Time for Giving

For many folks, the Christmas season began last week with the Thanksgiving holiday shopping.  If you are thinking about gifts for people who enjoy food, enjoy cooking, are interested in nutrition, or even are new to cooking, I have some cookbooks to discuss with you.  These cookbooks also are excellent gifts for wedding or baby showers.  Yes, the authors are Registered Dietitians (RD)!  While some may consider me to be bias, I humbly disagree.  As someone who enjoys food and preparing it, I have shelves filled with a variety of cookbooks, but my favorites are the books written by RD's.  The recipes are easy to prepare and do not require expensive gourmet ingredients. Below are my suggestions for you to consider.  All of these books are available on Amazon with many customer reviews for you to review.

No Whine with Dinner (2011) by Liz Weiss and Janice Newell Bissex and Mom's Guide to Meal Makeovers: Improving the Way your Family Eats One Meal at a Time! (2003) by Janice Newell Bissex and Liz Weiss.  If you have picky eaters in your home, these books are excellent choices for your family.  These authors also have a very informative website (www.mealmakeovermoms.com) with recipes, nutrition information, and suggestions for busy parents to improve their family's health.  Their recipes are for families with children, but we are all kids at heart – right?

Eat More of What You Love: Over 200 Brand New Recipes Low in Sugar, Fat, and Calories (2012) and Eat What You Love: More than 300 Incredible Recipes Low in Sugar, Fat, and Calories (2010) both by Marlene Koch.  These two books are New York Times Best Sellers.  Her recipes are very tasty because she does use fat but limits the amount.  She controls calories with some recipes by using artificial sweeteners.  She includes Weight Watcher points with her nutrition analysis.  Some recipe titles: Buffalo Chicken Salad, Pizza Puffs, Raspberry Oat Bars, and Whoopie Pies. At her website (www.marlenekoch.com), you may find additional recipes and a monthly newsletter.

Please do review the customer comments on Amazon.  These books will be gifts that continue to promote the health of family and friends throughout the years.