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Eten als de beste!
Steeds meer mensen proberen gezonder en voedzamer te eten, maar in de praktijk is dit soms nog lastig.
De Britse tv-kok Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall vat alle kennis en feiten over gezond eten samen tot zeven eenvoudige basisprincipes. Vervolgens kun je met de 100 inspirerende recepten direct aan de slag. Denk aan geroosterde venkel met tomatentaboulé, spicy vissticks of rogge-bananenkoekjes. Zo wordt goed voor jezelf zorgen wel heel erg aantrekkelijk!
De Britse tv-kok Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall vat alle kennis en feiten over gezond eten samen tot zeven eenvoudige basisprincipes. Vervolgens kun je met de 100 inspirerende recepten direct aan de slag. Denk aan geroosterde venkel met tomatentaboulé, spicy vissticks of rogge-bananenkoekjes. Zo wordt goed voor jezelf zorgen wel heel erg aantrekkelijk!
416 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 2020
106 people are currently reading
235 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
81 books186 followersHugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a British celebrity chef, smallholder, television presenter, journalist, food writer and "real food" campaigner, known for his back-to-basics philosophy.
A talented writer, broadcaster and campaigner, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is widely known for his uncompromising commitment to seasonal, ethically produced food and has earned a huge following through his River Cottage TV series and books.
His early smallholding experiences were shown in the Channel 4 River Cottage series and led to the publication of The River Cottage Cookbook (2001), which won the Glenfiddich Trophy and the André Simon Food Book of the Year awards.
The success of the show and the books allowed Hugh to establish River Cottage HQ near Bridport in 2004.
In the same year, Hugh published The River Cottage Meat Book to wide acclaim and won a second André Simon Food Book of the Year Award.
He has just finished filming his most recent series, which accompanies his most recent book, River Cottage Every Day.
He continues to write as a journalist, including a weekly column in The Guardian and is Patron of the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (FARMA).
River Cottage HQ moved in 2006, to a farm near the Dorset/Devon border, where visitors can take a variety of courses. http://www.rivercottage.net
During River Cottage Spring (2008) Hugh helped a group of Bristol families start a smallholding on derelict council land.
The experience was so inspiring he decided to see if it would work nationwide, and Landshare was created to bring keen growers and landowners together. The movement now includes more than 50,000 people.
Son of https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
A talented writer, broadcaster and campaigner, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is widely known for his uncompromising commitment to seasonal, ethically produced food and has earned a huge following through his River Cottage TV series and books.
His early smallholding experiences were shown in the Channel 4 River Cottage series and led to the publication of The River Cottage Cookbook (2001), which won the Glenfiddich Trophy and the André Simon Food Book of the Year awards.
The success of the show and the books allowed Hugh to establish River Cottage HQ near Bridport in 2004.
In the same year, Hugh published The River Cottage Meat Book to wide acclaim and won a second André Simon Food Book of the Year Award.
He has just finished filming his most recent series, which accompanies his most recent book, River Cottage Every Day.
He continues to write as a journalist, including a weekly column in The Guardian and is Patron of the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (FARMA).
River Cottage HQ moved in 2006, to a farm near the Dorset/Devon border, where visitors can take a variety of courses. http://www.rivercottage.net
During River Cottage Spring (2008) Hugh helped a group of Bristol families start a smallholding on derelict council land.
The experience was so inspiring he decided to see if it would work nationwide, and Landshare was created to bring keen growers and landowners together. The movement now includes more than 50,000 people.
Son of https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
March 19, 2022
Lots of reviewers loved this book, so many 5 star ratings! But I found this so disappointing, thankfully I borrowed this from the library. Having really enjoyed River Cottage Veg, I was really looking forward to this but found this basic and patronising. There are some ridiculously silly suggestions for swapping foods for a more healthy option, for example instead of a sugary breakfast cereal eat porridge, instead of white bread eat wholegrain, instead of a bag of crisps eat a handful of nuts, instead of a chocolate biscuit eat a handful of nuts, instead of a shop bought smoothie eat a portion of fruit, instead of a cereal bar carry a little pot of nuts, instead of a shop bought curry roast some vegetables with a teaspoon of curry powder..... This is literally just what he suggests, not see this page for a recipe etc. just instead of this eat this. Just so basic and quite condescending to think nobody could think of any of those swaps without buying a book.
There is a mish mash of ideas such as not drinking too much alcohol, not cooking with too much oil, getting exercise, eating a variety of foods... He talks about not eating crisps and refers you back to the page he suggests you should eat a handful of nuts, that's such a poor suggestion, this would have been a great opportunity to make some recipes for baked snacks, flavoured nuts, something creative!
At the end of the book there are some recipes. As this book was all about healthy eating, I was surprised to find virtually all of them contained meat, fish, eggs and dairy. The ones that didn't were very basic, porridge, granola, houmous, soup, a stir fry.
This might be an okay read for someone who hasn't cooked before but these recipes were not what I would call healthy and they looked pretty basic and boring. Topped off with photographs of Hugh looking like Michael Gove pulling a 'telling off' sort of expression (see cover) made this book an absolute 1 star read for me.
There is a mish mash of ideas such as not drinking too much alcohol, not cooking with too much oil, getting exercise, eating a variety of foods... He talks about not eating crisps and refers you back to the page he suggests you should eat a handful of nuts, that's such a poor suggestion, this would have been a great opportunity to make some recipes for baked snacks, flavoured nuts, something creative!
At the end of the book there are some recipes. As this book was all about healthy eating, I was surprised to find virtually all of them contained meat, fish, eggs and dairy. The ones that didn't were very basic, porridge, granola, houmous, soup, a stir fry.
This might be an okay read for someone who hasn't cooked before but these recipes were not what I would call healthy and they looked pretty basic and boring. Topped off with photographs of Hugh looking like Michael Gove pulling a 'telling off' sort of expression (see cover) made this book an absolute 1 star read for me.
May 2, 2021
A skim through earlier reviews suggests that how useful you find this book depends how much of the info you already knew. As there were several instances where I'd heard only the gist, or I'd read a couple of articles a few years ago, I thought it was about right - not dumbed-down, and very welcome referencing to journal papers, but still a fairly breezy read which gathered a lot of material in one place.
In particular, if you are a busy middle-aged person wanting to overhaul your diet, or simply be better informed about recent scientific research on food and health, it seems like a reasonable one-stop resource as far as information is concerned. And by their 40s or 50s, a person has hopefully has realised that not all eventualities and needs will be covered in an advice book for the general public and that they may need to look up a few other things. Besides, it has scientific backup to show that there is no one-diet-fits-all: the excellent Prof. Tim Spector is quoted extensively, not least for his studies showing just how different individual human beings' responses to food are; altogether it seems that very few principles about food are applicable to everybody, except that ultra-processed food is unhealthy (and engineered to make people crave more of it).
At a time when my life has become very different, very quickly, it's probably not surprising that, on this subject of food, I turned to old favourite, familiar authors to orientate myself. (I've also been looking at books by Nigel Slater, though am now finding Nigella Lawson less relevant than she was when I was in my early twenties and wanted to eat lots of butter after growing up in a home where Flora margarine was the only option.) This selection of cookery authors, in the early 00s, just seemed like typical Guardian-reader stuff, but now looks very white. So after taking a while to find my feet, I should have a look at a more varied, and probably younger, selection.
The other diversity dimension is that this book is of course ineluctably middle class, and when it comes down to it, I'm not quite sure what can be done about that.
The second chapter is called 'Go Varied', but it doesn't explicitly mention an idea I've often seem elsewhere, that the healthiest diet would include consuming as wide a variety of plant foods as possible (though the implication is present). Besides, HFW's home recipes inevitably contain fewer ingredients each than an upmarket vegan ready-meal (e.g. BOL) or a veggie Indian takeaway, even if he does include a lot of different foods over the whole recipe section. There are two class issues here, anyway, too rarely separated. Firstly there is access and cost, once one starts including a very wide range of ingredients and/or specific categories like fermented foods which may be either expensive in their 'live' forms (e.g. pasteurised sauerkraut is cheaper and easier to find than live) or time-consuming and fiddly to make at home if not used to it. But the other is culture, and where people could afford it, but prefer to frequently get expensive junk like delivery pizzas, which might cost the same for one meal as two days' fairly liberal spending on healthy supermarket food (including ready meals if you don't have the time or energy to cook for yourself). I don't think these are good reasons that a book like this one shouldn't exist. There are websites and books with healthy very-low-budget recipes, and British readers in need of one have hopefully found Jack Monroe by now. The information here should be available for those who can use it to whatever extent possible - but I also hope HFW will eventually make another of his campaigning TV series, this time about food access: "Hugh's War on Food Deserts", anyone?
The recipes … a lot of the breakfast ones, in particular, near the beginning of the recipe section, sound too fiddly if you aren't to simply chuck all the ingredients in a blender for a few seconds. (And then have to clean it out…) Later they get better - or to times of day when active cooking beyond a quick grill or fry sounds reasonable. The typical reader may skip the early ones, though I felt obliged to look through them all in order, because of the GR need to categorise books as 'read'. But I'm not sure that, on average, they sound as delicious in other books - when I first looked at the author's previous book Much More Veg, it fell open at Fennel, Lentil & Seaweed Soup, which I thought sounded really interesting, and that instantly made the collection appetising. This perhaps shows, though, how much it helps if you really like the sort of wholefood HFW advocates. As some reviewers imply, this book and the endeavour generally, may be a very different ballgame for those who find these things a chore to eat, or worthy. For those readers, does he offer enough advice on how to get to like wholefoods? I'm not sure, and I'm not the best judge.
Reviewing this nearly two months after I finished reading it, these are the points that have stuck with me:
- "Wholefoods" has acquired its proper meaning to me: non-processed foods in general, and no longer just signifies a healthfood shop that sells big bags of lentils, not just a synonym for wholegrains. I know what to say if I mean "I don't want junk food, I want that sort of thing" and where the other person seems likely to understand the term.
- How ubiquitous the topic of gut health now is, and that health-conscious celebrities are prepared to talk about stool tests, which would have seemed unthinkable ten years ago. At a bus stop when I'd just started reading the book, I saw a bottle with the words 'gut health' at the top of a shopping bag carried by an in-no-way-fashionable looking lady in her sixties; this is very much mainstream now, even if the testing aspect is still private-sector only in the UK.
- How fortunate I was that as a kid my favourite foods included (as well as quite a lot of the usual kiddy junk) sauerkraut - and avocados, pickled herring, and the now-ethically-out-of-favour smoked salmon. A lot of contemporary healthfood trends fit my tastes. (And when I watched an old Channel 4 show, The Secret Lives of Slim People, it struck me that one of the subjects had always loved vinegar as a kid, to the extent of drinking it spontaneously; as did I, and a guy I knew at uni who seems to have stayed in great shape.)
- The assertion that people need to think about drinks with caloric content as equivalent to meals of the same size - and that people don't feel full after consuming drinks as they would after a meal. Huh? Don't they? Maybe there's something in the genetics that makes both sides of my family mostly skinny, that means I do.
- Every time I've browsed bread since reading the book, I've recalled this bit: "Ingredients that sound industrial … such as hydrogenated ... oil, ... mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids... are clear indicators that the food is highly processed." If I buy a loaf of bread, it's always non-Chorleywood-process (and there is even bread in Aldi these days without the mono- and diglycerides and whatnot) but I happily eat processed bread with pre-prepared sandwiches, which feels like a good balance to me.
- A person should try to eat 30g of fibre a day.
(And if you combine that with goals for protein as you are getting fitter, it all gets a bit laborious if targeting more than one thing, even if vegan foods with high protein tend to also be high-fibre. 'Thing?' 'Macros' are now not just something in Microsoft Office...)
- It wasn't only HFW that convinced me to try kefir, it was collectively several sources, but - having found that for me, the assertion that kefir is okay for the lactose-intolerant, is true - most of my breakfasts are now muesli with kefir. (Despite having got through three packs of muesli over the last month or so, I still have to watch my spelling of the word, and remember what Warwick has said about the strangeness of Swiss German.)
(- I think there are one or two other points which stayed with me for the first couple of weeks or so after reading, but may have now escaped me, or I no longer associate them with the book.)
But there are a few things the author missed out, especially relevant to middle aged women. Intermittent fasting seems to be better for men than women, according to research - it would have been a good idea to mention that. (I couldn't do it according to any regular pattern anyway - but if I forget to eat because I'm concentrating on something, or don't feel hungry for ages, I consider that useful.) He should also have said that eating a higher proportion of protein can help reduce age-related muscle wasting (for bodies of any sex). But I can understand if HFW might have felt he was trespassing if he said anything about menopause and diet (and some readers might have agreed) - perhaps he could have referred readers to another resource as a compromise, as the readership for this book seems to be strongly skewed female, at least if GR reviews are anything to go by, and therefore it would be relevant to them sooner or later.
All-in-all, useful if you haven't heard all of it before, but women in particular may want to supplement with other guides. (Not that I can recommend any that are specifically food-related, though in new menopause books, I liked the tone of Meg Mathews' The New Hot, more than that of Maisie Hall's recent book, and read more of the former as a result - most of what I've gleaned above has been from repeated mentions on websites that referenced back to journal papers.)
(Read Feb-March, reviewed late April 2021.)
In particular, if you are a busy middle-aged person wanting to overhaul your diet, or simply be better informed about recent scientific research on food and health, it seems like a reasonable one-stop resource as far as information is concerned. And by their 40s or 50s, a person has hopefully has realised that not all eventualities and needs will be covered in an advice book for the general public and that they may need to look up a few other things. Besides, it has scientific backup to show that there is no one-diet-fits-all: the excellent Prof. Tim Spector is quoted extensively, not least for his studies showing just how different individual human beings' responses to food are; altogether it seems that very few principles about food are applicable to everybody, except that ultra-processed food is unhealthy (and engineered to make people crave more of it).
At a time when my life has become very different, very quickly, it's probably not surprising that, on this subject of food, I turned to old favourite, familiar authors to orientate myself. (I've also been looking at books by Nigel Slater, though am now finding Nigella Lawson less relevant than she was when I was in my early twenties and wanted to eat lots of butter after growing up in a home where Flora margarine was the only option.) This selection of cookery authors, in the early 00s, just seemed like typical Guardian-reader stuff, but now looks very white. So after taking a while to find my feet, I should have a look at a more varied, and probably younger, selection.
The other diversity dimension is that this book is of course ineluctably middle class, and when it comes down to it, I'm not quite sure what can be done about that.
The second chapter is called 'Go Varied', but it doesn't explicitly mention an idea I've often seem elsewhere, that the healthiest diet would include consuming as wide a variety of plant foods as possible (though the implication is present). Besides, HFW's home recipes inevitably contain fewer ingredients each than an upmarket vegan ready-meal (e.g. BOL) or a veggie Indian takeaway, even if he does include a lot of different foods over the whole recipe section. There are two class issues here, anyway, too rarely separated. Firstly there is access and cost, once one starts including a very wide range of ingredients and/or specific categories like fermented foods which may be either expensive in their 'live' forms (e.g. pasteurised sauerkraut is cheaper and easier to find than live) or time-consuming and fiddly to make at home if not used to it. But the other is culture, and where people could afford it, but prefer to frequently get expensive junk like delivery pizzas, which might cost the same for one meal as two days' fairly liberal spending on healthy supermarket food (including ready meals if you don't have the time or energy to cook for yourself). I don't think these are good reasons that a book like this one shouldn't exist. There are websites and books with healthy very-low-budget recipes, and British readers in need of one have hopefully found Jack Monroe by now. The information here should be available for those who can use it to whatever extent possible - but I also hope HFW will eventually make another of his campaigning TV series, this time about food access: "Hugh's War on Food Deserts", anyone?
The recipes … a lot of the breakfast ones, in particular, near the beginning of the recipe section, sound too fiddly if you aren't to simply chuck all the ingredients in a blender for a few seconds. (And then have to clean it out…) Later they get better - or to times of day when active cooking beyond a quick grill or fry sounds reasonable. The typical reader may skip the early ones, though I felt obliged to look through them all in order, because of the GR need to categorise books as 'read'. But I'm not sure that, on average, they sound as delicious in other books - when I first looked at the author's previous book Much More Veg, it fell open at Fennel, Lentil & Seaweed Soup, which I thought sounded really interesting, and that instantly made the collection appetising. This perhaps shows, though, how much it helps if you really like the sort of wholefood HFW advocates. As some reviewers imply, this book and the endeavour generally, may be a very different ballgame for those who find these things a chore to eat, or worthy. For those readers, does he offer enough advice on how to get to like wholefoods? I'm not sure, and I'm not the best judge.
Reviewing this nearly two months after I finished reading it, these are the points that have stuck with me:
- "Wholefoods" has acquired its proper meaning to me: non-processed foods in general, and no longer just signifies a healthfood shop that sells big bags of lentils, not just a synonym for wholegrains. I know what to say if I mean "I don't want junk food, I want that sort of thing" and where the other person seems likely to understand the term.
- How ubiquitous the topic of gut health now is, and that health-conscious celebrities are prepared to talk about stool tests, which would have seemed unthinkable ten years ago. At a bus stop when I'd just started reading the book, I saw a bottle with the words 'gut health' at the top of a shopping bag carried by an in-no-way-fashionable looking lady in her sixties; this is very much mainstream now, even if the testing aspect is still private-sector only in the UK.
- How fortunate I was that as a kid my favourite foods included (as well as quite a lot of the usual kiddy junk) sauerkraut - and avocados, pickled herring, and the now-ethically-out-of-favour smoked salmon. A lot of contemporary healthfood trends fit my tastes. (And when I watched an old Channel 4 show, The Secret Lives of Slim People, it struck me that one of the subjects had always loved vinegar as a kid, to the extent of drinking it spontaneously; as did I, and a guy I knew at uni who seems to have stayed in great shape.)
- The assertion that people need to think about drinks with caloric content as equivalent to meals of the same size - and that people don't feel full after consuming drinks as they would after a meal. Huh? Don't they? Maybe there's something in the genetics that makes both sides of my family mostly skinny, that means I do.
- Every time I've browsed bread since reading the book, I've recalled this bit: "Ingredients that sound industrial … such as hydrogenated ... oil, ... mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids... are clear indicators that the food is highly processed." If I buy a loaf of bread, it's always non-Chorleywood-process (and there is even bread in Aldi these days without the mono- and diglycerides and whatnot) but I happily eat processed bread with pre-prepared sandwiches, which feels like a good balance to me.
- A person should try to eat 30g of fibre a day.
(And if you combine that with goals for protein as you are getting fitter, it all gets a bit laborious if targeting more than one thing, even if vegan foods with high protein tend to also be high-fibre. 'Thing?' 'Macros' are now not just something in Microsoft Office...)
- It wasn't only HFW that convinced me to try kefir, it was collectively several sources, but - having found that for me, the assertion that kefir is okay for the lactose-intolerant, is true - most of my breakfasts are now muesli with kefir. (Despite having got through three packs of muesli over the last month or so, I still have to watch my spelling of the word, and remember what Warwick has said about the strangeness of Swiss German.)
(- I think there are one or two other points which stayed with me for the first couple of weeks or so after reading, but may have now escaped me, or I no longer associate them with the book.)
But there are a few things the author missed out, especially relevant to middle aged women. Intermittent fasting seems to be better for men than women, according to research - it would have been a good idea to mention that. (I couldn't do it according to any regular pattern anyway - but if I forget to eat because I'm concentrating on something, or don't feel hungry for ages, I consider that useful.) He should also have said that eating a higher proportion of protein can help reduce age-related muscle wasting (for bodies of any sex). But I can understand if HFW might have felt he was trespassing if he said anything about menopause and diet (and some readers might have agreed) - perhaps he could have referred readers to another resource as a compromise, as the readership for this book seems to be strongly skewed female, at least if GR reviews are anything to go by, and therefore it would be relevant to them sooner or later.
All-in-all, useful if you haven't heard all of it before, but women in particular may want to supplement with other guides. (Not that I can recommend any that are specifically food-related, though in new menopause books, I liked the tone of Meg Mathews' The New Hot, more than that of Maisie Hall's recent book, and read more of the former as a result - most of what I've gleaned above has been from repeated mentions on websites that referenced back to journal papers.)
(Read Feb-March, reviewed late April 2021.)
January 28, 2021
4☆ An Informative and Nutritional Cookbook
Eat Better Forever is an informative and educational look into eating healthy and changing the way we think about food, with the added bonus of some recipes and meal plans.
I learnt a variety of new things reading this book, but there was also a fair amount I've learnt over there years from endless dieticians, books, diets etc... so a mixed bag for me.
I do however want to point out that some of the ideas like fasting or eating certain foods are not always good if you have medical issues or on certain medicines. For example one of my treatments for rheumatoid I am unable to eat any live cultures including things like probiotics. So always be cautious.
As I said before this book is very educational and has alot of information regarding food, healthier choices, shopping smart, adding variety, reducing carbs, choosing whole foods, looking at what you drink, ways in which to lose weight.
There was a variety of different recipes, ranging from breakfast, Lunch, Salads, Soups, Vegetable Mains, Fish, Meat, Treats and Drinks.
I'm not entirely convinced I'll try making many of them, but they will definitely suit a whole range of tastes.
The measurements are in UK weights, there is the added bonus of beautiful pictures of the finished recipe.
What absolutely shines through is the Authors passion for a healthier lifestyle and educating readers on making healthier and nutritious choices without being condescending.
Overall a well written, informative Healthy Cookbook. Well worth a read if you enjoy reading about nutrition with the bonus of delicious recipes.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and Netgalley for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
You can Find this Review and all my Other Reviews on My Blog :-
https://dashfan81.blogspot.com/2021/0...
Eat Better Forever is an informative and educational look into eating healthy and changing the way we think about food, with the added bonus of some recipes and meal plans.
I learnt a variety of new things reading this book, but there was also a fair amount I've learnt over there years from endless dieticians, books, diets etc... so a mixed bag for me.
I do however want to point out that some of the ideas like fasting or eating certain foods are not always good if you have medical issues or on certain medicines. For example one of my treatments for rheumatoid I am unable to eat any live cultures including things like probiotics. So always be cautious.
As I said before this book is very educational and has alot of information regarding food, healthier choices, shopping smart, adding variety, reducing carbs, choosing whole foods, looking at what you drink, ways in which to lose weight.
There was a variety of different recipes, ranging from breakfast, Lunch, Salads, Soups, Vegetable Mains, Fish, Meat, Treats and Drinks.
I'm not entirely convinced I'll try making many of them, but they will definitely suit a whole range of tastes.
The measurements are in UK weights, there is the added bonus of beautiful pictures of the finished recipe.
What absolutely shines through is the Authors passion for a healthier lifestyle and educating readers on making healthier and nutritious choices without being condescending.
Overall a well written, informative Healthy Cookbook. Well worth a read if you enjoy reading about nutrition with the bonus of delicious recipes.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and Netgalley for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
You can Find this Review and all my Other Reviews on My Blog :-
https://dashfan81.blogspot.com/2021/0...
January 14, 2021
Showcasing a slew of delicious recipes, most of which I have tried and loved, which are easy to prepare with most able to be made with ingredients many of us will already have lurking in our store cupboards, I found this to be one of the more impressive cookbooks of 2020; it's less preachy; delivered in an assured, entertaining and supportive tone; and is compiled beautifully with full colour photographs to accompany many of the recipes. There is a wealth of information in the first half of the book covering everything from stress to sleep, weight management to FODMAP and how overly processed foods can trigger certain ailments.
Known for his his commitment to seasonal, ethically produced food Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has crafted a thought-provoking book that draws on his conversations with expert food scientists and dietitians. Exploring the research that shows what we eat really does matter in terms of our health and well being and the longevity of our lives, the book is clear and convincing and I was particularly fascinated by the unique chapter on the mysterious world of our intestines and gut bacteria, which Fearnley-Whittingstall calls “this new frontier”. Having suffered with stomach and intestinal-related issues for longer than I care to remember it was refreshing to read more about our gut health as a lot of books tend to dismiss it entirely.
Containing 100 tempting recipes, Eat Better Forever is as much as a guide for how to live as what to cook. The bottom line is basically to eat more fresh whole foods, such as fruit and vegetables, and less of the processed products all of us are guilty of eating more than we really should. Informative, accessible and perfect to help make 2021 my healthiest year to date. Highly recommended.
Known for his his commitment to seasonal, ethically produced food Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has crafted a thought-provoking book that draws on his conversations with expert food scientists and dietitians. Exploring the research that shows what we eat really does matter in terms of our health and well being and the longevity of our lives, the book is clear and convincing and I was particularly fascinated by the unique chapter on the mysterious world of our intestines and gut bacteria, which Fearnley-Whittingstall calls “this new frontier”. Having suffered with stomach and intestinal-related issues for longer than I care to remember it was refreshing to read more about our gut health as a lot of books tend to dismiss it entirely.
Containing 100 tempting recipes, Eat Better Forever is as much as a guide for how to live as what to cook. The bottom line is basically to eat more fresh whole foods, such as fruit and vegetables, and less of the processed products all of us are guilty of eating more than we really should. Informative, accessible and perfect to help make 2021 my healthiest year to date. Highly recommended.
December 31, 2020
Eat better forever by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a comprehensive guide to not only eat better, but to eat a wholesome food and plant-based diet. Which helps our gut health and lets us lead healthier lives.
This book Is not a diet book but, a book that gives us simple steps to change the way we eat and introduce more wholesome foods like grains and pulses and how we get rid of the toxins and the sugars that we eat in out diet for ourselves and the rest of the family which include our children.
He tells of a simple plan to determine what foods we like and how to incorporate them into our daily diet. He also talks about getting more exercise and sleep and simple tips to destress.
I really like the concept of this book. It is a great insight of an introduction into the world of a wholefoods and plant-based diet, for someone that has not thought of doing so before and wants to change the way they eat and live a better life. There are some very tasty simple recipes to follow that I can’t wait to try and most of the ingredients are easy to come by. The only small criticism I have if you are only a really, really tight budget the recipes part of this book may not be for you.
4.5 stars
This book Is not a diet book but, a book that gives us simple steps to change the way we eat and introduce more wholesome foods like grains and pulses and how we get rid of the toxins and the sugars that we eat in out diet for ourselves and the rest of the family which include our children.
He tells of a simple plan to determine what foods we like and how to incorporate them into our daily diet. He also talks about getting more exercise and sleep and simple tips to destress.
I really like the concept of this book. It is a great insight of an introduction into the world of a wholefoods and plant-based diet, for someone that has not thought of doing so before and wants to change the way they eat and live a better life. There are some very tasty simple recipes to follow that I can’t wait to try and most of the ingredients are easy to come by. The only small criticism I have if you are only a really, really tight budget the recipes part of this book may not be for you.
4.5 stars
December 31, 2020
A very hard read. Hugh is not my kind of person but I like the idea of clean eating and improving my diet but unfortunately this book just waffles on with patronising simple advice. The recipes are either ridiculously simple like simple fruit and nuts or a hard eat. Tom kerridge did a similar book better last year.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and NetGalley for the free copy to review.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and NetGalley for the free copy to review.
March 24, 2021
I have been a follower of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for years and have quite a few of his cook books, which are excellent in their way. Most of them are good honest, healthy food. Nevertheless, especially during the first lock-down, in typical German mother hen mode, I have tried to make my family's life more bearable by cooking and baking far to much delicious but not so healthy food! Pretty inevitable, BUT having read this book and listening to other medical experts, we have made the change in the way this books recommends. Hugh, as always, isn't pushy and gives his own examples what he found and finds difficult and it really clicked with me. I have used the recipes in this book, his to Vegetable cook books and others like Dr Ruby's and other vegetable cookery books and changed our eating habits considerable. It is not only about losing weight, which is mainly only an issue for me, but also eating more whole foods (simple things like changing the type of pasta I buy) shopping locally (something I can only do since the lock-down as I don't spend hours commuting anymore), doing outdoor exercise (only really like walking and swimming) and for instance for my son, sleeping well, my husband - snacking healthier, etc.
Now I am not saying that everything in the book is right for me. None of us get on with kimchi, although of course have always eaten Sauerkraut (alas now cooked without the pork in it), but generally following his advice has made us all healthy.
Will we have a proper Easter cake? Of course we will, but then we go back to what the posh boy recommends :)
Now I am not saying that everything in the book is right for me. None of us get on with kimchi, although of course have always eaten Sauerkraut (alas now cooked without the pork in it), but generally following his advice has made us all healthy.
Will we have a proper Easter cake? Of course we will, but then we go back to what the posh boy recommends :)
January 12, 2021
I do like cookbooks and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is one that I was really looking forward to. He has been a favourite of mine since I first watched The River Cottage and so I was looking forward to this book a lot.
To be honest, I am a little disappointed, it is an okay book. I did find that the first half of the book to be very basic and at times repetitive. The book starts with an intro and then spends the next 7 chapters or 209 pages of information about whole foods, your gut, healthy eating, balancing your diet, refining diet and reducing carbs for weight loss. While this is all very good I found that for me, it left only half the book for recipes.
Now the recipes, some really are very, very basic. For example "Apple and Orange Breakfast", you decore the apple and slice, the orange is peeled, the pith removed and sliced, then you sprinkle nuts, seeds or drizzle yoghurt or honey over. That it! Very nice picture though! There are some recipes that do involve more steps and I did like the "Overnight Oats" ideas and the whole grain pancakes were lush.
To be fair, there are some very good and very nice recipes int his book, but there are quite a few that are very basic indeed. I think this book is good for someone who is starting out with there cooking and trying to develop a different lifestyle through diet and food. But, this is a book that is trying to appeal to many different people from the beginner through to the more experienced and this just lets it down for me.
It is a good book don't get me wrong, and I do have a background in catering and food science from many years ago so maybe this is why this book didn't quite work for me as I had expected it to. There are however some recipes that I do like and that I will be using.
To be honest, I am a little disappointed, it is an okay book. I did find that the first half of the book to be very basic and at times repetitive. The book starts with an intro and then spends the next 7 chapters or 209 pages of information about whole foods, your gut, healthy eating, balancing your diet, refining diet and reducing carbs for weight loss. While this is all very good I found that for me, it left only half the book for recipes.
Now the recipes, some really are very, very basic. For example "Apple and Orange Breakfast", you decore the apple and slice, the orange is peeled, the pith removed and sliced, then you sprinkle nuts, seeds or drizzle yoghurt or honey over. That it! Very nice picture though! There are some recipes that do involve more steps and I did like the "Overnight Oats" ideas and the whole grain pancakes were lush.
To be fair, there are some very good and very nice recipes int his book, but there are quite a few that are very basic indeed. I think this book is good for someone who is starting out with there cooking and trying to develop a different lifestyle through diet and food. But, this is a book that is trying to appeal to many different people from the beginner through to the more experienced and this just lets it down for me.
It is a good book don't get me wrong, and I do have a background in catering and food science from many years ago so maybe this is why this book didn't quite work for me as I had expected it to. There are however some recipes that I do like and that I will be using.
January 2, 2021
It's entirely my mistake for not reading what it was about, but this book wasn't what I was expecting. I had thought it would be purely a recipe book with lots of healthy eating recipes but it isn't.
Much of the book is taken up with impeccably researched information about the science of food, eating and nutrition. It's not until quite far on into the book that we come to the recipes. These are beautifully photographed, with plenty of ideas for eating healthily and a strong emphasis on making the best use of fresh, seasonal produce and whole foods.
Don't let my thoughts put you off the book. If you are looking for lots of information to help you make informed choices about eating then this book could well be for you. If like me, you were expecting a recipe book, then it probably isn't. As I say, my fault and not a reflection on the book.
Much of the book is taken up with impeccably researched information about the science of food, eating and nutrition. It's not until quite far on into the book that we come to the recipes. These are beautifully photographed, with plenty of ideas for eating healthily and a strong emphasis on making the best use of fresh, seasonal produce and whole foods.
Don't let my thoughts put you off the book. If you are looking for lots of information to help you make informed choices about eating then this book could well be for you. If like me, you were expecting a recipe book, then it probably isn't. As I say, my fault and not a reflection on the book.
January 10, 2021
Really interesting layout for a cookbook - it starts with 7 chapters of ways to eat better, each focussing on a different element, including gut health, mindfulness and whole grains. Some of the information provided here I already knew from other books, but it was still interesting.
The recipes provided as the second half of the book unfortunately weren't as interesting to me. Nothing was really a standout for me, and while there were some recipes I would like to try out, I found a lot of them weren't really to my taste. It did definitely encourage me to broaden my vegetable horizons though!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this one.
The recipes provided as the second half of the book unfortunately weren't as interesting to me. Nothing was really a standout for me, and while there were some recipes I would like to try out, I found a lot of them weren't really to my taste. It did definitely encourage me to broaden my vegetable horizons though!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this one.
January 15, 2021
Eat Better Forever is a bit disappointing, it is basically a collation of healthy eating advice that has been covered by so many other books & magazine articles which anyone with an interest in health eating is probably aware of and read. The recipes are what disappointed me the most, nothing really new and can you even class putting a pieces of cut up Apple & Orange on a plate as a recipe!!!
I was given a copy of Eat Better Forever by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.
I was given a copy of Eat Better Forever by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.
January 9, 2021
This is an excellent book about food. It's less recipe book and more a guide to healthy eating and understanding food and nutrition.
Well written in the typical style of the author and very easy to read and follow.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Well written in the typical style of the author and very easy to read and follow.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
January 1, 2021
Sensible but not exactly revolutionary advice.
I’d have preferred more recipes and less waffle tbh (as if he’d condone waffles unless they were whole meal and only eaten once a month...)
I’d have preferred more recipes and less waffle tbh (as if he’d condone waffles unless they were whole meal and only eaten once a month...)
March 6, 2021
I've always enjoyed watching Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall on TV, and appreciate his general philosophy on food - including how and what to eat. and the importance of reducing food waste.
I eat quite a healthy wholefood diet, so I expected to skim through the first part of this book where he explains what wholefoods are and the importance of eating wholefoods for our health - so the first 70 pages (out of a 419 page book) were given a quick skim-through, but then he started talking about nutrients from foods such as nuts and seeds, pro and pre biotics, and the microbiome - things I'd heard of but never read about in depth - so I learned quite a lot from this.
The next section covers carbohydrates and refined foods - here Hugh discusses how the food industry works hard to position themselves as providers of good food which is everything but - and how they are quick to blame weight gain on the individual. I've read several books on this subject, and like Hugh, I am always angered that the food industry spend a fortune getting us addicted to their products, but deny any culpability for our weight and health problems. If you're not aware of the lengths the food industry go to, this section will open your mind to how we are being tricked. He also discusses beverages - the good and the bad, including alcohol (don't worry, he doesn't suggest giving it up entirely!)
Hugh then moves on from WHAT to eat to HOW to eat, covering eating mindfully, portion control, intermittent fasting and weight loss. There's even a sections on exercise, stress management and sleep!
Each section is completed with an Action Point Recap, which is a helpful summary of the chapter.
Hugh has an entertaining writing style, so the first part of the book is interesting, educational and easy to read.
Recipes start on page 214, and cover breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as healthy desserts and non-alcoholic drinks.
Many recipes are vegetarian or vegan, or can be easily be made so, but there are plenty of fish/meat dishes as well to satisfy the pescatarians and omnivores amongst us.
The recipes are generally quite simple, using (what are for me) staple store-cupboard ingredients (although you might have to buy the nuts, seeds and pulses if you don't already have them). Very similar in many ways to the Blue Zone recipes, where a similar lifestyle and eating pattern is recommended.
Altogether, I think this a great book to introduce you to eating a more wholefood and healthy diet. It's more than a recipe book: it is a book on the philosophy of eating and living well.
Merged review:
I've always enjoyed watching Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall on TV, and appreciate his general philosophy on food - including how and what to eat. and the importance of reducing food waste.
I eat quite a healthy wholefood diet, so I expected to skim through the first part of this book where he explains what wholefoods are and the importance of eating wholefoods for our health - so the first 70 pages (out of a 419 page book) were given a quick skim-through, but then he started talking about nutrients from foods such as nuts and seeds, pro and pre biotics, and the microbiome - things I'd heard of but never read about in depth - so I learned quite a lot from this.
The next section covers carbohydrates and refined foods - here Hugh discusses how the food industry works hard to position themselves as providers of good food which is everything but - and how they are quick to blame weight gain on the individual. I've read several books on this subject, and like Hugh, I am always angered that the food industry spend a fortune getting us addicted to their products, but deny any culpability for our weight and health problems. If you're not aware of the lengths the food industry go to, this section will open your mind to how we are being tricked. He also discusses beverages - the good and the bad, including alcohol (don't worry, he doesn't suggest giving it up entirely!)
Hugh then moves on from WHAT to eat to HOW to eat, covering eating mindfully, portion control, intermittent fasting and weight loss. There's even a sections on exercise, stress management and sleep!
Each section is completed with an Action Point Recap, which is a helpful summary of the chapter.
Hugh has an entertaining writing style, so the first part of the book is interesting, educational and easy to read.
Recipes start on page 214, and cover breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as healthy desserts and non-alcoholic drinks.
Many recipes are vegetarian or vegan, or can be easily be made so, but there are plenty of fish/meat dishes as well to satisfy the pescatarians and omnivores amongst us.
The recipes are generally quite simple, using (what are for me) staple store-cupboard ingredients (although you might have to buy the nuts, seeds and pulses if you don't already have them). Very similar in many ways to the Blue Zone recipes, where a similar lifestyle and eating pattern is recommended.
Altogether, I think this a great book to introduce you to eating a more wholefood and healthy diet. It's more than a recipe book: it is a book on the philosophy of eating and living well.
I eat quite a healthy wholefood diet, so I expected to skim through the first part of this book where he explains what wholefoods are and the importance of eating wholefoods for our health - so the first 70 pages (out of a 419 page book) were given a quick skim-through, but then he started talking about nutrients from foods such as nuts and seeds, pro and pre biotics, and the microbiome - things I'd heard of but never read about in depth - so I learned quite a lot from this.
The next section covers carbohydrates and refined foods - here Hugh discusses how the food industry works hard to position themselves as providers of good food which is everything but - and how they are quick to blame weight gain on the individual. I've read several books on this subject, and like Hugh, I am always angered that the food industry spend a fortune getting us addicted to their products, but deny any culpability for our weight and health problems. If you're not aware of the lengths the food industry go to, this section will open your mind to how we are being tricked. He also discusses beverages - the good and the bad, including alcohol (don't worry, he doesn't suggest giving it up entirely!)
Hugh then moves on from WHAT to eat to HOW to eat, covering eating mindfully, portion control, intermittent fasting and weight loss. There's even a sections on exercise, stress management and sleep!
Each section is completed with an Action Point Recap, which is a helpful summary of the chapter.
Hugh has an entertaining writing style, so the first part of the book is interesting, educational and easy to read.
Recipes start on page 214, and cover breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as healthy desserts and non-alcoholic drinks.
Many recipes are vegetarian or vegan, or can be easily be made so, but there are plenty of fish/meat dishes as well to satisfy the pescatarians and omnivores amongst us.
The recipes are generally quite simple, using (what are for me) staple store-cupboard ingredients (although you might have to buy the nuts, seeds and pulses if you don't already have them). Very similar in many ways to the Blue Zone recipes, where a similar lifestyle and eating pattern is recommended.
Altogether, I think this a great book to introduce you to eating a more wholefood and healthy diet. It's more than a recipe book: it is a book on the philosophy of eating and living well.
Merged review:
I've always enjoyed watching Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall on TV, and appreciate his general philosophy on food - including how and what to eat. and the importance of reducing food waste.
I eat quite a healthy wholefood diet, so I expected to skim through the first part of this book where he explains what wholefoods are and the importance of eating wholefoods for our health - so the first 70 pages (out of a 419 page book) were given a quick skim-through, but then he started talking about nutrients from foods such as nuts and seeds, pro and pre biotics, and the microbiome - things I'd heard of but never read about in depth - so I learned quite a lot from this.
The next section covers carbohydrates and refined foods - here Hugh discusses how the food industry works hard to position themselves as providers of good food which is everything but - and how they are quick to blame weight gain on the individual. I've read several books on this subject, and like Hugh, I am always angered that the food industry spend a fortune getting us addicted to their products, but deny any culpability for our weight and health problems. If you're not aware of the lengths the food industry go to, this section will open your mind to how we are being tricked. He also discusses beverages - the good and the bad, including alcohol (don't worry, he doesn't suggest giving it up entirely!)
Hugh then moves on from WHAT to eat to HOW to eat, covering eating mindfully, portion control, intermittent fasting and weight loss. There's even a sections on exercise, stress management and sleep!
Each section is completed with an Action Point Recap, which is a helpful summary of the chapter.
Hugh has an entertaining writing style, so the first part of the book is interesting, educational and easy to read.
Recipes start on page 214, and cover breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as healthy desserts and non-alcoholic drinks.
Many recipes are vegetarian or vegan, or can be easily be made so, but there are plenty of fish/meat dishes as well to satisfy the pescatarians and omnivores amongst us.
The recipes are generally quite simple, using (what are for me) staple store-cupboard ingredients (although you might have to buy the nuts, seeds and pulses if you don't already have them). Very similar in many ways to the Blue Zone recipes, where a similar lifestyle and eating pattern is recommended.
Altogether, I think this a great book to introduce you to eating a more wholefood and healthy diet. It's more than a recipe book: it is a book on the philosophy of eating and living well.
February 16, 2021
This book is broken down into a big chunk of advice at the beginning followed by recipes. The advice won't be hugely new to anybody. It's things like to eat whole foods, eat plant based as much as possible, vary your diet, include fermented things which would encourage good gut bacteria, limit alcohol and to eat mindfully. This section is long and there wasn't much in there that I didn't know already, except that there is no requirement for ingredients to be listed for alcoholic drinks, which I had no idea about. However, if you are in the mood to be reminded about all the good advice that you already know, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall writes it in a way that is enjoyable reading.
As for the recipes, some of them are very simple, and some of the ingredients might not be the easiest to put your hand on just at present, when you might be limiting your shopping trips to try and stay safe. On the whole, there were a few recipes I'd like to try, but I got more from the earlier part of the book. I knew most of it already, but it was good to be reminded to help me kick off a more healthy way of eating.
*I received an ebook of this from Netgalley for my honest review
As for the recipes, some of them are very simple, and some of the ingredients might not be the easiest to put your hand on just at present, when you might be limiting your shopping trips to try and stay safe. On the whole, there were a few recipes I'd like to try, but I got more from the earlier part of the book. I knew most of it already, but it was good to be reminded to help me kick off a more healthy way of eating.
*I received an ebook of this from Netgalley for my honest review
January 29, 2021
This is basically a book encouraging the reader to eat better with some recipes to help the reader do that. The first seven sections explore different aspects of food and what we should aim for in food and lifestyle choices. The seven sections are
1. Importance of wholegrains
2. Need for diversity in our diet
3. Looking after our gut
4. Reducing refined carbohydrates
5. Being aware of different fats
6. Consider drinks – soft and alcoholic
7. Eating mindfully
It’s all good advice but I didn’t learn much as I’ve read a lot of similar books and articles on these topics in recent years. The only thing I can remember learning is that there are better ways to squat than the way we do in the West to empty our bowels! The whole subject of being aware of, and improving, our gut biome is a relative new one. I suspect that we will hear much more on this topic in years to come and that some of this advice will change as the research develops.
The last half of the book is recipes for putting all the advice into practical use. I have looked at all but none are jumping out to inspire me to try them. At least a third contain nuts which I am unable to eat so I think this is maybe not the best book for me. They are mostly vegetarian but there are a few for fish and meat but none were grabbing me as being that different to things I already cook.
I think the main point potential readers should be aware of it that this is not a recipe book but an educational and advice book with some recipes at the back. The first recipe appears on page 212. Despite not suiting me personally it's a well written and very nicely presented book with a lot of information from sources I trust.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
1. Importance of wholegrains
2. Need for diversity in our diet
3. Looking after our gut
4. Reducing refined carbohydrates
5. Being aware of different fats
6. Consider drinks – soft and alcoholic
7. Eating mindfully
It’s all good advice but I didn’t learn much as I’ve read a lot of similar books and articles on these topics in recent years. The only thing I can remember learning is that there are better ways to squat than the way we do in the West to empty our bowels! The whole subject of being aware of, and improving, our gut biome is a relative new one. I suspect that we will hear much more on this topic in years to come and that some of this advice will change as the research develops.
The last half of the book is recipes for putting all the advice into practical use. I have looked at all but none are jumping out to inspire me to try them. At least a third contain nuts which I am unable to eat so I think this is maybe not the best book for me. They are mostly vegetarian but there are a few for fish and meat but none were grabbing me as being that different to things I already cook.
I think the main point potential readers should be aware of it that this is not a recipe book but an educational and advice book with some recipes at the back. The first recipe appears on page 212. Despite not suiting me personally it's a well written and very nicely presented book with a lot of information from sources I trust.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 29, 2021
Informative if you're new to the way of whole food plant food thinking.
I enjoy the way Hugh writes but while I enjoyed this, I felt it was missing something.
I enjoy the way Hugh writes but while I enjoyed this, I felt it was missing something.
January 30, 2021
Heavily disappointed in this book, I mean most of us all know to eat healthy but when I think of eating better and needing advice or information the last person to take advice from would be a chef, it'd probably go for a Doctor or Dietician. But whilst Hugh F-W does have a lot of knowledge as a chef, there is a lot of in depth information on various topics such as refined sugars, healthy eating, saturated fats and whole foods, etc etc, and whilst that is good, it seems a little condescending at times as did some of the recipes, such as Orange and Apple Breakfast, which was really, really basic.
There are some other recipes such as Overnight Oats, which are okay but nothing special, this book hasn't got anything that I've never thought of or couldn't find online which is what I love most about recipes.
Plus most of the book was taken up by seven chapters of talking about eating healthy. I feel that this book would be perfect for a person who wants to eat healthy but doesn't know how to go about it, or a beginner chef looking to explore cooking and basic recipes as a starting point, but otherwise for more advanced cooks, it's a bit basic.
I'm not sure if it's been marketed as towards beginners so this may always come up with other people who love to cook, bit disappointing. It's nice that HFW is wanting to promote healthy eating but at the same time, this book isn't very friendly to people on budgets or with families, most children won't eat some of the things in this book and for people on tight budgets such as almonds etc. I didn't really feel that there was anything in this book that I would really realistically make. I think it's important to eat healthy, yes but make healthy eating yummy and fun really does make it beneficial. Nobody wants to eat salad with cashews in my house and I can't imagine suggesting it to the kids or the other half.
With thanks to Netgalley, Publishers and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are my own.
There are some other recipes such as Overnight Oats, which are okay but nothing special, this book hasn't got anything that I've never thought of or couldn't find online which is what I love most about recipes.
Plus most of the book was taken up by seven chapters of talking about eating healthy. I feel that this book would be perfect for a person who wants to eat healthy but doesn't know how to go about it, or a beginner chef looking to explore cooking and basic recipes as a starting point, but otherwise for more advanced cooks, it's a bit basic.
I'm not sure if it's been marketed as towards beginners so this may always come up with other people who love to cook, bit disappointing. It's nice that HFW is wanting to promote healthy eating but at the same time, this book isn't very friendly to people on budgets or with families, most children won't eat some of the things in this book and for people on tight budgets such as almonds etc. I didn't really feel that there was anything in this book that I would really realistically make. I think it's important to eat healthy, yes but make healthy eating yummy and fun really does make it beneficial. Nobody wants to eat salad with cashews in my house and I can't imagine suggesting it to the kids or the other half.
With thanks to Netgalley, Publishers and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are my own.
January 2, 2021
Much of this book is advice on 'eating better forever' as you may guess from the title.
The advice is useful, though nothing spectacularly unusual or original. That's not a bad thing - it is good, sensible advice. You find yourself nodding along as you read it. 'Of course, I should eat more whole foods.''Oh yes, it is better to drink less.' 'Why do I have so much refined sugar?' 'Wouldn't it be better to be more mindful?'
This is about 200 pages or thereabouts of the book (I read on iPad so less likely to be accurate than if I was reading a physical copy), and then we have 100 recipes that fulfil most of the seven strategies outlined in the first half of the book for eating better.
Here I was a bit disappointed. Flicking through, there was really nothing I wanted to make. I bookmarked a handful that were similar to things I've done before, but the rest didn't appeal to me. So perhaps it's a me-problem, not a book-problem.
The author is very keen for us to eat better and that's admirable. But I'm not sure his strategies will be realistic for all readers. If you have a young family, for example, most of the recipes are not going to satisfy young children (though obviously you don't need to eat the same as them - but I like to).
Arguably they come from a bit of a position of privilege too - the budget to buy varied ingredients. He talks about eating almonds and dark chocolate instead of a eating a Picnic bar - but which is far cheaper? I like almonds, but I only tend to buy them when they're reduced! He's also very keen for us to drink probiotic/prebiotic drinks like kefir and kombucha, but again, the price to buy them or the time to make them is going to be tough to find in my current lifestyle.
To conclude, I quite like the advice - it's definitely worth thinking about if you want to change your diet for the better and for the longterm. So three stars bare minimum for this book from me. I'm just not sure I'll ever get around to the recipes.
The advice is useful, though nothing spectacularly unusual or original. That's not a bad thing - it is good, sensible advice. You find yourself nodding along as you read it. 'Of course, I should eat more whole foods.''Oh yes, it is better to drink less.' 'Why do I have so much refined sugar?' 'Wouldn't it be better to be more mindful?'
This is about 200 pages or thereabouts of the book (I read on iPad so less likely to be accurate than if I was reading a physical copy), and then we have 100 recipes that fulfil most of the seven strategies outlined in the first half of the book for eating better.
Here I was a bit disappointed. Flicking through, there was really nothing I wanted to make. I bookmarked a handful that were similar to things I've done before, but the rest didn't appeal to me. So perhaps it's a me-problem, not a book-problem.
The author is very keen for us to eat better and that's admirable. But I'm not sure his strategies will be realistic for all readers. If you have a young family, for example, most of the recipes are not going to satisfy young children (though obviously you don't need to eat the same as them - but I like to).
Arguably they come from a bit of a position of privilege too - the budget to buy varied ingredients. He talks about eating almonds and dark chocolate instead of a eating a Picnic bar - but which is far cheaper? I like almonds, but I only tend to buy them when they're reduced! He's also very keen for us to drink probiotic/prebiotic drinks like kefir and kombucha, but again, the price to buy them or the time to make them is going to be tough to find in my current lifestyle.
To conclude, I quite like the advice - it's definitely worth thinking about if you want to change your diet for the better and for the longterm. So three stars bare minimum for this book from me. I'm just not sure I'll ever get around to the recipes.
January 17, 2021
Review based on an eARC provided by the publishers
I own several of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cookbooks already, so I was really looking forward to reviewing this gem that was published 31 December 2020.
The focus point of this book is not recipes, although there are a lot of really good ones. The focus is eating habits for a better, healthier life. Most of the author's suggestions weren't new to me, but that doesn't mean that I've fully implemented them into my life. That's why I especially liked the summary lists at the end of each chapter about the "7 Ways" to Eat Better Forever.
I own several of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cookbooks already, so I was really looking forward to reviewing this gem that was published 31 December 2020.
The focus point of this book is not recipes, although there are a lot of really good ones. The focus is eating habits for a better, healthier life. Most of the author's suggestions weren't new to me, but that doesn't mean that I've fully implemented them into my life. That's why I especially liked the summary lists at the end of each chapter about the "7 Ways" to Eat Better Forever.
January 1, 2021
The first 208 pages were devoted to the explanations of the ways to transform your diet before the recipes started. I found a lot of the writing interesting and thought provoking. The recipes then followed but I didn’t find them as inspiring as I hoped they would be. I much prefer his earlier books such as Everyday Veg. I wanted to love this book as I respect the writer and have enjoyed his books over the years, unfortunately the recipes just didn’t match my expectations.
January 9, 2021
I have read all Hugh's books and am already a healthy eater but I particularly enjoyed this one, and learned a few new tips. I love how well-rounded and researched it is and thoroughly enjoyed having more to read than usual as it's only half recipes. I guess I'm already a convert but for those who aren't and have realised they need to change their eating habits, this book will be gold dust.
June 13, 2023
Really digestible (“pardon the pun” as Hugh says many times in the book) and the first time I was reading about nutrition and genuinely could understand (most) of it. Good info and really like his multi faceted approach instead of “one size fits all” dieting. The mains recipes seem complicated and not as easy as I was hoping but looking forward to trying some and the approach overall
October 10, 2023
The book explains how to follow a wholefood healthy diet at all meals. It is full of lots of information. Over 40% of the book is information, so the recipe section is actually fairly small. There is information explaining what eating better entails and how it can benefit you. Fibre is explained as are pre and probiotics, low carbing and wholefoods. There is a "variety audit" spreadsheet included so you can mointor that you are getting enough into your families diet. There is a sample 7 day meal plan to get you started and useful tips for how to switch to healthier snacks e.g. swap an afternoon chocolate bar for nuts (duh!). If you do nothing else Hugh extorts that at least you can eat less meat and make sure half your plate is comprised of vegetables. A lot of the information is pretty well known and I found it quite dull.
I can't say I was very impressed by the recipe section. It was sectioned into Breakfasts, Lunchbox salads, Satisfying salads, Meals,Feisty Fish, (Less is more) meat, Treats and Drinks. It's all very worthy, almost a hrak back to 70's style veggie and macrobiotic eating. There recipes for (very trendy at present), fermented foods such as Kimchi, Kombucha, kefir and kraut.. I kind of felt the book would have been better being launched in the summer as I think people crave lighter, healthier food then than when the wind is howling outside and the rain is lashing your windows. For example breakfasts include: "thickies" - shakes made with bananas, and recipes such as Blueberry, Avocado and Almonds which is exactly that, along with another comprising strawberries and cashews , a "Banana breakfast" consisting of bananas, berries and seeds. There is a root sald made from julienned carrots and nuts. On a winter morning, I'd not look forward to these. They could have all been listed on one page but a page is given to each with a photo. There is also a recipe for overnight oats and finally a hot breakfast of eggs and kimchi.
Lunchbox salads has items such as beetroot and chickpea wrap (bet that looks great after a few hours in a plastic box with beetroot staining the wrap.). Bean pate and egg, cauliflower, kraut and parsley salad. These recipes just didn't appeal to me. meals include: Spiced gazpaucho and summer greens. Curried bean cullen skink. The Fish dishes were more appealing to my partner(although not for veggie me) and include: hake with Kimchi butter, fish and vegetable parcels and fish finger tomato and bean salad. Meat dishes include: Chicken livers and lentils, duck red cabbage raisin and orange and Roots burger and beans. . For "treats" there are rye and banana cookies, seedy almond cake and ice lollies.
Hmm.. I can't see me cooking form this book. I like healthy food but it's all a bit worthy and I found the photos or the food and the ingredient combos quite unappetizing. Not a hit with me.
I can't say I was very impressed by the recipe section. It was sectioned into Breakfasts, Lunchbox salads, Satisfying salads, Meals,Feisty Fish, (Less is more) meat, Treats and Drinks. It's all very worthy, almost a hrak back to 70's style veggie and macrobiotic eating. There recipes for (very trendy at present), fermented foods such as Kimchi, Kombucha, kefir and kraut.. I kind of felt the book would have been better being launched in the summer as I think people crave lighter, healthier food then than when the wind is howling outside and the rain is lashing your windows. For example breakfasts include: "thickies" - shakes made with bananas, and recipes such as Blueberry, Avocado and Almonds which is exactly that, along with another comprising strawberries and cashews , a "Banana breakfast" consisting of bananas, berries and seeds. There is a root sald made from julienned carrots and nuts. On a winter morning, I'd not look forward to these. They could have all been listed on one page but a page is given to each with a photo. There is also a recipe for overnight oats and finally a hot breakfast of eggs and kimchi.
Lunchbox salads has items such as beetroot and chickpea wrap (bet that looks great after a few hours in a plastic box with beetroot staining the wrap.). Bean pate and egg, cauliflower, kraut and parsley salad. These recipes just didn't appeal to me. meals include: Spiced gazpaucho and summer greens. Curried bean cullen skink. The Fish dishes were more appealing to my partner(although not for veggie me) and include: hake with Kimchi butter, fish and vegetable parcels and fish finger tomato and bean salad. Meat dishes include: Chicken livers and lentils, duck red cabbage raisin and orange and Roots burger and beans. . For "treats" there are rye and banana cookies, seedy almond cake and ice lollies.
Hmm.. I can't see me cooking form this book. I like healthy food but it's all a bit worthy and I found the photos or the food and the ingredient combos quite unappetizing. Not a hit with me.
May 23, 2021
'Eat Better Forever' is an excellent book! I have followed Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (and his campaigns against waste and plastic) for a little over ten years. His cookbooks 'River Cottage Veg Every Day!' and 'Love Your Leftovers' are among my all-time favourites. So I was very much looking forward to reading this book and my expectations were sky-high. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall delivered!
What permeates every page of this book almost tangibly is the author's joy and love of cooking, eating, and anything food-related in general. The book is beautifully written and a treat to read. All claims made by the author are thoroughly researched and supported by a plethora of sources. However, the best aspect of the book is the author's emphasis on practicality - every chapter ends with a list of easy, immediately actionable tips for improvement and change. Even more, the author is happy to detail his own journey to a healthier and better diet with its struggles and difficulties, such as his sweet tooth and love of a good pint or a good bottle of wine.
I have been interested in healthy cooking and eating for a very long time, so I dare say I am not a novice in this department. I still learned a LOT from this book and, most importantly, felt inspired by the author's joy and pleasure in improving his and his family's diet and eating habits.
The recipes in the book are simple and delicious. Every recipe I've made so far was a big hit with my family.
Overall, an exceptional, beautiful book full of sound advice and practical, immediately actionable tips for eating, feeling, and living better. I truly cannot recommend this book highly enough!
What permeates every page of this book almost tangibly is the author's joy and love of cooking, eating, and anything food-related in general. The book is beautifully written and a treat to read. All claims made by the author are thoroughly researched and supported by a plethora of sources. However, the best aspect of the book is the author's emphasis on practicality - every chapter ends with a list of easy, immediately actionable tips for improvement and change. Even more, the author is happy to detail his own journey to a healthier and better diet with its struggles and difficulties, such as his sweet tooth and love of a good pint or a good bottle of wine.
I have been interested in healthy cooking and eating for a very long time, so I dare say I am not a novice in this department. I still learned a LOT from this book and, most importantly, felt inspired by the author's joy and pleasure in improving his and his family's diet and eating habits.
The recipes in the book are simple and delicious. Every recipe I've made so far was a big hit with my family.
Overall, an exceptional, beautiful book full of sound advice and practical, immediately actionable tips for eating, feeling, and living better. I truly cannot recommend this book highly enough!
March 19, 2021
Eat Better Forever looks at the nutrition in food and the first half of the book looks at changing your diet to be less processed and the second half are recipes you can use.
The first half of the book starts with 7 chapters devoted to changing your eating habits:
- going whole-wheat
- varied diet
- gut health
- understanding fats
- reducing refined carbs
- understanding sugar laidened drinks and alcohol
- portion sizes and mindful eating
Plus there are two more chapters on 7 ways to lose weight and keeping well to eat better. Included is a 7 day meal plan along with ideas for exercise, de-stressing and sleep.
The second half of the book contains whole, high-fibre recipes:
- breakfasts
- lunches
- salads
- soups
- veg mains
- fish
- meat
- treats and drinks
There are lots of vegetarian dishes in the lunches, salads, soups and the meat and fish ones are packed with vegetables too. Each recipe comes with a full colour photograph, ingredients in metric measurements and the instructions are clear to follow.
There is certainly a lot to take in reading this book, it's something I should try to do, though many of the recipes are nut rich and we have allergies in our house so they would not be any good for us. However for those wishing to overhaul their diets and eat more whole grains and less processed then this would be an excellent book for you.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.
The first half of the book starts with 7 chapters devoted to changing your eating habits:
- going whole-wheat
- varied diet
- gut health
- understanding fats
- reducing refined carbs
- understanding sugar laidened drinks and alcohol
- portion sizes and mindful eating
Plus there are two more chapters on 7 ways to lose weight and keeping well to eat better. Included is a 7 day meal plan along with ideas for exercise, de-stressing and sleep.
The second half of the book contains whole, high-fibre recipes:
- breakfasts
- lunches
- salads
- soups
- veg mains
- fish
- meat
- treats and drinks
There are lots of vegetarian dishes in the lunches, salads, soups and the meat and fish ones are packed with vegetables too. Each recipe comes with a full colour photograph, ingredients in metric measurements and the instructions are clear to follow.
There is certainly a lot to take in reading this book, it's something I should try to do, though many of the recipes are nut rich and we have allergies in our house so they would not be any good for us. However for those wishing to overhaul their diets and eat more whole grains and less processed then this would be an excellent book for you.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.
May 2, 2021
’ve always enjoyed watching Hugh on the television. He is passionate, articulate and incredibly knowledgable. He has this wonderful ability to convey information simply and without fuss. The way he writes is pretty much how he comes across on the tv and for me this created a very enjoyable and inspiring book. He has of course worked hard to create the life he is living now, yet he does inspire us to try and convert all the goodness of his own to ours.
The thing I liked most was his common sense approach to better living. You may have heard some or all of what he has to say before but he has a way of making it seem less daunting. He comes across as a friend offering friendly, knowledgable advice rather than condescending and judgmental. The book is thoughtfully presented and has beautiful photography throughout. As well as tried and tested advice, Hugh has included recipes that look delicious and are very ‘doable’. This is not a ‘diet’ book but simply a book to inspire us to live our best lives yet in a way that is good for us and the environment. I received my review copy through Netgalley but this is definitely a book that I would like to add to my bookshelves.
Thank you so much to Bloomsbury and the lovely team at Netgalley for granting my wish to read Eat Better Forever.
The thing I liked most was his common sense approach to better living. You may have heard some or all of what he has to say before but he has a way of making it seem less daunting. He comes across as a friend offering friendly, knowledgable advice rather than condescending and judgmental. The book is thoughtfully presented and has beautiful photography throughout. As well as tried and tested advice, Hugh has included recipes that look delicious and are very ‘doable’. This is not a ‘diet’ book but simply a book to inspire us to live our best lives yet in a way that is good for us and the environment. I received my review copy through Netgalley but this is definitely a book that I would like to add to my bookshelves.
Thank you so much to Bloomsbury and the lovely team at Netgalley for granting my wish to read Eat Better Forever.
January 24, 2021
I like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his enthusiasm for food. I own several of his books and I was delighted to receive an early preview copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher. This book is written in a style which is clearly set out and easy to follow. You can imagine Hugh narrating it as you read. It is easy to understand the information and points that he is making. This is not a recipe book, although there are some recipes. It is not a dieting book, and there is no calorie counting. Instead the book is about eating sensibily for a healthy body. How to eat to strengthen your immune system and have a nutritious diet. He states that no food should be forbidden, you can still eat treats, just not every day. This book is about making changes in what you eat, very little processed food. Most of the foods that he suggests are also widely available in most supermarkets. He suggests swaps that you could make, so eventually you make healthy decisions and choices naturally. As someone who has health problems I found this book interesting. I will definitely try to adopt some of his suggestions. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to make changes to their diet and eat more healthily.
February 13, 2021
Eat Better Forever; 7 Ways to Transform Your Diet by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a book that's aimed at helping people to eat healthier.
In the first half of the book, there's advice about things like eating whole foods, moving away from junk and processed foods, and there's explanations to back up what he's saying, including information on things like FODMAP. I've heard about Low FODMAP diets, but didn't know the background about what FODMAP is!
The second half of the book is recipes that follow the principles he's set out.
This is going to be a good gift for anyone you know who is interested in eating better.
I've got the River Cottage Every Day cookbook, which I've loved everything I've made from, which is why I wanted to review this book!
Eat Better Forever; 7 Ways to Transform Your Diet by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was published on 2nd March 2021, and is available to buy from Amazon , Waterstones and Bookshop.org .
You can follow Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on Twitter and on the River Cottage website .
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Bloomsbury Publishing .
In the first half of the book, there's advice about things like eating whole foods, moving away from junk and processed foods, and there's explanations to back up what he's saying, including information on things like FODMAP. I've heard about Low FODMAP diets, but didn't know the background about what FODMAP is!
The second half of the book is recipes that follow the principles he's set out.
This is going to be a good gift for anyone you know who is interested in eating better.
I've got the River Cottage Every Day cookbook, which I've loved everything I've made from, which is why I wanted to review this book!
Eat Better Forever; 7 Ways to Transform Your Diet by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was published on 2nd March 2021, and is available to buy from Amazon , Waterstones and Bookshop.org .
You can follow Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on Twitter and on the River Cottage website .
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Bloomsbury Publishing .
April 18, 2021
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's book tries to be a one-stop shop for healthy eating and it does a good job. The beginning shows us how to make healthier options by explaining the benefits of whole foods and their nutritional values, good fats over bad and the effects of carbs and sugars. We then get a section on how to lose and maintain weight loss. The second half of the book is a collection of 100 healthy recipes for salads, soups, breakfasts and main meals, amongst a couple of others.
There is a lot in its 400 pages but Fearnley-Whittingstall manages to do a good job of conveying a healthier lifestyle as well as throwing in some recipes for good measure.
Well recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
There is a lot in its 400 pages but Fearnley-Whittingstall manages to do a good job of conveying a healthier lifestyle as well as throwing in some recipes for good measure.
Well recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
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