Books read Oct 25

35 Mexican Chicken Recipes by Jean Pardue
Book starts out with table of contents in no specific order and then dedication and other works by the author and an introduction about how she grew up and family traditions.
Recipe starts with a title and list of ingredients which contain canned products with sodium so if you want a healthier dish for your dietary needs use fresh whenever possible and substitute using low fat, low sodium, etc.
Directions are included and there are no pictures. There is no nutritional information.

Meat & Fire: 100 Barbecue Recipes For Delicious Falling-Off The Bone Meat (Rory’s Meat Kitchen) by Rory Botcher
Book starts out with a free gift and then the table of contents which are broken up into recipes which are broken up into ingredient and preparation.
Short introductions and what culinary art of barbecue means.  Recipes include a title prep and cook time and servings.
List of ingredients and rubs and how to make them. There are no pictures and there is no nutritional information.

The Complete Pressure Cooker Cookbook and Guide  by Kristen Carlota
Starts with an intro and chapters on using your pressure cooker. The cover shows an old one, not new up to date electric ones so recipes may not work as far as setting the temperatures and pressures.
Recipes have a title, summary and list of ingredients that you can probably substitute for your healthier dietary needs: low fat, low sodium, etc.
Some recipes you'd have no problem setting pressure for as many minutes as it states but it doesn't state if it's low, medium or high pressure so a bit of experimentation you'd have to undergo.
There are no pictures and no nutritional information.

Organic Lip Balms: Natural Homemade Lip Balm Recipes -Simple And Easy Guide To Making Your Own Lip Balm by Katrina Payne
Book starts out with a free bonus gift.
Table of contents then introduction. Chapters on how to get started and what things you will need.
A troubleshooting chapter is also included as you practice.
Recipes include a title, ingredient lists and how to make the balm.
Varieties of flavors available. Some color photos. Looks like a LOT of work and expense.

The Real Food Version Cookbook: Over 100 Quick & Easy American Favorite Dishes, Recipes for kids(minimally processed, free of common allergens)Delicious, … & healthy, Tasty, Quickly, Easy Recipes by Efrat Petel
This book starts out with table of contents and I can't figure out what categories are.
Short intro explains about the book itself.
Stock it chapter talks about what to have on hand in your pantry and why.
Utensils and appliances are next. Each recipe includes a title, servings, states if its gluten free or for vegans along with a short summary of the dish.
List of ingredients and you should be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs: low sodium, low fat, etc.
Directions are included along with pictures of the items.
There is no nutritional information. Kale chips would be my choice to try as we have some in the garden still to pick.
Vegetable chips would also be a great choice for us.

Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: Easy and Delicious Mediterranean Diet Recipes to Lose Weight and Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease by Savannah Gibbs
Book starts out with a table of contents with breakfast, lunch , snack, dinner and dessert recipes
An introduction to the Mediterranean lifestyle and how you can adapt it to your living.
Recipes start out with a brief summary of the chapter then individual title, one line summary and servings.
List of ingredients and you should be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs: low sodium, low fat, etc
Directions are included along with some nutritional information: calories, fat, sat. fat, carbs, fiber, sugar, protein and sodium. Would be nice to have a picture and the measurement of a serving as it's not based on what calorie diet.
Might find it difficult to find some of the ingredients in your local store: cumin seeds, almond flour,  quionoa flour, tapioca flour,, etc
Banana balls look interesting but I'm not sure how many is a serving.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

The Little Blue Digger - A Colorful Construction Site Story for 2-5 Year Olds
This children's colorful book starts out with a free gift.  With so much going on in the pages it might be hard to locate the words sometimes.
This is a story of a digger. it's a machine the town uses to help build a town. Love how it shows different machines being used. The bigger machines think he's too little to help out.
Blue digger kept wishing he was just a bit bigger so he could help.  He may get his wish real soon....
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: 150 Mediterranean Recipes to Live a Healthy Lifestyle by Jennifer Evans
Books starts with a table of contents broken into  breakfast, soups and stews, side dishes, meat, seafood vegetables, salad and dessert recipes.
Free gift is included.
Short intro about what the diet consists of.
Each recipe starts with a title, short summary of the dish, prep and cook time, servings.
List of ingredients and you should be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs: low sodium, low fat, etc
Directions are clear but there are no pictures.
Some nutritional information is included: calories, fat-NOT broken up into good or bad, fiber, carbs and protein.
Love use of fresh produce.  Nothing really stood out for me. Pictures and sodium levels would've made this a 5 star rating.

Messy Mason by Yonit Werber
Have read another book by the author and liked how she encourages children in a fun way.
This book includes a free puzzle gift. This book is about Mason and he is messy. Colorful children's book about a messy person and how the parents get to change his mind about cleaning.
Others in the family explain why they like a clean room, mostly so they can find things...
One tries to bribe him with an ice cream if the room is clean the next day.
It only worked for one day...They each had their own reason for keeping their rooms clean. Like parent tip at the end as there are many ways to bring about change.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.
Love hidden messages inside.

Children's Book: The Witch who was afraid to Fly (funny bedtime story collection)  by Yonit Werber
Free gift is available. Colorful children's book about a witch and she just didn't like being so high in the sky as witches are supposed to fly around.
Others do encourage her to keep trying...something magical happens when she dreams about flying...
Love that it's also a rhyming book. Other works by the author and there are many that would interest anyone to want to read them. Love hidden meanings inside.

Soup Cookbook: Simple and Healthy Homemade Recipes to Warm the Soul by Vesela Tabakova
Starts with table of contents  and short intro. Recipes starts in with a title, servings, ingredients which you should be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs: low sodium, low fat, etc.
There are a LOT of ingredients. Directions are included.
There are no pictures. There is no nutritional information.
Some are basic everyday dishes, some are a bit fancier. Bonus drink section.

The Big Book of Apps: Your Nerdy BFF's Guide to (Almost) Every App in the Universe by Beth Ziesenis
After returning from a trip I glanced through this to see what and how other apps would've helped us in our journey from RI to OH.
Lots of contributors and a note on how to use this book.
Book can't stay up to date as hundreds of new apps are always being released daily.
You have to kind of know what it is you're in the field to do. Found it very cluttered with all the reviews from others along with summary of the app.
Liked travel ones especially as we use them often to spot delays or accidents on the road.
Like health ones also as we chart our miles walked per day, biking and swimming along with sleep, rem even.
Like section on how to store videos and photos-should be NO reason why after a disaster one loses it all. So many different places an image can be stored off site.
Like index at the end of the book more usable.

Easy Quiche Cookbook: 50 Amazingly Delicious Quiche Recipes by Chef Maggie Chow
Free gift at the end, table of contents, intro from the author.
Recipes include title, ingredients and you might be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs-low sodium, low fat, etc.
Directions are included.  Some nutritional information is included. servings and prep cook total times.
Calories, carbs, cholesterol, fat-NOT broken up into good or bad, fiber, protein and sodium. no idea how big a serving is as it's based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Photos would've enhanced this book.  Don't care that some recipes include a baking mix, no control over the nutritional value vs. fresh products you select.
Lots of choices.

The Perfect Muffin Cookbook: 25 Heartwarming Muffin Recipes by Robert Pratt
Like muffins especially because we travel a lot and they are easy to eat in the car with no crumbs-if you make them right.
Always on the lookout for more recipes and different combination of flavors.
This book starts out with a table of contents and never tried a few of the ones offered as we mainly stick to tried and true.
Free ebook gift is included. A short intro is included and then onto the recipes.
Each section also has a few intro paragraphs about what to expect from the section.
Each recipe includes a title, color photo, prep time and servings.
List of ingredients and you should be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs-low fat, low sodium, etc.
There is no nutritional information or I would've rated this a 5 due to consistency of the recipes.

Happy Desserts. Cookbook 50 recipes: do at home easy: pies, cakes, cheesecake, chocolate, ice cream, candy by Daniel Hall
Starts out with a table of contents and an short introduction.
Recipes include title, color photo, cook and prep times.
List of ingredients and directions. There is no nutritional information but you might be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs: low sodium, low fat...
Has a few recipes for each category, good selection.

Tovi the Penguin goes trick-or-treating  by Janina Rossiter
Have read others in this series and have enjoyed them.
Colorful children's book about a penguin at Halloween time.
Dark colored words in a gray cloud make it difficult to read.
This one starts out when Tovi is searching for their pumpkin this year but spooky things happen.
Relatives are able to scare one another making this very funny and silly at times.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.
Excerpt from Tovi Goes on a  treasure hunt in Paris is included.

Christmas Feast Cookbook: The Very Best Classic and New Recipes by Sarah Spencer
Starts out with table of contents broken up into different categories of dishes to be served.
A bonus link for another free book is included. Introduction about the book and what it's all about.
Tips for making it perfect-check through your pantry and they'll tell you what to look for.
Traditional menu and other variations you may want to try.
Each recipe starts with a title, servings, prep and cook time.
List of ingredients and how to prepare.
Color photo and there is nutritional information: calories, total fat, NOT broken up into good or bad, carbs, dietary fibers, sugars and proteins.
Doesn't really tell you how much a serving really is for most of the recipes.
Really like color photos and you should be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs-low sodium, low fat, etc.
Drinks included and other works by the author are highlighted at the end.
Be great for a new family gathering if a couple is just starting out.

35 Recipes For Comforting Winter Soups by Pamela Kazmierczak
Table of contents and short intro. Each recipe includes a title, one short summary of the dish.
List of ingredients and some you should be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs, low sodium, low fat, etc
There are directions and how to serve.
There are no pictures and no nutritional information.
With the substitutions you should be able to make great meals.

Lasting echoes, an oral history of Native American people by Joseph Bruchac
Loved learning about the customs of the Indians and what 13 marks on turtle stood for.
Familiar with Lake George and it's fascinating to learn more about the Indians there.
All tribes are discussed as the stories are from their side and how the white people intervened into their world.
Enjoyed hearing about all the harm done by the white people as I've read just a bit about that in other books.
Like the references and sources listed at the end.
Received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Instant Pot Cookbook: Lose Weight Fast and Easy With the Ultimate Instant Pot Healthy Recipes( Weight Loss recipes, instant pot recipes,low carb diet,pressure cooker cookbook) by Thomas Keller
This book starts out with a table of contents by meals. Section on the pot itself and what could go wrong. A lot of it is just common sense but there are many chapters on how to solve the problem.
Calorie table doesn't really interest me because it doesn't break up fats into good or bad nor does it list sodium which to us is more important.
Recipes themselves start out with a title, servings, calories, prep time and ingredients. You might be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs: low fat, low sodium, etc.
There is some nutritional information listed but it doesn't state what a serving size is: fat, not broken up into good or bad, sat. fat, carbs,  protein, and sugars. Instructions are included . There are no pictures.
Some ingredients you will need to find them as they are not common to US households.
Nothing was really outstanding that I've not seen before.

Three wishes by Barbara Delinsky
Have read other works by this author and have loved the books.
This one starts out in Panama, VT and we find Bree Walker leaving the diner she works at, walking home but she's hit.
She wakes up in the hospital with dreams of being given three wishes before she dies for good, out of body experiences that I'm not sure I believe it, interesting to learn about.
Tom Gates is the man who rescues her and he is there to help in any way he can as she recuperates. He's soul searching as he's left his family behind in hopes he can find himself once again...
What I like about this book is the location and what snow covers-typical New England village, so descriptive and detailed. How she knows her job so well-knows what others will order and especially the truckers who visit often. Love hearing of the holiday and seasonal events that the town take joy in participating.
Tom holds his own secrets and he hopes it keep it that way...
They spent a lot of time together while each recuperate although the townsfolk don't know why he spends so much time there...
She holds her own secret after waking up and talking to the doctors that she may never come to terms with...after her third wish things happen fast...
Received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Irish cooking like an adventure. Cookbook: 25 Recipes for every day by Tim Allen
Starts with a free ebook gift and table of contents. Introduction about Irish meals and then the recipes.
Each recipe starts with a title, color photo, cook time, servings.
List of ingredients and I don't know why they mix measurements within the same recipe.
Directions on how to make and some nutritional information.
Doesn't state what a serving size is but has calories, carbs, fat-NOT broken up into good  or bad, cholesterol, sugars, protein and sodium.
You might be able to substitute for your healthier dietary needs=low sodium, low fat, etc.

Baking in Your Skillet: A Collection of Skillet Recipes by Dennis Weaver
Table of contents, baking cornbread in your skillet and other dishes.  Other works by the author is highlighted at the front of the book.
Each recipe has a color photo title and summary of the dish. List of ingredients and I do not think you can substitute for your healthier dietary needs-low fat, low sodium as some might need the chemical reaction of shortening or butter. Directions are detailed. There is no nutritional information.

Homemade Bread Recipes: The Top Easy and Delicious Homemade Bread Recipes! by Kim Dewalt
Free bonus ebook is offered. Table of contents about different types of breads.  An introduction and then recipes.
Each recipe includes a title, color photo and summary of the history of the dish.
Ingredients are included and I'm not sure you can substitute for your healthier dietary needs-low sodium, low fat as some breads need real butter or shortening.
Directions are included. There is no nutritional information.
Spiced apple bread would be our favorite to try without as much sugar is called for.
Lot of choices and mostly basic traditional recipes. Great for first time bakers.

Instant Pot Cookbook: Fast and Healthy Recipes for your Electric Pressure Cooker: Insta Pot - Over 100 Recipes by April Stewart
Introduction about the instant pot, chapters on what you need to know and why you should buy one. Soups, dinners, breakfast , lunch and dessert chapters with recipes.
Can't believe some have the problems stated here-they are just common sense to us.
Recipes include a title, servings and list of ingredients which you should be able to substitute for healthier dietary needs-low sodium, low fat, etc
Directions are included. There are no pictures and there is no nutritional information.
Regular foods that I've seen in the manual that came with the pot-nothing special.

Halloween Fun Facts: Early Reader Picture Book by C.S. Newton
Colorful children's book about creatures for Halloween. Each monster gets their own page along with other words that are associated with them.
Also a brief paragraph about it is included.
Cute book.