Green Books Campaign: Fix It Make It Grow It Bake It

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.


The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.
 

The Review: Fix It Make It Grow It Bake It, by Billee Sharp, is an exceptionally instructive book to read. It is one of those books you have to attach post-it tabs to as you read in order to go back later and quickly find something you read before that was useful. Why? Because the entire book is filled with advice, recipes, money saving tips, green living tips, fun things to do with the kids and even helpful gardening tips.

I learned so much from the book I couldn’t remember everything I learned from the book when I finished reading it. For example, on page 193 I have a post-it tab for a tasty and interesting pesto recipe. I have a lot of basil and so this will be a very useful page. I also have a post-it tab on page 179 for beets. Just the other day I was trying to find a recipe for beets that will convince my husband beets aren’t gross. Unfortunately for him, he grew up only knowing one way to eat beets, out of a can and then soaked in vinegar. No wonder he hates them.

The tab list goes on: the sourdough starter recipe (a lot of waiting but doable), sprouting instructions (my goal is to do this soon), the wonderful how to make paint tips, the simple how-to kill slug recipe, the warming aloe Vera to soothe muscles tip, how to harvest potatoes (after they flower) and dry them (for 3 days) and so on.

It’s easy to read and appreciate, Fix It Make It Grow It Bake It. The tone is natural and welcoming, always guiding to true happiness and away from materialism. Billie doesn’t preach green living to her audience. She invites us to do so and she does it organically.

My one nick pick is the lack of pictures to accompany the how-to explanation, like in home improvement books. For examples, the how to on fixing things in the bathroom would have been much easier to understand had I had pictures of the objects described on the page beside it page 106

Overall, I found this book a joy to read. I couldn’t wait to try out some of the tips, recipes and advice. In fact, I didn’t wait. I followed the baking soda recipe for a headache on page 36 the day I read about it. What an interesting sensation! Did my mild headache go away? After burping a few times I completely forgot all about it. Was it wishful thinking? Maybe, but it was gone. I’ve also always been interested in essential oils too. After listening to two of my kids cough again last night, I found myself today in front of a health food store I’ve visited before, but never purchased from until today. There it was. Organic Eucalyptus Oil… on sale! Will it work? It wont hurt to try it.                            

Fix It Make It Grow It Bake It is printed on FSC-certified paper.      


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