I love to read health and fitness books. Overall, I’m pretty much a fiction reader, but this is where I make an exception. Since I’m devoting my life and work to healthy living, I guess it makes sense that I like to stay abreast of things. So, with that in mind, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite healthy reads:

Timothy Brantley’s The Cure: Heal Your Body, Save Your Life: This book was life-changing for me. Also a proponent of the raw food lifestyle, Brantley’s book discusses just how critically our food affects us. By eating properly, we can truly become healthy, energetic, high-functioning beings. But most of us eat cooked food that lacks enzymes, don’t drink enough water, eat toxic foods, don’t chew our food enough, and don’t detox properly. This book really struck a chord with me; I highly recommend reading it just to see if any of it sounds familiar.

Natalia Rose’s Raw Food: Life Force Energy: Rose is a semi-supporter of the raw food plan, although she incorporates cooked foods into her repertoire as well. Her basic premise is that all matter is made of energy, and since people are made of matter, we are therefore also made of energy. In order to be truly healthy, we must “vibrate” at the right frequency; ergo, it’s crucial to eat fresh, natural, healthy foods that still contain their life force energy. It’s a pretty compelling read; in it, Rose stresses the importance of colonics to detox the body (as does Brantley in his book). When I initially read it, I was horrified at the thought of colonics, but I found a good wellness center with a terrific colon hydrotherapist, and discovered that I’m really in favor of a clean colon.

Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking: Cook and photographer Swanson has created a beautiful cookbook that stresses the importance of eating natural foods: fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. She takes various food groups and devotes whole chapters to them; in the grain chapter, she encourages you to move beyond the standard wheat (and its gluten) to explore more unusual grains such as buckwheat, barley, quinoa, and teff. I haven’t tried her recipes yet, and some of the ingredients seem a bit hard to find, but I’m hoping to get the book for Christmas, so I can explore some of these new foods. One of my birthday gifts this year was a Whole Foods gift certificate, but my friend made me promise to buy a new, previously untried food with it. Maybe I’ll get some ingredients for one of Swanson’s recipes. That, or I’ll finally try edamame.

Joshua Rosenthal’s Integrative Nutrition. I have to include this one, don’t I? I mean, he founded the school that Lindsay and I are attending! Here’s my favorite thing about Rosenthal, and the reason that I decided to attend IIN: He believes that there is no perfect diet for everyone. Each person is different: different molecular structures, personalities, etc., and therefore, it’s silly to think that there is one diet that fits all. Some people thrive as vegetarians; others need meat. Some people love eating raw food; others need the warmth of a cooked meal. Wheat and dairy make some individuals feel great; others experience digestive problems if they consume gluten and lactose. He encourages his students to experiment with different types of foods and eating plans and see what works best for you. But, like the others, he still encourages a diet rich in healthy, whole, natural, organic foods.

I’m currently reading The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker’s Guide to Extraordinary Living by Stephen Cope. I’m only a few pages in, but I checked it out because I believe that yoga is more than just a way to burn calories. I hope to be a yoga instructor some day, so I’m really trying to understand all the underlying principles of a yoga practice: the postures, the breathing, the meditation, the history, etc. So far, this book is digestible and informative, and I have the feeling that I’m going to learn a lot.

Of course, there are numerous other health books I’ve enjoyed, but these are some really great ones to get you started. I hope you enjoy them too!

Now that the holiday season is officially upon us, I thought I’d roll out a wish list. With my family flung far and wide, and finances a bit stretched, my husband and I probably won’t be celebrating Christmas is a big way this year. Still, I thought I’d mention what I want, just in case Santa is listening. Also, this list isn’t ALL I want for Christmas. But it’s a start.

The Puddle Jumper Gym bag. I’ve been eyeing this bag for months now, and now that Oprah’s put it on her list of great things, it’s selling out everywhere. But I love the roomy size, bright colors, and multiple compartments, especially the one for shoes. Now that I’m joining a new gym, it would be handy to have a second bag in the rotation, especially since my pink Adidas duffle is usually crammed to the brim.

This Victorian silver-plated stapler. I just got a new-to-me antique desk, and we’re in the process of rearranging our home office. This would be beautiful atop my workspace.

This orange, bird-motif switchplate. I think unusual switchplates really add to the decor of a house. In my case, orange in the main accent color, and I love bird designs when it comes to interior decorating. It’s just adorable, and would look perfect by my front door.

I’m a raw food eater in the summer, which requires a blender. I have a perfectly serviceable one, but I really need to get a Vita-Mix blender, which is the gold standard of blenders. These suckers can blend anything, and really makes the raw food lifestyle a lot more manageable.

Pretty much anything on my Amazon Wishlist. We just bought new bookcases, so I need to fill ‘em up!

Wired Magazine teamed up with green builder Living Homes to create the Wired Living Home, which is nestled into a private enclave in L.A. At $4 million and 4,000 square feet, I don’t know exactly how “green” it is (that seems a bit excessive) but it was constructed and furnished with sustainable and eco-friendly materials, so I guess it is greener than most standard homes.

The house itself is super cool looking. I love all the windows (I’d kill for that much natural light in my house), and the landscaping is also lovely (lots of sculptural plants like bromeliads). It’s all very streamlined and modern, but again, it seems like a bit much. I think the house would be more eco-friendly if there were simply less of it. On the plus side, it is 36% more energy efficient than standard homes; has an environmentally-friendly washer and dryer; countertops, windows and doors made of recycled materials, and a hybrid BMW in the garage. It also features solar panels, a radiant cooling and heating system, and tankless water heaters. Not a bad deal if you want to invest in a swanky but healthy LA pad.

Wired is also selling tickets to tour the home, and part of the proceeds go to Global Green USA and Enterprise, both of which support green construction. For more details on the design of the home, click here.

I love a bowl of quick oatmeal in the morning, but unfortunately, many of the instant packets out there contain sucralose or high fructose corn syrup, both of which I studiously avoid. I don’t mind the plain oatmeal from the canister, but sometimes the flavor can be a little bland. So, I whipped up this simple recipe for delicious oatmeal. The amounts can vary depending on how much you want and how thick you like it, so play around to see what works for you.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of organic quick-cooking oatmeal (I like Country Choice)
3/4 cup filtered water
1/4 cup organic, grade B pure maple syrup
dash of cinnamon

Bring the water, syrup, and cinnamon to a quick simmer and pour in your oats. Stir until it’s warm, combined, and at your desired thickness. Pour into a bowl and enjoy!

I like this recipe because the oatmeal is sweetened, but does not contain refined white sugar, brown sugar (which often isn’t any better), or anything that ends in “ose.” You can also try making it with agave nectar, which is a more potent sweetener that doesn’t hit your bloodstream quite as quickly.

There seems to be a constant debate over conventional produce vs. organic produce. Is organic really better, or is it a marketing ploy? How bad can conventional produce really be? In my opinion, it’s always worth it to go organic. Not only is it pesticide free, but to me, the produce also tastes better. I don’t mind spending a few extra cents on the organic stuff, because I truly believe it’s better for me, and I want to do my part to support organic farmers and their practices. I don’t limit my organic shopping to the produce aisle, either. I try to buy organic soy products (and avoid as much genetic modification as possible) as well as organic beauty and cleaning products. I’m on a mission to reduce my overall chemical load as much as possible. Even when I can’t go organic, I use products with natural ingredients when I can (e.g. I wash my laundry with ECOS, clean my bathroom with Method, and use Alba on my lips).

But back to the produce question. If you want to buy a mix of conventional and organic, how do you determine which foods have the most pesticide exposure? The Environmental Working Group ranked 43 fruits and veggies based on the percentage of exposure. Buying peaches? Go organic. Onions? Conventional should be okay. For easier shopping, you can download and print the guide, and then take it with you the next time you go shopping (with your own canvas shopping bags, right?)!

Not sure if an item is organic or not? A quick and easy tip: look at the sticker on the fruit or veggie you are buying. If the PLU starts with a 9, it’s organic. Four is the code for conventional.