Customer Reviews

Light & Healthy 2010: The Year's Best Recipes Lightened Up

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having been a follower of the TV program for years, I was delighted to have a lighter version of their recipes. Recipes are detailed as to why certain ingredients work, and all show the calories, fat, sat fat, and cholesterol in the before and after versions. As a diabetic, I appreciate all the short cuts I can get. It also does not hurt that the first listing is for Chicken Caesar Salad: my all time favorite go to meal.

My only criticism is that the binding is not spiral (allowing the book to be folded), but pages are large and lie flat should you need to have information close while cooking.

I have to start out by saying that I LOVE ATK. I think I purchased this copy for a gift for my mom. I'm slowly cooking through this book, and everything has been good. They have great dessert recipes (peach shortcakes and fudgy brownies) and delicious salad recipes. I'll update when I've cooked more. The pasta carbonara is delish!

I give it 4 stars because compared to all books out there, it's pretty darn good. Compared to the test kitchen's family cookbook, it's a bit less amazing.

The good:

1. LIght + Tasty: The recipes do live up to my standards of being delicious. Most of what I've made from this book, I'd make again (the exceptions were ones that just took too long). And the foods are very light.

2. Instruction and background: Test kitchen books will tell you why you're doing it a certain way and that's quite valuable so you know where to put your energy into making the dish come out right. They also give you the background on the dish to explain the difficulty in making it light and their decisions along the way. This is instruction on multiple levels. Makes you think about substituting certain ingredients in things you already make.

3. Variety: The book may not have many recipes but the ones provided are of a good variety. I've had books from other creators where they have 80% chicken recipes. Ok, I get it, chicken is low fat. Test Kitchen pulls through here, creating dishes with all sorts of meat, veggies, baked goods, breakfast foods, etc, etc. You may not find a solution to every meal situation, but you won't be completely bored if this is the first book on your shelf

The bad:

1. Ok, this is 'minor' but the binding on the book is annoying. It's difficult to get it to lay flat and stay open while you're cooking. I'm tempted to cut the book up, hole punch it, and put it in a simple binder :)

2. They don't tell you how long it will take! Of all the details to leave out, I don't know why they did in this book. It's unfortunate because there are a few times that I've skimmed a recipe, decided to make it, only to realize halfway through that it's going to need to roast/marinate/cool for 2 hours before I can finish. Doh!

3. Number of recipes. Yeah, there's enough variety, but I really wish they had even more. To that end, I've already pre-ordered their new healthy family cook book.

Last words:

Overall a great purchase. Cookbooks are always a bargain so long as you find it good enough to use a few times (because $25 is less than I would have spent if I wasn't encouraged to cook something - and at out instead :). And with this book I've found at least 10 recipes that I'll gladly make again and again - and I even learned some new stuff along the way!

I've been a member of [...] since I found the sight 3 years ago. Not only is it cheaper than buying the magazines, but it's searchable, has grocery lists, favorites, and even videos. Right now, I'm embarking on a get healthy life plan, and the first step to that is changing the way I cook.

This book is wonderful. It has a recipe for almost everything you can think of. They first start with analyzing the traditional recipe, where is the fat coming from, calories, carbs, etc. Then deciding if there are any substitutes that are healthier without sacrificing flavor. Every recipe comes with nutritional facts, something most cook books lack. Probably because you don't want to know.

I highly recommend this book for any avid home chef that is looking to cut back on the fat without sacrificing flavor.

Well, the recipies have yeilded really rich, tasty, healty food. But they are very labor intensive. Maybe in double portions the dividends are reasonable. Otherwise, I may as well eat less healthy and exercise in the time saved.

Every recipe has been delicious. So good I would make them for company.
My favorites are the Pan-roasted chiken breasts, and the Maple-glazed pork tenderloin.
Philly cheesteak was excellent as well.

This Cookbook is more helpful than just the recipes, which are delicious. I have learned how to use many of the techniques in similar recipes of my own. Great Cookbook.

I originally bought this book for the low-fat recipes. After a severe gallbladder attack, my doctor told me to cut down on fatty foods. I thought these recipes would be perfect, given how much we love America's Test Kitchen. And the recipes are really good and I want to try a bunch of them.

BUT.

I'm also currently pregnant and have gestational diabetes, which means I also have to avoid sugar. It's quite hard to find low-sugar recipes in this book. I'm not just talking about added sugar either. High carbs. Lots of fruit. Those all contribute to higher blood sugar for a diabetic and there are a LOT of those types of recipes in here. So even though I anticipated great things, I haven't really used the cookbook that much. I certainly will after the baby's born and some of my dietary restrictions are removed.

What I'd really like to see, though, are more diabetic-friendly recipes. It doesn't need to take up the entire book, but how about a few thrown in here and there? Or a section just for low-sugar recipes? My ideal cookbook would contain low-fat, low-carb recipes with alternatives to fruit and sugar. Some fruit is fine, but dishes that rely heavily on it just won't work.

If you want low-fat, I think you'll like this cookbook. I'll be cooking more from it very soon. But if you're diabetic AND looking for low-fat recipes, you might want to take a really close look at the recipes before buying. Or stick with a diabetic-friendly cookbook. Maybe America's Test Kitchen will come out with that next?

I am a big fan of cooking, but all the HEALTHY cooking books lack one thing...TASTE!!!!
This is phenomenal! I like to eat healthy, but sacrificing the taste has always been the down side. If you would like to eat healthy and have savory food, then this is the book for you.

Light & Healthy 2010 takes the best recipes developed in the Test Kitchen over the past year and figures out ways to cut the fat and calories without cutting flavor. The result are recipes that had to pass multiple taste tests to be included here, from lightening a full-fat Spinach Lasagna to Eggplant Parmesan and Black Bean Burgers. Any general lending library will find its bright photos and clear, easy directions to be a winner.