Good Enough to Eat

by Stacey Ballis

The last thing Melanie expected to lose when she went on a diet was her husband.

Former lawyer Melanie Hoffman lost half her body weight and opened a gourmet take-out café specializing in healthy and delicious food. Then her husband left her—for a woman twice her size. Immediately afterwards, she's blindsided by a financial crisis. Melanie reaches out to a quirky roommate with a ton of baggage and becomes involved in a budding romance with a local documentary filmmaker.

In this warm and often laugh-out-loud novel, Melanie discovers that she still has a lot to learn about her friends, her relationships with men, and herself—and that her weight loss was just the beginning of an amazing journey that will transform her life from the inside out.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Foodie, Food, Book Club, Contemporary

308 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2010

Reviews

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I felt like a lot of the dialogue was forced and more proper than people actually speak and i found that rather jarring. While I liked the overall idea of the plotline, it fell rather flat. Some of the characters felt a little forced and all of Kai's nicknames for Mel? Just didn't fit at all with either of their personalities, at least to me.

[Kris Irvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I started this book loving it. I love Melanie, and the characters, and the whole idea of Mel's business.

But then it started getting all language-y, and a little too rated R in the bedroom, and then the ending was like, what was that? Was that an ending? That was a crappy ending.

So what I am saying in this intensely badly written review is, I wish this book had been cleaner, and ended more solidly. If for those things, it would have been a 5 star review. Alas, 2 stars it is.

[Angela C · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, the first half of this book was much better than the second half. Towards the end, I just wanted it to be over with already. Cheesy dialogue at times. Do grown men actually say, "now, scoot"? Unsatisfying ending. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

[Obsidian · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all a disappointment. I was expecting to read a romance/chick lit type book and it was all over the place. The hero in this one (Nate) really sucked. And the heroine (Melanie) wasn't great either. Other reviewers complained about the constant speech making by everyone involved and I have to agree. Real people do not speak like this. Ballis definitely knows her way around a stove though. The recipes that she included sounded awesome and were honestly the only reason why I gave this one 3 stars.

"Good Enough to Eat" follows former lawyer Melanie who is now a gourmet chef. She cooks healthy food after finally dieting and exercising her way to a healthier weight. Now she's dealing with being single after her ex-husband leaves her for her former boss (who is heavier than Melanie used to be). Melanie is trying to figure out how to get her life together due to money issues and comes across a younger woman (Nadia) who she ends up employing and living with who has secrets of her own. Melanie meets a new guy (Nate) who honestly is the type of guy that would write into Reddit's Am I The Asshole (AITA) thread and act as if he did nothing wrong and wonders why women are so emotional.

I initially found Melanie to be pretty interesting, but after a while I got tired of her. I just lost 12 pounds (and counting) and have been exercising about 5 days a week. I somehow have managed to be around normal food and people eating fried things and drinking and have not turned into a self righteous ass. Melanie is obsessed with food and her going on about calories and wanting to eat a vat of mashed potatoes honestly started driving me up the wall. She seems to need a therapist badly and is using her nutritionist, her friends, her sister, and even Nate to be that for her. The character is set up to be constantly second guessing herself. It doesn't help that she looks down upon other people a lot (see Nadia) and I just didn't get why anyone acted like she was this really good friend. I have enemies I am on better terms with.

Nate, the love interest, just sucked. He's an investigator/documentary/director person. Yeah, I am not looking that back up. He starts seeing Melanie and honestly his family sounds better than he is. He's self-absorbed and judgmental as hell. He and Melanie snark on Nadia and her relationship with her boyfriend. They honestly should work romance wise since they are both kind of nasty at times, but Melanie draws the line when Nate does something that directly affects Nadia. I mean not enough to stop seeing his terrible ass though.

I honestly wish that the book had focused more on Nadia. She's more mature than Melanie and doesn't judge people based on outward appearances. Her backstory will break your heart and I wonder if Ballis has ever followed up on her in her subsequent books.

The other secondary characters talk like cliches (see Kai).

The writing could have worked I think if it had focused more on Melanie's weight loss journey and subsequent single life. I think following her post that just didn't work since she has a lot of other issues she needs to work through as well. The recipes starting each chapter (almost I think) were really cool. I liked the memories behind things that Melanie was sharing with readers. I eat certain things and they remind me of my mother (spaghetti, lasagna, beef stroganoff, fried chicken, and cake).

The flow doesn't really work though. I think that Ballis is trying to make the book be about whether Melanie and Nate are ready for the next steps in their relationship, but it's ultimately about Melanie and what she wants next. It doesn't follow a typical romance/chick lit plot with the girl meeting boy, having misunderstanding, and then HEA for the two of them.

The book takes place in Chicago (I believe Ballis's hometown or current hometown at any rate) and I don't get a really good sense of the city like I have in her other works.

The book ends on July 4th, which I guess was symbolically supposed to be about Melanie's independence.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but it ended a bit abruptly. I wasn’t quite ready, the rest of the book was recipes.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

When one reads the description of a book on the back or the inside flap, you get certain expectations. There are some books that make me REALLY excited to read them, and others that leave me lukewarm. And it's absolutely impossible to tell how a book will turn out other than simply reading it. That being said, what drew me to this book was the fact that the main character had lost a lot of weight, just like myself. Melanie was married to a thin guy, Andrew. She was fat. Then she lost weight, and found out that Andrew was having an affair with a heavy girl. So she decides to open a healthy food store. Yet....this book was chick lit sadly. I hoped for a deeper plot, instead I got a very slow developing one, with little or no shocking disclosures or incidents. It left me hungry for more. I liked the receipes at the end of this book, but I wouldn't recommend this book to most people, sadly.

[Susan • BryantParkBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. However, I felt it ended very abruptly and with no real finish. I would have expected a better ending.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice plot idea and sympathetic main character, however the dialogue started to bother me almost immediately. The author used no contractions at all, and that's simply not how people talk. Also, most of the secondary characters are not particularly well-developed, their backstories are only sometimes believable, and some are downright stereotypical. Also, the ending comes abruptly and was not satisfying.

[Cynthia (Bingeing On Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had so many hopes for this book. Melanie is a former fat girl who lost her husband to another woman (a fat one) after she lost a bunch of weight. Then she decides to open a healthy eating store. I think part of what saved this book was the food . . . all the glorious food!! Every single chapter had a food name or a dish as the title and it talked about a childhood memory that Melanie had regarding that food. And oh man, the descriptions of the food throughout the book were glorious. It made me so hungry and it made me wish that Melanie was a real person so she could be my personal chef and cook healthy for me all the time. There were even recipes at the end of the book! The recipes were for every dish that had a chapter title and there were both healthy and decadent versions of the recipes. Mmm . . . yummy!

So back to the story . . . I enjoyed it at first. I thought Melanie was a really relatable character. I am still overweight and I have just as many issues with food as Melanie does. Like me, Melanie is addicted to food and is struggling to find a balance between satisfying her cravings and treating her body right. I know from personal experience that this is so hard. I absolutely loved her nutritionist and kind of wish she had been featured more. Melanie only had phone consultations with her, but she was super supportive and completely nonjudgmental. I loved the nutritionist's opinion of food: there is no bad food and everything is fine in moderation! And can I please get a nutritionist who will give me a homework assignment to eat cupcakes please?

I also loved the friendships with Delia and Kai and Phil and the addition of Nadia was awesome. I think where it started to fall apart for me was with the introduction of Nathan. The plot started to drag out way too much during the romance and it seemed like all the "problems" they had were manufactured ones by the author for the sake of creating more drama. Melanie started to seem really angry and she overreacted at some stuff and she just didn't seem to care about other people's feelings. Nathan was a bit boring. I liked him at first, but then he started getting in Melanie's business. Nadia lived with Melanie and Nathan was all panicked because they didn't know much about Nadia'a past. And then he started putting that big in Melanie's ear. I guess she thought that since Nadia lived with her, she was supposed to share everything about her past. Umm, no. They didn't even know each other well enough to do that. And the ending of the book was just blah. I still don't know if there was any character development or what the point of the story was. I thought the point was for Melanie to try and rebuild her life after her husband left her. It started out that way, but then it just disintegrated into a predictable chick lit story, I wish this story had gone deeper and the only reason I gave this book three stars instead of two was because of all the food.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What its about: A woman who realizes that her body isn't going to be able to sustain her unhealthy ways. She loses half of her body weight and quits her high stress job as a lawyer. She goes to culinary school and opens up a gourmet take out cafe that specializes in healthy food. She's finally getting her life together when she receives a huge shock. Her husband leaves her for a woman bigger than she ever was. Introduce a financial crisis, a new roommate and a potential boyfriend, stir vigorously and see what happens.

Why I read it: How many times have we all thought of the "if only's" in our lives? When I read the synopsis I thought of all of the times I'd thought that things would be better if... and knew that I had to read this book.

My thoughts: I must be on a food kick the last few weeks. First reading Georgia's Kitchen and all of its fantastic sounding food then immediately picking up Good Enough to Eat. Each chapter is starts with some sort of dish that is woven into the story either through a memory or something that is happening currently. The best part, Ballis provides the recipes at the end of the book! I love the fact that their are healthy versions along side the not so healthy ones. The only reason I haven't made any of them yet is that it's still too darn hot to cook!

I left the story feeling inspired to do more of the things in life that bring me joy. Mel does just that. She quits her high paying job as a lawyer to embrace her love of food in a healthy manner and to help others in their quest to becoming healthy. She doesn't make as much money, but she is so much happier in her own body and in her life.

There is a complete cast of quirky characters in this story that add depth to the story. Ballis introduces enough detail so that you know them as individuals, but not so much that you lose sight of what the story is about. Like a decadent dessert Good Enough to Eat will satisfy your craving for a great story.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Below is from my review on my blog: http://pattispenandpicks.blogspot.com...

I received Good Enough to Eat by Stacey Ballis at a very appropriate time in my life. The main character Melanie Hoffman has just gotten divorced, and so have I--different circumstances, but both Melanie and I have gone through big and interesting changes as a result.

Melanie has achieved what so many women work at and obsess over--she lost over 100 pounds and has gotten herself to a healthy weight. She has also changed jobs, from being a lawyer to owning a small gourmet take-out cafe called Dining by Design. The food she offers is healthy, calorie conscious and good. The good marriage Melanie thought she had is not, and she is blind-sided by the fact that her husband leaves her for an overweight woman.

Good Enough to Eat starts each chapter with descriptions of comfort foods, or remembered foods from Melanie's childhood, and then moves on to what is triggering the want of comfort. Melanie learns so much in this book, with the occasional two steps back that happens to everyone going through a life change like a divorce. She strengthens her current friendships, opens her own door and cafe to a young woman in her own transition, and develops new relationships, including a new man in her life.

I thought this book was on track as far as someone going through a divorce, and also learning to accept herself and her imperfections as she grows into her new life. I liked the ending too.

Highly recommended, and I'm glad that Melissa Broder (Penguin Group) and serendipty sent this book to me at this time. For those who want to know, yes, recipes are included.

[Myckyee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melanie Hoffman, the heroine of Good Enough to Eat by Stacey Ballis, tackles what could be some very depressing challenges in her life: divorce, food issues, entrepreneurship (she owns a gourmet take-out café) and relationships. She manages (and sometimes mismanages) it all with pluck and support from family and friends.

Each chapter in this novel begins with Melanie's reminisces about how certain foods relate to events in her life, be they large or small. Quite a variety of food is covered - mashed potatoes, chocolate cupcakes, peanut butter; I liked how the author was able to place them just so - they all have a place in the story. Also, all the food mentioned as the story chapters are included twice in recipes at the back of the book. The first recipe for cupcakes is a health conscious variation of the second which are called Decadent Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, and from reading through the ingredients they are, well, more decadent than the lighter version. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet but I definitely plan to.

The author describes some of Melanie's preparations in getting the café's food ready for customers and the interaction between employees makes it sound like fun - I'd like to work there! I imagine though, that no matter how much fun it is, and how much help Melanie has from her employees, running a café is a lot of work. I didn't (mostly) get that impression from reading this book. I mention this because I used to own an ice cream shoppe and though we only sold ice cream (in all its forms) it was time-consuming and intensive.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't decide if this was a story or a weight loss blog. Additionally, while I love food, the constant lists of food at parties and the store that day got tiresome. It reeked of, "Look at how much I know about food!"

As a story, it was okay. Kai was cool, but his neverending nicknames for everyone got annoying. The story itself was typical chick lit - woman gets left, finds herself with the help of friends, falls in love again, the end.

As a weight loss story, it could have worked. The author did a great job capturing how it feels to be heavy, the struggles with binging, and how self-conscious heavy people are when eating around others. She also touched on how, even though the weight was gone, the main character still felt heavy, how that never, ever goes away. I almost wish she would have abandoned the main plot, because it's obvious the author lost a lot of weight, and that, itself, would have made for an interesting story. Interspersing it with the main plot and all of the food stories, though, left the book feeling scattered and disorganized. I couldn't wait for it to end.

I also didn't like how the main character assumed every heavy girl was crying for help and too shy to ask. Come on... just because you lost a lot of weight, don't make it your personal crusade.

The recipes at the end were nice. I might try a few of them. I also liked how she reminisced about food at the beginning of every chapter.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I love Jen Lancaster, so I figured that her BFF is my BFF, right? I also love books about food, so this seemed right up my alley, but I really struggled to get through it.

The story centers around Melanie, a former fat girl who left the law business to open a healthy take out restaurant. If that wasn't enough reinvention, her husband (clearly a chubby chaser) leaves her for her fat boss. Melanie is now forced to navigate a new world with her co-workers, roommate, and new boyfriend by her side.

The character development here is pretty good. You really get to know the people and they are mostly believable. The thing that I found utterly ridiculous was the dialogue! I don't know a single person who is as wordy as all of these characters! They talk the way I might write an email to a colleague, not like how I would speak with a friend. It was just so hokey!

Also, there's a lot of sex in this book. I get it. Fat people have sex too. Great. But do we need to discuss ravaging each other every time Nate and Mel get together? I think no. Once or twice is enough for me. I'll just assume for the rest of the relationship, thanks!

It's really too bad. I think this book has a good message and could have been delightful. I just had such a hard time navigating the word jungle to get it.

[Tiffani · Rating 3 out of 5]

OH GOOD READS, PLEASE LET ME HAVE HALF STARS!! I have a love/no love relationship with this book (hate is too strong a word). In the first two chapters, I was ready to put it down but since I was at the pool with nothing else to read...I carried on. I could TOTALLY identify with Melanie's love and adoration of food and her struggle to feel "normal" after losing over 100lbs. I did enjoy her dialogue with her food counselor about how we obsess over 5 pounds and what we are really saying/doing when we binge/cry/eat. I loved the titles and descriptions of food at the beginning of each chapter...especially the bacon, cause I love bacon. However, I don't think I've ever read a book that came to such an abrupt halt then called it an ending??! Throw me a bone, author...one more chapter, one year later, maybe? Or a nicely packaged epilogue. Yes, I know books are sometimes not meant to be wrapped up nicely...but this one NEEDED it. It's not a terrible read, in fact, it's a fast read, but I could've done without the language, the slow beginning that only mildly gained speed and the ending that left me needing a neck brace from the sudden stop.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in 2 days flat. It's a light hearted read with serious warmth. Melanie, the heroine, is struggling with a new life...She's coping with all sorts of new stresses from her recent divorce, significant weight-loss, a business, unexpected financial woes, as well as new personal relationships.

What I like most about Melanie (and all of Stacey's heroines that I've "met" so far) is that she's real. She has flaws & insecurities, as well as, successes & pride. Ballis provides the crucial amount of insight into Melanie so that I can understand and relate to her, without becoming irritated that the plot is being overrun by the protagonist's inner thoughts. The "supporting cast" are colorful, soulful, real.

Real is simply the best adjective I have for all of it. The romance is real, the life issues are real... It isn't a storybook fairytale, it's a glimpse into a fictional character's life.

It's chick-lit, or "women's fiction" without the trite sap.

Also, I really want to eat at Melanie's restaurant. I would die for some healthy takeout that's varied and wonderful!

[Wendy Dameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get through this book. I made it to page 26 and said to myself "that is it. no more." I kept reading the same pages over and over either due to lack of interest or the fact that she kept saying the same things over and over. When I picked it up, it looked like a fun book to read but I ended up not being able to picture the characters and get my mind truly into the book. I don't like books that are unrealistic...she was a high powered attorney turned chef of health foods....used to have a new BMW every year but now she has no money and is happy...yet she can get her condo walls gold leaf plated and spend tons of money still. She was 300 lbs and had a gorgeous fit husband and they spent every waking moment together...loved each other so much but then he leaves her because she is not a fat load anymore. Sorry, bye bye book. Moving on to the next one.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but it seemed to be missing some depth. Even though all of the characters had backstories that lent them some complexity (especially Nadia), I alternated between not really caring and feeling like it should have been explored more. At no point did I really "feel" any of the characters.

Also, all of Melanie's "crises" seemed to be magically resolved within a chapter or two. With the exception of her fixation on Andrew, nothing seemed to really impact her for very long. She got her magic prescription from her nutritionist, followed it to the letter, and all was right with the world again.

All of the characters spoke in monologues. Not very believable monologues at that. I found myself saying to myself, over and over, "Who talks like that?"

I gave it an additional star for the recipes in the back. I'm looking forward to trying Delia's Fried Chicken.

[Jen CE · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me foreeeevvver to read this book. It was dull, and for most of it I felt like I was reading a menu (not a novel), written by a whiny, insecure, woman. The main character is addicted to food, and I found her weakness and self-doubt concerning her life decisions and eating habits equally frustrating. The other characters seem to be there simply for the main character to have new situations in which she can second guess herself and struggle not to eat "the wrong things." Sigh. I will give the author this: I'm proud of Stacey Ballis for not going with the played out 'getting married/having a baby' ending - I'm glad I made it to the end of the book to see how she wrapped things up.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first this book started to piss me off when the heroine was starting in on her size previous to her weight loss and blah-blah. A few more pages in, and I stopped being pissed. Melanie had lost weight, and her husband because of it. She is a recovering food addict and I get the feeling that the author has had her share of food issues too. I know how hard it is to deal with food issues myself and I really felt that Ballis hits home with this book. I did find one thing to be VERY annoying. Her constant usage of ALL CAPS when italics were just fine as emphasis.

[Barb Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book--probably the best culinary fiction I've read, and in the top five if you add in culinary non-fiction and memoirs. At first I was disappointed that recipes weren't included, until I realized they're all stuck at the end of the book (why not between chapters?). I can't wait to make the banana cake! I hope the author writes additional books--I found the characters believable and interesting. And inspiring.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I loved how spot-on Ballis's writing about being a fat girl and being a former fat girl was. It resonated so much with me. The characters were smart and sweet and interesting. And I want to try a bunch of the recipes! And it's always nice to read about a character with your own name. :)

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. I liked the general story line but at times it felt too scripted and not "real" enough.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a total chick lit, and a very light read, but entertaining too.

[Tex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't get this in time to read it for book club, but am enjoying it more than I expected. Finding lots of simiarities in my former really heavy self and the protagonist. Lots.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was So painful to finish. I never liked any of the characters (I hate "quirky" characters). It started off okay and just went downhill from there.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Wish I had a group of friends like this and a man like Nate.......

[Andrea Holladay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book that had you feeling a variety of emotions! I was slightly disappointed with the ending but overall it was a great read for any foodies out there.

[Alexis]

Read for book club.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially, thought it was an okay read, but the last chapter to me, had tons of meaning to it. Almost quite in the middle, glad I didn't.