Canyon Ranch Cooking: Bringing the Spa Home (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This intimidatingly beautiful book on low-fat spa cooking takes the chi-chi out of spa food and actually makes it accessible to the average cook. Although the easy-to-prepare recipes in Canyon Ranch Cooking rely mostly on fresh produce and meats, Cook It Light expert Jeanne Jones offers alternatives to and substitutes for ingredients you might not find during certain times of the year (such as frozen berries and vegetables in place of their fresh counterparts). Also, many of the recipes incorporate carbohydrates and grains such as pastas, white and brown rice, couscous, and bulgur, which are easier to find year-round. The tone of the book is not restrictive or didactic--Jones really wishes to make the food accessible and friendly, as well as healthful--and the language used is positive and intended to empower the cook both in building a low-fat pantry and in trying new cooking methods. In addition, calorie and nutrient analyses of each dish are provided with portion sizes that are realistic and possible to visualize.

Jones suggests using spices to add dimension to dishes and, from cooking a number of them, we would have to agree--main courses such as Turkey Meatloaf and Polenta Crusted Sea Bass were a little bland. However, the corn salsa that accompanied the sea bass jazzed it up a bit and made it taste both fresh and healthy. The Banana Bread and Fruit Muffins, both of which used whole-wheat flour and minimal oil, were low-fat hits with office tasters. Garbanzo Nuts, or oven-baked, spiced garbanzo beans, are the perfect mid-afternoon snack fix. The salad and dressing ideas are all zesty and quick to make, but finding the fresh ingredients could prove challenging for most of the year. With more than 200 wonderful recipe and menu ideas, the book could end up paying for itself in more healthful and flavorful meals than one could get dining out. The "Canyon Ranch Weekend at Home" ideas in the back of the book will inspire more than a weekend of pampering oneself and eating with one's health in mind. --Gilia Angell

From Publishers Weekly

Syndicated food columnist and menu designer for the upscale Canyon Ranch fitness resorts, the prolific Jones (Healthy Cooking for People Who Don't Have Time to Cook, etc.) offers well-flavored, healthful recipes. She restricts fat calories to about 20% and keeps careful tabs on protein-rich foods. The usual healthful helpers (e.g., defatted stocks, fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices) play major roles. Substitutes abound. Instead of the fatty avocado, asparagus and light sour cream make Canyon Ranch Guacamole. Nutritional breakdowns are given for all recipes, and Jones is a firm advocate of portion control. One pound of extra-lean ground round yields eight Canyon Ranch Burgers. Seared Ahi Tuna on Warm Potato and Leek Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing makes a fine luncheon. Fish 'n' Chips ingeniously dips fish in egg white, then in flour and bread crumbs before baking at 450 degrees. A spicy Indonesian Chicken with Grilled Bananas arouses the palate. There's also room for modestly sized Steak au Poivre and Osso Bucco. Desserts are either fruit-based, such as Pear in Phyllo, or pared-down fare like Chocolate Mocha Cheesecake made with light and nonfat cream cheese. This is an appealing collection for disciplined eaters, spiced with helpful tips that might inspire cooks to apply some of Jones's methods to their own recipes. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (April 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060187182
• ISBN-13: 978-0060187187
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,844 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully designed cookbook with really tasty recipes., June 2, 1998

By A Customer

I know people who go to spas, and they have mixed reactions about the food at Canyon Ranch. Some say that they starve to death because the portions are so small, and others claim that the entire eating experience is out of this world. Although I've not been to Canyon Ranch, I must say that this cookbook inspires me to think seriously about it.

First of all the layout is truly a graphic masterpiece. The photographs and information are laid out in a very logical, colorful and exciting way. The visuals make you want to rush out to the store and start cooking as soon as you open the book.

This book truly offers healthy food with real taste. The top choice for menus that we've tried in our house were: the duck breasts with blueberry sauce, spaeztle (German noodles) and braised cabbage. Dessert was blackberry cobbler.

Preparation is clearly spelled out, and fairly easy in comparison to other gourmet type recipes in the cookbook market presently. I managed to successfully prepare this menu for 8-10 people, and without any rehearsals!

The duck breasts were amazingly delicious (and very expensive to make - but with a little creativity, you could avoid the additional costs meat-wise), the spaetzle was weird in texture and taste but quite good and a hit -- beats the usual rice tenfold! -- and the cabbage was a great surprise and the tastiest favorite of all the various foods offered (guests were looking for seconds and thirds). The blackberry cobbler (which could be done with any kind of berry) was light, not too rich, and a huge hit. It has replaced my usual calorie and fat laiden recipes for fast desserts and it impressive to look at as the grande finale!

This menu worked well with the ten and twelve year old taste testers. One hated the blueberry sauce over the duck and the other loved it. However, they heartily ate everything else (especially the cabbage and cobbler!).

Making multiple courses (for 8-10 people)was not a problem for this menu, as the multiplications of the ingredie! nts added up without any problems. If you have a hefty appetite, be certain to make more than you planned to. The final servings are on the small side for such a lengthy prep time. (I believe in leftovers after working in the kitchen for so long!)

The recipes take some time to plan for (many call for elaborate marinades which add the flavor sans fat), and most definitely are not "comfort" foods, although it is a great book to browse while sitting in front of the fireplace as the recipes are perfect for the hot summer ahead!

Note: This cookbook is a 10 except for the convenience of preparation and overall cost of ingredients which caused me to lower my review to a 9.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Way beyond my expectations, January 23, 2003

By	Cary Gordon (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like to cook for friends, and I don't mind accommodating their dietary needs. In fact, I consider it a challenge. In that light, the words "low fat" struck fear into my heart.

I bought this book with the expectation that the food would at least look good. I didn;t expect that it would rock my gastronomical world.

From our first nibble of Canyon Ranch Guacamole to our last morsel of Pears in Phyllo (filo to me) the tastes were amazing.

I made:
Canyon Ranch Guacamole
Five Onion Bisque
Hearts of Palm and Endive Salad with Papaya Vinagarette
Mashed Potato and Shallot Casserole
Mustard Topped Rack of Lamb with Spinach Salad
Pears in Phyllo

Granted that this might be a bit more, quantity-wise, than would be expected at the Spa, but it was low fat and it left the diners, myself included, in thrall.

It also helped that I started with a show-stopper, the guacamole. It had a rich somewhat salty flavor - a good trick with little salt and negligible fat. Here is the spoiler: It is made from asparagus! Nobody could figure it out.

The book is no-nonsense and, while stating the benefits of a low fat diet, it doesn't preach. It also assumes a pretty good level of technique and access to decent ingredients.

One low fat cooking caveat: Ignore instructions that tell you to spray no-fat cooking spray on baking sheets. Use non-stick sheets or parchment paper. If you really need the spray, spray it on the parchment paper. It took an exhauystin half hour to get this stuff off of my baking sheets.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, delicious, April 23, 2004

By	L. Linnell - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have thoroughly enjoyed every recipe I have tried from this beautiful book, and I have tried several.
The baked fish and chips impressed some of my non-healthy eating guests so much they wanted the recipe and plan to never deep fry again. The price may seem high, but was worth it for some of the unusual techniques alone. I never thought of smoking food with tea inside of a steamer basket.
There are two reasons I did not give the book 5 stars. One, because I do not like the hardback format - this is a cookbook to be used, not some pretty picture book to lay on the coffee table. Secondly, the book has margarine listed as an ingredient listed in several recipes. The latter is a very small complaint that is actually addressed by the author in the introduction, apparently Canyon Ranch switched away from margarine while the book went to press, and the introduction lists proper substitutions. Maybe both will be corrected if there is to be a second edition.
I highly recommend this healthy eating cookbook - for its delicious foods, beautiful photos and layout, unusual techniques, and proper nutritional analysis with each recipe.