The Good-For-You Soups and Stews Cookbook

Don't let the "Good-For-You" part of the title scare you off. This book is a wonderful collection of flavorful soup and stew recipes, which not only are healthy but taste absolutely wonderful. Linda covers everything from preparing your own soup stocks to making chicken, meat, seafood, and plenty of vegetarian soups as well. Nutritional information is provided for each dish as prepared (including calories, fat, fiber, carbs, protein and sodium), a very useful tool for those on restricted diet plans. Many recipes in this book have become staples of my cooking, including her excellent Crab and Okra Gumbo, Asparagus and Scallop Chowder, and Peppery Bean Medley. My only quibble is that sometimes, yes, she is a little over-enthusiastic about reducing fat content in dishes, but it is easy to adjust recipes to your personal taste and diet needs (for instance, using 2% milk instead of skim, or cooking in olive oil instead of cooking spray.) That said, I've made these dishes for many guests and family members who had no idea they were "healthy" or "reduced fat", and they were always well received. I have learned a lot of tricks for making other dishes more healthy from this book, so I recommend it to everyone interested in eating healthier without sacrificing taste.