It’s no secret that I like to cook. Baking, braising, broiling, brining- I do it all, my friends. But I also like to fit into my pants. These likes are in constant tension in my world. Lemon shortbread cookies? Like. My new straight-leg jeans (which I previously would have called “skinny” until the Gap employee corrected me snidely)? Also like. And want to fit into them. Which I won’t if I don’t lay off these cookies. Well, maybe just one more…. *munchcrunchomgsogoodlmunchmunchcrunch*
Hm. We seem to have veered off course there.
To be a little more serious for a second, healthy eating has been a priority in my family for a long time. Since I was six, to be specific. Wen I was six my father, at the ripe old age of 45, had a stroke, It was caused, in part, by high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Nothing says “hey kids, learn how to be healthy ASAP!” like riding in a car to the ER at three in the morning with your unresponsive father passed out in the front seat.
My dad is (thank god) totally healthy now. From that day forward, my mom eliminated virtually all salt from our diet, and we were ahead of the curve on whole grains, low saturated fat, etc. And I’m mostly really grateful for that. As an adult, I don’t eat as restrictively as we did in those early years after my dad got sick, (I keep salt in the house, for example, something my mother hasn’t done for over 20 years,) but it’s a lot easier for me to eat healthy because I don’t have a lifetime of bad habits to break.
But my mom, god love her, does not love flavor. So we ate a lot of healthy food, but it was also often really bland. And I am a food nut. I love food. I love the taste of food. I love the social experience of food. I cannot live a life where every day for lunch I eat the same salad and every day for dinner I have a broiled salmon fillet with steamed broccoli. (My mom can, god love her. I would just be bored to TEARS.)
So as an adult, when I learned to cook, part of my goal was to replicate some of the flavors I’ve come to love in healthier dishes that I felt okay eating every day, instead of just as a special treat. This has involved reading a LOT of cookbooks and magazines. One thing I’ve noticed, reading “healthy” and “light” cookbooks, is how many of them suck. Too many use recipes that just don’t taste good. Or they call for lots of fakey chemical- and additive-laden ingredients that just skeeve me out. (Fat free cheese? No thanks!) I’d rather eat a small portion of the real thing than a large portion of something fake and weird that doesn’t taste nearly as good. (Sorry, Hungry Girl.)
My go-to cooking magazine is Cooks Illustrated, which I trust entirely. They’ve never steered me wrong. So when I learned that Cooks Illustrated had put out a light cookbook, I broke my own “no new cookbooks” rule and bought it.
I am so glad that I did. This book is full of recipes for delicious, normally deadly foods like chicken pot pie and spaghetti and meatballs. And get this- they all taste good! The editors say in the book that they couldn’t find a low-fat recipe for yellow cake that tasted good enough- so they didn’t include one! How’s that for novel? If it tastes like crap, it’s not worth it, healthy or not.
There are SO MANY recipes that have become standards in our house from this cookbook- French potato salad, artichoke dip, amazing turkey burgers, the aforementioned pot pie- and they’re all fabulous. Even the cheesecake is to die for. Is it fat free? No. Is it a lot healthier than your standard cheesecake, while still tasting delicious? Yes. That’s a compromise I can live with.
Technically this book costs more than $15 (the lowest I can find it for is $20.99, on Overstock.com,) so I’m going to have to categorize it as “splurge-worthy”. But I can tell you- we save a lot of money every week because I meal plan and cook most of our dinners at home- way cheaper than takeout- and this is our most frequently-used cookbook. So, despite the higher-than-usual pricetag, I recommend it wholeheartedly.
The Best Light Recipe, $20.99 on Overstock.com, also available at Amazon and other bookstores
Live a Colorful Life
I’m definitely getting this cookbook. Eating healthy, saving money by eating at home where you actually know each and every ingredient that goe sinto your food..priceless. But even better if you can save money while doing it.
September 16th, 2009 @ 5:02 pm
samantha jo campen
Was the pot pie you served us from this cook book? Because OMG YUM!
September 16th, 2009 @ 9:12 pm
Felicia
Sounds like a great book for some wonderful recipes!
September 17th, 2009 @ 4:01 pm