The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A Guide to Natural Foods with 350 Recipes [Paperback]

Steve Petusevsky (Author), Whole Foods Team Members (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2002

Who else but Whole Foods Market could create a cookbook so fresh, so appealing, so full of valuable information, and so perfect for the way we are all cooking and eating today? Bursting with winning recipes, healthful cooking advice, cheerful guidance through the new language of natural foods, wine and cheese information, and a comprehensive glossary, this is a “thank goodness it’s here” kind of cookbook.

The world’s largest natural and organic supermarket has created 350 contemporary recipes that are destined to become new classics. Whole Foods Market presents the most popular dishes from their prepared foods section, combined with brand-new recipes that showcase the wide variety of delicious ingredients available today. Far from “crunchy granola” fare, sophisticated recipes include Shrimp and Scallop Chalupas, Hazelnut Crusted Pork Loin, Thai-Style Green Curry Chicken, Griddled Sesame and Garlic Tofu with Wilted Bok Choy, Honey Jalapeño Barbecue Sauce, and Maple Butterscotch Macadamia Blondies. From meat and fish to tofu and vegetables, kid-friendly dishes to one-pot meals, the choices are dazzling, and with more than 200 of the recipes either vegetarian or vegan, the options are diverse.

But the recipes are just the beginning. Steve Petusevsky and Whole Foods Market Team Members shed light on the confusing world of natural foods, presenting interesting, accessible information and all kinds of helpful cooking advice. The Whole Foods Market Cookbook is as welcoming and fun as a trip to one of their stores. Find out the answers to questions such as:

How do I cook quinoa?
What are the different kinds of tofu, and how do I know which to buy?
How should I stock a great natural foods pantry?
What are good alternatives to wheat pasta?
What does “organic” mean?

A glossary with more than 150 definitions provides a great reference for all of the terms and ingredients that have been edging their way into our vocabularies and kitchens. With recipe bonuses, tips from the team, variations, sidebars, and 30 menu suggestions, this is the natural foods guide that so many of us have been waiting for.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The first Whole Foods Market, selling only minimally processed natural and organic products, opened in 1980. In response to all the customers who ever asked, "How do I cook this?", chef Steve Petusevsky and the Whole Foods Market team members present The Whole Foods Market Cookbook, an enormous collection of healthy recipes, filled with comprehensive explanations and descriptions.

Many of the recipes are longtime customer favorites. The "Big and Small Salads" chapter includes Sonoma Chicken Salad, a bestseller made with sweet red grapes, crunchy pecans, and a creamy, sweet-and-sour poppy seed dressing. Thirty-five soups and chilis include a heartwarming Roasted Corn Poblano Chowder and a rich, fragrant Sweet Potato Chili. There are a multitude of vegetarian and vegan recipes in every chapter, all clearly marked, and even if that's not what you're looking for they'll have you thinking differently about healthy eating. Try the vegan Lentil and Mushroom Tagine, a traditional Moroccan stew, or the vegetarian Spicy Roasted Eggplant with Sesame Honey, delicious as a side dish or sandwich topping, or as a main course served with noodles or rice.

If you've ever looked for more ways to use tofu (try the Kung Pao), seitan, millet, quinoa, or mung bean sprouts, or if you'd rather make meals heavy on flavor and nutrition and light on fat and artificial additives, The Whole Foods Market Cookbook offers 350 delicious, well-tested solutions. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Publishers Weekly

The Whole Foods Market has been a pioneering natural-foods-oriented alternative supermarket since it opened in 1980, and their broadly appealing cookbook reflects a gourmet approach to healthy food. Appetizers such as the Spicy Chickpea Patties with Cilantro, Lime and Chilies and such soups as Sweet Potato, Corn and Kale Chowder have flavor kicks often missing from other health-conscious cookbooks. One-Pot Meals such as Spicy Mac and Cheese and Thai-Style Green Curry Chicken abound, along with hearty salads and sandwiches like the Mediterranean Tuna Salad and the Mushroom Goat-Cheese Quesadillas. Naturally, there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan recipes, such as Kung Pao Tofu and vegan French Onion Soup. Main courses such as Athenian Chicken Roll-Ups, Lime Seared Scallops over Baby Spinach and Firecracker Shrimp emphasize fish and white meats. Sauces and dips such as the low fat Buttermilk Ranch dressing and the Spinach Artichoke dip double as marinades or toppings. The uneven Cooking with Kids chapter is sandwiched between some great smoothie and drink recipes, and to cap it off there's a dessert chapter with Lemon Lime Bars and Unbaked Brownies. Recipes include nutritional information. A glossary and information panels throughout the book explain how to do everything from storing chilies to keeping vegetables from losing their color. This ambitious book is one of few that both vegetarians and omnivores keen on gourmet-quality organic foods will embrace.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (August 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609806440
• ISBN-13: 978-0609806449
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 1.3 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Whole Foods

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 161 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Back to the Test Kitchen, January 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A Guide to Natural Foods with 350 Recipes (Paperback)

I've been a regular shopper at Whole Foods Market for years and I've been waiting for the company to put out a cookbook with some of their own great recipes, like Ed's Tantalizing Tofu, for the home cook. So when this book finally appeared, I was one of the first in line for it. Unfortunately, it's not what I'd hoped for.

I have no complaints about the ingredients list, that's why I shop at WFM -- beautiful fresh, organic produce, all varieties of grain and pasta products, and a wide assortment of gourmet and International foods not found in other stores. For many of my favorite cookbooks [like Nina Simonds' Asian Noodles] Whole Foods Market provides one-stop shopping.

The problem I have with the book is that of the half-dozen or so recipes I tried, I had to make repairs midway through the making, or the flavors or ingredients didn't come together as I expected, or the end product just plain didn't taste good. I was left with beautiful food made into lousy meals.

If you're looking for great-tasting recipes tailor-made for WFM shoppers, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little while longer. This one should be sent back to the test kitchen.

104 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Riddled with typos, June 23, 2003

By 

villekulla - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A Guide to Natural Foods with 350 Recipes (Paperback)

This is a beautiful cookbook, with a few very good recipes--Fragrant Ginger Lime Chicken Fingers and Southwest King Ranch Casserole among them. Unfortunately, these are far outnumbered by the recipes that simply do not work, especially those involving the delicate manufacture of dough. At first I thought I had it wrong, but over the course of repeated failures, I realized that the problem was in the testing and/or proofreading. And it's not just dry measures; the text of one recipe calls for onions, when it means potatoes. Several re-readings later, I finally cracked the code. I sincerely hope that the authors try again to get it right. The tragedy is how close they came...

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I really wanted to like this cookbook...., April 20, 2005

By 

Kayla Pruett (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A Guide to Natural Foods with 350 Recipes (Paperback)

...but I have to agree with the other reviewers who said that the recipes fall short. Many of them sound absolutely delicious, but I have found many errors and in recipes where there are no obvious errors, I often have to make adjustments to the seasonings or ingredients (for example, I made the Lemon Tahini Sauce tonight to go with the baked Falafel Balls...the falafel balls recipes is missing a step, and the lemon tahini sauce calls for way, way too much tahini and the end product is not what the recipe describes. I could fix both mistakes, but I shouldn't have to). I wish they would do some heavy revising to this cookbook, because it has so much promise.