Jibrin, Janis

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Jibrin, Janis

PERSONAL:

Education: Holds an M.S. and R.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Washington, DC.

CAREER:

Writer, nutritionist, consultant; covers nutrition and diet for television and radio.

WRITINGS:

(With Oliver Alabaster) The Bran Plan Diet, Rodale Press (Emmaus, PA), 1993.

The Unofficial Guide to Dieting Safely, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1998.

The Supermarket Diet, Hearst Books (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Susan Westmoreland) The Supermarket Diet Cookbook, Hearst Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Janis Jibrin is a writer and nutritionist based in Washington, DC, whose primary interests include weight loss and the treatment of various types of eating disorders. She counsels clients on an individual basis, and has appeared both on television and radio to discuss the basics of good nutrition and the importance of eating habits that can help lead to prolonged good health. In addition, Jibrin is a regular contributor to various periodicals, and has written and/or cowritten a number of books on nutrition and proper eating, including The Bran Plan Diet, which she wrote with Oliver Alabaster, and The Unofficial Guide to Dieting Safely, as well as The Supermarket Diet and, with Susan Westmoreland, The Supermarket Diet Cookbook, both of which were published in conjunction with Good Housekeeping.

The Supermarket Diet serves as a combination diet book and guide to the careful reading and understanding of the nutritional labels found on the packages of most prepared and processed foods. Jibrin encourages dieters to keep things simple in order to avoid spending too much time in the kitchen, or indeed in the grocery store, as an overemphasis on food and its preparation makes it more likely that dieters will fail to stick to their nutritional guidelines for weight loss. She carefully explains how to avoid being fooled by certain types of food labels that might suggest the product is dietetic or low in calories or fat, but that are simply using misleading language to give a false impression. She stresses healthy eating and includes suggestions for snacks that won't stall a weight loss plan but will provide much-needed vitamins and other nutrients, such as nuts, fiber, and fats that are considered to be beneficial. Carla McLean, in a review for Library Journal, found Jibrin's diet book to be "well written and practical."

In The Supermarket Diet Cookbook, the companion to the diet book, Jibrin goes over the principles of the diet plan for those who need a refresher or did not read the earlier volume. She then goes on to provide recipes divided into a variety of meals, with all nutritional information, including calorie counts for the recipes included. She also gives helpful tips on how to maintain the diet when eating out, pointing out which fast-food restaurants prove the most hazardous to sticking to the plan, and which offer meals that will allow one to adhere entirely or at least fairly closely to the parameters of the diet plan. Christine Bulson, in a review for Library Journal, remarked that "unfortunately, the recipes are lumped into one chapter," and found the overall structure of the cookbook confusing.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, January 1, 2006, Carla McLean, review of The Supermarket Diet, p. 144; April 1, 2007, Christine Bulson, review of The Supermarket Diet Cookbook, p. 113.

Publishers Weekly, January 9, 2006, Charlotte Abbott, "The Supermarket Diet Is Grocer's Choice," p. 5.

U.S. Newswire, January 31, 2006, "Don't Give Up on That Resolution; The Five Secrets of Successful Dieters from The Supermarket Diet."