilliant, Yall). In her latest, Lighten Up, Yall, Willis tackles the misconception that Southern comfort food classics like pimiento cheese, mac and cheese, collard greens, fried chicken, and biscuits and gravy are relegated to a dieticians worst nightmare.

Southern cuisine relies on a bounty of fresh produce which can sometimes be hidden under added fats or oils (collard greens, Im looking at you!), but that doesnt mean that its lacking in any nutritional value whatsoever. Virginia has given these staples a healthier makeover by swapping out full-fat products for lower-fat ones, including applesauce for oil in baked goods, and by substituting a portion of 2% Greek Yogurt (I use 0% Fage) in place of mayo. The best part is that your guests won't be able to taste the difference; theres no sense of deprivation or strange textures from using fat-free products (which she doesnt recommend).

Many iconic Southern classics have been given the makeover treatment, including cheese grits, dirty rice, smothered chicken and gravy, and coleslaw. In some cases, recipes are given a French or international treatment (miso-glazed catfish with edamame, rack of lamb with pecan mint dipping sauce). Every recipe includes nutritional info, making it great for those who actively track calories, fat, sugar and carbs. Gorgeous photos tempt you to make every recipe in the book.

I recently had the chance to take a Lighten Up, Yall class with Virginia, where we made several recipes from the book including the crab and celery remoulade wraps, makeover broccoli mac and cheese, cider-braised pork loin with apple thyme jus, pan roasted asparagus & mushrooms, buttermilk biscuits, and  Claires cream cheese swirl brownies with vanilla cream. She was a most gracious and humorous hostess who exuded Southern charm, and these recipes are sure to be a hit at your next dinner or party.

Lighten Up, Yall should belong in everyones kitchen; its not a diet book by any means, but a way to enjoy seasonal vegetables to their fullest without added fat, and to try new produce or meats that you otherwise may have been missing out on (honey mustard Carolina quail with grilled grapes, okra, greens). Its a wonderful way to enjoy healthier versions of beloved classics without feeling like you're sacrificing portion size or flavor, and to try new flavors as well.
3814843
The book is full of common sense and healthy eating habits. This way of eating is not necessarily practiced only by the French, but the author writes about what she knows.

Major points:

-Savor What You Eat

-Slow And Steady

-Variety

-Drink Water

-Ritual Eating

-Portion Control

-Walk

I am an American living in Switzerland and agree with the Dutch reviewer about how Europe, including France, is not far behind the U.S. in bad eating habits. I am concerned that as with all American products and trends, Europeans are taking on our food and eating habits at a fast pace.  We are starting to see American-type products here in stores (sliced bread, instant meals, low fat/light, super size, mega) and Mac Do's is increasingly popular with the young people here.

"Faster is better" seems to be the mantra of today and it is leading to a self-indulgent, consumer-driven, stressed-out, fast-paced, and overweight society, at least in developed countries. Bravo for bringing us back to reasonable living.

Aime Skidmore
4675470
Life isn't perfect, so stop pretending it is.  Under a thin veil of serenity, we are all running around trying to cope when all we really want to do is open a bottle of wine and tell the world to piss off!  We rarely do because we think we shouldnt but Ellen does just that, a lot.  She makes it permissible to be honest and its okay to laugh at the same time without being a bad person.  Loved this book.
4173433
Dr. Phil does a special about it. Jay Leno makes jokes about it. Americans are obese and, judging from Michael F. Roizen and Dr. John La Puma's latest entry in the RealAge book phenomenon, making ourselves older and less energetic, even with those McDonald's salads.

Roizen and La Puma, as well as Suzanne Somers, make the argument that we aren't born to reach for a Ding Dong. Just consider Sophia Loren. Do you know why she looks so fabulous? In part, it's all that marinara sauce, cooked naturally in a well-stocked kitchen and eaten with friends and family in the boisterous Italian tradition of family and special places for eating (which also knocks years off your RealAge). Eating 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce per week, rich in the new hot ingredient, lycopene, makes your RealAge 1.9 years younger (55-year-old male) or 0.7 years younger (55-year-old female)-Mamma Mia! And if you're an adult male of 55, buy some nuts and eat an ounce a day (3.3 years off your RealAge.)

This is no Big Mac read. Roizen and La Puma's cornucopia of information and age-defying recipes with detailed nutritional analysis and RealAge benefits in this book are a rich delicious gourmet feast, to be slowly savored.
1471749
This book's message to me is: it's second nature to accept most things as everyday, normal, cool and so on,  paralyzed in a whirlpool or black hole of status quo and yet have this nagging gut feeling something is not on the up and up. Look this book might not be perfect, but it hits home, plus it's concise and logical. I've read other books related to the subject and they are all saying about the same thing, which is we are dealing with short term goals at the cost of  our long term goals, not very adult of us, this neurosis. ... Not mentioned in the book, imported foods as well as domestic foods are NOT tested by our FDA to verify the ingredients listed on the package, good luck with those trustworthy (Wh_l_ F__ds) organic stores. Now read:&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Hundred-Year-Lie-How-to-Protect-Yourself-from-the-Chemicals-That-Are-Destroying-Your-Health/dp/0452288398/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health</a>.
1692793
This book is  a delight to read, if only because of the author's fervent sense of mission in a world-gone-by, one actually not so different in mentality as today (of course I am a social worker).  She has discovered something of use to the "common woman" to help in ways that expand from beyond the kitchen: economically in a time of very tight finances, and nutritiously, in a time where much of the country is under-nourished (as today, except for the fact that our under-nourished are often our most overfed).  But the methods still work!! And though I doubt I will have much use for canned apples in our world of jet-fresh foods, canning home-grown (or locally/healthily-grown) food is still one of the most delightful and economic ways I know to extend the joy of producing and providing the 'fruits' of our loving efforts to our famililies and friends.
2947848
Not all books are about love, affection, and fairytales. Some books are created from master minds who know that there is a deep seeded wrong in this world, and it needs to be addressed. This book , though graphic is not nearly as graphic as some of the horrible things we hear about on our locals news each night, read about on Facebook, or hear about from friends and family. This book brings awareness to child abuse, human trafficking, emotional pain from a standpoint not all of us can understand, but we can aid in the fight against. Be aware, Be bold, Be different, so we can make a difference for everyone. This book really made me think, I need to start acting so my grandchildren are safe
1952787
Our daughter is four, and not a bad eater, but I've noticed that dinner time was increasingly becoming tense time where we cajoled her to eat a certain number of bites, sit properly, all with the bribery of dessert.  Since reading Le Billon's book a few weeks ago, we've instituted a strict no snacks rule (which has eliminated pre-dinner carbs), and despite some initial resistance (a temper tantrum about matzah), she's now on board.  To reduce whining about snacking, we started role playing.

F: "Can I have a snack?"
me: "No."
F: "Why not?"
me: "Because we're saving our appetite for dinner."

She liked it so much she wanted to repeat it five times.  Then we switched parts and she got to be the mommy and say "No!"  This makes it a game for her, and also helps her know what to expect.

It's striking to me how much I had imbibed the American snack attitude - that to be a good parent, I must have snacks at all time so my kid doesn't go hungry.  It's been empowering, both for myself and as a parent to accept that it's okay to be hungry between meals.

Since we were already eating "French" in that we cook from scratch and eat dinner together every night, the other big change has been the rule that we try everything, and it's been amazing to see what F. will try now that she's really hungry at meal times.  I'm no longer making mainly foods that F. will like, but thinking about expanding her palate and knowing that she'll try whatever we make.  It's a sea change!  We recently had our second child, and I'm looking forward to starting him a la francaise on vegetable purees.

A huge message of your book is if we raise our expectations for what our kids can handle, in eating and social behavior, they will surprise us by meeting the challenge. I wish everyone with young kids could read this book.
1297979
it is wonderfull, sweet but not ickey sweet. Love it
3146038
Anthony Bourdain walks you through his life as a chef, from the first time he ate a raw oyster to his daily grind as an executive chef in a New York steakhouse. Do yourself a favor, though. Don't expect this to be a love letter.

There is some pretty rough stuff going on in this book. Don't be scared, Tony is there to lead you through it. He's not going to hold your hand, though. He's simply going to tell you the truth, plain and unvarnished. He assumes you're at least as smart as him, and for that be grateful. He doesn't dumb anything down, there's no time for that. It's a busy business and there are more important things to do that bottle-feed the slow. Don't worry, you can handle it. Breathe deeply and savor.

See, the professional kitchen is a catchbasin for those who simply can't (or won't) fit in anywhere else. Misfits, half-wits, the criminally insane, it takes a special breed of lunatic to put up with the face-searing heat, the constant abuse from on high, the interminable crush of humanity who simply must be fed. This book is for anyone who truly understands the phrase, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Divest yourself of the image of a chef as a cute little fuzzy-wuzzy and grow up a little. Then you will be able to understand this book for what it is: the truth behind what goes on the the kitchen of your favorite eatery. The more you think about what you're eating, the less you'll want to eat it. Just enjoy it, and don't worry too much about how you got it.

Remember, the meal is not the lunch.
1110111
America, please beleive me.  We're not all as dumb-sounding as the person who posted the one bad review on here from LA.  Hey buddy, a hint: If yours is the only bad personal attack review out of the 40+ who have offered otherwise glowing reviews of the same book, do you really think the problem is everyone else's?  Obviously you're missing something--and I don't mean intelligence or "academic elite standing".  I mean patience and creativity.  That's right, creativity.  I am a stay-at-home mom, haven't been in a classroom in 17 years, and spend more time with my five and two year olds than I do with the "intellectual elite."  Nevertheless, I ADORE this book.  Know why?  Because there is such a thing as reading with your head turned on, taking part in the story as the story's being told.  What sets this book apart and what makes it so much fun for me to read is the author's ability and his willingness to not TELL stories, but to SHOW them.  He presents scenes instead of theses; images instead of arguments.  Everyone on here is probably right that you don't often see that in the essay world.  Kudos to him for stretching the form.  And shame on Mr. LA for not letting him.
2769626
I like the author . I like the characters..
I like the fact that the characters  are not from a sewing circle, cookie baker, etc, also, not  the prime suspect, not the friend of prime the suspect, not the relative of the prime suspect, not going off doing stupid things.
1465031
I read a marketing book and didn't throw up in my mouth. That's saying something. This book is no nonsense and useful. It isn't about click bait and listicles. Technically it's about "marketing," but really it's just helpful ways to connect with other human beings about stuff you both care about. I'm pretty sure I can do most of it without losing my soul. Again, that's saying something.
3457041
This version of the Stone Soup story isn't one of how a bunch of people can combine together to make something good even though they each though they had nothing. Nor is it a story about cooperation. It's just a guy, tricking an old lady into making him some soup.  The repetition is soothing though, and fun for kids to chime in on.
4196763
An important, well researched message to all of us in the "Western World" about the risks to ourselves posed by the manipulation of foodstuffs to fool us / our brains into thinking we're eating something of nutritional value equivalent to what our appetites would suggest is contained in foods with remarkable flavors.  Can we humans withstand the industrial manipulation of our diets for profit at the expense of nutritional content?
249813
There's a consistent problem in modern life, whenever modern is for you. That problem is this: we tend to think that we are the smartest people to ever life. No one else has had the same problems or come up with the same solution to those problems. No other generation has figured out what we know--it was refreshing to hear a conversation recently about the plethora of "Gospel-centered" books and how we come across as if we discovered the Gospel in the last decade, when the Church has been around for two millennia. It's not healthy.

Into that problem comes a few good ideas. One of those ideas is to reach out and read from prior generations. That can be intimidating to tackle in one fell swoop, but a good way is to take little bites and see what has been said in ages past. If you couple that with the excellent idea of daily readings to help draw us nearer to God, then you can accomplish this by picking up James Stuart Bell's Awakening Faith. It looks like this:

Now, let's be honest with our credits. Bell did not truly write Awakening Faith.  He wrote the introduction, and he selected the writings, but these daily devotionals were written by people like St. Patrick or the Venerable Bede. I am uncertain, based on the information in the book, whether or not Bell did all the translating or if he worked from existing translations.

That does not particularly matter to the value of Awakening Faith. You have here a year's supply of devotionals developed by the giants that stand in the early years of church history. I cannot find a bad day among them all, and I will enjoy reading and rereading this for years to come.

If there is a fault to find here, it is more the fault of history than of Bell. There is a reason that these are all devotions from the Early Church Fathers. No women are featured in the writings, but the well is pretty dry to draw from in that slice of time. So, again, it's no fault of Bell, but it's worth noting. More a reminder of the missing half of wisdom from the last two millennia than anything else.

In all, though, do not let that scare you away from Awakening Faith. Keep in mind that these Early Church Fathers wrote before over verbosity became a virtue, before printing presses. These men say more in a page than most of us say in a blog series or a book. Grab a copy for yourself and for a history-minded Christian friend.

Note: free book from Cross-Focused Reviews in exchange for the review.