The Low-Fat Low-Carb Southwest Cookbook

The market is getting crowded with cookbooks featuring light or low-fat Mexican recipes; I love Mexican food and have been trying to eat more healthfully, so I'm very happy with this turn of events. "The Ultimate Low-Fat Mexican Cookbook" was one of the first of this genre, published in 1995. Some of these cookbooks in this area simply exchange low-fat ingredients (e.g., non-fat cheese) for the original high fat ingredient, which usually sacrifices a great deal of flavor and leads to bland Mexican food. This book focuses instead on some of the more naturally light Mexican-style foods, such as those using chicken or vegetables. A wide variety of recipes are covered, including appetizers, salsas and dips, salads, soups, chili, main dishes, and desserts. Although the cookbook is in the Mexican food genre, the focus truly is on Southwestern cooking. For example, the "Corn & Green Chili Spoonbread," although delicious, is hardly something typically prepared in Mexico. However, serve it alongside some grilled chicken, and you have a terrific, light Southwestern meal. I've thoroughly enjoyed the recipes I've made from this cookbook. They strike me as very refreshing, often incorporating lime juice and fresh vegetables. The "Chicken Lime Soup" is a great example - one of the brightest tasting recipes I've made in awhile, and with only 8 grams of fat. The recipes include nutritional information, but only fat grams and calories. Some call for canned ingredients (e.g., chicken broth, diced green chilies), so it would have been helpful to have sodium content listed in particular. However, this weakness is small compared to the overall quality of the cookbook. "The Ultimate Low-Fat Mexican Cookbook" was deservedly a nominee for the prestigious James Beard Awards - the cookbook equivalent of the Oscars. Although time has dulled the novelty of a low-fat Mexican cookbook, this one is still a winner.

I've used this cookbook for years and have never gone wrong with one of the recipes. Aptly titled, it's a good way to get all of the taste with out the gooey fat.