Books To Read » Parents

The Fourfold Path to Healing Working with the Laws of Nutrition, Therapeutics, Movement and Meditation in the Art of Medicine By Thomas S. Cowan

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:15:08 +0000

This book is an excellent introduction to alternative medicine. While I would not agree with everything contained in the book, I think this book has information which will be helpful to most. You can combine many alternative therapies with conventional medicine to aid healing. The majority of the book covers alternative medicine approach for the most common ailments. I found the chapter on weight loss helpful.

I suggest you read Tom Cowan’s website to see if this is what you are looking for. Start with Nourishing Traditions first.

Economics in One Lesson by H Hazlitt and Jeff Riggenbach

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:54:03 +0000

Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics

This is the audio version for listening on your ipod or in the car. If you find it hard to find the time to read then audio books are great, it makes time in the car so much more productive and enjoyable.

If not the best one volume introduction to economics it certainly is the most enduring. Not just for Mums and Dads. Get your teenagers to listen to this as well. It is well written with everyday examples making it easy to understand. This book is not written like a textbook, ( thank goodness for that!).

You will find some discussion of the book on Mises (they are reprinting the book). You can read the whole book online. You can hear a sample to see if you are happy with the reader here

The Thrifty Cookbook: 476 Ways to Eat Well with Leftovers By Kate Colquhoun

admin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:57:12 +0000

“This book is not about buying fresh, organic, sustainable, free-range ingredients. It is not about creating picture-perfect dishes or even super-healthy ones. It is not about wowing guests with slick menus and asymmetric flower arrangements. It’s about the bit that comes afterwards, the bit about eating it all up.”

It is a book about throwing less away, about how to use left overs well. Also how to plan meals l: roast chicken, then the left over chicken stretched for chicken fried rice, then chicken stock made with the bones…

A great family cookbook IMHO and especially for those of us who enjoy being frugal and still eating well. It is a British author, not a NZ one but I didn’t find that a disadvantage.

“The Thrifty Cookbook will reconnect us with our kitchen, leaving us with more time on our hands, more cash in our pockets and more space in our fridges – not to mention a great big environmental brownie point.”

For those super thrifty among us here is the link to the Auckland library.

Miss Manners’ Guide to Domestic Tranquility: The Authoritative Manual for Every Civilized Household, However Harried By Judith Martin

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:35:37 +0000

Judith Martin who writes under the pen name Miss Manners writes a fabulous column in the Washington Post. Her books written to the “Gentle Reader” are so helpful, humorous and very practical.

For example on unwanted visitors

“What if nobody invited them? They just announced they were coming, or they actually showed up on the doorstep.

Then someone let down their guard, probably out of the goodness of not wanting to seem rude. There is a polite way to bar entry. One offers profuse apologies and regrets (Oh, what a shame you’ll be here then- ordinarily, we’d love to have you here, but that’s a bad time for us”) but no specific excuses that can be countered with such blithe reassurances as ” Oh, don’t worry about that- we’ll just entertain ourselves”.

3.What if nobody invited them? They just announced they were coming, or they actually showed up on the doorstep.

Then someone let down their guard, probably out of the goodness of not wanting to seem rude. There is a polite way to bar entry. One offers profuse apologies and regrets ( Oh, what a shame you’ll be here then- ordinarily, we’d love to have you here, but that’s a bad time for us”) but no specidic excuses that can be countered with such blother reassurances as ” Oh, don’t worry about that- we’ll just entertain ourselves”.

I wish I had know that years ago; that there is nothing rude about refusing entry. One instant in particular comes to mind, I had 3 children under 3, the youngest only a few weeks old and waking at least once in the middle of the night, dear husband was out. All the children were just settled and I was very much looking forward to an early night and at 8:30pm someone knocked on the door and wanted to talk. I felt obliged to invite her in. Since I have got older I just decided that the children came first and needed a rested mother and so I would now have turned the person away but it is nice now to know how to do that with good manners.

Don’t worry, Miss Manners does encourage us to practice hospitality and gives wonderful guidelines to make it an enjoyable event for all.

I am looking forward to reading her guide on raising children.

Auckland Library carries two of her books.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:35:56 +0000

The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.

More than a recipe book this is packed with nutritional advice. Over 650 pages with information about why and how our great grandparents used to soak grain before eating it, how to prepare a good stock, eat offal, prepare vegetables, why animal fat is not the evil the media would have you believe… Perhaps you might to read more on the Weston A Price website .

This book and website has changed the way we prepare food.

Great Gluten-Free Baking by Louise Blair

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:26:29 +0000

This is the book I use for some of my gluten free baking.
I like the book because it uses mostly brown rice flour which I grind myself in our mill. (Note that cornflour is cornstarch). There are beautiful colour photos throughout although not every recipe is photographed. The cakes include the usually family fare that very easy to make as well as something special for a birthday party. With all gluten free baking I do find it need the odd little tweek to get it just right. I just make a note on the recipes, each one has its own page.

(Later..

I have been using these recipes with GF baking flour blends – I just substitute the flours for the one blend )

Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and Not Be Overwhelmed by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore, Janelle Bradshaw

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:10:02 +0000

I don’t know how long I will live on this earth: but it is finite amount and once it is spent, it is gone. The authors using a shopping analogy, share 5 principals to guide you in shopping for time. It is a small book that can be read in a few hours. Written by a mother and her 3 grown daughters. A wonderful book to begin learning about being a careful steward of our time. You may like to check out their blog. ( Christian book)

Help! Around the House by Don Aslett

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:03:47 +0000

This is my favourite “housework” book. It is the one I read when I need to be reminded that housework can be fun, and it often me who helps set the tone.

How to involve everyone including teenages and toddlers. It taught me and the children how to clean and get control of clutter. It helped me to prioritise jobs. Some things need to be done however busy I am.

Getting everyone to pitch in and clean up together means housework can be something we enjoy not something that pulls us apart- banish that martyr mother complex forever!!

Unfortunately non currently available from fishpond

How to Handle 1000 Things at Once: A Fun Guide to Mastering Home and Personal Management

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 07:46:36 +0000

One of the sweetest things about parenting is developing close relationships with our children. We want them to grow strong in an environment of love and peace. The challenge is to take that ideal and make it reality in the coal-face of our parenting.
I have had to deliberately plan firstly to create, maintain and encourage this environment and secondly guard against those things that would destroy this goal.
This books have helped in this endeavour.
When I clean my teeth while I wipe over the sink, when I read a book to a toddler and feed the baby (she is listening too), when I fold the laundry as I enjoy a cup of coffee , I am enjoying a 48 hour day. If you desire to fit more in your day, making sure the important things are done, and still have time for people, rest … this is the book for you.

I don’t find that I am madly running around feeling overwhelmed. I just do several things at once, all but one of them is done on auto pilot. For me laundry folding is not mentally stimulating but praying for each person as I fold, or counting with a toddler, or teaching them large and big, red and blue makes the task a joy. This books help you to be more efficient in your use of precious time. Don’t try and write an email, fold laundry and help a child with their maths at the same time – you will do all of them poorly!