The Curious Housewife

Fourth of July Lake (in the distance) looking south from just a little west of Round Top Lake, Carson Pass area, highway 88, CA Are those mountains far away or closer than they look? Is that lake small or big? It depends on your perspective! This post was to be about something else entirely but instead of what I was going to write about, I think I will share my experience from yesterday's visit to the doctor. It's been 6 years since my bypass surgery (9/13/12).   Twice a year, I go for a visit with my cardiologist. In advance of that visit, I do some testing to see if my carotid arteries are still in good shape and I have my blood drawn in order to check my cholesterol levels and the functioning of my liver. When I see my cardiologist, I joke with him that I must be his most boring patient! With the exception of one thing, nothing has changed for me in the last 6 years. My cholesterol levels have remained constant, my overall cholesterol ratio is good, my bloo

image from Alternative Baking Website And I thought I was just buying a cookie. Wrong!  A couple of days ago I was at the grocery store and the above cookie caught my eye. Normally, I would have given this a pass but I saw that it was vegan, I was hungry, and I guess that is all she wrote! Into the cart it went. I got home and ate it. The whole thing. And was immediately sort of sorry. Sort of. Once in awhile a little splurge is fine.  The cookie though got me thinking because of course, prior to eating it, I examined the nutrition label. In depth and at length. It's what I do. I am an inveterate food label reader of long standing. Rich won't go with me to the store anymore unless I promise not to read the labels. I get irritated and because I am "that woman" now, I talk to myself out loud, airing my grievances in a quiet and muttering sort of way. Why is there sugar and salt in this can of tomatoes? Why is there added sodium in my frozen peas? (And

*This blog post will appear in four parts, each part being a review of one specific book. Part 4 of 4  follows below: Of the four books that I have reviewed, Power Plates: 100 Nutritionally Balanced, One-Dish Meals by Gena Hamshaw is my favoritte. It's the book that I turn to most often for inspiration and for recipes that I actually use regularly. If you haven't yet "met" Gena, she is the author of The Full Helping Blog . Her credentials go beyond this though. She is a vegan food educator, cookbook author, and certified nutritionist who is currently working on her DI (dietetic internship). Gena writes with feeling and care about her recipes, her personal insights, and other information relevant to veganism, eating in general, health and well-being. I tune in every weekend to catch her Weekend Reading posts in which she provides links and commentary to all sorts of interesting health related articles.  In this cookbook, Gena offers nutrionally balanced vegan