The lucky winner of the WHOLE Gang 2013 Cookbook Desk Calendar is…Lisa Alexander! Lisa commented,
Congratulations, Lisa! I will be emailing you shortly.
If readers are still interested in getting one of these calendars, you can order one from The WHOLE Gang website (currently shipping to the US and Canada only). Each calendar comes in its own shipping box, making your gift-making that much easier. Find out more about the calendar and ordering here.
2013 Cookbook Desk Calendar (© The W.H.O.L.E. Gang)
[Full disclosure: I was sent a calendar, free of charge, from Diane Eblin of The WHOLE Gang for this review and giveaway. All opinions expressed here are my own.]
This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all the participants! The winner will be announced shortly and contacted via email.
It’s December and that means not only are the holidays upon us, the New Year is just around the corner. A new year requires a new calendar and today I’m giving away one of Diane Eblin’s (The WHOLE Gang) 2013 Cookbook Desk Calendars!
Diane’s calendar is perfect for people who like calendars and who like to cook. The calendar comes in a clear CD case, making it easy to prop up on the kitchen counter as you cook, on your desk – or anywhere you like! Included are recipes for every month of the year, all gluten-free and dairy-free (including modifications for making recipes vegetarian, vegan, or paleo), and accompanied by gorgeous photography of each dish. As a special bonus, there is a secret code access for a hidden page with insider tips, tools, resources, and twenty-eight additional recipes on The WHOLE Gang website.
Features of the hidden page:
Diane says of the 2013 Cookbook Desk Calendar:
After sharing over 500 recipes on my website since 2008 and writing my e-cookbook The Gluten-Free Diner, I wanted to be able to create something just as useful that someone could hold in their hands. I also wanted something that reflected what I hear when I work with clients as a health coach. “Give me something so I can have an easy, healthy, gluten-free life.” Many families are not just cooking for gluten-free but for many dietary needs at once. It’s certainly that way in my house!
So, this cookbook desk calendar was designed with that criteria in mind. Easy, healthy, gluten-free living with an easy way to also cook dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan and Paleo without having to cook 5 different meals at once.
To win one of these calendars, simply leave a comment on this post telling me why you would like to win this calendar. A winner will be picked randomly using Random.org and will be contacted by me via email. Please include a valid, working email address in the email field (not the body of the comment) when you leave your comment. The giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada. The giveaway starts today, Saturday, December 1, 2012 and ends on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 11:59 PM PST.
Good luck!
[UPDATE: If you are having difficulty leaving a comment, please see this post. Apologies!]
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
If you’re interested in the psychology of eating, how companies market to consumers to eat more or less, portion sizes and control, and what can influence our eating decisions, this is the book for you. Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink, Ph.D. (published in 2006) explores these topics and more. The most important thing to take note of about this book, however, is that it is not a diet book, telling you how to lose weight and keep it off. Rather, it is “about reengineering your food life so that it is enjoyable and mindful.”
As it is stated in the introduction,
The best diet is the one you don’t know you’re on.
(Interestingly, and especially of note for those who live on a restricted diet because of food allergies, intolerances, or diseases, it is noted that the word “diet” comes from the Latin word, dieta, meaning “a way of life”. Indeed for many, living with food allergies et al and becoming creative within those boundaries no longer becomes a diet but a lifestyle. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, “diet” in a restrictive sense has only been used since the fourteenth century. I studied Latin, so my passions for language and food temporarily collided.)
Some of the topics were baffling to me, such as how changing the colour of a food can change people’s perception – and even trick them into thinking that they’re tasting something else! This was examplified with a story about a World War II Navy cook (in this book, named Billy) who once accidentally ordered twice the amount of lemon Jell-O but no cherry Jell-O. In a stroke of genius, he made the lemon Jell-O as usual but added red food colouring. Although it was still lemon flavoured, it looked like cherry Jell-O. The sailors, when they tried it, didn’t know the difference – some even complimented him on having found cherry Jell-O. This is explained as having worked because the sailors expected it was cherry and tasted it as such.
