The Blender Girl Smoothie by Tess Masters, a Book Review

Tess Master’s does it again! I have her first Blender Girl book and was very hesitant to get this one for fear it would be the same thing with just a few extras. Oh know, it is much more than I could have hoped for.

I am fairly new to the whole smoothie thing. New as in her first book was my initiation. This book, The Blender Girl Smoothies, starts out just like the first and that is a good thing. Tess gives you an education in all she writes. Chapter one “Smoothie Secrets” lets you in on a lot of information including what order you should add things to the blender. Who knew to put liquids in first to help solid ingredients liquefy more evenly? Or if you did powder last it would end up in the lid and not in the smoothie. Told you I was knew.

This first chapter is chock full of great info like push the probiotic, lift with citrus, and beat the bloat. She even has a six step outline for spectacular smoothies. My favorite thing in the first chapter is the build your own smoothie section. She lays it all out in easy to see and utilize style. She covers liquids, base, cream, greens, boosters and magic. This “magic” is all about the finishing touch or rather finishing flavor that also adds a health kick to it. You have choices throughout each section to make your smoothie “your” smoothie.

The recipes are amazing and there are a lot of new ones, a lot! Best part, to me, is that she tells you the health benefits of each smoothie. This makes it easy to choose what you need for that days smoothie. Whether it’s an immune boost, energy, detox, inflammation reducing, weight loss, protein rich, or alkaline recipe it is all laid out for you.

At the end of the book she writes the “smoothie pantry”. This contains the smoothie essential ingredients, tips for pairing flavors to help guide your choices when using the Build Your Smoothie chart. She has different things like Avocado oil, cayenne pepper and some things I have never even heard of like camu powder. I would like to say it is because I am currently living in another country as to why I have not heard of some of these powders but then again I have never been a healthy eater until I moved out of the USA. I had to Google them. It was worth the effort to do that because these “smoothie pantry” items are jam packed with health benefits. Tess Masters knows her stuff.

A little side note here. From previous reviews on this book it would appear no one else has noticed there is no chapter 3. At least in my book I have two chapter fours! Though in the contents section it does state there should be a three. A simple typo I am sure and it doesn’t take away from the greater fact of information. Just a bit funny.

This is a must have book for anyone wanting a bigger variety of smoothie with massive health benefits to them. Tess Masters’ book The Blender Girl Smoothies is one of the best additions to my kitchen and my health!

“I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.”

Unafraid by Susie Davis, a Book Review

Susie Davis blew me away! I have read a lot of books in my attempt to overcome fear but this one surprised me. She is open and sometimes graphic with details. That was a big surprise to me. She was real. No sugar coating. I liked this so much even when she described in detail about the Lynx and the baby bunny. Let’s start with that one.

In Susie Davis’ book Unafraid she begins with a glimpse of where her fears began, with a school shooting she witnessed first-hand.  Though she skirts the details in the beginning she does end up giving intricate details. However, it is two stories in particular that stick with me. They both take place while she is at their cabin in Estes Park, Colorado.

In the section title “Easy Prey” she gives details of something she saw through the window at their cabin. A lynx sitting by the porch steps. Remembering that just the other day Susie had seen a Momma rabbit going back and forth from under there she knew there were babies under the porch. Susie understood what that Lynx was about to do. Just as she feared the lynx went down and came back with a baby bunny in its mouth. As she watched the lynx ate its meal head first then cleaned itself before walking off into the woods. I love Susie’s thoughts on this. “I couldn’t help but feel God gave me a picture of what the Enemy does with us. He sniffs out our vulnerabilities. Patiently waits until he finds just the right spot. Then quietly goes in for the kill. When he has us in his grasp, he intends to kill us by devouring our trust in God. The lynx ate the head of the rabbit first. I think the enemy starts there with us also. He makes a bid for our minds.”

It was the graphic details of this story that made the theory behind it stick. It was the next statement that lingers. “It’s when we agree with him in our minds-even in the smallest degree-that the Enemy takes us whole.” Just one more reason we should take Ephesians 6 seriously. We need the armor of God and we need to put it on daily.

The next section of Susie’s book that stays with me is “The Burn”. She talks about hiking with a group and coming upon a section of land that had experienced a fire. It had been a lightning strike and was allowed to burn before firefighters interceded. Seeing the devastation to such a large amount of area, the ash still layers deep, she thought it had been a recent fire. As it turns out it was years ago. It had happened in 1978. The same year as the school shooting. After all these years there was still evidence of the fires destruction and lingering effects. Just like Susie had experienced with the internal destruction of her youth and the lingering effects of fear. Yet underneath all the ash of this burnt place was new life springing up. She could see the evidence of new trees and greenery poking through the black ash. It was here that God spoke to her. “This is your soul. You experienced a burn.” It took her only a moment to make the connection. “Yes, I had experienced a burn in my life. That day in May 1978 when I witnessed the murder, a fire ignited in my soul. It created a burn. I felt the fire that made me doubt God. It made me wonder if he was trustworthy and made me question his character and his love. Yes, I had a burn in my life.”

There is so much more to this book, Unafraid, than these two parts that linger with me. If you struggle with fear whether seemingly small or overwhelmingly huge, this book is sure to help you discover new ways at overcoming them. And not just with Susie’s help but with God’s. Susie’s finger is always pointing you toward Him and never at herself for the answer.

I’m hopeful that by sharing the two segments above that it draws you toward the book and not away. It may seem like a spoiler by being detailed about them but this is less than 10% of the impactful insight Susie Davis has for you in Unafraid. It is a quick read but one that you will want to go back to time and time again to refresh yourself with all the little things that help us overcome the big thing…fear.

“I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.”

I’m hopeful that by sharing the two segments above that it draws you toward the book and not away. It may seem like a spoiler by being detailed about them but this is less than 10% of the impactful insight Susie Davis has for you in Unafraid. It is a quick read but one that you will want to go back to time and time again to refresh yourself with all the little things that help us overcome the big thing…fear.

“I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.”