My Review of "The Burn"

Haylie Pomroy's The Burn:  Why Your Scale is Stuck and What to Eat about It is another of those 2014 diet and nutrition books that I put on my reading list.

One of the most asked questions in the diet world:  "I'm keeping my diet, but I'm not losing weight.  Why?"  Haylie Pomroy's Burn answers that question.

A weight loss plateau is normal.  No matter how diligent you are in following your diet, from time to time you'll fall off the wagon.  Burn is meant to help.

In it Pomroy offers three nutrition programs strategically engineered to achieve highly specific results.  The 3-day Burn for Inflammation (I-Burn), 5-day Burn for Digestive Dysfunction (D-Burn), and 10-day Burn for Hormone Imbalances (H-Burn).  Each has particular advice on how to handle the diet, as well as nutritious recipes for each particular program.

There are also some great insights into what to buy at the grocery store.

I received this book free, from the Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.

My Review of "Skinnytaste Cookbook"

Skinnytaste Cookbook is written by a great cook, Gina Homolka, who is the genius behind SkinnyTaste.com.  The premise of the website -- and now the premise of her new cookbook -- is simple enough:  Gina started playing around with her favorite family recipes when she joined Weight Watchers, looking for ways to cut calories and use healthier ingredients without sacrificing taste.  What she discovered became SkinnyTaste.com, and now this cookbook.

Skinnytaste Cookbook is filled with beautiful photos, along with lots and lots of helpful hints.  I particularly enjoyed the introduction with advice about keeping a "good for you kitchen and lifestyle".  Fad diets never work.  Eating real food keeps you satisfied longer.  And, small changes come first, because big changes leave you disheartened.  My experience bears all this out.

Each recipe also contains helpful icons that indicate if its Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Quick (30 mins or less), Freezer-Friendly, or a Slow Cooker meal.  Each meal also gives you the serving size, calories, carbs, sodium, protein, etc.

I only wish every recipe included a "grocery list" of ingredients and the recipes you would make with it.   For example, if I buy "chipotle chile in adobo sauce," I'd love a quick reference to what recipes include that ingredient, for help with meal planning.

In the end, Skinnytaste Cookbook is a book for every kitchen.  And a great idea for a gift.

I received this book free, from the Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.

My Review of "hand in Hand"

Randy Alcorn's newest book, hand in Hand:  The Beauty of God's Sovereignty and Meaningful Human Choice, goes after answers for some weighty and sometimes-vexing theological questions, with a true pastor's heart.  If God is sovereign, how am I free?  If God is not sovereign, how can God be God?  And is it possible to reconcile God's sovereignty with human freedom?

Alcorn is right to point out that the traditional answers to those questions only present more difficult questions.  So instead of constructing an argument from a few carefully-chosen biblical texts, he looks at the full panoply of Scripture.  Everyone will find their side's arguments explored, with affirmations where there are biblical affirmations to make. 

And he also helps you listen to others' arguments in meaningful ways. 

In the end, this is a book every thoughtful Christian should read.  And probably re-read. 

I received this book free, from the Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.