Joy Manning

Writer Joy Manning lives at the intersection of food and health. But for years she lived on butter, meat, fried foods, and pastries as a restaurant critic.

Unsurprisingly, that gig drove her straight into the arms of Prevention magazine, where she was nutrition editor and ate mostly steamed quinoa and Swiss chard grown on Rodale’s organic farm. Since then, she’s learned to balance her love of all things deep-fried and panko-crusted with her plan to live to the age of 120.

So now she writes and teaches about health, plant-based cooking, and nutrition. A self-taught cook, Joy became a master recipe developer by learning from every chef she’s interviewed and each cookbook she’s cracked open.

She writes books (Is Our Food Killing Us?, Stuff Every Cook Should Know) and helps other people make their cookbooks (Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking, Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking).

The James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals liked Joy’s work enough to nominate her for some splashy awards she didn’t end up winning. (She likes to say, “It was an honor just to be nominated.” It was!) The Best Food Writing book series once anthologized an essay she wrote. She has written for many publications, including Web MD, Women’s Health, Diabetes Forecast, and Shape. Together with fellow food writer Marisa McClellan, Joy co-hosts Local Mouthful, a home cooking podcast.

Favorite soundtrack while cooking: "I like to listen to the Judge John Hodgman podcast in the kitchen."