Shelley Rael Ms Rdn

This collection of recipes promises healthy food, easily prepared, and it lives up to the promise. It opens with an overview of healthy eating/cooking and then a month’s worth of meal plans -- which I gave just passing attention to because I doubted a cookbook would contain enough recipes of real interest to me to fill a week, much less a month. Well, ha! -- I’ve marked 26 (!) of the book’s 85 recipes as ones to try (and that’s not including any in the pressure-cooker section, since I don’t own that appliance).

They’re a varied group of hot and cold dishes for breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner, suitable for beginning cooks because each involves relatively few ingredients (often grains, legumes and veggies, some lean meats) and few lines of instruction. Each is prepared using a single vessel -- a blender, bowl, slow-cooker, pressure-cooker, stockpot, Dutch oven, casserole, sheet pan or skillet. And each is accompanied by notations regarding food preferences/sensitivities (e.g. gluten, nuts, dairy, vegetarian, vegan); the number of servings (usually four, sometimes more); prep time/cook time (often 30 minutes or less); and nutrition information. There are few photos, but those that appear are full-page, full-color and appetizingly styled.

It’s inspiring to browse the book and see so many delicious, healthy options. It’s motivating to realize how easily they can be prepared.

(Review based on a copy of the book provided by the publisher.)… (mehr)