Amazon.com Review
This "celebration of food, friends, and healthy living" follows the Food Guide Pyramid recommendations of eating 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables, 6 to 10 servings of grain foods, and 2 to 3 servings of protein foods daily, and limiting fats and sweets. The recipes are low in fat, high in nutrition, and often inventive. "Tapioca Fruit Pudding" is made with orange juice and vanilla yogurt instead of milk and eggs. "Stuffed Shells with Beef and Tomato Sauce" has only one-half pound of lean ground beef for 6 servings. All chicken recipes start with skinned chicken. Calories and fat grams per serving are provided, and many of the recipes are far less than the recommended maximum 30 percent fat. No esoteric ingredients are required.
The strange thing about this cookbook is that the illustrations are all black-and-white photographs of celebrities--screen and TV stars, an astronaut, athletes, models, etc., who contributed some of the recipes--not a food shot among them. You may love Tony Lama's boots, but is his head shot the best illustration for a recipe for Green Chile Rice Casserole? Despite the lack of food photos, this is a very useful book if you're trying to follow the pyramid and need some fresh and tasty recipes. --Joan Price
