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149 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, but if you already have the non-health version,, September 15, 2010
This review is from: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook: A New, Healthier Way to Cook Everything from America's Most Trusted Test Kitchen (Ring-bound)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Basically if you already have the 3 ring binder Test kitchen cookbook (non-healthy edition) you already have this book. For the most part the recipes are the same with perhaps a few minor ingredient changes that I have noticed so far. This is both good and bad, as I have yet to come across a bad tasting recipe in either book. IF I didn't already have the other edition, I would buy this book in a heartbeat. However if you already have the non-healthy edition, unless you just want to add to your collection, you will have a majority of the recipes that in this healthy version already.
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113 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Healthier recipies that taste great, August 27, 2010
This review is from: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook: A New, Healthier Way to Cook Everything from America's Most Trusted Test Kitchen (Ring-bound)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I've been a big fan of Cooks Illustrated for years. The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook, is similar in presentation to the Cooks Illustrated magazine which is a good thing. I enjoy the little tips, product suggestions and bits of cooking wisdom that are scattered appropriately throughout the book. Unlike some other cookbooks that can border on how to cook textbooks, this book dispenses little dollops of wisdom just at the right places.
There is an important thing you need to know about this cookbook and its authors though and it concerns the word "healthy." As you discover when you read the "Preface" and the "Our Approach to Healthy Cooking", you learn that this is NOT a diet book. The focus is "about balance and about incorporating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains into recipes on a daily basis, as well as reducing calories from fat wherever we could do so while maximizing taste." In other words, you will still find recipes using butter instead of margarine and added sugar and salt. The recipes may not be the absolute lowest in sugars, fats and salt -or- calories but they will most assuredly taste really good because of their focus on good tasting food that uses "healthier" ingredients. The recipes do not compromise on taste.
Case in point, one of the first recipes I made, which was absolutely delicious and garnered rave reviews from my guests who enjoyed it, was the Plum-Peach Upside-Down Almond Cake. I made the recipe with all peaches. One small detail that the recipe left out was whether the peaches should be peeled or not. I had to refer to another recipe in the book to see how they handled peaches there and in the other recipe they specified peeling the peaches, so I did that for this recipe. Concerning the ingredients, the recipe called for 7 Tablespoons of butter (that's 1 Tablespoon shy of an entire stick), 2 Large Eggs, 1/2 cup of light brown sugar and 3/4 cups of granulated sugar. Are you cringing yet? I was. But let me tell you, the dessert was absolutely delicious... and it was dessert after all. The recipe did make one concession when it called for low-fat sour cream (but only 1/2 cup) so yes, it did make a healthier choice in that regard.
The book is filled with a vast and mouth-watering array of recipes. When I first got the book and started leafing through the pages, I had to stop constantly because one recipe or another would catch my eye and even in the black & white photographs (I was reviewing a "galley" or pre-release copy of the book) the food looked delicious in the way it was prepared. Right off the bat I was attracted to "Smoked Salmon Rolls", "Healthy Smoothies", "Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Orange and Feta", "Stuffed Acorn Squash with Barley" and I could go on and on. There are more than 800 recipes overall covering: appetizers, snacks, salads, soups, stews and chilis, vegetables, rice, grains & beans, pasta, fish & shellfish, poultry, meat, vegetarian entrees, stir-fries & curries, grilling, pizza & tarts, whole grain rolls & loaves, quickbreads, cookies & bars, cakes, fruit desserts & more, and kid friendly.
The diversity and breadth of recipes is excellent. Again, the focus is ultimately on making healthier choices in ingredients without compromising the taste. Reducing fat is one of the main ways these recipes are modified from normal full-fat versions. Also the inclusion of whole-grains and vegetables, minimizing added salt as much as possible and using leaner cuts of meat.
This is not a diet cookbook, nor are all the recipes all going to be as low in calories as other cookbooks. But you can rest assured that these recipes will taste good and be a healthier way to make some classics that are typically not too healthy no matter now you make them, like Meat & Cheese Lasagna. But note that this recipe is 400 calories, 14g of Fat, 6g of salt and 90mg of Cholesterol vs the non-modified version of 530 calories, 30g of Fat, 16g of Salt and 120mg of cholesterol. As you can see a not particularly healthy recipe has been made "healthier."
I really like this cookbook. I'm going to dock it one star because of the incomplete directions that I have occasionally run in to which stop me dead in my tracks until I figure out what to do... like whether the peaches needed to be peeled or not... so just make sure you pre-read the recipes before you plunge right in and start cooking or you may find yourself having to stop what you're doing before you can complete the recipe. I also question the word "Healthy" and think "Healthier" is a better choice.
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120 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing range and depth, excellent recipes and tips, August 23, 2010
This review is from: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook: A New, Healthier Way to Cook Everything from America's Most Trusted Test Kitchen (Ring-bound)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
First, full disclosure and caveats for this review:
I am writing this on August 23, 2010, as a member of the Amazon Vine Program. The book I received, prior to the scheduled October 2010 publication date, is an "Advance Uncorrected Proof." The final book will be hardcover, ring bound, with color throughout. The proof copy I am reviewing is a paperback, 520 pages, black and white throughout. Everything I have seen indicates that this is going to be a five-star book upon its official release, but to preserve the integrity of this review, I need to be clear on the actual book I reviewed. It has nothing to do with the quality of the content, only the "draft" level of pre-publication presentation. I love it "as is" but I know the color version will be a real stunner.
The format of the book will be familiar to fans of "America's Test Kitchen" and their publication "Cook's Illustrated." You'll see the same sidebars on cooking utensils and "taste tests" of items such as canned tomatoes. These are extremely valuable as they point you in the right direction for successful execution of the recipes.
The book is HUGE (520 pages in the proof copy, final book may differ). It runs the gamut from appetizers through desserts, all kinds of meat, vegetarian dishes, breads...it is an excellent "general" cookbook but it is far from general in its range and depth. There are forays into ethnic cuisines, including a great, lengthy tutorial on making a classic cheese pizza. The first 16 pages of the book cover the basics of healthy cooking. It is then broken down into the following chapters:
Healthy Start (breakfast), Appetizers and Healthy Snacks, Salads, Soups, Stews And Chilis, Vegetables, Rice, Grains, and Beans, Pasta, Fish And Shellfish, Poultry, Meat, Vegetarian Entrees, Stir-Fries And Curries, Griling, Pizza And Tarts, Whole Grain Rolls And Loaves, Quick Breads, Cookies And Bars, Cakes, Fruit Desserts And More, and Kid Friendly, concluding with four pages of equivalent and conversion charts.
The tips and tricks (such as preparing brown rice in the oven, rather than the stovetop) help you succeed with items that may have been too daunting in the past (I hate cooking brown rice on the stovetop...it never comes out right). You also get variations: brown rice with parmesan / lemon / herbs, with onions / roasted red peppers, or with peas / feta / mint.
If you thumb through the book, you won't get past more than a couple of pages before something catches your eye. I can't imagine the amount of planning that goes into a book like this...it's packed with a lifetime's worth of things for you to try and enjoy in your own kitchen. If you like "Cook's Illustrated," you will love this book.
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