Book Review: Naturally Thin

I've written before about my love for the Real Housewives franchise, and that is by no means limited to the TV shows themselves. So when I heard about Bethenny Frankel's book Naturally Thin and saw how all over the blog world it was, I knew I had to pick up a copy and and read it for myself. I have to preface this by saying that I am not now, nor have I ever been, over-weight or actively trying to change my lifestyle to lose weight - which is not to say that I'm not constantly looking for ways to improve my health and eating habits, but just that I'm probably in a different place than the audience this book is intended for. Anyway, here's what I thought:

The Good

• Bethenny definitely has some awesome recipes and food ideas in the book. I enjoy my cereal and the occassional bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, but I had NEVER thought of using leftover brown rice as a morning food! The combination of ingredients she suggested for morning brown rice was also delicious - raisins, nuts, cinnamon, and a natural sweetener. Yum! I'm still on the fence about brown rice, but I've taken to using this combo in my morning oats.
• It is made very clear from the outset that the reader should NOT do what Bethenny does verbatim, but find what works for them. This point is so often overlooked in diet and healthy living books that I'm glad finally someone decided to emphasize it a ton! It's so true, too! Life is so much better if you enjoy what you're doing.
• Nothing is off limits! (except for super obvious things, like diet soda). I've never read a diet/healthy eating book before that didn't massively restrict things before, and it's refreshing to see someone in that field that acknowledges that people are still going to eat chips and cheesecake. Her bank account metaphor really makes sense and will help a lot of people learn how to make good choices while still eating what they want.
  

The Bad

• Bethenny's message, while a good one, often comes off as your skinny (bitchy) friend telling you "If you just quit eating so much you'll be fine". And let's be honest, that's just really annoying after awhile.
  
• While the book explicitly states several times that Bethenny's personal diet should not be followed and is only being printed for reference, the implication is still there, and she frankly does not eat enough for anyone who even lightly exercises daily. Many other bloggers have written about this point in their reviews as well, and now that I've read it myself, I can tell you again that it's true.

Overall, this book was a quick, interesting read with a lot of good, sensical ideas in it. And some delicious-sounding recipes, too! I don't think it's going to solve the problems of anyone with a ton of weight to lose, but it's some good food for thought (haha, puns) and a decent reference material to have on hand.

Wedding Wednesdays - Episode 7

No major update this week, except for what's immediately to the right! Yeah, that's right, we officially have the church and the reception venue reserved and have a date!

On May 1, 2010, I will be marrying the love of my life!

It's like the planning can officially begin now!

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Memorial Day! Hope all of my readers in the States are enjoying their day off and remembering our armed forces! This week we will for sure be having 1 house guest (possibly more) and a few planned events, so I don't think we'll be doing a whole lot of complex cooking. As always, check out Org Junkie's website for more menu-planners!

Monday: Dinner out with a friend!

Tuesday (class night): Dinner out for a friend's birthday

Wednesday: Zucchini Cakes and Tomato, Herb and Cheese Tart

Thursday: I have a school event that will include food of some sort; Matt and our house guest will probably grab something out!

Friday: Grilling - steaks/hotdogs/veggie burgers, green salad and fruit

Saturday: Black Bean and Couscous Salad and some roasted veggies

Sunday: Leftovers!

Barbecue Recipes

It's Memorial Day, and besides remembering our Armed Forces, the one thing that always happens is barbecuing! I love a good barbecue - slices of pineapple, green pepper, and veggie burgers are delicious. One of my other favorite things, though, is making a hot veggie side dish - and why use a pan when you've got the grill? I used to do this all the time at scouting camp in the summers over open fires, and it works just as well on the barbecue

Chop up a bunch of veggies and put them in foil with olive oil and seasonings.

For today's veggies, I'm using a zucchini, half an onion, and a few baby red potatoes cut into bite size pieces. In the past I've used squash, carrots, tomatoes, and fennel. Today's seasonings are salt, lemon pepper, and thyme - other spices I recommend are red pepper flakes, rosemary, or fresh lemon and lime juice.

Make the foil into a pouch of sorts, and but it on the barbecue!

Why dirty a pan when you've already got the grill going? The worst thing when barbecuing is having to worry about something cooking somewhere else. It usually takes a half hour to cook, flipping once halfway through. Potatoes might need a little bit more time to cook.

Yum! Enjoy!

Running Club Membership

I finally got my shirt!

The Flying Irish running club that I've been frequenting on Thursday nights has a little tradition - after 6 runs, you're "official"and you get your club shirt, but you have to get up on a bar and tell an Irish joke first.

So Thursday, after a run around downtown Spokane in the beautiful sunshine, I hiked my running skirt up and climbed on the bar to tell my joke. Some guy in the bar that wasn't part of the club was trying to watch the hockey game and alternated between yelling "Nice ass!" and "I can't see the hockey game!", but otherwise it went off without a hitch!

The punchline? "It was a SHAM ROCK!"

Project 16 - Finally Done!

Our balcony has been finished and usable for a little while now, but because of epic blogging failure - basically, my camera and camera cord never being in the same place at once - I've been unable to show you! Eventually, I'd like to have lanterns going across the entire thing, but that'll take 3 more strands (or $30). So for now, this is how we enjoy the outdoors and the comforts of home at the same time!

The right side, complete with plants and paper lanterns!

The left side, a.k.a. Barbecue Central.

Outdoor furniture, and a bamboo placemat for a little extra color.

My favorite little detail - nails for hanging barbecue tools next to the barbecue!

Wedding Wednesdays - Episode 6

Dear Facebook,

Please stop torturing me with your ridiculous ads geared towards future brides. I understand that your marketing materials key off of profile characteristics, but it seems like the only thing that you find interesting enough to market to on my profile is the fact that I am engaged. And I do not like it.

For example, here are the three ads I was presented with when opening my profile to play my next move in Lexulous:

How do diet plans for brides differ from diet plans for everyone else?

Sure, being a thin bride would be nice, but I'd rather be a healthy bride. Either way, I don't need FACEBOOK to tell me about it.

If my dress doesn't fit, it's because I bought the wrong size. Not because I didn't listen to the Diet Plan for Brides. A-holes.

And finally, Facebook, if you are going to try and mix it up, I suggest you do it by NOT assuming that the next thing I'm doing in my life besides getting skinny for a wedding dress is popping out babies.
Hopefully we'll come to some sort of agreement on this soon. Otherwise, this Bridezilla might have a few tricks in her garter.

Sincerely,
Becca