****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
When I saw that Mark Bittman had a new cookbook out, I hesitated. I already have 5 of his books, did I really need another 500 recipes from him? The answer to that is a resounding yes!This book is for anyone who is trying to eat healthier. And really, who isn't? I don't know anyone who goes around saying, "I'm going to eat more processed foods and slurp canned soda!" This book is exactly how I would like to eat more often...more grains and beans, less meat, more fruits and veggies.The book opens up a section on why food matters. If you have already read his Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes, you can skip this part, in fact he tells you that you can skip it, but I read it again, to remind myself of how and why I want to eat better. Then he goes into stocking your pantry and finishes the intro by explaining his icon rating of recipes: fast, make-ahead, and pantry staple. In typical Bittman fashion, he has the recipes in the back also listed by their icon. So, if you were looking to make a fast recipe, there they are all.The recipe chapters are: Appetizers and Snacks, Soups, Salads and Dressings, Pasta Noodles and Dumplings, Rice and Grains, Beans, Vegetables, Bread Pizza Sandwiches and Wraps, Desserts and Sweet Snacks.I have been poring over this book, making lists of recipes that I want to try, finally giving up, because there are just too many!Here are a few, I have marked to try soon:Raw Butternut Squash Salad with Cranberry DressingRoasted Pork Shoulder with Potatoes, Apples and OnionsBaked Pumpkin Orange CustardChipotle Glazed Squash SkewersRoasted Sweet Potato SaladMushroom and Pasta FrittataPasta with Smoky Roasted Sweet Potatoes and BaconAs a confirmed carb lover, the pasta section alone is worth the price of the book. Every single recipe sounds great.I haven't made anything out of the book yet, (I'll be making the Sweet Potato and Bacon Pasta next week), but I don't have to. I've cooked enough, read enough cookbooks and cooked enough Bittman recipes to tell that these are winners. They are easy. They are healthy.
