Looking for healthy cookbooks

[Allana]

I am a long time mothering junkie who is now working FT as a case manager for young moms (18-22ish). I am presenting a month long topic on nutrition and healthy cooking, snacks, etc and would like to turn to you all. I've just starting looking around online for simple ways to present some healthy options and am not finding what I'm looking for.

The moms have some healthy habits, and some not so healthy habits and I'd like to give them alternatives from all the prepackaged stuff for kids and frozen meals. Does anyone have some book recomendations for easy, quick recipes. If it is too complicated they won't do it. And budget is also a big deal as all of the moms are on welfare so they have to be careful for what they buy.

Thanks!!

Allana

[azurite]

I really like the moosewood cookbooks- they are vegetarian but it's easy to add meat when I want. It uses alot of rice/bean etc which is good for us WIC moms (or anyone on a budget!)

[ecochic]

A book called "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron has lots of healthy recipes for babies as well as children-- it is also a great resource for tips on how to reorganize your life/kitchen so that you are better able to serve up healthy meals/snacks to your children. It has really practical advice.
"Nourishing Traditions" is a hard core healthy lifestyle cook book. It is less practical in the recipes it offers, but the ideas behind the nutritional advice are facinating. Also "laurel's Kitchen" is another family favorite-- with lots of healthy/kid-friendly meals and snacks.

[craftymom]

Hi! I'm not sure how you define healthy.

One of my favorite cookbooks is Classic Home Cooking by Berry and Speiler. This book does have tons of bacon, etc., but NO processed ingredients--they even show how make your own mayonnaise (homemade mayo is _fabulous_, btw, though I can't believe I just admitted that ). More traditional food from a variety of cultures, and a little bit of everything. Also, it's presented by how long it takes to make, and there are nice pics (which I don't care about so much, but some people might really love).

[Allana]

I guess I'm looking for quick easy dinner recipes (less then 30 minutes). They eat a lot of hamberger helper and frozen dinners. I'd like to expand thier cooking skills and show them some easy things to make.

They are really hesitant to try different things. I bring in donated shares from the CSA I buy from and they usually don't want it unless I wash and tell them what everything is. But some of them won't even take the veggies.

Do any of you use an online recipe website to get some idea? If so which ones. I also just bought them a crock pot.

Thanks for all the ideas so far!
Allana

[courtenay_e]

You might want to invest in a book called "The Quick Recipe" by the editors of Cook's Illustrated. This is not a "only seven ingredients" or only 20 minutes book, but it is VERY easy to follow, there are a lot of classics made easier/quicker, and cooks illustrated is founded by a man named Christopher Kimball. He's a farmer from a farming community who loves good food, and likes to know what makes it so good. So there aren't any two ounce portions or strange ingredients here, but it's from scratch, so it's mostly whole foods. I love all of their cook books, but as you're looking for "quick", this is the one I'd recommend to start with.

You can definately find it on the cooksillustrated website (www.cooklillustrated.com), but I would also check amazon, as I think I got it there for less money!

[Earth Goddess]

Rachel Ray's "30 Minute Veggie Meals" is a good one. I also LOVE the original Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I've worn out the binding I've used it so much.

[saratc]

You may want to get them into crockpot cooking. Crockpot cooking can be extremely healthful, and usually yields large quantities that you can freeze to make your own TV dinners. The active time can be as short as 10 minutes. The thing I love best is that it works around my schedule. I can assemble everything in the crock in the evening if I want and then start it cooking the next morning. I let it go on low all day and turn it off whenever I'm ready to eat in the evening. A lot of dinners can be one-crock, or turned into something really impressive by adding a side salad, hunk of good bread, or simple rice, potato or other side.

BTW, there's a good thread going for crockpot recipes:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...light=crockpot

[izzzesmommy]

Simple Suppers

The moosewood family makes a cookbook called "Simple Suppers". I think it's brilliant. It uses a lot of pantry items keeping costs down and a lot of times using items you already have. Yet the meals are healthy and vegetarian. Most of the recipes are 30 minutes or less, and personally I have found that Rachel Ray's are only 30 minutes after the prep. This includes the prep time!

[courtenay_e]

Hey, thanks izzzesmommy. I didn't know that particular moosewood book existed. I'll have to see if the library has it, and put it on my birthday wishlist!