Bookshelf

The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food
By Chris van Tulleken

If I had read a physical copy of this book, I’d have highlighted nearly every word. Dr. Chris takes the complex food (or rather, “industrially produced edible substance”) industry and examines it across its many, interwoven dimensions. His writing is accessible and appropriately terrifying. A must-read.

By Marion Nestle

What to Eat is a great starting point for those seeking to incorporate healthier, more intentional eating patterns into their lives. This book breaks down the many choices we all have when it comes to food and eating and presents them in an informative, accessible, evidence-based way that empowers you to make the right, informed choice for you.

More Than 100 Feel-Good Vegetarian Favorites to Delight the Senses and Nourish the Body: A Cookbook
By Kathryne Taylor

If I had to choose one cookbook to use for the rest of my life, it’d be Love Real Food, the first published cookbook of the author of the Cookie and Kate blog. Taylor’s whole-food, vegetarian recipes are well-tested, easily adaptable for most food sensitivities, and absolutely delicious.

A Cookbook about Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds
By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Tenderheart is a love letter to vegetables and to McKinnon’s family, especially her deceased father. It’s tender without being sentimental, and the recipes I’ve made are new and exciting ways to let veggies shine.

The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket
By Benjamin Lorr

A must-read for anyone curious about how food gets from suppliers to supermarket shelves. Well-researched, fascinating, and extremely readable — even humorous at times, especially in the many footnotes.

The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America
By Priya Fielding-Singh, PhD

A more accurate title for this book would be The Labor of Feeding Families, as it’s mostly about the lengths American parents, especially mothers, take to feed their families, let alone provide foods that are nourishing and affordable. After a shaky intro, this book becomes absolutely fascinating with its in-depth anthropological research on food inequality.

By Aubrey Gordon

As a regular listener of Maintenance Phase, Gordon’s podcast, I expected this work would continue to challenge my assumptions and biases about people living in bigger bodies. It more than delivered, sharing Gordon’s lived experience with anti-fat bias across aspects of her life. Thoroughly researched, highly vulnerable, and something everyone should read.

By Des Linden with Bonnie D. Ford

This 2018 Boston Marathon champion’s memoir is as vulnerable, authentic, and inspiring as you’d expect. While runners will be able to most naturally see themselves in Linden, Choosing to Run can re-energize anyone needing a boost in their journey with movement.

Get Lean, Strong, and Healthy at Any Age
By Michael Matthews

While Matthews’ tone is a bit in-your-face, Muscle for Life is a helpful overview for those curious about the process of building muscle. Recommended for those who already have a basic understanding of fitness, as I don’t think his approach should be taken as gospel.

Field Notes on the Future of Food
By Dan Barber

I’ll never forget my first boss’ holiday gift: a surprise dinner at Blue Hill, chef Dan Barber’s Manhattan restaurant, where foods as simple as a single carrot had been bred to be perfectly balanced. While Barber has since been accused of misconduct at his restaurant, his contributions to sustainable agriculture cannot be ignored.

By Jonathan Safran Foer

Eating Animals begins from a mostly objective point of view, but as the author’s family grew, he decided to both investigate and deeply reflect upon what it means to eat animals. It’s not an easy read. Though I do eat meat, Eating Animals helped inform me about the impact of my choices.

By Michelle Zauner

Zauner, perhaps better known from her work with the band Japanese Breakfast, wrote an absolute triumph with Crying in H Mart. It captures the beauty and nuance of her complicated relationship with her mother and her memories of her Korean-American food culture.

Recipes and Antics from a Modern American Family
By Priya Krishna with RItu Krishna

I love the way the Krishnas intersperse their recipes – which range from authentic to truly Indian-ish – with stories of merging culture and cuisines. Their approach yields a no-nonsense, adaptable guide to a cuisine that can feel intimidating to non-Indian folks.

By Walter Isaacson

If you’re wondering why the 600+ page Steve Jobs memoir from 2011 is on a list of wellness books, I get it. However, this memoir did more than anything else I read in business school to re-inspire and re-energize me during a creative rut, both through Jobs’ story and in Isaacson’s prose.

The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
By Patrick Radden Keefe

Empire of Pain reads like a thriller novel, despite being a work of nonfiction, as it unpacks the greed and deplorably savvy tactics at the root of America’s opioid epidemic. A worthwhile read for understanding how power and greed can corrupt, having disastrous, widespread consequences for the health of individuals, communities, and our health care system.

Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis
Edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson

For anyone feeling climate anxiety or like there’s nothing we can do, All We Can Save is a powerful book of essays. Its many contributors stay grounded in reality while offering hope and actionable solutions rooted in a wide array of perspectives.

125 Plant-Focused Meals to Enjoy Now or Make Ahead: A Cookbook
By Jeanine Donofrio

This cookbook takes a sensible approach to some of the most daunting aspects of meal prep: cooking on a whim with pantry staples, prepping a few days ahead, and most imporantly, keeping variety front and center. Though not entirely fuss-free, the recipes I’ve made are worth the upfront prep and are out of this world.

How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being By Mary Beth Albright

This book is an approachable introduction to the mind-gut connection, a phenomenon that's been gaining evidence in the past few years. Recommended for anyone curious about this topic and diving in for the first time.

Hosted by Katie Gatti Tassin

For those interested in boosting their financial wellness, Katie Gatti Tassin’s content is a must. Her takes on personal finance and the systems that shape our society are well-researched, accessible, and empowering.

Hosted by Ronald Young Jr.

Ronald Young Jr. uses his ‘Weight for It’ platform to reflect upon his own lifelong, complicated relationship with his body and to interview others about theirs. Deeply human and deeply vulnerable, it should be required listening

Hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes

The original wellness-myth-debunking podcast is high-energy and highly entertaining, presenting histories on everything from fad diets of yesteryear to more modern drugs like GLP-1 agonists. Recommended, but do your own research after listening, as Gordon and Hobbes sometimes fall prey to biased, cherry-picked statistics.