Tag: Book Review

Book Review, Books, poetry

Summer Reads and Snacks: Book Recommendations with a Twist

Mona Alvarado Frazier

In my June Substack Post, I had fun matching summer reads to food and beverages. Although summer is half over, reading and snacking are not.

I recently finished two more books and recommend you borrow or buy them and take a read. (scroll to bottom)

Mona’s Substack

Two additional books:

If you’re a poetry fan, especially vivid poems that tell a story, then Richard Blanco’s HOMELAND OF MY BODY is a book you’ll love. The 117 poems focus on he and his mother’s homeland, identity, and the body. If I paired this with a beverage it would have to be non-alcoholic (water) because I’d be drunk and crying halfway through the book. Instead I’d have pieces of Ferrero Rocher chocolates to accompany the richness of the poems.

You know when a book is just so good you don’t want it to end? That’s how I felt about THE BERRY PICKERS by Amanda Peters. An indigenous family (Canada, Mi’kmaq) travel to Maine every year to harvest blueberries. Their four-year old daughter, Ruthie, goes missing from the fields, setting off a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors. In alternating chapters we hear from Ruthie and Joe, her brother, who was the last to see her. Pair this with iced tea and chocolate covered blueberries. But drink and eat slowly because you’ll read long into the night.

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Books, Health, Healthy eating, Latina writer, Non-fiction, water footprint, Water sustainability, WoWW, Writing

How We Can “Eat Less Water” And Help The Environment

Mona Alvarado Frazier

“Eat Less Water” releases Nov. 1, 2017, by Florencia Ramirez

When the well is dry, we know the value of water- Benjamin Franklin

For thousands of people in Flint, Michigan and East Porterville, California, the well dried up. For 800 million people around the world, the well is dry.

There’s a new book arriving on November 1st, 2017 titled “Eat Less Water.” The author and researcher, Florencia Ramirez, state experts predict two-thirds of people living on this planet in 2030 will experience water scarcity, a situation expected to result in the deaths of millions and an unprecedented rise in military conflicts.

Can we as individuals hope to have any effect on the global scale of water misuse?

The answer is “Yes,” if we change some of our lifestyle habits. The author states, “THE MOST FAR-REACHING,  effective strategy to save water is to eat less of it.”

This book gives the reader an eye-opening education on how much water is used in food production:

1 pound of beef has a “virtual water footprint” of 1,851 gallons.

1 pound of pork = 631 gallons of water

1 pound of lamb = 398.8 gallons of water

This is not a book against meat, it’s a book describing the benefits of organically raised water sustainable livestock.

“Food grown without chemicals saves fresh water more than any other water-saving strategy.”

There are sixteen chapters ranging from Wheat and Water to Eggs and Water; Beer and Water; Coffee and Water, and other major food groups. Each chapter ends with a recipe for an organic, water sustainable dish or beverage.

 

The author traveled over 16,000 miles across the USA and took seven years to research and interview farmers and food producers who illustrated the very best in food cultivation. The food is grown with farming systems in sync with their surrounding environment, “working to replenish rivers, not pollute them,” and methods used to regenerate the soil, “keeping more water in the ground…”

Written in an engaging narrative, the book is non-fiction and several footnotes cite studies which back up the research. The book encourages families and the household shopper to be selective in what they buy and consume. The recipes encourage you to shop for locally grown organic products.

“What we choose to put on our dinner tables can rewrite the story of water scarcity touching people around the world.

Be part of a change that will make a difference in creeks, rivers, groundwater, and oceans across the planet. Start tonight at your kitchen table.”

Check out the Vimeo book trailer:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/240210963

Eat Less Water Book Trailer from Nueva Vista Media on Vimeo.

This book can be found at:

Indie Bound  

Barnes and Nobles

Amazon

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Note: Florencia Ramirez is a personal and professional friend. She co-founded the writing group: WOmen Who Write (WoWW) in Ventura County. I am a member of this small group and this in no way detracts from an honest review. I’m delighted to participate in Florencia’s writing journey and see the fruition of all of her very hard work.

To find a reading visit Florencia’s website at EatLessWater.