Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat assortment of recipes! Just the way I like to cook these days!
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2014
I’m very happy with this book!
And the more of this series that I see, the more I’m liking them! They just keep getting better and better. This “Healthy” addition to the Every Day of the Year W-S series is good enough to stand on its own. If you’ve got a bit of cooking experience behind you, and if you are a minimalist in not wanting many cook books on your book shelf, this collection of recipes could keep you churning out a great variety of new dishes for a long, long time.
It has all types of food: Veggies, grains, fruits, chicken, fish, beef, pork, eggs, pasta, cheese, beans and nuts. It has all types of dishes, too: Soups, pastas, grilled meats and veggies, burgers and kabobs and sandwiches, pizzas, salads, hand-held foods, stews and curries, stir-fries. And, of all that I’ve mentioned 47 of the recipes are vegan dishes and 88 are vegetarian dishes. There is a fresh and international flair to the flavors, and an assortment of cooking techniques.
Healthy, yes: But this is not a “diet” cook book, as you can see it does contain foods with a fair amount of calories. But healthy nonetheless, because the recipes cut down on fat, sugar and dairy, add mucho veggies to each meal, utilize protein-rich foods, (Right off the bat, (and right up my alley) January 1st is Quinoa Tabbouleh with Lemony Grilled Shrimp.), eliminate fatty cuts of meat and chicken and include more fish and seafood. Just the way I like to cook these days!
And oh, so, colorful! Fresh ingredients and thought to ingredient combinations are responsible for the superb colors of these dishes. Color is not necessarily a specific that I mention in a cook book review, but in this instance, it is a standout! The 90-plus, beautiful, full-color and full-page pictures help point this out.
This cook book has a very complete and informative “Look Inside” feature, and you should take a peek at it for examples of the great photography and easy-to-read-and-follow page layout and type size. It is a substantial, large, hard-bound book. Take a look at the index for a list of recipes and ingredients, too.
I have several cook books in this series. I’ve had some gripes with some of them, but my gripes seem to have been taken to heart by the publishers. I had issues with the One Pot a Day because many of the recipes required more than one pot. Plus, recipe ingredients were “seasonally incorrect” for the months in which they were listed. There were repeat recipes, too: What I saw in an early month was repeated (sometimes with the slightest of variations) in a later month. Several of the early books in the series give repeat recipes—with or without variations. (For instance a soup recipe might be found in the One Pot book, the Soup book, the Vegetable book, etc.) But I have not found that in this book—not one time.
Ingredients are easily found. Beans are dried beans, not canned (as was the case in earlier books in the series). Plenty of herbs and spices are included (more than in the earlier books). Plenty of extra recipes, too: In the form of salsas, toppings, sauces, pesto, etc. (And in this book those recipes are actually there, not just listed in the ingredient list or instructions, then forgotten…)
Because the “Look Inside” feature on this product page is so complete and terrific, I am not going to go through my usual bucket list of recipes that I’ve tried or have tagged. But let me just say that the spice rub for the roasted tri-tip with Brussels sprouts is wonderful. The Lemon Catfish tucked into packets with a colorful slaw and baked in the oven is super and easy, too. And it would be great with other firm white fish. I’ve wondered just what to do with the calamari steaks that I have been seeing at the fish counter. Now I know: There is a recipe for them grilled, then topped with a Mediterranean salsa.
I lean towards using fish, grains, fresh veggies from my garden, eggs from our chickens, small portions of meat or none at all. I also lean towards soups and stews in the colder months, and grilling, sautéing and stir-fries in the warmer months. I lean away from dairy and major “productions” in the kitchen. This book leans my way!
