Barbara Kraus' Calories and Carbohydrates

I've used an earlier edition of this book for about 30 years. For me, the thing that sets it above other calorie counting reference books is that things are simply arranged alphabetically: trout is under "T" and salmon is under "S" -- they are not under "F" for fish. Other calorie counters drive me nuts because you have to figure out what category something will be indexed under rather than just turning to that item's alphabetical listing. This has much more than "brand name" items. When I was making chicken soup yesterday, I could find each ingredient from the raw, whole chicken to the rutabaga I threw in, to add up the total calories in the pot. I'm happy it is still in publication as it's time to replace my badly worn copy! Excellent tool!

I have the original printing of this book which finally has worn out , so I replaced it. I have yet to find a more helpful book for any dieter. It is invaluable.

This book is an excellent tool to give you a general idea of the calories of food. I have found it to be quite comprehensive and am losing 2lbs per week now using this book.

I bought the second edition in 1973, before the labels that are now on all packaged foods and have used it for 30 years. I've had the book longer than I've had my husband (and it's been worth a lot more as well! LOL!). Yes, you can get the information from the packaging on most things, but since oranges and pork chops don't come with labeling, the information is still valuable to those of us who cook from scratch and don't eat everything out of a box. I recommend this as a handy tool to anyone who is interested in counting calories in their quest to maintain their healthy weight.

Most of these books list portions by size, like 1/2 cup of cantaloupe or 1 medium orange. What is a "medium" orange? What if the cantaloupe is a wedge (and thus does not fit into a measuring cup)? I searched for a book that gave calorie counts by the ounce or the gram. This book is the closest I have found. It does give calories by weight, but not by the ounce/gram. For example, for "orange", it gives a calorie count for 1 pound of oranges with the skin on. It also gives a calorie count for 8.5 ounces of segments. I would recommend this book over the other calorie counters I have found, but if you are also counting fat, you will have to supplement it with another book, as this book only gives calorie and carbohydrate counts.