Bare Minimum Dinners and more ...

BARE MINIMUM DINNERS by Jenna Helwig is fast becoming a favorite cookbook of mine.  I really like its “Recipes and Strategies for Doing Less in the Kitchen.” Helwig, the food director at Real Simple and former food editor at Parents magazine, is not shy about sharing her ideas and recommendations to prepare healthy, tasteful food quickly.  She readily empathizes with her busy readers and offers many suggestions, cleverly dividing this cookbook into four main non-traditional sections: Recipes with seven ingredients (or less); Dinners that come together in a single pot or pan; Recipes for the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker; and Easy Add-ons to round out dinner. I am looking forward to trying recipes like Cauliflower and Chickpea Tikka Masala (5 ingredients!), Shortcut Salmon Burgers (or perhaps Chile-Lime Salmon), and Lemony Cod and Potatoes. Saying her cooking mantra is “It’s going to be fine,” Helwig offers an introduction extolling the benefits of feeding our families happily and then devotes several pages to “Your Setup” (equipment, pantry, ingredient all-stars, and meal planning). She lists three non-negotiable dinner rules: there must be a vegetable; there must be enough food to satiate you; and there must be at least one part of the meal that you’re really looking forward to eating. Who can argue with that? It is like having a helpful, practical friend in the kitchen. The pictures in this book are plentiful and appealing. The layout is clean and light; however, I do wish that more nutrition information was included with each recipe. 

THE 400-CALORIE MEDITERRANEAN DIET COOKBOOK by Peter Minaki offers 100 Recipes under 400 Calories. As such, it is really geared to someone who is looking “for Easy and Healthy Weight Loss.” Many recipes involve vegetables, but there are sections devoted to pork dishes or those made with beef and lamb. Every recipe has calories and nutrition information. Examples include Balsamic Chicken and Spinach or Red Snapper with Peppers and Vinegar. Minaki starts off with a chapter about losing weight which feels a bit like a lecture, particularly when he outlines the benefits of exercising, including what to eat before and after workouts, as well as noting specific activity goals to take exercise “to the next level.” Also, some recipes seem overly complicated either in terms of ingredients (e.g., Dandelion and White Bean Soup requires 2 cups of fresh dandelion greens) or preparation steps. The pictures are attractive, although they only accompany about every third recipe. Overall, this could work for a more experienced cook who is looking for lower calorie options and has the time and inclination to make something delicious like Eggplant Caponata from scratch.