Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
341994
A book for anyone who is interested in the process of getting off the food pipeline to being as self-sufficient as possible in our global cacophony of food production. Writer Barbara Kingsolver shares the stage in the this fantastic book with her husband and daughter. This is a personal yearly voyage of a family seeking the meaning of real food as an extension of their environment. "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" shares potent, relevant and vital information about food production (past and present), "green" networks and nutrition.

Domenico Petrillo, Beacon, NY

<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Animal-Vegetable-Miracle-A-Year-of-Food-Life-P-S/dp/0060852569/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)</a>
4422564
I am a person with many responsibilities, very busy, and stress impair my sensitive digestive system. I have noticed how processed food, flour, bread, milk and meats cause problems and inflammation, too much sugar causes me headaches. Instead feed on fresh organic raw vegetables, herbs without pesticides from my garden, wild fish and nuts, intermittent fasts, invigorate me. I am constantly improving my quality of life, that of my family and the people to whom I offer my services as an alternative energy therapist, that is why I was interested in this book that I enjoyed very much, it has provided me with valuable information, clear, concise, practical guidance, based on the latest digestive health science coupled with her clinical experience based on it.
There is a growing body of research showing that processed foods may change the balance of bacteria in the gut, and key recent concepts to controlling weight, beautiful skin, improving mood, developing a strong immune system and also protect us from developing autoimmune disorders are: a diet that creates a high-performance digestive system and gut microbiome that thrives.
The author Jeannette Hyde designed a four-week restoration program that guide us to cultivate a healthy gut and microbiome with a diet which stimulates the flourishing of a wide diversity of species and to build a strong gut lining.
This eating restorative strategy seeks to imitate the hunter-gatherer's diet, where industrialization was not present, includes natural unprocessed foods, deliciously varied in vegetables and seasonal fruits (I recommend organic only), nuts, eggs and birds (I recommend farm), fish and meats (I recommend wild preferentially or organic pasture / grazing meat). And after the program also the author proposes a diet of long-term care, based on the diet from the pre-1960s.
My gratitude to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book
803377
I was amazed at the number and simplicity of ways to preserve food. There too many who have never heard of these preservative methods. We become more and more reliant on technology to feed us. I recommend this book to anyone interested in self-reliance.
1172316
Vertical Farms: growing food in our cities

Looking for a solution to food scarcity, excessive chemicals on our foods, too much energy used in growing and transporting food, nutrient runoff, the disappearance of low skilled jobs in urban areas, and food that just plain doesn't taste very good? Then welcome to the vertical farm revolution, and the foundational book on Vertical Farming by the movement's leading light, Columbia University Professor Emeritus Dickson Daniel Despommier.

"The Vertical Farm" is a tour de force of the promise of this latest agricultural revolution. Just as humans developed agriculture, then mechanized it and added fertilizers and chemicals, we are now on the cusp of the third agricultural revolution: growing food in urban areas, using less land, water and fossil fuels, while applying fewer chemicals.

After a fascinating time travel through the invention of primitive and modern agriculture--with all their advantages and problems--Dr. Despommier, a microbiologist, lifts us into the coming world of high-rise farming. In new or refurbished buildings, farmers of tomorrow will grow all kinds of food that we can be eating the next day.

The illustrations are lively and informative; the style is easy and friendly; and the message is compelling: we eat better and the eco-sphere can heal itself and once again provide all those wonderful services--carbon sequestration and clean water, to mention two--that it used to do. So while you're reading "The Vertical Farm"--and it is truly a must-read--contemplate all those advantages, and taste that fresh food.
600310
We've all been told to eat our veggies.  Now, author Victoria Boutenko points out that it may not be enough to simply eat from the broad range of items we term "vegetables"; rather, we should be eating more greens, specifically.  As she points out, the category we term vegetables includes fruits (ex: tomatoes, cucumbers), roots (carrots, beets and the like), flowers (ex: broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes) and greens (spinach, kale, parsley, etc.).

With several comprehensive tables offering nutritional comparisons of roots and greens, Boutenko illustrates the nutritional mother-lode offered by greens over the roots of the very same plant.  Additional tables in later chapters address the mineral and vitamin content and the essential amino acid content of greens; again, greens deliver the goods, nutritionally speaking.

Subsequent chapters continue to discuss the other benefits of a diet rich in greens as indicated by these chapter titles:
Fiber: The Magic Sponge
Greens for Homeostasis
The Significance of Stomach Acid
Greens Make the Body More Alkaline
The Healing Powers of Chlorophyll

In the chapter titled "The Roseburg Study", Boutenko summarizes the results of a study conducted in Roseburg, Oregon, in which they got 27 volunteers to drink a quart a day of freshly made green smoothies for the period of a month.  Roseburg doctor Paul Fieber, who participated in conducting the study, writes a several page summary of the study protocol and the results within that chapter.  Boutenko writes in that same chapter "as Dr. Fieber mentions, we were expecting some positive changes, but we didn't know they would be so significant in such a short period of time..."

Boutenko includes a chapter of testimonials, which gives an idea of the far-reaching improvements in health that this green smoothie regime can have (rosacea disappears, reduced or eliminated allergies, improvements in blood sugar control, reduced arthritis symptoms, more energy and healing eczema, as examples), as well as a chapter which includes the questionnaire responses from the Roseburg participants. The later I would have preferred to see simply summarized; the question by question responses were repetitive and didn't add as much to the book as a summarized overview would have.

The final chapter includes 45 recipes for green smoothies, starting with the sweeter, more palatable fruit-added blends, and progressing to more savory blends.  Those recipes I've tried so far have been wonderful...my husband will even drink them!

For anyone looking to improve their health via nutritional means, this book will be a great addition to their arsenal.
1673572
This is an amazing book about living and eating in a way that helps every person, creature and the environment in general.  If you want to know the truth about food and learn what food really is, if you want to know how to help your body heal itself, if you want to learn what "karmic living" looks like, then you've found a great book to read.  While (as a Christian) I don't agree with all that David Wolfe has to say, this is still a wonderful book to own, I've learned so much from it and it has helped me to maintain my new of living and eating (raw vegan).  This is a book that needs to be read.
2760554
I saw this gem in my local Barnes and Noble early this year. I was an omnivore who'd been admittedly intrigued by vegetarianism for most of my life. The pictures of the cover really grabbed me, particularly the photo of a happy looking woman (who I later learned was the author herself) with a gorgeous cow. I thought, "I could never go vegan, but man that way of life looks so peaceful." I didn't buy the book, but every time I'd go to a bookstore, I'd seek it out and peruse the incredible stories and photography. Fast forward a few months -- I was exploring vegan blogs (again, with NO intention to go vegan) and came across a video that sealed the deal for me forever. After I seeing what happened to the animals I was eating, I was done and was now on that happy new path myself. Later in the summer, after discovering and listening to Colleen' vegetarian/vegan podcast called Compassionate Cooks (on itunes) I realized she was the same person who'd authored that beautiful (and I should note very nonjudgmental) book. I finally treated myself and bought the tome, and it's quickly become one of my favorite books in the world. Even if you have no intention to become vegetarian or vegan, this book is an amazing gift to have if you are fond of animals and their amazing ways.
2623954
Everyone one my list is getting this DVD for Christmas/Hanukkah.  I've watched about nine different documentaries on food and healing and all of them, even though they are focused on different issues, recommend a whole food, plant-based diet.  It's been a month since watching my first documentary on this subject and I'm slowly transforming my families diet to meals without meat and dairy.  The kids are having the hardest time with this change.  I've purchased several vegan cookbooks and have been pleasantly surprised at how good the recipes are.  We are doing the juices, too, and they aren't half bad!

Here is my list of recommended DVD documentaries if you want to get a good all-around eduction. All can be found on Netflix with the exception of "Eating."

Forks Over Knifes (I bought the cookbook also nd so far the recipes I've tried are delicious)
Foodmatters
A Beautiful Truth
Dying to Have Known
The Gerson Miracle
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
Eating
The Future of Food (disturbing about GMO's)

A few good books:
Orthomolecular Medicine For Everyone: Megavitamin Therapeutics for Families and Physicians by Abram Hoffer and Andrew W. Saul
Healing the Gerson Way: Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Disease
The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health

Good Luck!
4238396
I'm so happy this book has been re-issued! I have my mother's copy of the original 1955 edition and it was her Bible in the Fall when the garden started yielding more produce than we could consume (and there were 10 of us!) What makes this cookbook particularly enjoyable is the variety of strange and fascinating recipes. Some are quick and easy to be made in small batches. A few are labeled "Career Girl" recipes and are made from frozen fruits and vegetables so busy "career girls" (a popular term in the 50s) could hurry home from their "girl Friday" jobs and whip up a batch of salad pickles that tasted like she had slaved in the kitchen for hours.

I love some of the very old-fashioned sounding chapters. Crystallized Fruits & Flowers has detailed instructions for crystallizing everything from strawberries to violets and tons of recipes including Honey & Rose-Petal Preserves and Glacd Wine Figs. There is a chapter on Conserves, which I happen to be partial to, including Rhubarb (Pie Plant) Conserve and Red Beet Conserve. The rather lengthy Meats and Sea Food chapter includes all Venison Mincemeat, Pickled Oysters, instructions for brining, corning, and pickling meat, a variety of meat pastes, sausages and scrapples and "Easy Brined Shrimp".

Marion Brown's section on Preserves is testimony to the fact that early cooks could figure out a way to preserve darn near anything and includes quaint recipes like Sun-Cooked Strawberry Preserves, Pumpkin Chips, and Cantalope Preserves.

Perhaps the most unique recipe in the book is one she copied from a fifteenth century cookbook for "Peris in Syrippe and Wyne", She adds 2 interpretations of that, her own and a variation by a friend which adds orange slices. I love the idea of adding saffron.

I recently published a cookbook of my own (<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Fry-Bacon-Add-Onions-The-Valentine-Family-Friends-Cookbook/dp/0978594045/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Fry Bacon. Add Onions: The Valentine Family & Friends Cookbook</a>&nbsp;nd glancing through the section on Preserves I'm sure many of those recipes evolved from Marion Brown's cookbook. This is a highly readable treasure!
593255
Dana Goodyear expands my knowledge of foods that people eat.  Goodyear teaches professional writing at the University of South California.  She is also a staff writer at the New Yorker.  I admire anyone who can make money in two jobs. I never thought that food trends could be a subject of professional writing, but Dana Goodyear changes my opinion of that.  She devotes one chapter to Jonathan Gold.  He is a food critic from Los Angeles that has actually won a Pulitzer Prize for his criticism. He has eaten bizarre foods like the ear of a pig and the penis of an ox. These foods do not sound appetizing.  He has also eaten dried beef curry.  This dish sounds pretty good to me.  I admire the career of Jonathan Gold.  I am also envious that he can eat at 300 to 500 restaurants a year.  I haven't even eaten at 300 restaurants in my life.

 Any animal that comes from the ocean is safer than  any food that comes from land.  I have always believed this. I would probably eat whale like Dana Goodyear did in Iceland.  She is a brave young woman who has tried the Filipino dish called balut. Balut is a live duckling eaten inside of a warm egg.  I admire Dana for trying this dish.  It is a food that I would definitely not eat. I learned about a new type of bean called the tonka bean. This bean smells like the vanilla bean.  It can used to make ice cream. However, it contains a substance called coumarin that causes internal bleeding.

 I am adventurous enough to eat some of the foods that Goodyear describes.  I would eat red bell peppers dipping dots.  I love to eat bell peppers.  I would try it even though it sounds unusual.  It is made with liquid nitrogen.  I would also try a caramel popcorn that is made with marijuana.  It is called caramel pot corn.  I would try it, because I think would relax my muscles and satisfy my sweet tooth.  I learned that that the cooks at Harvard University dinning hall serve horse steak.  This is a food I would try just as a different source of protein.  I learned that eating insects is a common practice. I would not try grasshopper tacos or ant eggs.  Goodyear writes about a young cook named Craig Thornton.  He has a restaurant in Los Angeles called Wolvesmouth.  I would be curious to eat his lamb dish with fennel, mushrooms and flowers. I have never even considered drinking raw milk.  Goodyear spends quite a bit of time discussing the fact that drinking raw milk can make people healthier.  Drinking unheated milk reduces rates of asthma and allergies.  This is a subject that I would like to research to get more information about these claims.  Anything That Moves is an insightful about food trends and the people in the food industry.
4692233
It was fun/interesting to read, plus it's full of useful facts. Phytonutrients, found only in plants (i.e., real fruits and veg), are missing from most american diets. Scientific studies are showing that these plant based nutrients have positive health benefits. You can read more about them here: [...]
In Jo Robinson's book, each chapter is devoted to one fruit/veg or one family of fruit/veg. It covers the history of how it came to be cultivated, how to prepare/store it to maximize phytonutrients/antioxidants, and how to select the varieties with the most nutrients. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of varieties typically found at the grocery store, a list of varieties you can grow yourself, and a summary of the key points to remember.

Most of the critical reviews of this book say that they don't like being told that they have been cooking something wrong / eating something wrong. But, I think those reviewers are looking at it the wrong way. Most people don't eat enough fruit/veg, and not all fruit/veg are created equal. Some kinds of produce are more nutritious than others--heck, some types of a given fruit are dramatically more healthy than others of the same fruit. So, why not eat the most nutritious varieties of the foods you do eat? Why not prepare those foods in a way that preserves the nutrients and makes them easy to absorb? Why not prepare (and maybe even grow) foods that will make your family healthier?
4137479
Does a skilled botanical artist better capture leaves, fruits, and flowers than a gifted photographer? Ever since the first printed herbals appeared in the Renaissance, this question remains as reframed by each era's technologies, and the publication in 2005 (by Briza in Pretoria) of van Wyk's Food Plants of the World continues the debate, now five centuries old. Often cited for it's sparklingly precise paintings, the Francesco Bianchini, et al., Complete Book of Fruits & Vegetables (Italian: I Frutti della Terra [Arnaldo Mondadori pub., 1973; English trans. pub. US 1976]), now is challenged by the refulgent clarity of the color photography in van Wyk's inclusive assembly of botany's edible varieties from Ziziphus jujuba ("Chinese date") to Abelmoschus esculentus (okra), and van Wyk is the better by far. Food Plants of the World not only identifies very carefully each species with instantly comprehended triplicate images (natural settings of growth, flower/fruit/seed/rhizome/root, and 'finished' product), but also supplies up-to-date phytochemistry, dietetics, and the essential details of the physiology and biochemistry immediately applicable to nutrition, diet, and the maintenance of a healthy "balanced" intake of food. Multilingual nomenclatures (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Malay, Portuguese, and Spanish) accompany the English and Linnaean Latin, so that vegans world-wide can immediately use this volume to key their own cultures and how the multitudinous adaptations from one continent to another characterise modern 'national' cuisines. Van Wyk also leads any reader into the best of the vast literature on the topic ("Further Reading," pp. 446-447), including publications by nutritional scientists throughout the world. A detailed index (pp. 450-480 [four columns per page]) concludes this most satisfying reference work. Food Plants of the World is one of those rare volumes that provides basic information on the great majority of botanical foodstuffs and is a reliable gateway into the enormous body of writing in several languages on this, an essential facet of human existence.
2748870
I've had this book for almost a year now (last year's Xmas gift from a family member).  I'm gradually eating less and less meat so I'm always looking for great vegetable dishes to prepare.  This book is fun to read - makes you feel smart about vegetables - and you get some idea of what vegetables are out there that you don't normally eat but... it's hard to explain but it hasn't been very useful in adding yummy dishes to my repertoire.  I'm finding a vegetarian indian cookbook more useful for that.
Also, the other day I was to bring collard greens to a potluck.  I've never cooked it before and I looked it up in this cookbook.  Nothing except a suggestion to boil or steam it.  No delicious recipe to try.  Experiences like this over the course of almost a year makes this a good book for me to read for information but not really a good book for recipes for someone like me who already knows how to sautee vegetables with garlic, onions and such.

4 stars because it is chock-full of information and a fun read even if it doesn't always translate to a new recipe for the rotation.
2208777
I'm impressed by people who can translate into the substance of their lives what they come to believe is important and true.
Joan Gussow, a respected academic in the field of nutrition and food systems, came to believe that eating locally produced food is key to feeding ourselves, and the world, into the future. So she set about to do it, and to show it can be done. She lives in New York where there are few local farmers left (as she explains, because of the subsidization of water in California). She gardens, she struggles with all the faces of nature: storms, floods and varmints. Her account is inspiring, even heroic, and continuously entertaining. It's also a wake-up call - having food to eat is not something we can take for granted.
2012524
I am only starting to read this book.  I'm well read enough on food that it surprises me when I learn a new fact about food that feels like it will improve my health.  When I first received this book, I opened to 5 different random places, and learned extremely important facts for my own health.

The real eye opener is that when we realize that 10,000 years of agriculture has genetically modified all of our food.  Along the way, food was bread for shelf life, pest resistance, productivity, and many other things except NUTRIENT CONTENT.  To have really good health you have to grow your own food, and this book helps you select the most nutritious varieties to grow.  It also gives extensive advice on how to select produce grown by others.
1066743
This book is so much fun with a delectable year-full of recipes to keep you going for every single holiday. A healthy and vibrant way to entertain and celebrate while feeding yourself foods that nourish the body and keep inflammation at bay.

What more can you ask for?

Deliciousness? Check.

Easy to follow? Check.

Gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo? Check.

Best food you'll eat this year? Check.

Danielle Walker started her voyage into uncharted eating territory when, after years and years of struggling with her health, she was finally diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 22. An autoimmune disease that attacks an otherwise healthy colon, Walker was determined to find her health again and eat well at the same time. She started her blog, Against All Grain, finding her love and passion for healthy eating that would work for her and others like her.

The blog became a profound success. Not only amongst others suffering from similar conditions, but amongst foodies, health-conscious eaters, gluten-free eaters, paleo enthusiasts, and more. Her blog became something not only for those who have to eat this way, but those who want to because the food is so darn good.

Her newest book, Celebrations, is a celebration of all things celebratory: Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Father's Day, New Year's, Game Day, Fourth of July, birthdays, and more. After Walker spent her first miserable Thanksgiving at a friend's house eating only turkey, salad, and some watery cauliflower that she brought herself, she was determined to make meals that anyone in her friends or family circle would love so that the celebration could be for everyone. This book is the inspiring culmination of that journey - tips, guidance, substitutions, preparations, and straight-up delicious meals.

There is a lot to love about this book. From the recipes to the photos to the helpful guidance all along the way. But, I particularly love the details.

The publisher uses every single page (albeit one colored page in the rear) to highlight aspects of the book. Traditionally, there are blank pages, filler pages, and plenty of empty space due to how the book is bound. Ten Speed Press uses every square inch to its fullest in a beautiful way - the introduction is attached to the inside of the cover; the Table of Contents is on the backside of an already-used front page; About the Author is included on the inside of the back cover. The book is a fairly hefty tome, so using all the footage is not only economical, but earth-friendly as a printed book can get. It kinda makes my heart sing.

So many mouth-watering recipes that will make any heart happy - meat-eaters, vegetarians, vegans, picky kids. Easy-to-find ingredients, easy-to-follow recipes, and a format that plans out every single holiday so you don't have to. Genius.

*This book was given to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
825860
A book that is sure to extend some lives, save some lives, and help people live a better life. I'm not a vegitaraian at all but I'm working towards a more plant based diet as latest studies clearly show their benefit and this book showcased tons of studies proving that point. I was clueless about many areas covered, the most dramatic being the negatives against vegetable oils. The book was a tad overboard in the zealot category and sometimes when people are too much of a zealot, they can loose objectivity which can lead to as an example, in this text, not looking deeper into studies that the author listed. He mentions how sometimes studies are incomplete or further studies disprove earlier ones when talking about old wives tales that people still believe, but I suspect this probably happened here as well--not looking into some studies deeper. However, I found the book to be enlightening and for me, life changing. If someone's interested in plant based eating, this book is a must.