College students face a number of stigmas when they first leave home and start living on their own. From not having their parents nearby to help clean and answer questions to being responsible for their own cooking and cleaning, the move from High School to College can be a bit of shellshock for many teenagers. Nowhere is this more apparent than in their eating habits, where many college students experience a great deal of downward digression. The myth of the Freshman 15 is not only true, it has been found by more than one source to be understated, with the average college freshman gaining as much as 17 pounds in their first year of college. All of this can be avoided though with healthy cooking and an eye for good choices.

This book was written to provide every college student just learning to cook for themselves with viable, affordable alternatives to pizza and ramen. Every college student will learn the basics of what it is they need to be focusing on in their diets after leaving home. Starting with a basic discussion and introduction of nutrition and what the body needs on a daily basis, you will learn additionally which foods and nutrients are best for improving your mental acuity as well as your sleep each night. You will learn the importance of fluids and proper nightly sleep to supplement your diet and will be given a list of different ailments and problems that might develop should these issues be ignored or overlooked.

Health professionals and college life experts have been interviewed and have provided their insight into what foods and lifestyle changes can be made for college students to keep them as healthy as possible. You will learn the basics of the right ingredients, what you should always avoid and why the occasional meal out will not kill you. You will learn how to avoid gaining all that extra weight and finally some of the top recipes currently available for quick, healthy cooking and how you can use these, regardless of whether you are stuck in a dorm room or your parents’ basement. The key to healthy living for college students is in a good diet, and this book will provide everything you need to maintain that. #9781601383570 $24.95 

Wine has been a staple of tables around the world for more than 4,000 years and in that time has developed into one of the most widely recognized and highly cultivated beverages in nearly every civilization on earth. From the rice wines of Asia to the grape wines of Europe or honey wines of Africa, wine is enjoyed by billions. For that reason, many people seek out ways to make and enjoy their own wine from the comfort of their homes, growing their own grapes and experimenting with a wide array of ingredients to facilitate one of the world’s oldest domestic processes. Yet, without the right instruction and resources, wine making can result in just another pile of sour grapes.

This book walks every potential winemaker through every process necessary in creating and enjoying wine from the comfort of your own home. From the basics of distillation to the ingredients used, homemade wine can be on your table and wowing your guests in no time. You will learn all of the basics of home wine making, starting with the wide array of ingredients available to you, including grapes and berries. You will learn what all is required to start and operate a home winery and what you may be missing right now. The basic aspects of all red wines and white wines will be detailed for you, giving you every bit of information you need to fully understand how the body and bouquet of each wine is supposed to taste and feel. You will learn how the grapes are pressed and how long you must wait between the pressing, the addition of other ingredients, and the bottling of the wine.

For this book, more than a hundred wine makers, winery owners, and home wine experts were interviewed to gain a general overview of how wine making is done, with details about the difference between each wine, the right mixture of ingredients, the better wine taste, and the testing and trying of new things in each bottle. You will learn how to measure and affect the sulfur dioxide levels in your wine and ultimately how to take control of every aspect of your wines, from taste to dryness to odor and color. Everything you could possibly want to know about wine making and much more is presented in this complete guide for anyone with an eye for the hobby. #9781601383587 $24.95

For many years throughout the 20th Century, the conveniences of household cleaning items was such that no one asked where they came from or what they contained. Today, the consciousness of many consumers has started to advance due to ongoing environmental and economic concerns. For that reason, dozens of new products have developed on the market – from Simple Green to Seventh Generation. In addition to these green conscious products though, there are hundreds of ways you can change your house cleaning and maintenance to be eco-friendly, even making your own cleaning materials out of everyday items that have zero environmental impact.

This book will guide you through the process of both recognizing and utilizing the most advanced eco-friendly house cleaning technology around, as well as tried and true cleaning methods that have been around for centuries. You will learn all the necessities of green cleaning basics, starting with what your current cleaning products do to the environment, your home, and even your health. You will learn the necessary steps you need to take to transition your kitchen to green products as well as your bathroom, laundry, bedroom, and even the lights you use around your home. Learn how you can start using products that have been around for centuries and have since been forgotten in favor of dangerous chemicals. Learn what you can do to clean up after your pets efficiently and how to keep your children safe from chemicals. Learn which mixtures work, which ones are unsafe, and what resources you can check for additional details you may need. Dozens of experts on green cleaning have been interviewed for this book, providing everything needed by any individual who wants to start changing how they clean their home for good. #9781601383662 $24.95

The early years of any student’s life, those first elementary school years, can be incredibly overwhelming and stressful, resulting in a slew of emotional, behavioral, and study problems that they rely on their teacher to help overcome. As a first year elementary school teacher, your role is more than just knowledgeable teacher; it is to become a mentor, a friend, and an older figure for young children to look up to. This can be overwhelming, and along with all of the other issues that face first year teachers, it can result in high turnover rates and problematic issues.

This thorough, well research book has everything first-year teachers in elementary school need to learn how to deal with including supplies, planning, parents, overcrowded classrooms, the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, piles of paperwork, money shortages due to budget cuts, negativity from students and other staff members, at-risk students, students who are capable but choose not to work, and special needs students. You will learn how to ask principals and administrators for help, how to memorize names quickly, how to create seating charts, how to write lesson plans, how to follow a daily routine, how to help struggling readers, how to gain respect, how to get a mentor, how to develop and implement a grading system, how to discipline students, how to create assessments, how to find free things for teachers, and how to build your confidence. And of course, as a first year teacher to students learning how to interact with the world, you will learn how to converse with them on a mature level and help them overcome stresses and problems that they may face in life at school and at home.

Also, you will read about where to go for support, the reality of spending your own money on classroom supplies, mandated tests, technology solutions, and behavior management skills. We spent countless hours interviewing second year teachers, as well as veteran teachers, and have provided you with their proven techniques and strategies for surviving your first year as a teacher. This book will provide everything you need to effectively start teaching students that need a mentor, a teacher, and a friend at a young age and prepare you for your second year as you start becoming the inspiring force you always dreamed of being.  #9781601383372  $24.95

Starting a small scale farm is the dream of Americans young and old, from those who watched the majesty of the great western farm in films during their youth to those who spent their childhood actually working on a farm. However, for many of these individuals it is a matter of logistics and cost that keeps them from realizing their dreams. Raising beef cattle, ducks, rabbits, and any other small animals such as sheeps, goats, or chickens takes not only a decent amount of money to get started, but knowhow that doesn’t come in textbooks while in school.

This book was written with the intent of providing anyone who has ever wanted to start their own small scale farm the necessary resources and information needed to start raising small animals and cattle. You will learn everything you need to know to raise a wide variety of small animals. You will learn how to care for chickens, from choosing the right breed to raising them for egg production. You will learn how to handle geese and ducks, choosing the correct breeds, feeding, housing, breeding, and selecting the right ones for egg production. You will also learn about egg incubation, maintaining poultry health, and how raise them for meat. Other animals you will learn how to care for include rabbits, goats, sheep, dairy cows, and beef cattle.

Small farmers and animal experts have been interviewed in detail and their responses added to this book to provide additional insight into every aspect of raising farm animals. This includes details about how to purchase, house, feed, breed, record, and butcher animals of all types as well as how to gather milk, use goats and cows for maintaining your fields, and even keeping records of births and selling babies. Everything you might need to know about raising small animals for your farm is included in this guide to provide you the first steps to raising domesticated poultry and livestock.#9781601383754  $24.95

Since the earliest human civilizations in the west, milk has been gathered from domesticated animals such as the goat, sheep, and cow to create a wide variety of high protein and tasty foods including cheese, butter, and yogurt. With more than 3,000 kinds of cheese registered to the FDA and dozens of different recipes for butter and yogurt available, many people see great opportunities both to save money and to make a little profit in creating their own milk based products. The secret to making these products all lies in the recipes you have and the steps you take though.

This book was written to provide every prospective cheese, butter, or yogurt maker the tools they need to prepare, create, and enjoy their favorite dairy products from the comfort of their home. You will learn everything you need to know about the various dairy products found in cheeses, butter, and yogurt to start creating your own at-home dairy goods. You will learn which ingredients are used for these assorted dairy products and what at-home equipment you will need to start benefiting from your own recipes. You will learn how to clean and care for your equipment, making sure everything remains sanitary and that your dairy products are always safe. You will learn the myriad of basic techniques necessary to understand the dairy product process, starting with raw milk and continuing until you make any number of soft, hard, or Italian cheeses.

Dozens of top cheese makers and home dairy aficionados have been interviewed for this book and provided their experiences with dairy products. You will learn from them and this book the basics of creating queso blanco, fromage blanc, ricotta, feta, cheddar, gouda, Monterey jack, mozzarella, parmesan, and many other cheeses in addition to sour cream, yogurt, and butter. For anyone with a desire to start experimenting with dairy products at home, this book is the ideal starting point. #9781601383556 $24.95

The average wedding in 2006, according to Bride Magazine, cost more than $10,000 and took more than 90 days to plan. Just seeing that statistic can be daunting and enough to leave many soon-to-be-married couples holding their breath in anticipation of what could be a long, expensive, and very stressful process. However, it doesn’t need to be so stressful; if only you have the right resources at your fingertips, plan properly, and are ready for just about everything you can imagine, wedding planning can become a much easier, much more relaxed process that both the bride and groom can fully enjoy, the way it was meant to be.

This book was written for every bride and groom out there who has woken up more than two months from their wedding in a cold sweat wondering if there is anything else they could have possibly forgotten. You will learn how to start the entire process off on a good foot in telling the family and finishing the engagement process. Ring selection, engagement parties, and the expectations of family and friends should be your first priority before starting anything else and will be covered first in this book. You will then start the process of wedding planning by setting budget parameters, laying out who will be paying for what, and creating guest lists early on for ease of seating, catering, and further planning. You will learn how to compromise and not expect everything to be done your way when there are so many other people involved, but to still be happy with the end result.

Wedding planners and successfully married couples have been interviewed and their stories have been included to provide you insight into the world of the planning from start to finish. You will learn how to develop a successful wedding plan and how to decide if you need professional help or not. You will learn the ins and outs of choosing a religious or civil service and how to finalize and set the date. Everything you need for your big day will be laid out in a detailed checklist including transportation, locations, reception options, catering, protocol, photography, guest services, the dress, the groom’s tux, the rings, the gifts, the cake, the best man and maid of honor, and ultimately the honeymoon. For every freshly engaged couple preparing for their big day, this book will be a guiding force in helping you set and establish your wedding plan and checklist. #9781601384096 $24.95 

Children’s books are a very special medium that have introduced millions of young people to the joys of reading. Everyone from single moms to top celebrities have penned bestsellers promoting the virtues and values that children need to learn at a young age to lead happy, healthy lives. There are many different ways that a children’s book can be written, from the simplest rhyming picture books to more involved novella stories. Whatever your story may be, publishing it is well within your grasp.

This book provides a complete overview of everything a prospective children’s writer needs to complete and publish their own children’s book. You will start by learning how to recognize the market and style of the book you have written and adjust your book if necessary to fit a specific market where it will be easier to publish. You will learn the basics of the children’s book publishing industry and how it is fundamentally different from that of the regular publishing industry. You will learn how to choose the right publisher or print on demand option for your book and how to start preparing the package, with special consideration for illustrations and other aspects of your book that might change the overall presentation.

Top publishers and writers in the children’s book industry were interviewed and have lent their expertise to this book to provide an overview of everything that is needed in the process. You will learn what morals and values publishers and readers look for in good children’s books and what you should expect in a publication deal. You will learn how to handle your editor, what to expect in revisions, and how to go about the process of selling your book. You will learn how to gain publicity on your own and what you can do to build your book into a long term career. For anyone that has ever written or is considering writing their own children’s book, this book will provide the information and resources you need to get it published. #9781601384072 $24.95