Better Health & Living: Article: 7 Cookbooks You Shouldn't Live Without

Issue: July 2008

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7 Cookbooks You Shouldn’t Live Without

Discover a delectable world of sensational recipes

by Elizabeth Somer, RD

Published in food+nutrition •METRO •METRO Story | 0 Comments, Talk about this article »

If my cookbook shelf had room for only seven books, these would be on it. Each boasts reliably delicious (and mostly healthy) recipes, sensible instructions that even inexperienced cooks can follow, and easy-to-find ingredients. No matter what culinary challenge comes your way, you’ll find inspiration and solutions in these pages. I’ve collected cookbooks, studied them, and even written one, so I know something about how to weed through the 24,000 or so that are published each year, and I’ve come up with this short, perfect list.

Best Basic

Cookbook

How to Cook Everything
by Mark Bittman

At 950 pages and 1,500 or so recipes, this weighty book serves up practical advice about equipment, techniques, main dishes, sauces, desserts, and accompaniments, both classic and alternative. Recipes range from basic burgers to Grand Marnier soufflés. My personal favorite: Stir-Fried Chicken with Spinach, which is sensational served over brown rice.

Best Vegetarian

Cookbook

The New Moosewood Cookbook
by Mollie Katzen

This is the ultimate vegetarian cookbook, with more than a million copies sold since its publication back in 1977. Recently, the James Beard Foundation elected it to its Cookbook Hall of Fame. Try the Polenta Pie for starters and then work your way, from soup to nuts, through one great vegetarian dish after another.

Best Classic

Cookbook

Joy of Cooking
by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker

This slice of Americana has been the ultimate kitchen bible for four generations of cooks. Its new edition is updated to suit 21st-century kitchens and lifestyles (no game-skinning recipes, but plenty for the microwave). My copy is oil smeared, chocolate stained, dog eared, and literally held together with duct tape. It’s the toolbox I open when I need the basics of roasting a pork loin or whipping up a cream puff. And I rely on it for encyclopedic information, such as the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. The recipes are straightforward and reliably good, if a tad lacking in imagination.

Best Weight-Loss

Cookbook

The Volumetrics Eating Plan
by Barbara Rolls, PhD

These 125 delicious recipes are based on Dr. Rolls’ research at Pennsylvania State University, where she proved that you can actually lose weight while eating the same amount of food--or even more--than you usually do if you cleverly cut calories using her concept called low energy density. A typical recipe, Fresh Fruit and Spinach Salad with Orange-Poppy Seed Dressing, is the best salad I’ve ever tasted, and you can have a very satisfying 2 1/2 cups for just 150 calories.

Best Easy Tips

Quick & Healthy Recipes and Ideas
by Brenda J. Ponichtera

In addition to 200 super-fast and simple recipes that taste great--I especially like the Thai Chicken Soup and the Quick Lasagna (you don’t even need to cook the noodles!)--this book is loaded with healthy cooking suggestions, including information on how to increase fiber in your diet, guidelines for reducing fat and sodium, tips for weight loss, timesaving cooking suggestions, products worth trying, a staples grocery list, and 20 weeks of menus (each with a shopping list).

Best Ethnic

Cookbook

Casual Cooking
by Michael Chiarello

Described as “Italian cucina rustica by way of California persuasion,” this cookbook is a must-have for anyone who loves simple, tasty foods, often made from whatever you have on hand. The Bruschetta with Homemade Ricotta and Salsa Genovese is great. Chiarello’s spice rubs are addictive, and the Forever Roasted Pork is so tender and succulent that it literally melts in your mouth.

Best Low-Fat

Cookbook

All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
by the recipe developers at Cooking Light magazine, Anne C. Cain, RD, ed.

I’ve been trying recipes from Cooking Light’s cookbooks for years and haven’t made a bad meal yet, but their new cookbook tops them all. Its 1,000 double-tested, never-fail, insanely delicious recipes are quite simply the best I’ve ever used. From the creamy Wild Rice-Squash Risotto and savory Curried Butternut Soup to the sinfully rich Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle, you can eat to your heart’s--and waistline’s--content.

Elizabeth Somer, RD, is author of The Food & Mood Cookbook and 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman’s Diet. She’s perfected the art of serving her family yummy, healthy meals at a moment’s notice. Visit her at www.elizabethsomer.com.