 Really useful information. |
| Review Date: June 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. Webb, |
| This is a really useful book that has a lot of really good information in it. I find myself constantly referring to it whenever I'm about to go grocery shopping. It really helps to have a guide like to this to make healthy choices especially when it comes to "convenient" prepackaged foods. Another book I enjoyed is Goodbye, Fatty! Hello, Skinny! How I Lost Weight And Still Ate The Foods I Loved-Without Dieting. I read all sorts of books on calorie counting and weight loss and think anyting that informs or encourages is a benefit. |
The nonfiction book of the year?
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| Review Date: January 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Julie Neal, Sanibel Island, Fla. |
I know, that sounds like a wild claim. And I'm surprised I wrote it.
I own both of the previous Eat This Not That books (Thousands of Simple Food Swaps, For Kids!), so when I noticed this one was about to come out I decided to skip it. What more could it offer than what was already in the other two?
Then, tonight, I went shopping for food with my teenage daughter at Target. We spotted this in the little book section and, at her urging, picked it up and glanced through it.
What a great book! So helpful! So useful! Yes, if it keeps my husband healthy and my daughter enthused about nutrition, it gets my vote as best nonfiction book this year. I read about every day, and no book has struck me as a Must Buy as much as this one.
The reason? Since the book is entirely about food at supermarkets, every item on every page is something readily accessible to you. And since every item is captioned with its relevant nutritional information, it's like having the "Nutrition Facts" panel of every major item at your grocery store right there in your purse, in a little book that is so well designed and organized it is remarkably easy to use.
By comparison, the earlier titles had less detailed grocery sections, as well as lots of stuff about fast food chains and table-service franchise restaurants, material that is useful only if you frequent those particular places.
In this book, every page has valuable content for anyone who shops at a supermarket -- so much, in fact, it's tough to determine just what to highlight in this review. Every time I flip through the book I come across useful, surprising information. For example, right now I'll randomly open it a few times and learn why....
1) Fruit Loops are better for you than Apple Cinnamon Cheerios...
2) Regular Cheerios is a better choice than Smart Start...
3) Regular Quick 1 minute Quaker Oats is healthier than Quaker's Simple Harvest Multigrain hot cereal...
4) Dole pineapple cups are more nutritious than Dole mixed fruit cups...
5) Del Monte pear halves beat Del Monte sliced pears...
I could go on forever.
By the way, not all the pages are side-by-side product comparisons. One spread, titled "The Meat Matrix," compares the nutritional value of a variety of meats, everything from pork to ostrich. Another, "The Perfect Refrigerator," displays a perfectly stocked healthy fridge. My daughter was especially interested in a spread titled "The Snack Matrix," which shows which combination of snack items (fruit, peanut butter, cottage cheese) mix well together for both nutrition and taste. Another section discusses how to store fresh fruit and produce and explains why fresh food is better for you.
Until now, I have never used the phrase "book of the year" in any of my Amazon reviews. But this one, at least for nonfiction, just might live up to that claim. |
A very cool shopping guide!
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| Review Date: January 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Steven A. Peterson, Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL) |
The introduction places this delightful work in context (Page vii): "It can be a place of wonder and excitement. . . . But it can also be a place of great danger, where marketing ploys, and outright lies can rob you of your fitness, your health, your vitality. . . . I'm talking, of course, about the American supermarket."
To summarize: This is a book that helps readers shop smarter. It notes for different classes of food (from candy to snacks to cereals and on and on) the ones that are most and least damaging, in terms of calories, fat, and sodium. A brief one line analysis generally accompanies each set of data on each product.
Examples of this part of the book. For instance, pages 176-177 feature corn chips. The conclusion, if one chooses to get some corn chips, is to purchase and eat products like Snyder's of Hanover Multigrain (130 calories, 5 grams of fat [0 grams of saturated fat], 110 milligrams of sodium) and not those like Frito's Original Corn Chips (160 calories, 10 grams of fat [1.5 grams of saturated fat], and 160 mg of sodium). Or take frozen pizzas, if you must. Think in terms of buying Palermo's Primo Thin Margherita (260 calories, 12 grams of fat [5 grams of which is saturated], and 520 mg of sodium)--not DiGiorno's Traditional Crust Pepperoni (770 calories, 35 grams of fat [14 grams saturated], and 1430 mg of sodium). Some of the comparisons as those above are quite stunning, and suggest that doing some decision-making at the store can have nutritional consequences.
Some interesting features--Survival guide for supermarket tips (pages 2-9), including a depressing check of stated calories per serving on the package and what the book says are the real calories per serving. the 20 worst packaged foods for a person in the country (e.g., Haagen-Dazs chocolate peanut butter ice cream; the book suggests purchasing Edy's slow churned peanut butter cup ice cream instead), tips on which produce to purchase for nutritional kick, "making sense of meat," tips on snacking, and so on.
But, in the final analysis, it is the tips on which are the best and which the worst, in terms of nutrition, products in a variety of food categories. This book provides a nice service along those lines. I had thought that this would not be particularly useful when I ordered it (one look at the wild and wacky cover illustrates one reason for my pessimism), but I am happy to say that my doubts were not realized.
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A Lifesaver!
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| Review Date: March 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: C. Hickman, Canby, OR |
| It's amazing how you can lose weight without even dieting simply by eating things you like. I thought I was eating right on a lot of foods. Simple things like yogurts and cereals that turned out to be so high in sugars and I would have never known had I not read this book. I have changed so many things and never even noticed a difference in the taste. I've bought this book for every family member. It is so worth it. It teaches you what the wording on packages "really" means and how not to get suckered into creative marketing ploys. This is a must have for everyone! |
Clear out your Fridge and Pantry and let's go Shopping!
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| Review Date: January 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: JC, Buffalo NY |
| Fantastic! A simple easy to use guide. Just flip through the pages and be amazed at the easy substitutions you can make to shed pounds with little effort. Truely informative. Read it with pen and paper handy to create your shopping list! Be amazed and suprised by the food myths brought to light and busted! Pat youself on the back when you notice a "good" food alternative that you already eat. Hang you head in shame when you see a favorite food berated as fodder. Check out the Author's ABs series as well as the original eat this not that, especially if your into fast food. |
Indispensable Guide for the Health Minded Grocery Shopper
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| Review Date: August 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Cynthia Danute Cekauskas, LCSW, Savannah, Georgia |
When I think about grocery shopping in the United States, I cannot help but recall the scene in the old movie Moscow On The Hudson when Robin Williams character is instructed to go shop for coffee in the local market. Having been used to rationing in the Soviet Union he has not been exposed to the variety of food product available to him in the United States. Overwhelmed he keeps saying "Coffee, coffee, coffee" then passes out not being able to make what appears to him a most complex decision at the time.
It is not too much unlike that grocery shopping in the United States today. You come into a supermarket bulging with products all very colorfully marketed making sometimes unfounded claims as to their health benefits. It is wise, therefore, to come armed with the knowledge that what one buys IS really healthy for them not something a marketer told them to get them to buy their goods. This IS the proverbial SUPERMARKET SURVIVAL GUIDE one should read before entering a store and keeping handy while still in the store.
The book starts with Chapter 1 "Getting to Know and Love the Supermarket." Within that chapter the author lists 11 Secrets the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know and the 20 Worst Packaged Foods in America. It is helpful to know, for starters, what kind of food one should consider junk before going on to food shopping for healthy products. Chapter 2 "The Produce Aisle" is simply lovely. It talks about Mastering the Produce Aisle then lists over 40 types of produce from how to pick the best (PERFECT PICK) to PEAK SEASON, how to preserve and store the produce item at home (HANDLE WITH CARE) and what is healthy about the item to begin with (THE PAYOFF). There is even a Salad Bar Survival Guide and a Your Organic Primer. Finally Chapter 3 "The Meat and Fish Counters" having to do with building a leaner body with fresh protein that really packs a punch. In this section the author includes a list of different kinds of fish, their Omega 3 count, protein grams, contaminant content and environmental friendliness. There is a similar chart entitled The Meat Matrix describing proten-to-fat ratio.
Chapter 4 "The Refrigerator" instructs on how best to use the book and then begins the EAT THIS, NOT THAT comparisons with Deli Meats. I love that these sections include photographs of food products all in full color. You are enabled to easily pick out what you want to buy this way. The author meticulously lists the calorie counts, fat grams and sodium contents of all products compared. In the Grains section he lists the grams of fiber included within the product. Chapter 5 "Pantry Staples" in the Pantry Label Decoder reminds you to read package labels.
Of course the author does not ignore the fact that many individuals have a sweet tooth and would like to indulge in products that do not leave them excessively guilt ridden. He addresses this in Chapter 6 "Snacks and Sweets" even to the point of listing what would be considered the lesser of two evils when buying Corn Chips, Potato Chips, Dips, Granola, Cookies, Snack Cakes, Candy and Chocolate.
Understanding that the modern day grocery shopper tends to indulge in frozen convenience foods the author addresses this in Chapter 7 "The Freezer Section". He advises on the healthier Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Frozen Pasta, Frozen Fish, Frozen Beef and Chicken Entrees and Frozen Meatless Entrees/Meat Substitutes.
Chapter 8 warns to "Think Before You Drink" listing The Worse Beverages in the Supermarket even including a section on the healthier beer to drink and mixers to use in alcoholic beverages.
The book concludes with Chapter 9 "Your Save-Money Shopping Guide". (Who hasn't heard oftentimes the dieter complaining that eating healthy is just too expensive?)
All in all this is a GREAT book I would highly recommend to help one eat healthy keeping their weight under control, their cholesterol levels healthy and blood suger within normal limits. I remember a trainer telling someone who was having trouble losing weight by exercise alone that that was was only 30 % of the solution. Nutritious eating is vital and this book can help you immensely in that regard. |
I will never go to the grocery store without this
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| Review Date: January 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Angela Bright, Pocono Pines, PA United States |
If you enjoyed the last Eat This, Not That then wait till you get your hands on this one. The last guide was great, but when you don't eat out often there are only so many times you can use it. Everyone goes to the grocery store so the information in this guide is indispensable.
It's amazing the items you will find on the Not That side. Many of which, seem like they would be the healthy choice. Not so! The Barilla Plus pasta I was so thrilled to have switched to? On the Not That side. You'll also find many wheat breads, "healthy" cereals, granola bars, etc...
It would be hard for me to say enough great things about this book. My girlfriend and I LOVE it and we will never again go shopping without it. It plainly helps you see what you should be getting and all the things that need to be avoided.
This is a guide real people can use. We all like to indulge and have our treats, but do we have to waste 400 calories on mint chocolate chip when there is another non diet brand for 150? It just makes sense.
My favorite features include: The salad bar decoder, The fruit/veggie guide and the sandwich maker. Somehow they make mayo sound like a disgusting addition to a great hoagie when before it was what I always used.
My only complaint is the meat decoder matrix thing. I can't quite understand what those ratings mean. (If you know please feel free to leave a comment. I would much appreciate it.) Also I was a little sad seeing the rabbit listed as a great protein when I have two live rabbits hoping around me. Then, that is just personal opinion and people have the right to eat what they want. Neither of those things effect the 5 star rating for me though.
This book is endlessly fascinating. I keep picking it up and exclaiming things to my other half and she does the same whenever she picks it up. This guide is going to have a very positive effect on what we eat and how we shop. |
Puts the "super" back in "supermarket"
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| Review Date: December 30, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Mary, Kansas City, MO |
| To the average American trying to lose weight, the supermarket can be a scary place. I usually dread my weekly trip there, thanks to the temptations in every aisle and the hours I seem to spend perusing overwhelming nutrition facts. But the "Eat This, Not That" guys have officially taken the guess-work (and the candy-aisle scariness!) out of grocery shopping. The easy-to-digest spreads with colorful photos and info boxes make decisions simple so you can feed your family the right stuff. I just bought this book and, for the first time, I'm excited about my next trip to the supermarket! |
This book will change the way you look at food
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| Review Date: January 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Robert G Yokoyama, Mililani, Hawaii |
| This book will change the way you shop, eat and drink. This book has many colorful pictures to look at. The authors select the best and worst picks for 125 categories of food. There are best and worst picks for cereal and even jarred vegetables. I never knew that Quaker natural Granola, Oates, Honey and Raisins has a whopping 420 calories and 30 grams of sugar. These editors from Men's Health magazine expose food and food secrets like no other. I never knew that something as healthy as V8 peach mango splash has 80 calories and only 10 percent juice. The biggest secret I learned is that the leanest cuts of meat often have the most sodium. Chicken and turkey are often injected with a liquid solution to dry them out. This solution contains a lot of salt. I also never knew that the sweetener Aspartame can be dangerous. It can cause headaches and may even cause brain tumors. Aspartame can be found in diet sodas that are often thought as healthy. I already knew that long lines make a person buy more in the supermarket. This is not a secret, but it is interesting to read. I learned that a Bloody Mary is the the healthiest cocktail, because I can get my vegetable needs in one drink. This book is an eye opener. |
Great resource!
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| Review Date: January 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Alison, PA |
This book was a real eye opener for me. There were foods I was eating because I thought they were good for me (the labels were convincing) and foods I stayed away from because I assumed they were bad only to find out I was wrong on both counts. This book isn't a diet book per se, but more of a guide to making better choices - you're going to eat a snack anyway, so try this one instead of that one.
I took this book to work and shared it with my co-workers and a number of them went out and bought it as well. This book really takes the guess work out of eating. |
A HOUSEHOLD MUST HAVE!
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| Review Date: January 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Blayne Levin, MA, USA |
| Eat This, Not That Supermarket Survival Guide is such a beneficial book. I am always a little overwhelmed by all the choices in the supermarket. This book not only shows you which products are better, it shows you "Perfect" refrigerators, freezers, spice racks, pantry etc. Every section of this book was informative as well as entertaining! If you are someone who is watching their weight or dieting, this book is the perfect tool to show you better options. I learned a lot of new things about some of the items I THOUGHT were healthy. I won't go grocery shopping without this little jewel again! :) |
Secrets of the Food Industry--You May Just Be Shocked!
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| Review Date: January 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kelly J. Jadon, Florida |
From: www.BasilAndSpice.com
Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life!
Book Review: Eat This>>Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution (Rodale, 2009) by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding
Look at the cover of this best seller. Will you choose Haagen-Dazs Mint Chip (300 calories/ 19g fat) or Breyers All Natural Mint Chocolate Chip (150 calories/ 8g fat) ice cream? Is it really all about the choices we make that reduces our waistlines? In part, yes. The other components of weight loss involve exercise and a positive mental attitude.
Eat This>Not That for the supermarket claims to be "The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution." Tied with a reduction of poor emotional eating habits, the idea of NOT dieting to achieve weight loss, is the next new "thing" in the dieting world. The question is, "Do you believe this?"
Authors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding would have you believe their theory. They are also the authors of two other best sellers, Eat This>>Not That! (loved by my teenage son) and Eat This>>Not That! For Kids.
To Zinczenko and Goulding, the supermarket is a dangerous place--filled with forbidden foods, sold to you with fancy marketing techniques. "The supersizing of the American diet has affected all of our foods, and nowhere is that more apparent than at the supermarket." We, the consumers, are not to blame for our enlarging bodies. Rather, the fault lies with the eye-appealing packaging of food products and the cheap cost of unhealthy foods.
Zinczenko and Goulding write that Americans spend about $542 million on health and fitness books (This must include their series of books.), $18.5 billion on health club memberships, and $5.2 billion on diet foods and weight loss programs yearly. Their bottom line is this, "The food we consume today is simply different from the food that Americans ate 20 or 30 years ago." Backed up with research, Eat This>>Not That provides plenty of ammo points:
* Extra calories have been added to traditional foods. Ex. High fructose corn syrup
* Food products have been supersized. We've come to expect this at our meals. Are we brainwashed?
* Food products now include harmful ingredients. Ex. Trans fat
* Fruits and vegetables are at a reduced nutritional quality. Farming practices are cited as the modern day culprit.
* Meats are different. Today's chicken is higher in fat than it is in protein.
* Drinks include additives and extra calories. I personally recommend water--add a slice of lemon.
* Unknown ingredients have been added to foods. "There are now more than 3,000 ingredients on the FDA's list of `safe' food additives..."
Eat This>>Not That includes quite a bit of data, lists, and hints:
* 5 cheap eats you can't beat
* Exposure of false claims
* 20 worst packaged foods--ex. Eggo Original Syrup is named the worst condiment. ΒΌ cup is 240 calories and 40 grams of sugar. Use 100% maple syrup if you must flavor your pancakes.
* Hints for choosing the best produce and getting your kids to eat it.
* A salad bar survival guide
* Pointers for choosing poultry, fish, and other meats
* Food additive glossary
* Shop once, eat for a week grocery list and recipes
* 6 rules on how to shop--Stick with the perimeter walls of the store. View the top and lower shelves.
* 11 secrets the food industry doesn't want you to know. This is really an intriguing section. Did you know that canned pineapple may contain up to 20% moldy fruit? And, "Land O'Lakes doesn't want you to know that there's no such thing as `Fat-Free' Half-And-Half."
As our world changes, so does our food supply, leaving us wondering about what we really should be putting into our mouths. This is a book for the college student, those trying to eat more healthily, the teenager, and even the more experienced shopper who can always learn a new trick.
It is obvious that hours and hours of research and lab-testing have gone into the preparation of Eat This>>Not That! Though a follow-up book isn't always as good a work as the first in a series, Eat This>>Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide is a superior book, incorporating more relevant content for consumers across the country. I recommend Eat This>>Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide.
5 Stars |
Great weight and nutrition guide!
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| Review Date: January 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: L. Steiner, nj |
| Much work is obviously put into each of the Eat This, Not That guides, and this is the best one. There is so much information on products we all buy in the supermarket, and this makes it so easy to pick the items with the fewest calories. It also lists other information needed to help us make decisions on brands that provide the best nutrition. I use it to plan my shopping trip, matching sales and coupons to the items they recommend. This saves lots of time in the aisles, reading each box or wrapper to make the best choice. The difference in calories among similar types of products is eye-opening, and these choices allow you to save calories while enjoying a wide variety of foods. There is other great information, such as the nutritional value of different types of meat and lots of suggestions for stocking your kitchen. it is set up in a way that makes it easy to access the information you want, as opposed to many general nutrition books that do not discuss individual products. Everyone can find something in this guide that will help them make better grocery decisions, and I highly recommend it to all. |
Change your food buying equation from "Buy This, Not That" to "Eat This, Not That"
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| Review Date: January 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Randy Burge, Santa Fe, New Mexico USA |
For starters, any book that explains how to stock a pantry sensibly in our time constrained world deserves five gold stars and a place on my bookshelf, or kitchen counter in this case. Eat This, Not That does this and so much more.
I have long stood in grocery aisles trying to discern the chem-lab labeling for the can in my hand. This book puts real purchasing and health powers into your shopping equation - for you. I dare say the book makes the money in your wallet greener and healthier to buy food with at the emporium.
Frankly, the food and grocery companies have the total advantage over shoppers. They spend hundreds of billions of dollars each year to convince us to Buy This, Not That - based on their bottom lines not your waist line. This book helps the consumer balance the equation with shopping-carts full of nutritious facts and recommendations.
The food companies put additives of unknown origins/purposes into our food, ostensibly to preserve its shelf life, artificially enhance its coloring or flavor, prevent congealing, and a hundred other reasons not necessarily good to eat.
How do we know what is good for us? Is the label pretty? Do we remember the ad? Do we buy it because our mothers bought it (and who admits to questioning their mothers)? Cheaper or more expensive pricing/branding campaigns are gimmicks and don't necessarily give us healthy.
Arm yourself with Eat This, Not That. The grocery aisles are stocked against us. This book helps us win the Food Wars. |
Buy This Not That
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| Review Date: February 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Shannon E. Walker, |
| I bought all three of the books in this series of 'Eat This Not That' and love them. They are so informative and applicable. As a health-conscious consumer it has opened my eyes to much more than I thought I already knew. It is a great conversation piece too! My husband and I share some of the information in them with others and they can't believe it but labels don't lie. There are some discrepencies between books but regardless the message is the same about making wise choices. |
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