Smile for the Joy of Others

Smile for the Joy of Others

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Eat This, Not That


A few months ago, I saw on TV someone talking about these books: Eat This, Not That!
I can't recall what show or who it was but soon after their discussion, I researched it on-line and what I read about these books seemed interesting enough to eventually buy. I actually forgot about them over the holidays due to all the chaos that entailed during that time for us.

Last week, I was browsing Amazon.com for some books and saw in my "Wish List" these series of books. I was reminded about buying them. And, so I did. They came in yesterday and I have been reading them since. Even stayed up past my bedtime too intrigued to put them down.

Now, the books claim to be "The No Diet Weight Loss Solution!" While the books are full of information on foods and their nutritional value or sometimes lack-thereof...I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a weight loss solution.

But I will say that the information they provide and reveal can be eye opening. I am learning that some of the foods that I have been eating or feeding my children aren't as healthy as I thought. Or that there might be a better alternative or brand that is even healthier. These books seem to be a great resource of information that you just can't gather yourself unless you park in a grocery isle and read all the nutritional and ingredients labels on every food product. Who has time to do that when you've got children running up and down the isle like they've just been let out of a cage. Or they are constantly fighting with each other so you have to stop what you are doing and referee the WWF match going on in front of spectators. Or they announce like a bull horn they have to go doo-doo even though you just left the restroom because the other child had just done such activity. Anyway, I obviously digress. Back to the books.

While I will attempt to use their recommendations, there is a cost factor when it comes to buying some of the brands they recommend. With groceries costing so much as it is...it's not going to be feasible for us to buy every brand or food they recommend. I will have to choose and prioritize which foods are worth the extra costs and which aren't.

For example...they recommend organic ketchup and rightly so. You will notice that organic ketchup has less calories, sodium and sugar. But it's way more expensive. This is not a product I will splurge on because we just don't use that much ketchup. However, the rice they recommend is healthier than just the plain ol' white rice. I will splurge on this because we like rice and it's one of the few foods I can get my boys to eat.

So if you choose to buy these books and yield to their recommendations, you will most likely have to discern which items best fit your budget and taste. That is, unless, you live on an unlimited amount of grocery money, unlike my family.

I bought 5 of the books, not necessarily because I wanted all 5. Some of them came in a set and it was cheaper to buy the set than to buy certain ones individually. There may be more to the series but these are the ones that interested me. All 5 of these cost me about $70. Shipping was free on Amazon since my total was over $50. At this time, I've mainly skimmed over the books not reading a whole lot of detail. But what I have read has been full of information and most revealing.

Eat This, Not That! 2010 version
Eat This, Not That! The Best and Worst Foods in America
Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide
Eat This, Not That! Kitchen Survival Guide
Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide

I welcome any comments from those that have any experience with these books and how they have helped.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Delta Squirrels

Since I like my cabinets painted black so much..I thought I would try it on some squirrels here in the Delta.... Whatcha think?




I know some of y'all are probably wondering why I am blogging about black squirrels. Well, where I am from only 2 hours south of here...there aren't any black squirrels, at least none that I saw. The biggest population of them are a grayish, rat looking color. You don't see those here. They are either black or a reddish color.


The first time I saw the black squirrel, I seriously thought he had been in someone's chimney and was just covered in soot. But then noticed several more and soon realized that was not the case.


Anyway..I thought the black squirrel was blog worthy to show my friends back home a little something different here in the Delta.
Here's looking at you Kid: