Wondering what to cook for dinner tonight? Here are two of my favorite cooking resources!
Cooking Light Magazine & CookingLight.com
A great magazine and a fabulous web resource!
Cooking Light magazine is loaded with healthy recipes that use all natural foods. Recipes still use butter and sugar, just less of it. The magazine has a section called "Dinner Tonight," which includes meals that can be ready in 20, 30, or 40 minutes. In addition to great-tasting, nutritious recipes, the magazine also contains articles about exercise, gardening, beauty products, select ingredients to spotlight their nutrition content, and more!
On the website, type any ingredient you wish to use into the search box and you'll be directed to a score of recipes using that very ingredient! For example, I bought a butternut squash at the Farmer's market a few weeks ago and logged on to find some ideas for cooking my new produce purchase. As I scrolled through the various recipes that came up, I could easily eliminate recipes based on whether or not I had the ingredients necessary on hand. Not only did I find a delicious recipe for Butternut Squash Risotto, but also found instructions for peeling and slicing the winter vegetable. As a bonus, most of the recipes have been rated by other users of the site, so you can see ahead of time whether people liked the final product or not.
So Easy, by Ellie Krieger
Ellie Krieger is the host of the Food Network Show, Healthy Appetite, and has just released her second cookbook. Ellie is a Registered Dietitian, so she knows a thing or two about healthy eating and cooking. Her philosophy is one similar to my own in that there is no "off limits" food. Ellie categorizes foods into "usually, sometimes, and rarely." "Usually foods" include veggies, fruits, beans, nuts, lean protein, low-fat dairy, and healthy oils. "Sometimes foods" are those that are slightly more processed or higher in fat content, such as white flour or dark meat chicken. And finally, "rarely foods" include high fat foods such as bacon, cream, full-fat cheese, and butter. Classifying foods in this way allows people to live a healthy lifestyle without restriction in order to maintain a good relationship with all kinds of food.
Ellie Krieger is the host of the Food Network Show, Healthy Appetite, and has just released her second cookbook. Ellie is a Registered Dietitian, so she knows a thing or two about healthy eating and cooking. Her philosophy is one similar to my own in that there is no "off limits" food. Ellie categorizes foods into "usually, sometimes, and rarely." "Usually foods" include veggies, fruits, beans, nuts, lean protein, low-fat dairy, and healthy oils. "Sometimes foods" are those that are slightly more processed or higher in fat content, such as white flour or dark meat chicken. And finally, "rarely foods" include high fat foods such as bacon, cream, full-fat cheese, and butter. Classifying foods in this way allows people to live a healthy lifestyle without restriction in order to maintain a good relationship with all kinds of food.
What I really love about this book is that it is organized according to meal and the level of involvement required. For instance, Ellie has a section called "Breakfast--at the ready" and one called "Breakfast--at leisure," so the reader can choose a recipe according to how much time is at hand and how much cooking he or she wishes to do.
Another fabulous resource is the "So Easy Pantry" list at the beginning of the book, which provides a categorized list of products to keep on hand for a well-stocked kitchen, so that a healthy meal is always just a few ingredients and a bit of preparation away.
Be sure to check out the Food Network's Healthy Appetite website to see Ellie in action and to download some of her delicious and nutritious recipes.
