Simple and easy healthy cookbooks...

[jon1265]

Does anyone have a suggestion for one?

 

Looking for simple healthy ingredients for some good soups, stews, and easy-to-make dishes for one.

 

Thanks.

[rguer]

There are many cookbooks and websites out there. It might help you find what you want if you can narrow down your preferences a bit. In particular, cookbooks often concentrate on one of the following three cooking methods for one-pot meals (usually simple and easy):

 

- Stovetop boiling/grilling/steaming. Some recipes can use a rice cooker instead. Usually fast, but requires more attention.

 

- Crockpot/slow cooker. Dump everything in, turn it on, and come back 4-12 hours later. Very good for meats that need a long cooking period to become tender, and also very good for stews and soups. Put in some meat, potatoes, carrots, beans, tomatoes, and chicken stock for a simple but good soup. You can also put in corn, celery, and other vegetables (I find that frozen works best for corn and beans, but your mileage may vary). Be careful with seasoning - because some of the liquid will evaporate during cooking, it's easy to over-season. Use low sodium chicken stock

 

- Dutch oven. There are some good one pot meals that take about 45 minutes to cook after a short prep time. I like this method for fish, and it also works for rice. And other stuff too.

[rguer]

Look this over: http://www.marthastewart.com/1014435/dutch-oven-recipes

[rvwnsd]

Does anyone have a suggestion for one?

 

Looking for simple healthy ingredients for some good soups, stews, and easy-to-make dishes for one.

 

Thanks.

 

How about three?

 

1. "Pressure Perfect," a pressure cooker cookbook by Lorna Sass. I am a huge fan of the pressure cooker and love Lorna's cookbook. She provides good recipes, plus variations and transformation. She also provides cooking charts for different meats and vegetables.

 

2. "Art of the Slow Cooker" by Andrew Schloss

 

3. "Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever" by Diane Phillips

 

The recipes in both Schloss's and Phillips's cookbooks are more "upscale" than the typical "open a can and a box, dump it into the slow cooker, and eat the glop 10 hours later." I like Schloss's cookbook a bit better than Phillips's, but I have made fantastic creations from both.

 

I recently bought the 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking. Many of the recipes are more complex than what you are looking for, but it has a wealth of information about how to cook various types of food as well as nutrition charts.

 

Bon appetit!

[actor61]

I'm a huge fan of Ellie Krieger (and I've probably spelled it wrong). She used to have a great show on one of the cooking channels. You can find her online and it's worth the search. I use 2 of her recipes often; 1 is for macaroni and cheese made with pureed squash rather than a cream sauce, and it's terrific. The other is for a chocolate mousse made with silken tofu rather than cream or eggs. I made it for a dinner party the other night and nobody would believe that it was tofu until I got out the recipe and proved it. She makes traditional recipes with healthy substitutions and quite honestly, I think her versions are actually better.

[doitb4ugo]

Cooking-Light magazine may a good number of recipes that fit the bill.

 

Web-site: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder

[RyanDean]

My favorite cookbook of the year is Leanne Brown's 'Good & Cheap' -- really simple, sensible, nutritionally-sound & beautifully executed. Its focus on how to shop simply (and without waste) is really applicable to cooking as a single. The PDF is free but the "buy one give one" option is a really cool thing. (Plus the printed book is lovely & easy to use.)

 

http://www.leannebrown.com/buy/good-and-cheap

[jon1265]

Thanks all for your suggestions. Greatly appreciated!

 

I have a crockpot and want to use it more. So the slow-cooker cookbooks are awesome for me.

[+ Axiom2001]

Cooking-Light magazine may a good number of recipes that fit the bill.

 

Web-site: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder

 

I immediately thought about COOKING LIGHT when I read the banner headline to this thread. Do some http://www.bing.com or http://www.goggle.com checking as well!

[+ friendofsheila]

Does anyone have a suggestion for one?

 

Looking for simple healthy ingredients for some good soups, stews, and easy-to-make dishes for one.

 

Thanks.

 

I've found that rare is the cookbook that is healthy by the most intelligent standards, but......

 

Almost any recipe from any cookbook can be healthy if you know good nutrition and ingredients: just substitute healthier ingredients for those you understand to be unhealthy.

 

Me, I generally start with an old standby, the Betty Crocker cookbook, and make changes as necessary to be more healthy.

 

Good luck, Jon!

[armadillo]

With this thread, I see my first New Years resolution. Thank you gents!

[rvwnsd]

With this thread, I see my first New Years resolution. Thank you gents!

 

In the spirit of healthy eating, let me share a simple and healthy recipe for lemon chicken a la foil packet.

 

Ingredients:

 

 

• Eight boneless, skinless, chicken thighs trimmed of fat (I've used chicken breast, but I prefer thighs. If using breasts, get the thin-sliced ones or four breasts and cut them in half)
  
• One to two large lemons
  
• 2 small to medium sized zucchini
  
• Chopped or pressed garlic (pre-chopped or garlic powder is fine)
  
• Olive oil (optional)
  
• Four sheets of aluminum foil (You might be able to use parchment, I haven't tried it)
  
• A large cookie sheet
  

 

Prep:

 

1. Turn oven on to 350 degrees. While the oven pre-heats:
   
2. Slice the lemon into very thin slices
   
3. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise and in half again
   
4. Put two chicken thighs in the center of each sheet of aluminum foil
   
5. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on each chicken thigh and brush
   
6. Sprinkle crushed garlic evenly on each piece of chicken
   
7. Place a few lemon slices on top of each piece of chicken
   
8. Place a piece of zucchini on top of each piece of chicken
   
9. Make each sheet of foil into a packet
   
10. Put the packets on the cookie sheet
    

 

Bake the packets until the chicken reaches 165 degrees. Start checking temperature using an instant-read thermometer after 30 minutes.

 

This is a good standby for times when I don't have anything on hand to make for an after-work dinner. The supermarket generally carries all the ingredients and it does not take long to prepare. I can assemble and then change clothes while it is baking.

[namchebaz]

cookbook

 

Give this one a look. One Good Dish by David Tanis.

 

http://davidtanis.com/book/one-good-dish-by-david-tanis/