cover image Low-Fat Living Cookbook: 250 Easy, Great-Tasting Recipes

Low-Fat Living Cookbook: 250 Easy, Great-Tasting Recipes

Leslie L. Cooper. Rodale Press, $27.95 (400pp) ISBN 978-0-87596-435-5

Readers who overlook some of Cooper's Low-Fat Living Program polemics (turning off the body's fat-making switches and turning on fat-burning ones) and her contentions that an anxious, angry or hostile individual metabolizes fats more slowly than others will be rewarded by these low-fat offerings. The easy-to-make, slimmed-down recipes for comforting favorites are based on widely recognized fat-reducing techniques and are particularly well suited to home cooks fairly new to the kitchen. Cooper offers Spaghetti Squash Casserole with low-fat cheeses, corn and tomatoes; Potato Pancakes (saut ed in a non-stick pan with a minimum of oil) and Penne with Sausage and Broccoli made with poultry sausage. Interesting variations on those low-fat staples, vegetables, are found in such dishes as Green Beans with Feta and Walnuts, and Orange-Ginger Beets. Unusual low-fat combinations include Pizza with Apples, Walnuts, and Gorgonzola Cheese, or Cashew-Crusted Shrimp with Mango Sauce. Double Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with egg substitute and prune pur e; prunes sweeten Low-Fat Chewy Brownies, which use egg whites rather than whole eggs. Meal plans for special occasions are suggested, along with plenty of tips and strategies for fitting low-fat meals into one's lifestyle. (June)