Mediterranean Light: Delicious Recipes from the World's Healthiest Cuisine

I have lots of cookbooks but few are as reliable as this one by Ms. Shulman. The lower-fat hummus recipe alone is worth the price of the book. (Another favorite is the Swiss chard soup.) This book was obviously a labor of love for the author. Thanks!

I wrote in April of 2000 that I had lost 50 lbs. I've lost another 20 lbs - 70 in all and maintain that loss now for almost 4 years using this cookbook. I have given it to many friends and relatives. It has changed my eating style for the better for life. Every time there's a news story about the best way to eat it mirrors what Ms Shulman teaches in her books. It's no chore eating this way. I love it. I wrote that review 4 years ago. In July 1999 I weighed 240 lbs. Now February 2007 I weigh 145 lbs. Yes, almost 100 lbs loss. I now have Mexican Light and Provencial Light too and I love all of them. It's still easy to eat this way for life.

My rule of thumb is, if you get three recipes that you cook regularly out of a cookbook, and you otherwise enjoy it, it has earned its selling price. Let's see: I use the recipes for hummus, white bean and tuna salad, tabouleh, semolina bread, that thing with chard and fish . . . and there's lots more. The author explains how to do it all from scratch, which is always good to know, but I've saved some time substituting already cooked beans and, when I don't have any I've made myself, I've used commercially produced, fat-reduced chicken stock. Nutritional data is provided for each dish.

Sometimes finding a good cookbook is a question of compatibility and style. I find her directions very easy to follow and so far everything I've tried has been a hit. I'm an inexperienced breadmaker, but the breads I've tried have all come out terrific. The proof of the pudding, however, is that when I made Provencal chicken my teenaged daughter bit into a piece of chicken and went "Mmmmm!" My husband and I looked at each other in disbelief since she has not liked anything I've cooked for what seems like forever. For me, this is the most powerful endorsement possible. This is a great cookbook!

I've lost 50 lbs since I began using the book last July (It's April now). Ms Schulman's book has taught me to cook with less fat and choose foods that are very tasty but with no fat or less fat than I was used to before.The foods are spicy, but I LOVE spicy. This is a Great book. I've given it to several friends and family members.