By Randy Rabney

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In Delicious for Life, Randy Rabney of The Conscious Plate speaks to all of us regular people who want to cook real food from real ingredients, but aren’t quite sure where to start. She takes this complex subject matter and breaks it down into easily digestible (pardon the pun) morsels of information. When you are done reading this book, you’ll know how to stock and outfit your pantry with ingredients and tools that make sense for you and you’ll have a starting point for creating your own “signature dishes” — that is, easy meals that you and your family enjoy and that are easy to whip up. Randy also gives you the stepping stones to take those dishes to new places to avoid boredom, and shares several simple, delicious recipes as jumping-off points.

Whether you are completely new to cooking from scratch or have already gotten your apron dirty you’ll find wisdom in this well-written book.

Why it changed my eating habits: I love Randy’s approach of skipping recipes in favor of cooking with flavors you like. Following recipes is great for special dishes, but for everyday cooking, it’s important to be able to cook with what’s in my kitchen. Focusing on what flavors I (and my family) enjoy is a great way to do that.

By Charles Wilson and Eric Schlosser

In Chew on This, Schlosser, who wrote Fast Food Nation, teams up with Wilson to provide a look at the fast food industry in a book geared towards young adults. Focusing on fast food industry marketing ploys and health impact, this book covers the gruesome side of food creation and employee treatment in less — but enough — detail than Fast Food Nation.

Amazon’s Editors Say:
Grade 7 Up An important addition to most libraries. Useful for health classes and nutrition units, it will also be an eye-opener for general readers who regularly indulge at the Golden Arches. An adaptation of Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation (Houghton, 2001), Chew on This covers the history of the fast-food industry and delves into the agribusiness and animal husbandry methods that support it. From the 37-day life of the pre-McNugget chicken to the appallingly inhumane conditions of slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants, the author lays out the gruesome details behind the tasty burgers and sandwiches. Equally disturbing is his revelation of the way that the fast-food giants have studied childhood behavior and geared their commercials and free toy inclusions to hook the youngest consumers. The text is written in a lively, lay-out-the-facts manner. Occasional photographs add bits of visual interest, but the emphasis here is on the truth about soda pop and obesity, fries and lies.

Why it changed my eating habits: This book is the perfect read for anyone who avoided Fast Food Nation over worries of being too grossed out. Chew on This covers the same subject matter in a PG-13 version, but still gets the point across. What I really enjoyed about this book is all the statistics and discussion starting points for getting conversations going with kids about fast food from every angle — health, animal rights, employee rights, and marketing tactics. If Fast Food Nation hadn’t already made me disgusted with the fast food industry, this book would have surely done the trick.

By Michael Pollan

In Food Rules, Michael Pollan boils down the lessons from Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food into a series of easy to digest and remember rules. A quick and easy read, this book provides invaluable advice on what, how, and how much to eat.

Amazon’s Editor’s say:
Michael Pollan, our nation’s most trusted resource for food-related issues, offers this indispensible guide for anyone concerned about health and food. Simple, sensible, and easy to use, Food Rules is a set of memorable rules for eating wisely, many drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat-buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is the perfect guide for anyone who would like to become more mindful of the food we eat.

Why it changed my eating habits: This book gave me many useful and very easy to remember “rules” to hold in my mind with regard to food and the way my family eats. My favorite: “Pay more, eat less”. Another adage that has stuck with me: “If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, your not hungry.” If you’re short on time but looking to make a change in your families eating habits, this book is for you.

by Raj Patel

In this book, Patel looks at the food system from a global standpoint and how decisions made in corporate offices have far-reaching consequences — both intentional and unintentional. For anyone who is, or is considering becoming, a vegetarian, this book is a must-read for it’s extensive explanation of the soy industry, which is fraught with slavery and other atrocities. Patel also discusses genetically modified seeds and the Green Revolution (no, not the warm fuzzy “let’s recycle” kind of green revolution), two things that, while possibly came from good intentions have had disastrous results.

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, says:
“For anyone attempting to make sense of the world food crisis, or understand the links between U.S. farm policy and the ability of the world’s poor to feed themselves, Stuffed and Starved is indispensable.”

Time Magazine says:
“Patel’s broad treatment helps the layman connect the dots, as well as hear the voices of those who occupy the lower rungs of the global food chain.”

Why it changed my eating habits: By giving me information about soy, genetically modified seeds, how companies like Monsanto are negatively impacting farming in all corners of the earth, this book broadened my view to the impact my food choices can have globally. It made me a more thoughtful consumer and solidified my position against genetically modified organisms (GMO). It made me more aware of the amount of soy we  inadvertently consume in processed food products and, given the conditions under which it’s often produced, gave me reason to try to avoid soy-based additives (such as lecithin and meat alternatives.)

By Eric Schlosser

In Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser delves deep into the world of fast food, discussing every aspect of the business — the way food is made, the way employees are treated, and the way the business is run.

Amazon reviewers say:
“Quickly, however, [Schlosser] moves behind the counter with the overworked and underpaid teenage workers, onto the factory farms where the potatoes and beef are grown, and into the slaughterhouses run by giant meatpacking corporations. Schlosser wants you to know why those French fries taste so good (with a visit to the world’s largest flavor company) and “what really lurks between those sesame-seed buns.” Eater beware: forget your concerns about cholesterol, there is–literally–feces in your meat.”

Why it changed my eating habits: Before reading this, I didn’t eat fast food because it’s unhealthy. After reading it, I don’t eat fast food because it’s unhealthy, the food is potentially contaminated, and the workers in all aspects of the industry — in the restaurants, in the factories, and in the slaughter houses — are poorly treated. This book changed my entire thinking about chicken by enlightening me to the ways of the chicken processing industry (I’m talking to you, Tyson and Purdue.)

By Michael Pollan

In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan takes four meals and dissects where they come from. He dives into industrial farming and corn, organics and grass farms, and ends with a fully foraged meal.

Pamela Kaufman from Food and Wine says:
“Pollan… examines what he calls “our national eating disorder” (the Atkins craze, the precipitous rise in obesity) in this remarkably clearheaded book. It’s a fascinating journey up and down the food chain, one that might change the way you read the label on a frozen dinner, dig into a steak or decide whether to buy organic eggs. You’ll certainly never look at a Chicken McNugget the same way again. Pollan approaches his mission not as an activist but as a naturalist: “The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world.” All food, he points out, originates with plants, animals and fungi.”

Why it changed my eating habits: Pollan’s description and experience at Joel Salatin’s Polyface farm introduced me to the world of grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chicken and eggs. The way this farm runs makes so much sense and stands in stark contrast to Pollan’s explanation of industrial farming and the politics that go along with it. After reading this book, I started buying only grass-fed beef and local food whenever possible.