The Healthy Way to Get Through That Superbowl Party
January 27, 2012 - Written by DianaSuperbowl and healthy eating don’t seem to go hand in hand. We associate this testosterone infected party with fried finger foods covered in cheese, things you can toss back and swallow with beer – though in my case it would be wine or a cooler. The truth is, though I bring healthier foods, there will be other things there that I should stay away from. I’m going to try and give us some great ideas to help us get through this fat laden party in the next week. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat some of the bad stuff, but if I fill my plate with the good stuff, and just leave a little spot here and there for the other stuff that will be okay.
Tosca Reno the queen of the Clean Eating recipe books has produced a small guide book. It’s small in size, and you can stick it in your laptop case or your briefcase to reference whenever you need a little help. Tosca calls it “JUST THE RULES: TOSCA’S GUIDE TO EATING RIGHT
Gooseberry Patch – Quick and Easy Autumn
September 15, 2011 - Written by Diana
Gooseberry Patch is more of a community foodie publishing company than a cookbook publishing company. Anyone can send in a recipe for their books, and if you do, you receive a copy of the book your recipe is in. One of their latest is Quick and Easy Autumn Recipes, which I have the privilege of reviewing. Lots of recipes sent in by the Gooseberry Patch Foodie Community that are quick and easy just like the title says. I like how each recipe is credited to the foodie contributor and all of the personal notes attached also. The Autumn Acorn Squash by Jenny Sarbacker looks very tempting, and I plan to try it out.
Plenty of autumn farmer’s market ingredients found in this book – apples, squash, beans, sausage, stews, soups, everything you want on your dinner table when the weather starts to turn a little cooler. All the recipes take less than 30 minutes to make. These recipes do depend on shortcuts such as canned biscuits and crescent rolls, canned soup and beans, etc. However, you have to know that I am not against …
Man with a Pan edited by John Donohue
June 29, 2011 - Written by Diana
On Father’s Day I gave a tribute to the men in my life who cooked (or in my son’s case – didn’t cook). I got my inspiration from Man with a Pan, Culinary Adventures of Fathers Who Cook For Their Families. , a compilation of essays by different men, presented and edited by John Donohue, mostly it’s about how they were inspired to cook. I find it fun to read the male perspective, though I came from a family where men were for the most part, comfortable in the kitchen. I can identify with some of these men, whether directly or seeing a trait in someone else I know. Manny Howard turning dinners into events with much ado – that was my father. He believed dinner gatherings should center around the presentation of the food, even if it was delivered as everyone was leaving.
I get a kick out of reading what some of my favorite chefs like to say – like Mario Batali and how just a little bit of …
Everything Books To Help You Have a Healthy Summer
June 9, 2011 - Written by DianaI have been given the opportunity to review a few Everything Books. These are great intro books to different subjects – you can read them from cover to cover to learn all about the subject, or you can search for particular information, tips, recipes and use it as reference material. My biggest problem is there are no photos to go along with the recipes, and for something like the Everything Raw Foods Recipe Book, you might want to see what the finished product should look like. The Everything books are perfect for trying out something new and using it as a guideline to figure it all out, inexpensively. I’m going to quickly review three of these books : The Everything Juicing Book, The Everything Mediterranean Diet Book, The Everything Raw Food Recipe Books. Adams Media wants to help you start summer in a healthy way, so read all the way to the bottom to see what they have for us in June.
The Everything Mediterranean Diet Book – All You Need TO Lose Weight And Stay Healthy - This book is not just a recipe book. Written by Connie Diekman and Sam Sotiropoulos the first one third of the book leads you through the Mediterranean diet and healthy way of living. What you need to do to live the Mediterranean way. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a staple in almost every meal, but there are plenty of other mediterraen must haves like roasted red peppers, red wine, feta cheese, lemons, etc. There are suggestions throughout on how to lighten up a dish even more – like Chicken Galantine is suggested to be wrapped in Eggplant rather than back in it’s original Chicken skin. This is a decent guide to help you get through trying to eat healthier and lose weight.
The Everything Raw Food Recipe Book - by Mike Snyder and Nancy Faass with Lorena Novak Bull. Raw Food Diets have always been perplexing to me. I love my food warm and not so raw, so I don’t think I am willing to change. However, I always say I’m willing to try new things, and raw foods are intriguing as well. Did you know that dehydrating is a way to get the texture you need without baking or cooking? I didn’t. It almost seems like cheating. The blender is your friend on the raw food diet as it is used in so many of the recipes. Smoothies are a great way to start, though no one thinks about it being raw food. I like the recipes in this, and though I don’t think I’m ready to make the switch, this is a great intro to a Raw Food way of eating. This book also mentions that the Raw Food Diet is a great way to get healthy and lose weight.
New Orleans Classic Gumbos & Soups
March 9, 2011 - Written by Diana
Tonight is the end of Mardi Gras – or Fat Tuesday. The traditions of Mardi Gras originated in the New Orleans area, so I thought New Orleans Classic Gumbos and Soups (Classic Recipes Series)
Kit found recipes from her favorite chefs and restaurants all about New Orleans. This book has the basics to start you out – like what’s the trinity (Oh, oh, I know I know) – to seasonings, how to make a roux, ways to cook ceratin foods and the basic gumbo, and sausage, red beans and rice recipes. In addition to the ingredients that are normally found in your pantry, you’ll need to expand your freezer to include quail, alligator, turtle, duck and crawfish. A couple of really neat recipes include the Sweet Potato Soup given …
The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes On Earth
January 28, 2011 - Written by Diana
Here’s a nice twist – healthy and 15 minutes, something. The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about How to Make the Most Deliciously Nutritious Meals at Home in Just Minutes a Day
While these are healthy, they are 15 minute recipes because they use shortcuts. So canned tuna, canned beans, frozen spinach, etc are used to help cut the time. I don’t have a problem with that. However, some of the meals, use shortcuts that means you have to prepare ahead of time, so I don’t know that they should count as 15 minute recipes. For example – the Quick Quinoa Burgers uses cooked quinoa. Not everyone …
Cookbooks by the Number
January 19, 2011 - Written by DianaWhenever I see books like today’s group, I think of my sister Deb who is the queen of numbered lists. The publishing company Robert Rose sent me these books for a review. I told them to pick a couple and don’t overwhelm me, and they sent some good ones, but they all contain numbers in the title – maybe they should have gone to Deb instead 
, but I was the lucky one.
The three books all have similar formats. Recipes galore, photos scattered but not for every recipe (my one real disappointment), a very good index in the back. The authors are different as well as the content. They are all soft cover, but large, with a nice size print. I dislike small print on a recipe book. Nothing is more difficult than trying to read a cookbook with reading glasses while trying to cook without them.
Slow Cooker Winners – 300 Easy and Satisfying Recipes by Donna-Marie Pye- Of the three books, this wins my recommendation for …
Crazy About Cookies by Krystina Castella
December 4, 2010 - Written by Diana
Krystina Castella has appeared in the Cookerati Cookbook reviews before, but definitely delivers again. I like her Crazy About Cookies: 300 Scrumptious Recipes for Every Occasion & Craving
Crazy About Cookies is well organized, starting out with the basics, including tools, ingredients, substitutions, decorations, types and techniques, and solutions, including high altitude baking. Though I didn’t find No-Bake Cookies (we also made them for the party), they have almost every imaginable cookie recipe. The recipes are written in a clear and concise, easy to follow manner. I suggest you read the directions all the way through first, and then start. My daughter didn’t and started creaming the butter and sugar in a small bowl instead of the bigger …
Rosemary, Sage & Orange Turkey For Thanksgiving
November 26, 2010 - Written by DianaToday we roasted a small turkey – about 12 lbs for a small family gathering. I turned to my Best of Clean Eating recipe book for their Rosemary Sage & Orange Turkey recipe. We usually dine with just the immediate family, plus another brother in law, his girlfriend and my mother in law. We had a couple missing, plus a new person this year, so it unexpectedly ended up even smaller than usual. We will be at the big family gathering this weekend to visit with all of the relatives.
The Best of Clean Eating
They said they built the chapters around the things their readers said they wanted to see most. These chapters include:
- Quick and Easy Family Dinners
- 20 Minute Meals
- Budget Friendly Suppers
- Five Ingredient Creations
- Seasonal Recipes
- Low-Fat Snacks
- Recipes …
The Earthbound Cook & Butternut, White Bean and Chard Soup
October 15, 2010 - Written by Diana
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of The Earthbound Cook – 250 Recipes for Delicious Food and a Healthy Planet by Myra Goodman. There’s a contest going on currently (ends tomorrow) where Earthbound Farm Organics is giving away free copies of this book and my recommendation is that you try to get on that list of people getting a copy of this book. Myra Goodman is one of the founders of Earthbound Farms, and has taken the things she has learned using fresh organic farm grown ingredients and compiled them into a great recipe book. You would expect that every recipe would start with one head of Earthbound Organic Lettuce or a big bunch of Earthbound Organic Chard, or cup of Earthbound Organic baby carrots, but the truth is that there are no labels on any of the ingredients used in the recipes. There is a short narrative in the front of the book that tells you how Earthbound Farms came to be and their family, but the book isn’t about …
