ECO FRIENDLY FAMILIES
September 3, 2008 by · Leave a Comment
by Helen Coronato
Eco Friendly Families by Helen Coronato is a practical guide for parents who want to have green values. If you want to make changes in your lifestyle that are more sustainable, this book will assist you in creating that. How do you get your family on board? How do you make changes without getting overwhelmed? These are the questions the book answers.
* Chapter 1 encourages you to take inventory of your lifestyle.
Going green is a journey, not a destination. What does your day look like? What are some of the things you are already doing that are sustainable? What are the areas in which you are weak and need to make changes?
* Chapter 2 suggests small changes that equal big results. Going green does not mean selling everything you own and buying recycled products. There are literally hundreds of small changes you can make that add up to big things over time.
* Chapter 3 takes you on a green goal setting tour. Month by month, there are suggestions for ideas you can implement one at a time. This allows you to make changes that are more permanent because they are gradual instead of drastic. Instead of overwhelm, there are reasonable goals to meet.
* Chapter 4 focuses on reducing. How do we reduce the amount of stuff that comes into our lives in the first place?
* Chapter 5 encourages reusing. It helps you think of ways to make things last longer, saving resources.
* Chapter 6 is all about recycling. You need to know your plastics! There are also ideas on how to recycle electronic and other household waste.
* Chapter 7 takes you on a room by room eco tour of your home. It suggests changes you can make in the bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, backyard, etc., to create a non-toxic, greener home.
* Chapter 8 tackles greener eating. It shows how each of us can vote with our forks.
* Chapter 9 is all about green cleaning. It explains how to keep your home clean and green.
* Chapter 10 is all about celebrations. How to party without creating huge amounts of waste and excess.
This book is an easy to read, friendly guide on the path to greener living.
Carrie Lauth is a homeschooling, work at home mom of 4 and the voice behind http://www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com/blog – the internet’s only weekly podcast and radio show for the natural family. Read more of her book reviews at http://www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com/blog/reviews
THE GOOD MOOD DIET
August 26, 2008 by · 1 Comment
by Susan Kleiner, PhD.
The connection between diet and mood has always fascinated me, so when I came across this book, I had to pick it up and read it. It was a very interesting look into the science behind how what we eat affects our hormones, brain chemicals, sleep and therefore our mood.
While I didn’t agree with every word of the book, I did find that most of the advice was very solid and agreed with much of what I had already learned. For example, anyone prone to blood sugar imbalances knows that hypoglycemia can dramatically affect their thinking and feeling. Eating plenty of protein, frequently throughout the day is wise advice for anyone.
The most important things we should do if we want to feel better is: eat plenty of protein in the morning, eat lots of Omega 3 fatty acids in the form of fish, never allow ourselves to feel hungry (eat to prevent hunger), avoid refined carbs and choose whole grains instead, in moderation.
The book talks a lot about the importance of sleeping enough both to control weight and to improve mood, and gives specific diet recommendations to help with that. It also eschews some of the modern critics of foods like eggs and nuts. Instead of being too fatty or high in cholesterol or what-have-you, these foods are very important to our health and wellbeing.
The book promises to help you feel better in one day if you follow the guidelines, experiencing an ease in depression in one week, and weight loss in one month. I can definitely see how this would be true.
Carrie Lauth is a single, work at home homeschooling mom of 4 and “health nut”. She writes more book reviews at: http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/reviews/
Trash Talk
July 25, 2008 by · Leave a Comment
Trash Talk – Save time and money and be kind to the earth
by Dave and Lillian Brummet
Trash Talk by Dave and Lillian Brummet is a guide to saving both time and money through better waste and resource management.
Are you feeling so overwhelmed by disturbing news you hear about the environment every day in the media that you’re ready to give up? Do you think that your efforts to “go green” won’t make any difference?
This book will help get you into action to make changes in your life one at a time. Trash Talk lists hundreds of ways you can lighten your footprint on the earth by making simple, even easy changes to your routine. One cool feature of the book is the list of ways to reuse ordinary household items instead of throwing them away. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand clutter! If I have a resource that helps me figure out how to reuse everyday items instead of letting them sit around or tossing them, that’s a great thing.
The book will help you get inspired and save a lot of money too. The ideas are relatively simple and do not require any special skills or tools
Making the earth a safer, cleaner place starts with our own homes and backyards and can make an impact on our family’s health – both physically and fiscally!
Carrie Lauth is a mom of 4 who writes more “green” and natural product reviews at http://www.naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/reviews/
