Quick & Healthy Recipes and Ideas

I have used Brenda's Quick and Healthy Cookbooks Volume I and II in my nutrition clinic for the past 7 years. My patients love these user-friendly books. Brenda has done it again ! This new and revised updated second edition is a must for everyone who needs to modify the carbohydrates and fat in their diet. It is great for diabetics and people with heart disease and high cholesterol levels. What I love about this version is the practical weight loss tips, time saving ideas, and practical nutrition guidelines. I highly recommend this cookbook for every one who wants to cook healthy and has no time to cook!

These recipes are easy, they use "normal" ingredients that you can find in even average grocery stores (I cannot find fancy gourmet ingredients where I live), and best of all--the recipes are tasty! This cookbook was recommended to me by our employee wellness program about six years ago, and I have enjoyed using it. I share with some folks who are not dieting or diabetic or otherwise particularly concerned about food issues, and they like the recipes too. That's high praise, and unusual for this type of food. The nutrition information, recipe alteration advice, and shopping list prep helps are nice features. You'll learn a lot in general, as well as having great recipes. Enjoy!

This book has really helped me to learn to cook quick and healthy meals. For those with diabetes, it lists food exchanges and ingredient modifications to allow us to work within common restrictions. I specifically liked the practical and down-to-Earth recipes. I found the recipes less esoteric and fussy than in the most popular cookbooks written for people with diabetes. Generally, most recipes feature ingredients that one is likely to have on hand. It compares favorably with many cookbooks in this regard. Suggestions for incorporating recipes into balanced meals were also helpful. This is a great turn-your-health-around book that can help you stay away from drive-thru windows for all time if are prepared to give it a fair chance.

Brenda J. Ponichtera is not only a registered dietitian, she knows how to cook in a way that's both flavorful and healthy. Taking the knowledge from her days as a dietitian, she has designed and tested 190 recipes for each volume of this book (Quick and Healthy Recipes and Ideas AND Quick and Healthy Volume II) which will taste great and keep the pounds off. Not only helpful for dieters, this book contains necessary nutrient exchanges and helpful information for diabetics.These down-to-kitchen books can help anyone learn to cook in a healthy way. Sample dinners are included in both books and the second edition contains sample menus as well as pre-made grocery lists. Although page numbers are hard to find from the sample menus, a helpful index solves the confusion and lists recipes by principle ingredient. Each recipe includes a description and ingredient list and preparation time can estimated by scanning the instructions, but the stand out here is a table at the bottom which contains number of servings, calories, fat, and exchanges - a sure to help any dieter. Trying a sample menu leads to easy shopping (just put the list into an online grocery store, although check quantities before ordering), fairly quick preparation times, a limited number of ingredients, and tasty results (the Creamy Seafood Fetticini even won over my seafood reluctant friend). A valuable addition to this book would be a section on how to make a healthy weeklong dinner menu, but the sections on determining your ideal weight and calorie intake, as well as the nutrient analysis tables in the back are indispensable. With a minimum of creativity and time, anyone can cook well and healthily with this book, making sure it will have a place on my counter for years to come.

This cookbook, designed for those who don't have time to cook healthy meals, has many recipes with few ingredients that are quick cooking, low in fat, and taste great. The bonus is that ingredients in the book are familiar. You don't have to trot off to health food stores or specialty stores for a critical ingredient.