Wendy Jo Peterson

I've no idea how to rate it compared to anything else as it's the first For Dummies book I've read, and the first health guide / cookbook I've read (yes, I've skimmed cookbooks, and I have a few on my shelf, but I've never 'read' any).

So, um, this had some useful information and tips about the principles of slowing down a busy schedule, walking & playing more, and eating more produce, legumes, and whole grains. And there are a couple of dozen recipes I want to try.

But more photos or sketches of the dishes would help, as even I, an experienced family cook, couldn't always tell from the recipe what the end product would actually be. For example, what is the Lentil Loaf? Is it something that one would serve the way one serves meatloaf? Or is it a side, like cornbread? Well, it is in the chapter about main entrees, so something like meatloaf I guess.

The index needs to be better, too. I got some fresh spinach at the grocery. I tried to find a recipe in the book for it. No entry for spinach in the index. By reading the list of recipes in the front, which are simply by page order, I found some that had the word spinach in the name - but they called for frozen spinach. Where is the suggestion for fresh spinach that I remembering reading as I was paging through the book in order?

One note about the ingredients that they don't make quite clear. Yes, olive oil, feta cheese, etc. cost more than corn oil and cheddar. But, you'll be able to save money by eating more legumes and more cabbage and apples, etc., and less meat. Not only that, but if you're healthier, you'll spend less money on healthcare and lose fewer days to illnesses, etc. Really, the true cost of cheap food is higher than most Americans realize.

I do recommend this book, especially to those who are novices but not total newbies to cooking & nutrition, but with caveats.… (meer)