life after 50, baby boomer women, boomer wellnessFrom cannabis to collagen, ketogenics to cauliflower, clean eating to happy food, mindfulness to more sleep — one thing is for sure, new wellness books and cookbooks to better your life were in abundance at the 2018 BookExpo America (BEA), held in May at New York’s Jacob Javits Center.

Last week, I shared upcoming novels and memoirs I discovered at BEA. This week, I’m focusing on new self-care titles. The following are some of the wellness themes I found trending as I walked the exhibition floor. Note some of the titles are not available until later this year or early 2019.

BookExpo America; wellness books

Wellness and self-care books and cookbooks were trending at the BEA 2018.

Happy Titles That Will Make You Smile

If someone asked me if I’d rather be happy than sad, the answer would undoubtedly be “happy.” I bet you would answer in the affirmative too? Who doesn’t want to be happy? For those who aren’t, you can read these new happiness books:

Short Cuts To Happiness

Who knew you can find happiness at the barber shop?

Short Cuts To Happiness, Life Changing Lessons From My Barber by Tal Ben-Shahar (This title made me laugh. Maybe I should buy it for my boyfriend L.)
100 Days Happier and The Happiness Code and The Daily Promise, 100 Ways To Feel Happy About Your Life were all written by Domonique Bertolucci (I sure hope Domonique is happy.)
Happy Food – Fast, Fresh, Simple Vegan by Bettina Campolucci Bordi
Draw and Be Happy by Tim Shaw
Spark Happiness (A box of prompts to cultivate joy.)

100 Days Happier

There are many ways to achieve happiness.

Stop, Breathe and Be Mindful

As a yoga and meditation instructor, I practice mindful living. When I get stressed out I remind myself to “stop, breathe, and be” in the moment. I studied Mindfulness Meditation about 10 years ago and since then it has become more and more popular as the world gets more and more stressful. That’s likely why there are so many books on the subject and related-subjects like yoga and the previously mentioned topic of happiness:

Walk; Mindfulness

Walking is a great way to practice mindfulness.

A Sloth’s Guide To Mindfulness by Ton Mak
Walk the Path To A More Mindful Life by Sholto Radford
A Little Book of Japanese Contentments by Erin Nimi Longhurst (Erin is a blogger at Erin Bell.)
The Joy of Doing Just Enough by Jennifer McCartney

Spark Happiness prompts; happiness

These cards with inspiring quotes spark happiness.

Lessons: My Path To A Meaningful Life by Gisele Bündchen (Gisele is a famous model and wife of Tom Brady.)
It’s Okay To Feel Things Deeply by Carissa Potter
 Morning Altars: A 7-Step Practice to Nourish Your Spirit through Nature, Art, and Ritual by Day Schildkret
Made Out of Stars – A Journal of Self-Realization by Meera Lee Patel

Made Out of Stars

Use this journal for self-realization.

The Accidental Yogini by Tracey L. Ulshafer (I can relate to how Tracey discovered her love of yoga.)
Goat Yoga by Ashley Hylebart and Shenanigoats Yoga (Sorry, not a fan of goat yoga.)
Let’s Play Yoga by Marcia de Luca and Lucia Barros (Yes, am a fan of yoga for kids.)

Get Your Sleep and If All Else Fails Try Cannabis

This group of books is for all my post-menopausal friends who don’t get enough sleep and who lie in bed night after night wide awake for hours on end. Sleep books are hot, hot, hot — everyone is searching for the magic answer on how to improve sleep, including me. If the mindfulness books don’t help, perhaps these books will:

Your Bed Loves You; improving sleep

Oh those sleepless nights!

This Book Will Put You To Sleep from Chronicle Books
Your Bed Loves You – The Healing Power of Sleep by Meredith Gaston
A Woman’s Guide To Cannabis by Nikki Furrer
Edibles – Small Bites for the Modern Cannabis Kitchen by Stephanie Hua and Coreen Carroll

A Woman's Guide To Cannibis

Is cannabis a cure for sleep?

The Dogist Puppies by Elias Weiss Friedman (Can’t sleep? Instead of counting sheep take a look at these adorable puppies.)
Sally’s Cookie Addiction by Sally McKenney (Give up on sleep? Why not bake some cookies?)
You Got This Shit
by Linus Boman (Or write in this badass journal.)

This Book Will Put You To Sleep

Ready to count sheep?

Beauty Inside and Out

With the population aging, it seems like beauty is going deeper than what you put on the surface of the skin. These books show that a holistic way of living can make a difference to overall health and potentially prevent disease:

The Collagen Glow

Good skin care is not just about what you put on top of your skin.

 The Collagen Glow – A Guide To Ingestible Skincare by Sally Kim
Whole Beauty by Shiva Rose
The Whole Body Microbiome by Brett Finlay, PhD. and Jennifer Finlay
Clean Enough by Katzie Guy-Hamilton

The Whole-Body Micro Biome

Healthy living is about the whole body.

500 Ketogenic Recipes by Dana Carpender (According to this cookbook, the ketogenic diet emphasizes high ratios of healthy fats, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate intake.)
Foundations of Flavor: The Noma Guide To Fermentation by Réne Redzepi and David Zilber (This is all about keeping your digestion beautiful with ways to make homemade miso, kombucha, and more fermented condiments.)
Sit Strong – Everyday Exercises To Stretch and Strengthen Your Posture by Harriet Griffey (I think good posture is so important as we get older. That’s why I practice yoga, with postures like Mountain pose.)

Whole Beauty by Shiva Rose

Beauty is more than skin deep.

Cookbooks To Help You Eat Your Veggies

Green Burgers – Creative Vegetarian Recipes for  Burgers & Sliders by Martin Nordin
Saladish by Lee Rosen
The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book by Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer
Season by Nik Sharma (This is by the award-winning food blogger, A Brown Table. It is not a vegetarian cookbook but has veggie recipes. OMG, I just looked at his blog. It’s amazing!)

The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Book

Are you a vegan? There are so many new veggie cookbooks.

Cauliflower by Oz Telem ( A veggie that is hot, hot, hot. I’ll be sharing more about all things cauliflower in my upcoming recap from the 2018 Specialty Fancy Food Show.)
Veggie Burger Atelier by Nina Olsson (Nina also includes recipes for buns, condiments and sweets to go along with your burgers.)
Estela by Ignacio Mattos (This James Beard Chef’s NYC restaurant Estela earned a spot as one of the World’s 50 Best. OMG, I want to go to Ignacio’s restaurant. The menu looks so good.)
Cook Like A Pro by Ina Garten (I’ve never made one of Ina’s recipes but several of my friends rave about her cooking.)

Cauliflower cookbook

There are so many ways to cook cauliflower.

Cheers to your health and well-being 

Judi