What to Eat: Food that’s good for your health, pocket and plate

by Joanna Blythman

Covering all our pressing food dilemmas, the award-winning food writer leads the way to sensible and practical choices about what to eat.

Food should be one of life's greatest pleasures, yet increasingly, the choices facing consumers have become increasingly problematic. As well as having to think about what food may, or may not, be doing to you and yours, twenty-first century eaters have to think about what impact the food we eat is having on the environment, farm animals and food producers, both in far away places and back home. Globally, the world is running low on food and water, so we can no longer rely on a steady supply of cheap food. Meanwhile on the home front, many of us are watching our money like never before.

Armed with this comprehensive, easy-to-navigate reference book which covers all common types of food, you can simplify your food choices, be aware of environmental and food security issues and quickly identify the best and most ethical food to eat.

Answering the most frequently asked questions such as 'Is farmed fish better than wild?'; 'Is red meat bad for you?'; 'Could GM food feed the world?'; 'Is it better to drink bottled or tap water?'; 'Is saturated fat really so bad for me?' and 'Are organic foods really worth the extra expense?', Blythman will help you choose what to eat, guiding you to everything you need to know to eat well.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Health, Food and Drink

515 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Joanna Blythman is a leading Scottish investigative food journalist and writer. She has won five Glenfiddich Awards for her writing, and, in 2004, won the prestigious Derek Cooper Award, one of BBC Radio 4’s Food and Farming Awards. She contributes regularly to Observer Food Monthly, among other newspapers and magazines, and frequently broadcasts on food issues.

Reviews

[Louise Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly one of the best books on food I've read (and I've read quite a few). Blythman speaks so much sense, a real balance of charm and practicality. I feel a much better equipped shopper and eater.

I'd put it up there next to Michael Pollen's In Defence of Food.

[Ed]

People read for different reasons, and I picked this book up with the intention to effect some dietary improvements into my life and have been reading it.

One doesn't necessarily anticipate to enjoy books that they might have started for this purpose alone, and even though it's not the most compelling thing I've read in a while, I must admit it's both a lively and informative read.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is certainly a bit outdated by now, mentioning regulations coming into effect soon, which was over 10 years ago. As nutrition is a fairly quickly evolving science, parts of it may now be not so accurate anymore, with emerging evidence from 15 years back can easily be counter-evidenced. However, the core ideas stand to eat less processed and more real foods.

[Maria Gabriella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook for me, although I have the paperback version too, and I'm glad I got that too!
This is not a book that could be easily read in one go, as it is more like one you want to check out a specific food. As an Italian who was brought up in a household where everything was cooked from scratch, it is a no brainer to me that the less processed food we eat, the better it is for everyone. Still, after living for many years abroad, it is easy to lapse at times, and purchase processed rubbish, just because it is readily available in the supermarkets, or because I'm travelling and need to rely on the display in the shops. When I was younger and living in Italy, if I wasn't at home and was hungry, I could always walk into a shop that sold a bit of everything: food, packed pasta, soap, laundry powder, bread, cheeses, and cold cured meats. The lady or man behind the counter would prepare bread rolls filled with your choice of cured meat/salami/ham or cheese, or both, wrap it in a piece of oiled paper and you were set. No water in bottles to be bought, but the city was full of small fountains where one could drink from.
While that particular shop near my home is no longer there, you can still order a roll to take with you in many italian Delicatessen shops. The difference between them and, let's say, a Subway, is that they use real bread and proper cheeses/meats.
Anyway, the book gives not just the time of the year when one should buy a certain produce (which, obviously, will be the time the item is in season) but also their environmental qualities, and gives ideas to those who are not familiar with them on how to cook or prepare them.
Thumbs up for me!

[Emma K Meades · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant - this will become a bible in our house

So informative and interesting. Gives details of how foods are produced and which ones to embrace or avoid. I now have a list of foods which I know I can continue to eat if I switch to organic, a list to avoid and a list to carry on with.

[Sharon Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of useful information in an easily read format to help you make better choices when you buy food. I got this from the library but I'm going to buy my own copy to keep as a reference guide.