cover image Fast Food, Good Food: More than 150 Quick and Easy Ways to Put Healthy, Delicious Food on the Table

Fast Food, Good Food: More than 150 Quick and Easy Ways to Put Healthy, Delicious Food on the Table

Andrew Weil. Little, Brown, $30 (304p) ISBN 978-0-316-32942-2

Bestselling author Weil (True Food; 8 Weeks to Optimum Health) shows home cooks how to prepare healthy meals without spending hours in the kitchen. Known for his belief in an anti-inflammatory diet, Weil includes a food pyramid and options for following an eating plan that he believes “can help your body maintain optimum health.” While health food staples such as kale, kasha, and quinoa have a strong presence in this worthy title, indulgent, flavor-packed options without much prep are in abundance, including salmon Niçoise with olive, spearmint, and caper vinaigrette; linguine with clams; and dark chocolate date and nut truffles. Cocktails also make the cut, including the Cortes Island Caesar, a version of a Bloody Mary, and Vermont Bluegrass, a shaken bourbon cocktail made with homemade maple cinnamon syrup. Readers will find that a handful of recipes include standard vegetarian options, such as swapping out the chicken for tofu in a spicy Szechuan stir-fry or cold buckwheat noodles with vegetables. Full-page color photos showcase dishes, artfully displaying the raw shredded carrots of Tunisian spiced carrot salad dressed in oil with garlic and spices and tucked in a radicchio leaf with a sidecar of crumbled feta. These lovely recipes and images remind the reader that eating healthy food doesn’t have to be difficult or boring. (Oct.)