Cookbooks

I'm a person who loves to look at food, so my cookbooks MUST have lots of pictures in them!  Out of respect for copyright I can't re-post recipes from cookbooks, but I can direct you to a few of my favorites.  If you decide to purchase your own copy, be sure to try and find it used first.  Amazon.com gives you the option of buying their books new or used if there is a pre-owned copy available through one of their online used book sellers.

The WomenHeart's ALL HEART Family Cookbook by Kathy Kastan, LCSW, MA ED, and Suzanne Banfield, PhD is backed by the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease.  This cookbook is worth buying just for the wonderful explanations it provides about heart healthy foods in the first part of the book.  Some of the recipes can be a little froo froo for simple appetites, but I especially like the Asparagus Frittata and the Garlic-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Arugala.  Some of the recipes include edamine, which is code for "soy beans".  Edamine can be bought in the freezer section of most grocery stores and is very heart healthy.  Again, be forewarned that these suckers are hard to digest until your system builds up the right enzymes, so take your Beano until you've been eating them awhile.  Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") is another healthy grain-like ingredient finding its way into many heart healthy recipes.  It can be a little tricky to cook so that it's not tough, so don't give up if your first attempt seems a little gritty.

Healthy Family Meals  is one of several cookbooks put out by the American Heart Association.  I like this one because it has great pictures with every recipe.  The foods are also a little more recognizable as family staples.  There's something for everybody in this cookbook, including some good salmon and fish recipes.  The hungry cardiologist particularly enjoyed the Grilled-Vegetable Paninis.  I enjoyed the Roasted Sweet Potato Fries and of course, the dessert section.

The New Dieter's Cookbook is a publication of Better Homes and Gardens.  It's been around for awhile so you may find it with a different cover design.  This cookbook also has great pictures on every page.  The recipes are "light", but perhaps not as super heart healthy as other cookbooks written specifically with that purpose in mind.  If you are on a low-sodium diet, you may need to do some tweaking with the recipes.  Still, this is a cookbook I come back to regularly as a favorite.  I particularly like the chicken salad recipes (there are several in the book that are all good) and the Parmesan Baked Fish.

I have several of the cookbooks put out by "Cooking Light".  They also publish a magazine by the same name that you've probably seen at the checkout counter.  Cooking Light does a beautiful job with the photographs and they include a wide variety of foods for any appetite.  The recipes are "light" in the sense that they have less fat and more protein, but they aren't particularly geared toward those seeking low-sodium recipes.  Still, they're great inspiration for trying new and unusual combinations and can be tweaked to your personal needs and tastes.