Whole Grains for Busy People: Fast, Flavor-Packed Meals and More for Everyone [Paperback]

Lorna Sass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2008

Bring whole grains to the table in a flash.

We all know that we should be eating more whole grains, an essential foundation of any healthy diet. Making this goal a reality can be a challenge, though, especially on a weeknight. In Whole Grains for Busy People, Lorna Sass, author of the James Beard Award–winning book Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, shows us how to do it—deliciously.

Lorna shares 125 tempting recipes that focus exclusively on quick-cooking whole grains—those that take 30 minutes or less to cook—and on the array of whole-grain products that are now easily found in grocery stores, from tortillas to pastas. Boost the nutrition of any meal with tasty, flavor-packed dishes such as Oat-Crusted Turkey Cutlets with Gingered Cranberry Relish; Barley with Mushrooms, Beef, and Dill Sour Cream; and Bulgur Salad with Tuna, Olives, and Feta. Even sweets get a healthy makeover with whole-grain ingredients so that anyone can feel good about indulging in treats such as Orange-Scented Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peach Blueberry Crumble, or Chocolate Pudding Pie.

Lorna guides readers through every step of cooking with whole grains, from reading the labels and selecting the best whole-grain products to using techniques that bring out the maximum flavors in the recipes. Rounded out with whole-grain quick-reference charts, advice on building a well-stocked pantry, suggestions for recipe variations, and a full-color photo insert, Whole Grains for Busy People is the only book home cooks need to make over their family’s diet—without spending their entire lives in the kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For those intimidated by cooking with whole grains, veteran cookbook author Sass (The New Vegan Cookbook; Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way; etc.) breaks down the what and how of whole grains in this accessible title brimming with healthy and appealing dishes. A primer on grains, including where to buy and brand recommendations, prefaces a collection of 125 recipes, each designed to take the home cook under 30 minutes to prepare. Whole grain takes on American classics including quinoa-creamed spinach and skillet macaroni and cheese, are mixed in among versions of well-known international dishes such as barley cioppino, faro risotto and tortilla lasagne. Unique recipes such as popcorn-crusted turkey cutlets with cherry tomato salsa and ham-and-egg couscous round out the list. Speed tips offer additional time-saving advice to the already quick-to-prepare meals. Full-color photos highlight collection standouts. (Dec.)
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About the Author

LORNA SASS is the author of several outstanding cookbooks. Some of her notable titles include Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, which won a James Beard Award; Cooking Under Pressure; The New Vegan Cookbook; and Lorna Sass’ Complete Vegetarian Kitchen. She lives in New York City.

To learn more about her, visit www.LornaSass.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; Original edition (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307407829
• ISBN-13: 978-0307407825
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.5 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #449,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Rice & Grains

More About the Author

Lorna Sass is fondly known as "the Queen of Pressure Cooking." She is also a widely published food writer and an award-winning cookbook author. Check out her new blog: www.pressurecookingwithlornasass.wordpress.com

Lorna became interested in pressure cooking during the mid-eighties when most Americans had either never heard of this magical appliance or were afraid of it! Her COOKING UNDER PRESSURE, published in 1989, became a best-seller with over 250,000 copies in print. The 20th-Anniversary revised edition of COOKING UNDER PRESSURE came out on November 3,2009.

Lorna followed COOKING UNDER PRESSURE with 3 other pressure cooker books: GREAT VEGETARIAN COOKING UNDER PRESSURE (VEGAN!), THE PRESSURED COOK, and PRESSURE PERFECT.

During the nineties, Lorna wrote numerous vegan cookbooks, recognizing that a vegan approach to food created a much smaller carbon footprint. This was decades before cookbook authors were writing about the connection between food and sustainability. Her RECIPES FROM AN ECOLOGICAL KITCHEN was published in 1992! Her NEW VEGAN COOKBOOK was nominated for an IACP Award and her latest title in this category is SHORT-CUT VEGAN.

Her fourteenth cookbook, WHOLE GRAINS EVERY DAY, EVERY WAY, published in 2006, was awarded the prestigious James Beard Award in the "healthy focus" category. Her latest cookbook, WHOLE GRAINS FOR BUSY PEOPLE, focuses on quick-cooking recipes for cooks on the go.

Lorna has often found herself ahead of her time. While studying for her PhD in medieval literature at Columbia University, she wrote four historical cookbooks that were published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art--decades before anyone was studying food history!

Lorna's food articles have been published in dozens of prominent newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Gourmet, and Bon Appetit. In addition to her own blogs, she has blogged for The Huffington Post and Green Fork, and wrote a monthly recipe column for localharvest.org.

She is a member of Slow Food, The Author's Guild, and the Women's Culinary Alliance and an alumna of Les Dames des Escoffier, an organization of the top women in the food industry.

Lorna's current passion is to make healthy food available to all, and she is especially eager to help people grow their own food on rooftops and in community gardens in NYC.


For further information, visit www.lornasass.com.
BLOGS: www.pressurecookingwithlornasass.wordpress.com www.lornasassatlarge.wordpress.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flavor-packed, quick, and (by the way) very healthy!, January 23, 2009

By 

Ravenous Fellow (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whole Grains for Busy People: Fast, Flavor-Packed Meals and More for Everyone (Paperback)

Lorna Sass has a great track record as a writer of user-friendly, clear cookbooks full of tasty recipes. (Her WHOLE GRAINS EVERY DAY, EVERY WAY won a James Beard Award in 2007).

But most people think you have to slave over the proverbial hot stove to have whole grains in your diet. This book proves on every page that it just ain't so. Quick-cooking whole grains mean that dinner (or breakfast or lunch) can be on the table in a half hour or less. The titles of the dishes are enticing: Quinoa Paella With Chicken and Chorizo, Buckwheat With Cheddar and Pickled Jalapenos, Barley Cioppino, Lemon Poppy Seed Scones.

And if the idea of "healthy eating" strikes you as self-denying, turn to Lorna's recipe for Banana Coconut Pie. Her presentation is crystal-clear; the recipe directions are easy to follow and helpful; the book's layout makes the cooking easier.

If you've only just escaped from the world of white bread and processed foods, a wide-eyed wanderer in the world of whole grains, this cookbook makes it simple to get the best, freshest, and most nourishing products.

Even if you're not a busy person, this book will get satisfying and delicious food on the table in a flash. Now I'm going to stare happily at the photograph of Squash Bisque with Curried Popcorn -- had it for dinner last night!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, straightforward and DELICIOUS recipes!, February 8, 2009

By 

E. Baron (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whole Grains for Busy People: Fast, Flavor-Packed Meals and More for Everyone (Paperback)

Lorna Sass's 'Whole Grains for Busy People' is quickly becoming one of my favorite cookbooks! I'm a big foodie and collector of cookbooks, however, many of them end up gathering dust on my bookshelf because I get frustrated with the mile-long ingredient list or the complicated directions. This is not the case with Ms. Sass's recipes. In the month or so since I've owned her new cookbook, I've used it every week. Not only are the recipes simple and healthful, but they're without a doubt delicious (which is, of course, the most important factor)! I recently made the chicken soft tacos with smoked paprika sourcream for a friend (a friend who usually cringes at anything healthful) and she LOVED them...so much so that she wanted the leftovers! Truly, this is a great and versatile cookbook.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whole Grains for Busy People, January 5, 2009

By 

Hinda Crewell (Syracuse, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whole Grains for Busy People: Fast, Flavor-Packed Meals and More for Everyone (Paperback)

I just finished reading Ms. Sass' new cookbook and know I will be enjoying it even more than her previous cookbooks. Although I'm presently retired, I'm still always looking for quick, easy and healthful recipes. My family loves whole grains and this book is the first I've seen that makes use of things I already have in my cupboard and allows for quick preparation. The book is informative and interesting and I look forward to trying more of these delicious sounding recipes.