Books for Cooks

Barbara Burke

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Well-tested recipes offer
less fat and more variety

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Whether you are on a high-protein diet, a vegetarian regimen or simply like to eat nutritious meals, you'll find dozens of recipes to help you meet your dietary needs in the Good Housekeeping "Light & Healthy Cookbook."

"Light & Healthy Cookbook" by the Editors of Good Housekeeping (Hearst Books/Sterling, 2003, $24.95, hardcover)

Each of the cookbook's 375 recipes was triple-tested by the Good Housekeeping kitchen pros. All recipes contain fewer than 30 percent of calories from fat and include an analysis that provides information about calories, protein, carbohydrates, total fat, cholesterol and sodium.

The chapters include starters and appetizers, soups, pasta, main dishes, salads, side dishes, sandwiches and pizzas, sauces and condiments, bread, desserts and beverages.

"Light & Healthy Cookbook" offers a diverse selection of recipes, including Gazpacho with Cilantro Yogurt, Skillet Vegetable Curry and Lean Beef Stroganoff. Many are internationally inspired, such as Portuguese Peasant Bread, Moroccan Vegetable Stew and Jamaican Jerk Chicken Kabobs. The dessert section has guilt-free choices such as Double-Blueberry Pie, Almond-Anise Biscotti and Chocolate Mint Cake.

This oversize book is printed on high-quality glossy paper with may full-color photographs. The editors offer dozens of tips and shortcuts to make food preparation easier. The layout allows each recipe a generous amount of space, making the book extremely easy to read. No matter where you open this cookbook, it lies perfectly flat, which helps when you are working in the kitchen. All of this for less than $25. Now, that's a bargain!

Grilled Thai Snapper Packets

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce (nuoc nam)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 red snapper fillets (6 ounces each)
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 2-1/4 inch-by-1/4-inch matchstick strips
1 large green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro

Prepare grill. In small bowl, whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, oil, ginger, garlic and sugar. With tweezers, remove any bones from snapper fillets.

Cut 4 16 inch-by-12-inch sheets of foil. Fold each sheet crosswise in half, then open up like a book. Place 1 fillet, skin side down, on half of each piece of foil. Evenly sprinkle with carrot, green onion and cilantro; drizzle with lime-juice mixture. Fold foil over fish. To seal, fold and crimp edges of foil all around.

Place packets on grill over medium heat; grill 8 minutes. Cut packets open to serve. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 230 calories, 6 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 36 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate.

Rating Scale: Best in its class / Highly recommended / Recommended / Not recommended

Barbara Burke is a Hawaii-Pacific University instructor who teaches and writes about food and nutrition. Contact her at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or e-mail her at: features@starbulletin.com