The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Resource for Healthy Eating (Compass) (Paperback)

~ (Author, Illustrator) "If you've ever wondered why the wooden pulls attached to Venetian blind cords are shaped like acorns, it's because of Thor..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you eat natural foods, or want to learn more about them, reading The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia will be a treat. The book is an invitation to learn the lore, health properties, and use of more than a thousand familiar and unusual foods and herbs. Each entry consists of a description, a little history or legend, the health benefits, and how to buy (or find) and use it. Author Rebecca Wood clearly delights in her subject--her writing is warm, like love letters to these intriguing foods. "I don't know what I love most about asafetida--its knock-your-socks-off sulfurous aroma ... or ... its pungent but pleasant and satisfying flavor," she writes of the herb also known as devil's dung. "I also love the way the word rolls off my tongue." Not all the entries are complimentary, though--Wood tried to like banana squash, but ended up feeding it to her chickens. Dotting the food entries are sidebars of recipes, preparation suggestions, and weird information that doesn't fit anywhere else: how horses get sunburned, why young wives fed their elderly husbands celery in the 1600s, tips for not crying over onions, and how to harvest natural chewing gum, for example. You may start by looking up a particular food, but you'll linger, reading just for the pleasure of it. --Joan Price

From Library Journal

In this update of a book originally published in 1983, Wood, author of the award-winning The Splendid Grain (LJ 2/15/97), provides an alphabetical listing of more than 1000 whole foods: grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, seaweeds, fungi, sweeteners, fats, oils, herbs, and spices. Entries include historical information, health benefits, uses, and buying guidelines. Sidebars studded throughout the text contain interesting anecdotes, recipes, and even the occasional poem. Wood includes a helpful section on how to store whole foods and a list of mail-order sources. She derives her information about the healing properties of foods from a combination of Western nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine, and Indian Ayurvedic medicine. Although some readers may be skeptical of Wood's claims for health benefits that have not been clinically proven, the book is filled with practical information that would be useful to anyone wanting to further their food horizons. Recommended for public and academic libraries.AJane La Plante, Gordon B. Olson Lib., Minot State Univ., ND
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140250328
• ISBN-13: 978-0140250329
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,559 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book saved my life!, November 14, 2002

By	Brenda B. Trace (Sulphur, OK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well, Ok not quite but almost! A few months ago my teenage daugher and I were diagnosed with numerous food allergies and told to follow a rotation diet. A life long vegetarian, it was an almost overwhelming to be told I could no longer eat soy, eggs, pinto beans, kidney beans, avocados, etc. And my daughter is not allowed any legumes as well (nor sugar either).
Clearly the protein was going to be a challenge (we really dislike flesh foods of any kind) but then I read the guidelines for the rotation diet itself and quickly discovered the extreme limits of my food knowledge! Sure I had heard of (but never cooked) quinoa and flax but amaranth and yautia? Not. And even if I could find where to purchase these items, how would I prepare them?
Both our weight and our attitude dropped signficantly in the first few weeks. Then we "modified" the guidelines and found ourselves physically sick again. Luckily for us, my husband purchased this book on a trip to Dallas. While I was skeptical about it's holding my interest as an actual "read through", I found it quite engrossing from almost the first page.
Not only do I now know what to do with the foods on a rotation diet list (knowing that yautia is similar to potatoes means I can now make a favorite soup that otherwise I would have passed over) but because the index is brilliantly organized I can easily look up say "warming foods" and adjust my internal thermostat rather than the whole house which made my husband doubly glad he had bought it! The same for high BP, colds, cancer, you name it.
And I can relax about the protein issue as well knowing which foods on "our list" are highest in protein instead of just choosing those foods with which I might have previously been most familiar. I bought a copy for my mom for her birthday and she can't put it down either!
If you are really interested in preparing a variety of healthy foods no matter what your current state of health might be, do yourself a favor and buy this book. It might not save your life but it will certainly liven up your meals no matter what kind of diet you follow!

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very wise and thoughtful compendium, November 8, 1999

By A Customer

This is an excellent reference for any cook who wants to know more about whole foods, including grains, vegetables, fruits, etc. Rebecca is a very kind, warm person, and her personality shines through in this book.

The contents include both Western scientific knowledge about the proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals contained in foods, as well as their properties from an Eastern perspective, including Ayurvedic and Chinese Traditional Medicince. Rebecca draws from all of these traditions to present the wonders of whole foods. You may buy it as a reference but I guarantee you will browse just for the pleasure of it!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a trustworthy guide around making food choices!, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

Any book by Rebecca becomes a food bible for me. I trust her research, her training, her life experiences and her instincts about food. This Encyclopedia helps me cut through the marketing hype around natural foods. Besides being so informative, it's a darned interesting read as well! Friendly, charming and reminiscent of all things good, wholesome and healing. My young son and I love her old-time recipes for such things as tree sap gum and acorn meal. This book is a trustworthy guide to making food choices. It belongs on anyone's shelf of tried and true natural health classics.