The Healthy Hedonist: More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts [Paperback]

Myra Kornfeld (Author), Sheila Hamanaka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005

How would you like to prepare and savor a delicious meal that's also nourishing and healthful? In The Healthy Hedonist, chef, teacher, and cookbook author Myra Kornfeld offers home cooks more than two hundred mouthwatering flexitarian recipes designed to satisfy all kinds of appetites -- without leaving you feeling stuffed and guilty afterward!

So, what is a flexitarian? A flexitarian is anyone interested in eating healthy, primarily vegetarian cuisine without cutting meat and fish entirely from his or her diet. The Healthy Hedonist is the ideal cookbook for people with a variety of eating habits: the recipes are readily adapted to suit vegetarians, omnivores, and everyone in between.

The emphasis here is on real food: fresh, natural, and, of course, delicious ingredients are used to create unique and healthful meals. Aside from soups, appetizers, salads, chicken and fish dishes, vegetarian entrees, grains, and vegetables, there are tempting recipes for pizza, alternative burgers, and naturally sweetened desserts. You can indulge yourself and feel virtuous at the same time with delectable fare such as:

• Portobello Mushroom Tapenade
• Wilted Spinach Salad with Orange-Curry Dressing
• Crispy Thai Wontons
• Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions
• Roast Chicken with Maple Glaze
• Coconut Green Beans with Mustard Seeds
• Lacquered Carrots with Coriander Gazpacho Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette
• Red Snapper Provencale
• Marrakesh Minestrone with Cilantro Puree
• Tamarind Chickpeas
• Asparagus, Leek, and Barley Risotto
• Barbeque Spice -- Rubbed Tofu
• Seared Sesame-Crusted Tuna
• Zucchini Latkes
• Salmon Medallions with Lime-Mustard Teriyaki
• Citrus Compote Supreme
• Roasted Peaches with Caramel Sauce
• Chocolate Lovers' Brownies
• Pomegranate-Pear Cornmeal Tart

Throughout the book are plenty of helpful suggestions for substituting ingredients to suit your taste or dietary preference and for cooking for large groups or smaller gatherings, along with preparation tips and menu ideas. In addition, easy-to-follow illustrations guide you toward creating superb meals sure to appeal to every palate. For any and all food lovers, The Healthy Hedonist is the healthy, scrumptious way to enjoy sensational feasts every day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's not uncommon for people to call themselves vegetarian, only to say that they sometimes eat fish and maybe poultry. What they're probably really interested in is a healthful, well-rounded diet, making them "flexitarians," a growing group that Kornfeld (The Voluptuous Vegan) addresses in this winning cookbook. Pseudo-meat products (like tofu) are used sparingly, and dishes that do have them, such as Wilted Arugula with Braised Tempeh, Mango, and Red Onion, with its delightful intersections of salty and sweet, may conquer even their sworn enemies. Vegetarian offerings dominate, but there's a whole chapter on fish and chicken, which are generally simply prepared but then transformed by more complex sauces, as in the elegant Black Bass in Leek-Saffron-Tomato Broth. Kornfeld's instructions are fairly detailed, and helpful drawings illustrate some of the more difficult techniques, but many recipes can still demand time and patience. Cooks who are willing to put in the effort because they agree with Kornfeld about the need to get past fad diets and eat fresh, "unfussy" food will be thrilled with the possibilities this book provides for pleasing a variety of people and their different eating habits. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Myra Kornfeld is the author of The Voluptuous Vegan. She writes regularly for Vegetarian Times and has contributed recipes and articles to Natural Health and Organic Style. A veteran restaurant chef and private cook, she is an instructor at the Natural Gourmet Cookery School in New York City as well as at Sur La Table.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Original edition (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743255704
• ISBN-13: 978-0743255707
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner!, September 19, 2005

By 

Susan Avila (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Healthy Hedonist: More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts (Paperback)

I am a huge fan of Kornfeld's first cookbook, "The Voluptuous Vegan" so I was very excited to learn that she had a new book out. The second book is written more in the way I actually use the first book--with flexibility. I love the term "flexitarian" -- it really makes sense with the way most people I know eat. For example, using the "Voluptuous Vegan" book I might add ground turkey to the tofu lasagna or serve one of the vegetable dishes as a side for roast chicken. In "The Healthy Hedonist" Kornfeld provides fish and chicken recipes in addition to vegetarian fare and encourages the users to suit their own needs. I like the hedonist approach, I'm sick of special diets, mainly I just want to eat well and feel healthy. Kornfeld offers sensible suggestions such as purchasing organic produce when possible and exercising moderation rather than giving up foods you love.

I knew this book was a winner when I read the very first recipe (Sweet Potato-Red Pepper Spread). This is so easy to make and provides an exciting change from the pre-packaged Trader Joe's spreads I usually serve at dinner parties. Plus the leftovers made a great sandwich the next day. Many of the recipes in this new book are surprisingly simple which suits my chaotic lifestyle just fine. In addition to interesting recipes, Kornfeld provides a lot of information about cooking techniques, unusual foods, and flexible cooking styles. I didn't know that I could substitute coconut milk for cow's milk when baking, I tried it the other day with a tea cake and it came out great.

"The Healthy Hedonist" has just what I love in a cookbook: an interesting variety of recipes that are clearly explained and tasty, but that also inspire me to experiment and try my own combinations. This is the book I'll grab first when I'm not really sure what I want to cook but I know I want it to be fabulous!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Healthy Hedonist, October 11, 2005

By 

Alison M. Dearborn "Artist" (Boulder, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Healthy Hedonist: More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts (Paperback)

Once again, I was one of the lucky recipe testers for Myra Kornfeld for "The Healthy Hedonist". I LOVE this cookbook even more than her first (The Voluptuous Vegan).
The recipes are not only simple, nutritious, and delicious, they are fun to prepare.
The Sesame Tuna is out of this world and I have prepared this recipe again and again for my family. It's a House Favorite along with the Pecan Crusted Trout, Indonesian Corn Chowder, Braised Tempeh with Curried Coconut Sauce and the Tempeh Ruebens with Carmelized Onions. The side dishes are wonderful and so easy. I just made the Glazed Brussel Sprouts for dinner last night. Even my daughter who hates brussel sprouts will eat a few of these. ( I eat the rest.)
As for the desserts, I keep a stash of her Peanut Butter Cookies in my freezer, though they don't last long. Other must-try's are: Browned Butter Berry Galette, Sesame Biscotti, both of the Luscious Puddings, and Roasted Peaches with Caramel Sauce.
This cookbook stays on my bookstand in my kitchen because I use it all the time. It's also lovely to look at with the fantastic artwork on the cover.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creative, easy, and tasty recipes, February 15, 2008

By 

Cookbook Gal "Cookbook Gal" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Healthy Hedonist: More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts (Paperback)

The book has easy, creative, and tasty recipes, with a heavy emphasis on Asian and Latino-inspired dishes. That means that if you are looking for basic middle-of-the road vegetarian or flexitarian recipes, like mac and cheese, look elsewhere.

You will also need access to well-stocked specialty markets, or resort to mail order if you live in areas of the country that have limited food market options. For example, the author uses a variety of grains, including millet and quinoa, instead of just brown rice. She flavors her dishes with curry powders and pastes, coconut oil, and brown rice syrup. She uses tempeh and whole grain pastas. The recipes are absolutely wonderful, and I finally stopped bookmarking because I had post-its on every page. My meat eating husband loves the Roast Chicken with Maple Glaze.

Please note: this book has NO photographs. If that's really important to you, consider checking it out from the library first, as I did. I loved it so much I ended up buying it.