Plant-Based Bean Cookbook by Katherine Green

Plant-Based Bean Cookbook
by Katherine Green

ISBN-13: 978-1648769726
Paperback: 126 pages
Publisher: Rockridge Press
Released: May 18th 2021

Source: review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Beans are an adaptable, inexpensive protein you can integrate into almost any meal. This bean cookbook is full of nutritious recipes that highlight black beans, pinto beans, green beans, chickpeas, split peas, and more. Whether you already follow a plant-based diet or are looking to add more plant-based dishes to your rotation, you’ll discover the health benefits of enjoying beans and learn to easily prepare dishes from scratch with just a few varieties of canned or dry beans in your pantry.

Check out profiles for the most popular beans, along with a chart of cooking guidelines for making beans on the stovetop, or in a pressure cooker or slow cooker. Explore a bean cookbook that includes recipes for snacks and spreads, sides and salads, soups and stews, suppers, and even sweets. Nutritional information is included for each recipe, along with tips for adapting recipes for vegetarian and omnivorous diets.


My Review:
Plant-Based Bean Cookbook is a vegan cookbook that focuses on using a variety of different beans. She explained the basics about cooking and using 18 different common types of beans. In the recipes, she mainly used whole foods or minimally processed foods (like pasta, tofu, plant-based milk). The recipes were healthy and didn't contain a lot of oil or sweetening but used spices to add flavor. Many recipes were not overly hot/spicy, but some did use hot sauce, jalapeno peppers, or other hot peppers.

Most of the recipes served between 4 to 6 people and took around 20-60 minutes to make. Most of the ingredients in the recipes should be easy to get. She included 12 recipes for snacks and spreads, 15 recipes for sides and salads, 16 recipes for soups and stews, 20 recipes for bean suppers, 7 recipes for staples and sweets.

The recipes provided the preparation time, cooking time, how much is made, ingredients, instructions, and cooking tips. Recipes were labeled if gluten-free, oil-free, quick, no cook, five ingredients, freezable, nut-free, soy-free. Each recipe included "per serving" information on calories, total fat, protein, carbohydrates, fiber. There was only one picture of a finished recipe per each section of recipes.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Understanding Body Language by Scott Rouse

Understanding Body Language
by Scott Rouse

ISBN-13: 9781647390983
Paperback: 172 pages
Publisher: Rockridge Press
Released: January 5th 2021

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Scientific studies show that people use body language to express their true feelings about a given situation or topic. With Understanding Body Language, you’ll discover essential information and how-to guidance for deciphering nonverbal communication so you can make better decisions about the people and situations you approach every day.

Start by learning how to properly observe people so you can uncover their subtle nonverbal cues without drawing attention to yourself. Then, practice on your friends and family with practical advice to help you better read social gatherings and telltale signs of disagreement. Finally, dive deeper with real-life scenarios you’ll likely encounter, such as dating, job interviews, and workplace interactions.

Explore the science and driving forces behind body language, best practices for your own expression, and tips for successful interpretation of others. Learn setting-specific how-tos to help you feel physically assured in difficult situations, such as using positive body language while on a date and projecting confidence within the workplace. Discover the link between specific emotions and the associated body language so you can apply that vital knowledge in real time and use it to your advantage.


My Review:
Understanding Body Language is a guide to understanding what body language means, with examples of common body language cues as seen in specific circumstances. For example, the author took a situation like a date and broke down some common body language cues and what they mean. There's a drawn picture showing people using this body language to help show what it looks like. He described what the body language looks like, what it (probably) means in that situation, and how to use that information in how you approach that person. The author started by pointing out body language commonly seen in situations like news reports or talkshow hosts, then he talked about social gatherings, signs of disagreement, a date, a job interview, and situations at the workplace. The author also talked about when body language might be different due to a different cultural background or other reasons. Overall, I'd recommend this book, especially to someone who doesn't feel confident around other people. I'm comfortable in social situations and I knew many of the body language signals and what they meant, but I did learn some new ones.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Perimenopause Power by Maisie Hill

Perimenopause Power
by Maisie Hill

ISBN-13: 9781472978875
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Green Tree
Released: May 4th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Empowering guide to menopause that all women need, packed with advice on dealing with symptoms and understanding the most effective treatment options.

Three-quarters of women reaching menopause experience symptoms such as mood changes, insomnia, hot flushes, and night sweats. This is a book for women experiencing perimenopause and menopause who want to understand what's going on with their bodies and how to deal with troublesome symptoms, but also gain valuable insights into making menopause a positive and powerful experience.

Maisie Hill, the celebrated author of Period Power, delves into the science of menopause in an accessible way and provides a whole slew of tips to see women through the challenge of wildly fluctuating hormones.


My Review:
Perimenopause Power is a women's health book focused on the changes that come with perimenopause. The author started by repeating some of the basics about the menstrual cycle found in her book "Period Power." It has some useful information about the changes that happen hormonally and how that causes changes in our bodies and emotions. She talked a lot about each and every thing that can go wrong (mild to serious) and things that you can do about them. This included advice on exercise, nutrition, herbs, and supplements as well as medication. While I agree with a lot of what she recommended, some of the nutritional advice seemed skewed in favor of eating massive amounts of eggs...like 3 eggs per meal. And she seemed to believe the only vegetable source of protein is tofu. Hardly. She tried to be gender-neutral (referring to "people with a womb" rather than "women," for example). While she provided useful information, I felt like this book would be most useful for women who are having problems since she spent a frighteningly long time on that.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.