Customer Reviews

The NutriBase Complete Book of Food Counts

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Do NOT buy this book if you want to keep your sanity. I wish I could offer an alternative but have not found a reasonable one- yet. My main beef with the book is the units of measures - they are all over the place, and, in many cases, useless. For example: I wanted to find out the carb count on fresh blueberries. A simple request, I thought. But, nooo. Instead of a 1 cup measure, or an ounce measure, their measure is a choice of 1 pint or 50 blueberries! Well, I didn't have a pint of blueberries and um, like I'm going to count them! While I realize a cup of large blueberries would be different than a cup of small blueberries; the same rationale applies to the count of 50 blueberries. More infuriating is the fact that a 1 cup measure was good enough for the fresh blackberries on the opposite page.

Unfortunately, this is just one example. I have thrown this book across the room numerous times for similiar offenses. So, for the sake of my blood pressure and sanity, the first chance I get I am replacing this annoying book with something that measures food the way I measure food: in slices, teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, ounces; consistently and for each food, if necessary.

On the plus side they do cover almost all the values you could want and have a handy dandy guide to all sorts of fast food places. I'd like to tell the publishers of this book (and way too many others)to talk to real people and see how they measure foods; I guarantee that unless it's for a specific recipe, it isn't by pints or counts of individual berries. Consistency counts!

Having just recently started the Atkins program I've grown tired of reading labels. However, it's vital to do so! This is a comprehensive guide detailing all kinds of information one needs in order to better plan meals.

It evens gives listings of fast food restuarants! I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to count calories, fat grams, protein and most importantly Carbs. It details serving sizes and gives varying measurements. Get this book - it's been good for me.

This book is very useful, with thousands of entries telling how many calories, protein grams, etc. are in the foods that you're eating. I would've given it five stars except for one thing. The cover clearly advertises that counts for saturated fat are included. Well, I wish I could make the saturated fat disappear like the authors of this book! There aren't any entries at all for saturated fat. I had to go buy a different book.

For misleading the public I deducted a full two stars. I think the least the publisher could do is print a sticker to cover up the offending book area with the correct information.

Comparing this food count book with those in stores -- it's helpful to see the format which is why I like Amazon where you can peek inside the books :) -- this book was the most comprehensive: a large number of foods reviewed in various forms and serving sizes. The categories (total calories, protein, carbs, sodium, fiber, fat and cholesterol) are what I needed to know. I didn't see the breakdown of saturated fat one of the reviewers mentioned (I just looked again, I have the 2d edition with the blue cover) but I don't need fat breakdown for my nutritional purposes. My only beef is with the formatting of the counts -- I wish it followed the order of the nutrition labels with fat first after total calories, followed by cholesterol, sodium, total carbs, fiber, and protein last. I don't need the breakdown of sugars for my purposes, so I'm okay with just listing total carbs and fiber, and leaving sugars out. Before I got used to using the book, I wanted to throw it across the room also. It helped me to mark in pencil the foods I frequently eat and later made up my own list which I keep a copy in the kitchen and a copy in the back of the book. The fast-food guide in the back section is very helpful. One day I was able to choose wisely at Jack in the Box and not blow my food counts for the day. I appreciate being able to count food pieces (50 blueberries) as I will count 25, halve all the food counts and add another piece of fruit for variety and nutrition. But I'm happy to use measuring cups, spoons and a scale at home. I found the book more comprehensive than Netzer's and many of the others out there, including various carb counters. It's not a book you can carry easily with you -- it's 704 pages! -- but it's a good reference book for home. I keep another smaller food count book in the car and approximate when I eat out, which outings I limit so I have more control over what I eat and my pocketbook.

This is a great reference text. However, if you have any hesitation about converting from cups to pints or other types of measures, this is NOT the book for you. If they missed a food, I have not found it yet.

A previous review bemoans the fact that there is "no entry" for saturated fat. If you look at the book, the entries are for particular foods, from abalone to zucchine; and in a separate part, for chain restaurants from Arby's to White Castle. For EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE ENTRIES there is a column that lists grams of saturated fat. Also listed are measurements for calories, protein. carbohydrates, sodium, fiber, total fat, cholesteral and percentage of fat. This seems very useful, systematic and honest. Please ignore the ranting of the previous writer, who clearly has not read or does not understand the organization of the book.

I've just been looking around at a few of the calorie books available. I'm not sure which book the other reviewers have been looking at (nutribase publishes several different manuals) but having just looked at this book in a local bookstore this particular one lists only TOTAL fat grams, NOT saturated fat. It does not list any vitamin or mineral info either. If you do not need any of this info then this is a very comprehensive book. Seems like most of the books I've seen thus far are lacking in one area or the other. A cynical point of view would be to say that this allows them to sell more books...

I have type 2 diabetes, and this book helps me deal with my diet in a very positive way. It's very useful for planning meals, and for figuring out what I'm eating, specifically when eating out.

It's a sad commentary on the education system in this country when people complain about having to convert a pint to cups. This is a great book if you want to count calories and lose weight and have been properly educated.

This book has everything needed to keep track of the food you eat. I recently had bariatric surgery and for me it is very important to get the correct amount of protein, carbs,fat and calories each day. I bought the book for this purpose and it has been helpful. It even includes a section for some restaurants! The only reason why it did not get 5 stars is because there are so many options for each item it can be a bit confusing.