The New American Plate Cookbook
Recipes for a Healthy Weight and a Healthy Life
by American Institute for Cancer Research
More
than anything, we were pleasantly surprised when we received The
New American Plate from the American Institute
for Cancer Research (AICR). We were guilty of the prejudice
that a cookbook put out by a public agency would certainly
be filled with valuable, carefully researched information
but probably lacking in the aesthetics department. Boy,
were we wrong.
This
noble three-fold effort by the AICR to publish a cookbook
that helps people keep a healthy weight and live longer
and healthier lives is as pleasing to the eye as it is packed
with beautiful, doable recipes. We're sure it was
no accident that they hired an award-winning photographer
to make vegetables come alive with glossy, crisp succulence,
ready to leap off the page and onto your plate. That's
because vegetables have the starring role in (and on!) the
"New American Plate."
This
new way of eating proposed by the AICR does away with the
favored American meal of a big piece of meat, a pile of
carbs and a side of veggies (think steak, baked potato and
a side of peas). In its place you fill two thirds of your
plate with a variety of plant foods like fruits, vegetables,
whole grains and beans, and leave only the remaining room — one
third of the plate or less — for animal protein. Voilà:
the "New American Plate."
In this
pretty, appetizing volume you will find 200 recipes for
such items as shrimp curry with asparagus and snap peas;
fourteen-vegetable stew with pork; butternut squash, tomato
and watercress soup; couscous and lamb pilaf with dried
fruits and nuts; Asian-style salmon with sautéed
carrots and leeks; and more. You're sure to encounter
something from every corner of America's melting pot.
You'll find gazpacho and beef stew; tofu stir-fry
and bulgur, tabbouleh and chili; clam chowder and quinoa.
Spices
and herbs are vivid sidekicks, from curry, cilantro, cardamom
and chile to sesame, sage and ginger. In one week you can
travel from India via Greece to the Deep South and get rare
servings of cauliflower, kale, bok choy, kohlrabi and chard.
The recipes are easy and quick, and involve ingredients
you can easily find even if you don't live in an urban
center. And — this is what we like best in a sort of self-satisfied
way: all of these dishes, side dishes and desserts were
carefully crafted by the AICR's teams of food scientists,
cooks and recipe developers with the agenda of maintaining
optimum health. They have already done the thinking for
you. All you've got to do is pick up a fork.
Reviewed
by Sylvie Greil
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