[.ca] The Complete Food Counter (ISBN 0743457420)

Where are the tomatoes?:
Natow's and Heslin's book, like most of its kind provides the user with a lot of information. Also like most "counter" books, it suffers from an ineffective use of indention and font styles (bolding, underline, type face size, etc.) Unlike its competitors, it almost completely ignores some very common items. Fresh tomatoes are grievously under represented. Just the green ones are listed. Yeah, so what that the red ripe ones have almost the same nutritional values. Some folks may not know that. And, I want to know the numbers for a single representative plum, grape and cherry tomato. This book says it's "The Most Complete" and it isn't, not in a useful way.Then there is the watermelon. The seeds are listed, but not the flesh! Oh, and watermelon juice is also there(?) You can find generic values for "melon", but I didn't pay for averages across a food type. This book is no worse than its rivals, but it isn't much better either. If you can have only one counter, Corinne Netzer's "The Complete Book of Food Counts" is cheaper, more compact and most importantly, more complete in its inclusion of the items you will be looking for. I give that one an extra star for that combination of benefits. BTW, ...

Good Counter:
Very good counter, but needs to be updated with newer brands.

Excellent coverage for today's health conscious consumer:
I found this book full of great information. It lives up to its name as the "Most Complete Food Counter." The wide range of foods contained within is quite useful, escpecially the list of fast foods and ready made meals. My one critique is that it could have tab headings on the pages to help you locate items more easily.

Calorie counter by Natow et al.:
This is the perfect book for dieters and athletes looking to cut calories from processed foods to all-natural fruits and vegetables. A beauty of the work is that it covers the specific food, exact portions and calories associated with each portion. The author even provides a food diary to assist in planning meals, as well as snacks. This presentation is easy to read and understand. This work will make you conscious of the exact calories consumed daily. With the information, you can plan an exercise program aimed at burning excess calories and maximizing the body metabolism. The purchase is a good value for every personal health library.

An all encompassing Nutrition Almanac:
This is definitely a reference guide, not a pocket size book and the price is incredible. I have always had a book like this in my kitchen since I started making baby food for my daughter many years ago. Mine is tattered and well worn but this book has taken its place. Not only does it cover everything in your kitchen by name brand, as well as generic words like brown rice without the name brand, it has the foods and nutritional value of popular restaurants. There is also a chapter at the end titled "Food facts from A to Z", that is more than helpful with explaining some common terms that are often misunderstood. The authors have also compiled a book titled NO NONSENSE NUTRITION FOR YOUR BABIES FIRST YEAR that might be helpful to moms. Kelsana 12/10/01