My 10 Favorite Books Read in 2011

Looking for books to put on your reading list? These are my top picks out of the books I read last year. All of these titles are nonfiction, which is generally all I read, even though I'm reading The Hobbit right now. I've listed the books in the order in which I read them.

1. Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family, by Steve and Annette Economides
This is a great book on saving money since the entire book is dedicated to one category. Some books do not provide much detail because they try to cover too many different aspects, however this is a good, exhaustive resource on saving money on food. Read my full review here.

2. Unplanned, by Abby Johnson
Abby Johnson started working at Planned Parenthood as a volunteer in college and worked her way up in the organization to becoming the director of a clinic. This is the story of why she was passionate about Planned Parenthood and why she is now passionately pro life. While written with a pro life bias, this book gave me a better understanding of both sides.
 
3. Committed: A Love Story, by Elizabeth Gilbert
In this sequel of sorts to the popular Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Glibert tries to make peace with the idea of marriage after finding herself "sentenced to wed" after her Brazilian boyfriend gets in trouble with Homeland Security. Although this may seem like an odd choice for a happy newlywed, I enjoyed Gilbert's look at the idea of marriage throughout history and across cultures, even though sometimes I wanted to yell at her as I listened to the audiobook.
 
4. The Other 8 Hours, by Robert Pagliarini
If you work full time and need help managing your time, this is the book to read, whether you want to start a side business or just spend more time with your family. Read my full review here.

5. Organized Simplicity, by Tsh Oxenreider
Even though I'm not ranking this list, I can safely say this was the best book I read last year. I checked it out twice from the library, and when the Kindle version was free last month, I downloaded it on my phone and started reading it again. I was inspired to declutter and organize and think about what really matters.

6. Eat This, Not That! 2012
I had no idea how many unhealthy foods are masquerading as healthy ones, and vice versa. No one has time to read the labels on every box of crackers or the nutrition facts on every dish at every restaurant, but this book gives a good overview. Read more of what I learned here.

7. Evolving in Monkey Town, by Rachel Held Evans
Rachel Held Evans grew up thinking she had all the answers about her Christian faith, but than she began asking questions. I don't entirely agree that faith needs to evolve to fit the postmodern world, but I still appreciate how though-provoking this book is, which is why it's in my top ten. 

8. In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
This was another book that challenged my thinking, this time in the area of nutrition. How is it that with all of this nutrition "advice" of the last few decades we don't seem to be getting healthier? A lot of the information in this book seems like common sense, but clearly it's not so common anymore.

9. Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment, by Linda Dillow
I was expecting this to be about dealing with anxiety (a struggle for me), but the broader "finding contentment" of the subtitle is really what it's about. The different chapters focus on finding contentment with your circumstances, yourself, your role, etc. Linda Dillow gives practical advice and encouragement, not just a "pray and get over it" kind of message.

10. The Money Saving Mom's Budget, by Crystal Paine
While I wouldn't call this book life changing for me, I learned a lot about saving money and goal setting, even after reading MoneySavingMom.com for quite a while. Read my full review here.

What are some of the best books you've ready lately? Any books you look forward to reading this year?


Shared at Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.

My Thoughts on Couch to 5K

 
At the beginning of 2011, I set the goal to exercise on a regular basis. Month after month after month, I got nowhere. Finally, I started the Couch to 5K program, which was just what I needed to get serious about getting fit. At first I wasn't sure if I was capable of becoming a runner, but after finishing the program last week, I actually want to keep running.

What is Couch to 5K?
As the name implies, Couch to 5K is a progressive running program designed for those who are not physically active. For the first week, you alternate walking 90 seconds and jogging 60 seconds. By the end of the ninth week, you should be able to run for thirty minutes. The only downside with this program is that you have to keep track of how long you've been running or walking and how many times you've done each. That is, unless you download the app for Android or iPhone. Honestly, I'm not sure how anyone could complete this program without using the C25K app. You can run with headphones plugged into your phone, and it will tell you when to switch from walking to running and give you a one minute warning. If you listen to music on your phone, the voice alerts will just pause the music temporarily.

How my running improved
When I first started, a minute of running was about all I could handle. I was gasping for air by the end and didn't know how I was going to handle 2 minutes the following week. Each week I thought the same thing: How will I make it through next week? The most I'd ever run at once was a mile, and I hadn't done that since high school. I honestly didn't know if I could make it through all 9 weeks. But guess what? I did. Your body can do a lot more than you think. I've only run three miles once so far, and I did it in 33:10, while running over snow and ice for part of that time.

How I changed physically
It was never my goal to lose weight. For me, starting exercise now is being proactive. I want to try to prevent heart disease and other health problems. That being said, I still wasn't too happy when four weeks into the program, I had gained 4 pounds. A weight gain of a pound a week when I'm more physically active than I've ever been? How is that possible? I had never seen that number on the scale before. So, I had Nathan hide the scale, and I kept running. After that, I lost 7 pounds, making me 3 pounds below my starting weight. I'm sure I was just gaining muscle before losing fat, but it was still discouraging to see that I had gained. I would recommend hiding the scales before you even start running. I felt like I was in better shape, even though I was heavier.


How long it took me to complete
Although Couch to 5K is supposed to be a nine week program, between the holidays, vacation, and moving, I wasn't running three times a week every week. In fact, I didn't run at all for two and a half weeks. I started the program on October 10 and finished on January 10, more than thirteen weeks later. If you miss a day, just run again when you can. I was shuffling around menu plans and plans in general the whole time. Don't give up!

While Couch to 5K may not be the ideal workout plan for everyone, if it worked for someone as unathletic as me, I think it could work for a lot of people. Nathan ran most days with me to help him get back into running, and our dog Nenya ran every day.

For another opinion on Couch to 5K, check out this review from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.

Have you tried Couch to 5K? Have you found a different way to exercise? I'd love to hear about it.

Note: I'm a graphic designer, not a doctor, Jim! The information above is strictly my personal experience and should not be considered health advice. Also, I was not compensated in any way for writing this post. I'm just sharing what has worked for me.

Shared at Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

Review: The Money Saving Mom's Budget

With all the books and blogs out there about financial management and saving money, it’s difficult to know which ones are worth reading. When I first started trying to figure out couponing in the spring of 2010, I was reading at least six blogs on the topic. It wasn’t long before I’d unsubscribed from all of them except for one local blog and Money Saving Mom, written by blogger Crystal Paine. What set this blog apart? I began reading during the middle of a series on how Crystal and her husband paid cash for their first home. And she wasn’t even 30 yet! She knows her stuff.

I was excited to read Crystal’s book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, and even more excited to have the privilege of receiving an advance copy. By the end of the first chapter, I knew I would not be disappointed. This isn’t just a book of money saving tips that you’ve already heard; it’s a book that helps you discover what you want to achieve and then shows you the steps you can take to achieve it. At first glance, the second chapter, “Streamline Your Life and Cut the Clutter,” isn’t even about money at all, but it’s possibly the most important one.

Although some of the concepts will seem a little basic to those who are a little more financially stable, such as the “secret formula” of creating a budget and saving $60 a year, unless you have met all the financial goals you ever hope to achieve, you will learn something from this book. My husband and I have had a written budget since the beginning of our marriage, but I still enjoyed reading through the chapter on budgeting since our system is far from perfect. And if you’re worried this book will tell you that you have to live on beans and rice and never have any fun until you’ve achieved your financial goals, you will be happy to see chapter eight: “Going out on the Town Without Going Broke.” It’s a book for real people.

What I love most is that Crystal shares this wealth of information in a way that is like a friend cheering you on, leaving you inspired rather than discouraged. Most of the time when a book I’m reading gives some “exercise” to do, I brush it off and just keep reading. But when Crystal talks about setting financial goals, I actually thought about what financial goal we could achieve in the next six months to a year. There’s a lot of passion in this book.

Crystal Paine’s passion for helping others is truly evident in her reason for publishing this book. While originally hesitant to accept the book deal, she realized what an impact it could have if she gave all the proceeds away. And that’s what she is doing: all of her proceeds will support Compassion International. When you buy a copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, you will be giving money to a Child Survival Program in the Dominican Republic that offers life-saving health and medical care to expectant moms, young moms, and at-risk babies and young children.

Want to win a copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget? Just leave a comment!

For additional entries (leave a separate comment for each entry):

1. Like Newlywed Trek on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you liked the page.

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Be sure to leave a link to your blog or your e-mail address so I can contact you!

The giveaway will end January 18, 2012. Winner will be announced January 19.

The Illusion of Healthy Food

As I try to buy healthier foods and cook healthier meals, I've realized how little I actually know about healthy eating. I recently read through Eat This, Not That! 2012  and found shock after shock as I flipped through the pages. Did you know that Oscar Mayer turkey bacon actually has more fat than their regular bacon? Would you have guessed that Kix cereal has less sugar and fewer calories than Life cereal?

Which sounds healthier: 

Two beef patties with pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard on a toasted bun

or 

Smoked white meat chicken with mozzarella, tomatoes, onions, basil and chipotle mayonnaise on Focaccia? 

How about eating two of those burgers with two beef patties? Surely the chicken sandwich would be healthier than that, right?

Take a look at these two items from McDonald's and Panera. Neither is healthy. Although you get less saturated fat and no trans fat with the panini, you're still consuming more calories than there are in two McDoubles. Panera might use more natural ingredients than McDonald's, but there's nothing natural about 1,910mg of sodium. Even though it's served on fancy dishes, Panera is still fast food. If you want to eat healthy, look at the nutrition facts (available on most restaurant websites). Or, better yet, just avoid eating out.

(Images from here and here)

Using Your Other 8 Hours

 
Eight hours at work. Eight hours sleeping. What about the other 8 hours? My biggest struggle with achieving my goals has been finding the time to fit it all in. Reading The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini has really helped me think about how much time I really have and how I can make better use of it through setting priorities, setting a schedule, and setting limits.

Setting Priorities
My goals are to exercise on a regular basis, wake up earlier, keep our apartment clean, increase income and decrease expenses, and write at least 2 blog posts a week. If I'm spending time on something that won't help me achieve one of my goals or benefit the well-being of myself or others, why am I doing it? If a book on my reading list will not help me reach my goals or at least be a good read, why on earth is it on there? Obviously, my husband has to come before all of these things. As I've learned, being a good wife for him has very little to do with cleaning. If he needs me to look over something he's written or just wants to talk to me, I'm not too worried about how much blogging I get done that day.

Setting a Schedule
I've resisted making a daily schedule for myself since I prefer to have spontaneity during my free time. But since making a chore chart and a menu plan have helped me stay on track, I decided having at least a general guideline couldn't hurt. If I really want to keep our apartment clean, I need to plan time to do chores each evening. If I want to write two or more blog posts each week, I need to schedule writing time. And when it's time to go to bed, I need to go to bed. That way, I can actually wake up on time and get 30 minutes of exercise that's a little more strenuous than hitting the snooze bar.

Setting Limits
You know those things that just suck away your time and suck the life out of you? Robert Pagliarini calls those Life Leeches. You want to get rid of those. He suggests eliminating activities from your life for three weeks and then deciding whether you want to resume it. While I haven't identified anything I want to eliminate from my life, I have set limits on some things. To help combat wasting time online, I've set limits on the amount of time I spend online each evening and have also set limits on the number of sites I follow with Google Reader (25) and Twitter (60). I only follow with Reader if I absolutely don't want to miss a post on that blog, and the rest I follow on Twitter. I've also removed a few nonessential Facebook friends, but I'm still at 200. That one's a lot harder.

Needless to say, I got a lot out of The Other 8 Hours. This is only the second book I've read this year that I'm considering buying for future reference. As the title implies, it's more applicable to those working full-time, but others could easily skip around to sections that interest them. I skipped through the parts about starting a big business venture involving investors but read the sections on blogging and freelance in detail. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to "get more time, get more money, and get a life," or any of the above.

Do you struggle with using time in a meaningful way? If not, what are your secrets?  :-)

____________________________________________________________________________

Other Books Read in 2011

• Eat, Pray, Love
• Healthy Meals for Less (Review)
• Half-Price Living (Review)
• Linchpin (Review) 
• To Buy or Not to Buy Organic (Review) 
• Mosaic
• Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half (Review) 
• Unplanned
• The Millionaire Next Door
• Committed

Slow Cooker Revolution

Slow Cooker Revolution is a beautiful cookbook. It has excellent photography and a nice, easy to read layout. However, it is sadly not for me. While I thought many of the recipes looked tasty, I need recipes that work for both of us. Rather than trying to guess which recipes Nathan might be able to tolerate, I had Mr. Picky Eater look through it himself and let me know which ones looked good to him. He came up with seven recipes that he wanted to try: Loaded Baked Potato Soup, Turkey Breast and Gravy, Beginner's Pulled Pork, Easy Barbecued Ribs, Sausage Lasagna (the yummy cover photo!), Corned Beef Hash, and Chocolate Fondue.

I can't fault this cookbook for not having enough recipes that appeal to my husband. I'm sure less picky eaters would find this a true slow cooker revolution. The only thing I didn't like about this cookbook is that most of the recipes require a lot of work. My ideal slow cooker recipe is one that allows me to throw the ingredients in the slow cooker when I'm half awake on a Sunday morning. Although I look forward to the challenge of trying these new recipes, an experienced cook would probably enjoy the book more. Check out this review from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures to see what one of those experienced cooks thought. If you're not as confident in your culinary skills, I would recommend looking for this book at your local library (as I did) rather than buying it.

What is your favorite cookbook?

Other Books Read in 2011

• Eat, Pray, Love
• Healthy Meals for Less (Review)
• Half-Price Living (Review)
• Linchpin (Review) 
• To Buy or Not to Buy Organic (Review) 
• Mosaic
• Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half (Review) 
• Unplanned
• The Millionaire Next Door

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

 
I wasn't sure what to expect from Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family. I don't feel like our monthly grocery budget can get any lower than it is without making some major sacrifices. And authors Steve and Annette Economides (yes, their real name) only go grocery shopping once a month, which is not something I'm willing to attempt at this point. As it turned out, I learned much more from this book than I expected. I skimmed through the chapter on stocking up and organizing since I don't really have enough space for 20 cans of tomato paste right now, but even that chapter got me thinking about how I could store and organize food.

Here are some examples of tips from the book that I liked:

• Keep your impulse buys in a separate hand basket in your grocery cart. Before you check out, decide if you really need the items in the basket.
• Use a calendar to track grocery store sales with dates
• Buy medium eggs if there is more than a 5 cent difference between medium and large eggs
• Swish water in a nearly empty jam jar and empty it into a smoothie or pancake batter

If you're at all interested in saving money on food expenses, even if you think you already know a lot, read this book. You will learn something.

Other Books Read in 2011

• Eat, Pray, Love
• Healthy Meals for Less (Review)
• Half-Price Living (Review)
• Linchpin (Review) 
• To Buy or Not to Buy Organic (Review)
• Mosaic

To Buy or Not to Buy Organic?

We're going to die no matter what we eat, so what does it matter? That was the conclusion I came to after taking a Science of Food class in college. But since it's been a few years and the professor of the class was a former geneticist for the USDA, I figured it wouldn't hurt to reexamine the issue.

One of the main reasons I originally decided organic food was a waste of money was that a video we watched in class talked about a young boy who died after contracting E. coli from organic spinach. In To Buy or Not to Buy Organic, Cindy Burke says the 2006 E. coli breakout in spinach was not in fact linked to organic produce, despite reports to the contrary. After learning that information, I became much more open to trying organic food.

What I liked about the book is that Cindy Burke tells you it's not actually worth the money to buy organic in every case. I'm more concerned about whether or not the food I buy is safe than whether or not the food I buy is supporting big business producers or the farm subsidy system. A chart in the back lists foods alphabetically and gives Burke's recommendation of whether it's best to buy organic, conventional, or local food for that particular item. Broccoli and cauliflower, for example, are naturally pest-resistant and contain very little pesticide residue even when conventionally grown. I also found it interesting that she recommends not eating organic fish at all since it's better to eat wild caught fish and fish must be farm grown to be certified as organic.

The thing I found troubling about this book was that I don't know how factual some of the information is. Cindy Burke says that you cannot trust the government to keep your food safe. While that may be true, how do I know I can trust the information a food journalist and former chef is giving me? It's difficult for me to think of an author as credible when she begins a sentence with "According to HowStuffWorks.com..." She referenced one theory that the reason a woman's risk of breast cancer decreases the more children she breastfeeds is that the babies are draining toxins from her body. The first baby will get the worst of the toxins. While this is absolutely terrifying, from what I could tell it's just a theory of one man.

I would recommend To Buy or Not to Buy Organic if you're on the fence about organic food. If you're already 100% convinced it's a waste of money, it probably won't change your mind. This book did make me think switching to organic for some foods might be a good idea (potatoes, strawberries, and peaches for example), but I can't see us ever going completely organic. I'm not giving up Chick-fil-A anytime soon.

Do you buy organic?

Other Books Read in 2011

• Eat, Pray, Love
• Healthy Meals for Less (Review)
• Half-Price Living (Review)
• Linchpin (Review)

Giving Audio Books a Try

Since I spend 5 hours a week driving to and from work, I knew audio books would be a great option for me to make use of that time. Being a visual learner, I was a little worried that I wouldn't retain much. It's almost impossible for me to remember anything from lectures or sermons if I don't take notes. But I recently decided to give it a try. I started the book on my drive to work on a Monday and finished it that Wednesday on my way home. It was really nice to finish a book during time that would otherwise be lost. Since I was driving in rush hour interstate traffic, I wasn't able to fully focus on the book, and there were also a couple times when I focused on it too much and almost missed my exit. Overall, it was a better experience than expected. I would estimate that I retained about 80% as much information as I would have had I read a physical copy of the book.

The book I listened to was Linchpin by Seth Godin. I found it a little disappointing. With a subtitle of "Are You Indispensable?" I was hoping for insight on how to be indispensable in my current job. Instead, Godin says that if your current boss doesn't appreciate your talents, you need to find a new job. Maybe I'm just not the target audience for this book. He talks about how the creators of the Apple computer went three days without going home or showering. If that's what makes you a linchpin, I think I'll pass. The book did help my professional life in some ways though. Listening to it on my way to work helped get me in the right mindset to start the day, and I woke up in the middle of the night once and started brainstorming ideas for a spreadsheet I want to create to make my job easier. I would say it's worth reading for any creatives trying to better themselves in their profession.

Have you listened to audio books? Do you feel that you retain more or less than you do by reading physical books?


Other Books Read in 2011

• Eat, Pray, Love
• Healthy Meals for Less (Review)
• Half-Price Living (Review)

Living on One Income

It might seem somewhat odd that I would read a book called Half-Price Living: Secrets to Living Well on One Income when we currently have two incomes and no plans of changing that in the near future. But I figure any advice on how to live well on one income applies just as well to people with two incomes, and we never know if life will go the way we plan. As Ellie Kay says in her book, "I dreamed of becoming a CEO for a major corporation in an effort to 'be' somebody...I found that the dreams God dreams for us are better than the dreams we dream for ourselves."

This is not a book telling you that you must live on one income because it's a woman's job to stay home with her children but rather a book of advice and encouragement for those women who want to stay home. She gives 7 steps to create a stay-at-home-mom and offers tips on topics like cutting your grocery bill in half, buying a home, and retirement planning. One thing I learned from this book that really struck me was that as many as half of a grocery store's weekly sales are unadvertised. I knew some deals were unadvertised, but half? I guess I need to look up from my grocery list more often.

While I did learn some things, I felt like the content of the book was a little disappointing. With less than 20 pages a chapter and a total of 168 pages, there aren't a whole lot of details on each topic; it's more of a starting point to further studying. And although it might be true that some moms who quit their jobs will automatically save money on things like childcare, wardrobe updates, transportation, lunches at work, or trips to the beauty salon, that wouldn't be much of a cost saver for me. I know childcare is an expense I don't have to consider now, but I almost always bring a lunch to work and don't think I would spend much less on clothing or haircuts if I weren't working outside the home. The only real money saver would be gas. Also, some of her money-saving tips, like house swapping to save money on vacations, just aren't things I would want to do.

After finishing this book, I didn't really feel any more convinced than I was before that being a stay-at-home-mom would work for me. The book gives general advice on a broad spectrum of topics, but it wasn't anything life changing. However, reading this book did lead to a discussion with Nathan about how soon we can be debt free and have a down payment for a house with our current income. We basically decided that there’s no reason I couldn’t be a stay-at-home mom if I want to be, but the question is do I really want to. I can’t imagine giving up graphic design altogether, and although I could theoretically work from home, I don’t know how much designing I could do with a baby. We’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Healthy Meals for Less

Jonni McCoy promises a lot with this cookbook just in the title: Healthy Meals for Less: Great-Tasting Simple Recipes Under $1 a Serving. The first week I ever tried menu planning, I looked through all my cookbooks and compiled a list of recipes without giving any thought to what those ingredients would cost. It was quite the wake up call when I ended up spending about twice what I normally would that week. It's nice to see a cookbook written by someone who doesn't expect you to have unlimited income.

I was a skeptical about this book though because "great-tasting" is very subjective, and I'm married to the pickiest eater I've ever encountered. As I suspected, the majority of these recipes would not work for us unless I made a lot of modifications. Many recipes have all kinds of spices in them, possibly because Jonni McCoy and her family lived in Pakistan for a time. There seems to be a prevalence of ginger (which Nathan hates) and curry powder (which he probably would hate). Some of the dishes seemed a little odd to even me. However, as I was going through the book page by page, I wrote down the page numbers and titles of 17 recipes that I thought would be worth a try, including 5 main dishes. We tried the first one, honey chicken, for lunch yesterday. I left out the curry powder and ginger and played around with some other spices, and I ended up with a slow cooker meal that Nathan and I both enjoyed.

This isn't the perfect cookbook for me, not that I believe there is one. I borrowed this book from the library to see if it would be worth buying, and obviously it's not. However, I do love the concept behind it and would recommend it to those trying to consider both the nutrition and cost of the food they eat. If you like vegetables and spices, you would probably get a lot more out of it.