Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous: A Nutritionist's Guide to Living Well While Living It Up

by Esther Blum M.S. R.D. C.D.N. C.N.S., James Dignan (Illustrator)

From Esther Blum, an expert nutritionist at Dr. Perricone's flagship Manhattan store, comes the breakthrough news that, yes, you can eat and drink what you love and still look and feel gorgeous. Esther reveals the secrets to beautiful skin, a fantastic figure, and peace of mindall while living the good life. It's about knowing how to make the right choices: Which cocktails cause the least damageis a Merlot better than a Margarita? What natural supplements combat out-of-control hormones? With a troubleshooting section on treating specific ailments, delicious recipes, and fast fixes, Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous makes it possible to have that piece of cake and eat it, too.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Food, Ebooks, Chick Lit, Cookbooks, Cooking

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 13, 2007

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was awesome. It's written by a dietician, and it's all about being healthy from within, nourishing mind, body and soul with the food we put in our mouths. There is some great advice on taking supplements, and a section on which ones are best to take for different ailments, from a hangover to depression.

It's done in a fun, girly, fabulous kind of way, with cute illustrations and a kind of cut-the-crap girlfriends-y tone. I liked it, it inspired me to go out and buy some whole grains and fresh veggies and some omega-3 and magnesium supplements.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good basic book advising on nutrition, balance, and healthy living for the modern girl. Great advice on supplements, with cause and effect information regarding regular aliments.
I was hoping for something extra, but a lot of the information is in many other health and nutrition books.
A cute book to gift to your girlfriends.

[Cameron Toney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've got nothing against basic advise. I actually love basic advice, or, at least, "back to basic" advise. Its the core of building good habits, in my opinion. And I generally am fine with dressing this basic advise up in different styles, so as to appeal to different people.
This is very basic nutrition advise (moderation in everything, balance, careful thought as to what you are eating and drinking, prioritizing eating that will make you feel good and what you will really enjoy), and this book dresses it up in chatty language and hot pink.
I must give the side eye to the section on supplements, which are treated like some sort of magic pill, rather than something that should be consulted with a medical professional about.
Nothing wrong with this, but also nothing special.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I found some of the advice in this book sound, I'm affixing a low rating due to the blindly one-sided discussion of supplements. Is this author selling them or something? What is her connection to the industry? Before you go out and buy your local pharmacy, I urge you to do your research. Some studies show that supplements are harmless; many others show a correlation between regular use of supplements and premature death. Of course, doctors usually recommend them for patients with a vitamin deficiency. But if you are in good health as it is, please, seek more objective sources for your information.

[Victoria Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and informative! Found it in a thrift store and totally had shoe diva aesthetic vibes

[Bry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts of this book was really great, other times it was really boring, others confusing.

The language was sometimes funny and humorous but other times it was so scientific and droned on a bit that I found myself skimming ahead a few pages. I thought the information was usually pretty good but seemed a bit extreme at the same time. If you have a problem you can easily solve it by excluding dairy, wheat, sugar, and 4 other things from your entire diet for the next 6 months. Really?? How the hell am I supposed to do that?? What does that leave to actually eat? Or instead of changing your diet you can take these 4 supplements at 6 capsules a day. I don't know about anyone else but that sounds a bit unappetizing. I don't wanna be a pill popper.

I did take a bunch of tips/tricks to heart though, and relished those tidbits of info that I didn't know.

Whats most annoying though is that half the information in this book is repreated in her second book which I am reading now. Talk about disappointed. That alone took a star off for me.

[Laure · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't the absolute worst book I've ever read, but it was kind of like, "Let's make this cook LOOK cute with a bunch of pink and sell it with a catchy title." It's basically a bunch of common sense about keeping everything in moderation... just like every other diet or beauty book is about.

Kind of funny in some parts just because of the topics, and it makes being a female seem okay even if you're PMSing while reading this book.

Parts that made the book it's own:

-Tips for improving your bouqet (breath, armpits, vagina)
-Punani Power (exercises for your vagina)
-Candy is Dandy, but Liquor is Quicker- How your body processes alcohol
-Rebound Rituals (things to keep you busy and not thinking about your recent ex)

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I train for my 100-mile bike ride, I thought it might be helpful to read up on nutrition. Yes, growing up with diabetes, I already have a pretty strong nutritional foundation, but there's never any harm in educating myself some more. This guide is well-written and light-hearted, but yet imparts a lot of information and explains some of the science behind why our bodies react they way they do (but without being too technical!). Cute little guide, for sure, and most importantly, it emphasizes creating balance in everything in life, including nutrition!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but after reading Skinny Bitch I just couldn't get myself to eat the "healthy" meats or dairy products. But, if you enjoy meats and all of that stuff, you'll enjoy the book! Also, the supplements and "healthy" going-out choices are very helpful :)

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot and would have given it 4 starts but towards the end it became boring and the author kept repeating information. I also thought that her vitamin protocalls were not something that I would want to do unless I had a very persisant problem that I had tried easier treatment for aklready. I like her natural approach to problems though and her tips are great. The writing was fun because Blum is very funny and you feel like you are reading a letter from a friend!

[Cait · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first started this book I loved it but as I got further into reading it I realized it just wasn't for me. The author really promotes supplements, so much so that I kept imagining my room looking like a pharmacy. This book also seems to be more for meat eaters which didn't work for me because I'm vegetarian. It is written in a fun way though but I recommend, if anything, the book version bc although the kindle version was cheap it was very choppy.

[Riki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It has loads of great nutritional information all wrapped up in humor and good fun. Esther Blum has a light writing style that comes across like your best girlfriend giving you advice. Among the highlights...ways to avoid and then feel better after during a hangover. *ahem*

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but not great. Not beig one of the young single no-kids audience, I could have done with less hangover remedies and more focus on the food. It was interesting and it is full of all kinds of information. The tips on healthy eating are great, but I would never take all the supplements she recommends.

[Elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overly-enthusiastic prose, but Esther Blum really knows her stuff, breaking down the science of nutrition without dumbing it down. Just get past the high levels of pep and you'll find a lot of useful, interesting information.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few books provide such fun and valuable information from eating desserts, Preventing and recovering from hangovers (those wine ones are the absolute worse), recipes for great eats, beauty treatments...............etc! GREAT BOOK and a resource you will want to keep!

[Michelle Hugli]

I enjoyed every minute of Esther Blum's common-sense insight on nutrition and lifestyle. I would definitely recommend this read to all my girlfriends, clients and anyone struggling to find a healthy balance in real life.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick entertaining read. I thought it would be focused on just on diet but it covered a wide variety of topics and ailments and how to deal with them nutritionally.

This is a good book to have handy.

[Paola Piliado · Rating 1 out of 5]

At the end, is a nice reading about living and not caring. But its not an easy read. And even when it makes it sound easy, some of the advices are good but not that easy to follow. Still is an interesting read

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was offered as the daily special for my Nook, and it was 1.99. so why not? It's a cutesy book that tries to tell you what to eat and drink and what not. Most of it was common sense and nothing was mind blowing or live changing about it. Meh... it's was ok,I guess.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read for the health-conscious lady! I enjoyed it and learned a few new tips about healthy living. There was a bit too much talk about vitamin and mineral supplements to keep my interest throughout the book. Overall, I enjoyed it.

[Ellin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, informative book on how to take care of yourself but also leave some room for living it up in life. A small book that packs a lot of punch, and clarifies a lot of nutrition questions. Glad that it's written by a nutritionist and she makes it interesting.

[Ciara Ortiz]

still reading, i'll let you know.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

just browsed through it and it seems really good

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing left unsaid. A must-read for girls who like to have actual fun without paying for it...

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humorous voice of reason for women who like to live life.

[Suzanne]

This book is fun!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhh, more like eat, drink, and take umpteen crazy supplements several times a day. I'll pass.

[Megan Plourde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Straight forward-- easy and simple facts about what to eat and not, also provides information for every aspect of your life.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent quick-read with some helpful diet, drinking and anti-hangover tips, even though the tone was a bit wannabe Carrie Bradshaw for me.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read! Written in a real straight forward (hilarious) way. Loved it