Cauliflower Power by Lindsay Grimes Freedman

Cauliflower Power by Lindsay Grimes Freedman ISBN-13: 9781579659011 Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Artisan Released: January 7th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
This book shows how this versatile veggie, cauliflower, can be used in all your meals to make everything from blueberry muffins and a Mediterranean salad to cauliflower-crust pizza, Buffalo wings, tostadas, and gnocchi—even chocolate mousse and strawberry ice cream.


My Review:
Cauliflower Power is a cookbook of gluten-free recipes that use cauliflower. Some of these are simply dishes that use cauliflower as a vegetable, but she also uses cauliflower in granola, dough, a veggie burger, steaks, as rice, etc. The recipes were largely meat-free, but she did use eggs, dairy, and honey. A number of the dishes used a lot of dairy – half a stick of butter, a cup of cheese, etc. Many of the recipes use gluten-free flours, but otherwise she used easy to find ingredients. She frequently has you use a food processor and/or a high-speed blender.

The instructions were clear, but some recipes were fairly complicated. As I'm not trying to avoid gluten, I see no point in spending that much time on special, gluten-free ways of making a dish (especially as these often used dairy, which I do avoid). I was mostly interested in interesting ways to use cauliflower, and there are some recipes here that I will try.

The author started by explaining the five main ways to process cauliflower: whole head, steaks, florets, rice, and meal. She included 19 recipes for breakfast, 10 recipes for lunch (salads, wraps, bread, etc.), 8 recipes for stacks, 17 recipes for dinner, 14 recipes for sides, and 12 recipes for desserts. Each recipe included the serving size. Many of the recipes had pictures of the finished dish and some had pictures of the process.


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.

The Healthspan Solution by Raymond J. Cronise; Julieanna Hever M.S., R.D.

The Healthspan Solution by Raymond J. Cronise; Julieanna Hever M.S., R.D. ISBN-13: 9781465490070 Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Alpha Books Released: December 17th 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Increase your lifespan and optimize your health with plant-based recipes for a longer, more vibrant life. Authors and leading plant-based nutrition experts Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise have spent over a decade researching diet and nutrition, analyzing longevity studies, and helping their clients achieve sustainable, lasting health benefits by adopting a whole food, plant-based diet.

In The Healthspan Solution, they share the simple and effective diet that has allowed their clients to lose weight, reverse disease, reduce or eliminate medication use, and achieve optimal health. This accessible and easy-to-follow guide examines the health risks posed by typical Western eating habits and explains how a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices can lead to lower blood pressure, healthy weight management, and longer life. Their approach challenges the conventional idea of breakfast, lunch, and dinner and focuses instead on soups, salads, sides, and sweets. With 100 delicious recipes to choose from, The Healthspan Solution make adopting a plant-based lifestyle simple and sustainable.


My Review:
The Healthspan Solution talked about longevity and how diet influences longevity, plus they included 100+ whole food, plant-based recipes. They talked about things like the evolutionary theory of aging, the biological pathways of longevity, and why they suggestion eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. I found their arrogant attitude to be rather off-putting. Rather than explain the science behind why some current eating trends are unhealthy, they would basically just say: we know better so just do what we say. The science mostly focused on the longevity aspects and was from an evolutionary viewpoint.

They also made statements like: most of the world is over nourished, so we shouldn't worry about being deficient in nutrients anymore. They don't seem to realize how much of the world is still in food poverty. Ironically, they then talk about several supplements you should take. They also assure the reader that food can create the changes that allow longevity now, but drug companies will soon have more effective interventions (basically, pills for longevity). Er, that kind of takes away one's motivation to change their diet. They also mostly focused on people who are not sick yet rather than addressing how people with health problems can use food to get better (even though eating this way does help with diabetes, cancer, etc.).

The second half of the book contained recipes, and most of the recipes had photos of the dishes. The recipes included prep time, cook time, and yield. They're aiming for awesome taste rather than ease of making the recipe, so some recipes are easier than others. Some of the recipes had long lists of ingredients, including ingredients that might be difficult to find locally. They were very specific about ingredients, like Mexican oregano rather than just oregano. They suggest getting ingredients online if you can't find them locally. They included 24 recipes for soups, 24 recipes for salads, 24 recipes for side and main dishes, 14 recipes for sweets (mostly involving fruit), and 24 recipes for dressings, sauces, and seasonings.


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.

The Truly Healthy Vegan Cookbook by Dianne Wenz

The Truly Healthy Vegan Cookbook by Dianne Wenz ISBN-13: 9781646112272 Paperback: 184 pages Publisher: Rockridge Press Released: December 31st 2019

Source: review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
There are vegan cookbooks and then there’s truly healthy vegan cookbooks. The problem is, there are so many vegan foods that are loaded with processed sugars, white flour, and unhealthy fats and not many vegan cookbooks that address it. The Truly Healthy Vegan Cookbook is for anyone looking to remove these additional, unnatural contents, and enhance their, already noble, animal-friendly, dietary lifestyle.

Beginning with the top 10 most common vegan diet mistakes, The Truly Healthy Vegan Cookbook delivers recipes, like Piña Colada Green Smoothies or Crispy Artichoke Tacos, filled with diverse flavor, all within a narrow ingredient checklist. And don’t worry—unlike other vegan cookbooks, an occasional comfort-food cheat is human and encouraged. The goal is to get away from using them as a regular part of your daily menu.


My Review:
The Truly Healthy Vegan Cookbook is a whole-food, vegan cookbook. She explained how a vegan diet can still be unhealthy and how to make it healthy. Most of these recipes were made with ingredients that should be easy to find. The meal recipes usually served 4 to 6 people. Some recipes took 20 minutes while others took over an hour. I've made a few of the recipes and have enjoyed them (like the Chickpea Cacciatore, which was was a family favorite). They weren't very complex to make. I expect we'll be using this cookbook a lot. I'd recommend it to those wanting to eat healthy meals more often.

She had 10 basic recipes (sauces, dressings, etc.), 10 recipes for breakfast, 11 recipes for salads, 10 recipes for soups and stews, 10 recipes for sandwichs, wraps, and burgers, 8 recipes for sides, 10 recipes for dinner main meals, 11 recipes for pasta and rice, and 10 recipes for desserts. Each recipe included preparation and cooking time and contained the nutritional information of calories, total fat, total carbs, fiber, sugar, protein, and sodium. She also indicated if a recipe was gluten-, soy-, nut-, or oil-free. There was a picture of one recipe in each section.


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.

Life Drawing for Artists by Chris Legaspi

Life Drawing for Artists by Chris Legaspi ISBN-13: 9781631598012 Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Rockport Publishers Released: December 24th 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Life Drawing for Artists teaches a contemporary approach to figure drawing that includes both the familiar poses—standing, sitting, lying down—but also how to capture figures in movement and in more dynamic and engaging positions.

Author Chris Legaspi is a dedicated, life-long artist and admired instructor who is known for his dynamic figurative drawings and paintings, and as a successful illustrator in the entertainment industry. Life Drawing for Artists shows how to build your skills by combining fundamental building blocks, such as gesture lines, shape and design, structure, value control, and edge or line control. He explains techniques for both quick timed drawings and longer detailed drawings. The book covers important topics, such as drawing different views, understanding perspective, foreshortening strategies, and how to deal with various lighting conditions. The examples and tutorials explore virtually every pose scenario, as well as many active and dynamic movements.


My Review:
Life Drawing for Artists explains the author's approach to life drawing in pencil. While I recognize that life drawing is done from live people in the nude, I was surprised to see photographs of models in the nude (full frontal, side, and rear). And I was curious as to why the women were nude (with one exception) but the male model got to wear tight underpants.

Anyway, he started by describing the tools and materials that he uses. The first fourth of the book provided definitions of various terms and techniques. His definitions for these terms were sometimes not quite what I'm used to, so it was useful to know what he meant by them. Then he gave tips about how he would go about drawing a 1 to 2 minute pose, a slightly longer pose, an even longer pose, and so on. He then talked about how he would go about drawing the head, torso, and so on. He covered anatomy and points on the anatomy to identify to draw the person in correct proportion and perspective. He covered many different types of positions and poses.

I never quite understood how he chose his initial line or why he starts with an exaggerated "gesture" line that is not a guiding line (down the spine or an outline). He would say something in the text and sometimes I couldn't see it in the illustration. For example, he said to find shapes on the person and then seemed to haphazardly choose shapes, sometimes with no reason that I could identify. Some people might understand what he's talking about because they also think that way, but I had trouble following what he was trying to explain.


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.

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Realistic Animals by Melissa Washburn

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Realistic Animals by Melissa Washburn ISBN-13: 9781631598197 Paperback: 112 pages Publisher: Quarry Books Released: December 17th 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Draw Like an Artist: 100 Realistic Animals is a step-by-step guidebook demonstrates fundamental art concepts like proportion and spatial relationships as you learn to draw a full range of creatures, all shown from a variety of perspectives. Each set of illustrations takes you from beginning sketch lines to a finished drawing. Author Melissa Washburn is a skilled illustrator whose clear and elegant drawing style will make this a go-to sourcebook for years to come.


My Review:
Draw Like an Artist: 100 Realistic Animals is an art instruction book on using graphite pencil to draw realistic line drawings of animals. After the brief introduction to her method, the author provided step-by-step drawings for 85 animals with one animal demonstrated per page. She then had 15 pages of close-up details for dogs, cats, and horses (heads, paws, fur, and such). There's no text in the demonstrations, just 6-8 easy-to-follow steps leading from basic shapes to help block in angles and positions to adding details and cleaning up the guidelines.

The author demonstrated how to draw a wide variety of animal types so you can apply the lessons from one animal to similar animals. She covered common animals like dogs, cats, and other pets, farm animals, wild land animals, marine animals, and birds. Overall, I'd recommend this book to beginning artists who want to improve or learn how to do realistic line drawings of animals.


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.

The Ultimate Fluid Pouring & Painting Project Book by Jane Monteith

The Ultimate Fluid Pouring & Painting Project Book by Jane Monteith ISBN-13: 9781631597633 Paperback: 144 pages Publisher: Quarry Books Released: November 12th 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Join mixed-media artist and international instructor Jane Monteith, a master of the fluid artforms and creator of the stunningly beautiful and popular paintings called MOD Minis. Fluid pouring and painting can result in beautiful, organic, and abstract designs that can be captured on special papers, canvas and board substrates, used to make gorgeous lampshades, poured into molds or dishes to create coasters, geodes, and agate slices, and can even be formed into vases, vessels, and bowls.

For both novice and experienced artists, this expressive book shares detailed, comprehensive techniques for working with high flow inks and acrylic paints. The Ultimate Fluid Pouring & Painting Project Book guides you through a variety of different fluid projects, from fluid-painted collage to resin-poured paints on different substrates. You will learn to use various tools and solutions to create beautiful colors and textures on paper. Learn how to work with resin and avoid common mistakes to produce a flawless finish. Understand how to seal and protect your work for years to come.


My Review:
The Ultimate Fluid Pouring & Painting Project Book explains how to complete a number of abstract art projects using alcohol ink and often resin. There was also one project that demonstrated three acrylic paint pour techniques: swipes, dirty cup pours, and ring pours. She started off by talking about the materials, then she provided the actual step-by-step instructions for the various projects. Her descriptions and the pictures were clear and easy to follow. She included troubleshooting tips. Although there were 12 projects overall, many projects had several ways to complete that project or several ways to achieve different looks for that same project. She had you create things like coasters, flower vases, and resin pieces that looked like geodes or agate slices. These projects look very interesting and doable if you have the needed materials. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about using alcohol ink and resin to make interesting abstract art.


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.

Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting by Virginia Lloyd-Davies

Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting by Virginia Lloyd-Davies ISBN-13: 9781633228122 Paperback: 128 pages Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing Released: December 3rd 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Centuries ago, Buddhist monks used black ink and brushes to practice mindfulness and create gorgeously harmonious works of art called "sumi-e paintings." The popularity of sumi-e, or ink wash painting, continues to this day.

Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting opens with an introduction explaining the links between mindfulness and sumi-e and how they enhance one another. Sections on “The Four Treasures,” as the tools needed for sumi-e painting are called; brushstrokes and painting techniques; and “The Four Gentlemen,” or the most common subjects in sumi-e painting, ensure that you have a solid background before getting started on the simple, approachable step-by-step painting projects. Throughout the book you can find stunning full-page artwork, tips for remaining mindful while you work, creative prompts and exercises, inspirational ideas, and suggestions on how to add color to black ink pieces.


My Review:
Sumi-e Painting "Sumi-e Painting" is an art instruction book on sumi-e, or ink wash painting. The author briefly talked about the philosophy behind the style and the needed tools and materials. I liked that only two brushes are needed, but I would've liked more information about the different papers. She provided step-by-step instructions on how to make different flowers and animals. For each flower, she first talked about how to make each part: a petal, a stem, and so on. Then she did a demonstration project that combined all of these parts into a finished painting. She demonstrated bamboo, orchid, plum, chrysanthemum, iris, peony, wisteria, grapes, lotus, insects, birds, rocks and water.

I felt like the instructions were more for someone who was familiar with the style. Her instructions tended to be 'use this color and this brush and hold it in this way' along with the picture showing the result. I felt like this required the reader to figure out what she meant by how to hold the brush and make the mark. There were only one or two photos showing how to hold the brush, though she did reference a YouTube video you can watch which shows a full bamboo demonstration painting. I enjoyed learning more about sumi-e and would recommend this book to people who already have some experience with watercolor or ink painting.


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.