Cookbook suggestions

kriskend
kriskend Posts: 9
in Recipes
I would like to start adjusting my cooking to flavor more with spice and less with fat and or sugar. I can't have sugar substitutes so low fat ingredients don't work for me. So I was wondering if anyone had any good cookbook suggestions. I am open to lots of different kinds of foods but I have lived in the Midwest of the US my whole life and people often joke that the people here think ketchup is spicy. I do like spicy foods or foods flavored with spices ( not necessarily Hot ) but I just have no idea how to cook like that. I would be open to links to recipes if you have some good ones online too. Especially if anyone has a great Thai peanut recipe.

Replies

  • angrykitty13
    angrykitty13 Posts: 64 Member
    Maybe try some recipe from sites like Allrecipe (http://allrecipes.com/recipes/world-cuisine/india/) or more specialized sites and experiment with Thai, Indian, etc cuisines? When you find foods you like, then look for a cookbook that covers that type of cuisine?

    As much as I love cookbooks, I find myself using the internet more than I use my cookbooks I already own.

    For an actual cookbook, Just Tacos by Shelley Wiseman is pretty great. You can adapt a lot of the recipes to salads, and if you're cooking for more than just yourself you can make tacos for part of the table if they want the tortillas. :)
  • ehorn625
    ehorn625 Posts: 144
    Do you like salsa? Home made salsa is easy to make and you can adjust the "hotness/spicyness" to fit your tastes. I cut up bell peppers onions and tomatoes. I squeeze in lime juice and add some cilantro. then grind in some pepper, add chili powder to taste. Its best if you can refridgerate for a few hours or overnight. Its awesome! You can also put it on baked chicken or fish. I love it!
  • ehorn625
    ehorn625 Posts: 144
    I use allrecipes.com all the time. I found a great no noodle lasagna that I adapted to more of a baked ziti (too lazy to try to layer the veggies!). It was delicous! Even the kids ate it. I threw in some left over cooked chicken, mixed in sauteed veggies, some low salt tomato sauce added low fat ricotta and topped it with low fat mozzerella. cooked it in the oven on 350 for about a 1/2 hour or so. YUM!
  • kriskend
    kriskend Posts: 9
    Maybe try some recipe from sites like Allrecipe (http://allrecipes.com/recipes/world-cuisine/india/) or more specialized sites and experiment with Thai, Indian, etc cuisines? When you find foods you like, then look for a cookbook that covers that type of cuisine?

    As much as I love cookbooks, I find myself using the internet more than I use my cookbooks I already own.

    For an actual cookbook, Just Tacos by Shelley Wiseman is pretty great. You can adapt a lot of the recipes to salads, and if you're cooking for more than just yourself you can make tacos for part of the table if they want the tortillas. :)

    I did not know that Allrecipes had more specialized areas like that... I will give that a try as I do make a lot of things from recipes on the internet, I just tend to get most of my ideas on Pinterest and all my family/friends are also from the midwest so the stuff I see if fairly limited
  • kriskend
    kriskend Posts: 9
    I use allrecipes.com all the time. I found a great no noodle lasagna that I adapted to more of a baked ziti (too lazy to try to layer the veggies!). It was delicous! Even the kids ate it. I threw in some left over cooked chicken, mixed in sauteed veggies, some low salt tomato sauce added low fat ricotta and topped it with low fat mozzerella. cooked it in the oven on 350 for about a 1/2 hour or so. YUM!

    That sounds like a good suggestion but unfortunately I can't have most fruits ( I have fructose malabsorption) in large quantities and that includes tomatoes :-(
  • kriskend
    kriskend Posts: 9
    Oh yeah I forgot I am cooking for a family of four with two kids age 6 and 8
  • Pandalover62
    Pandalover62 Posts: 7
    Check out this site they have some great recipes and remember you can change some of the seasonings to what you would rather like.

    http://www.mydailymoment.com/recipes

    The other site is go to Amazon.com Bookbub and they have some Cookbooks that are free if you put in free Cookbooks in the search bar and it will pull up many different ones and if you sign up for that site you can download the books for free and just keep looking for new things. I have any books from them and have loved everyone of them.

    Hope this helps.
    Andrea
  • jazzcat55
    jazzcat55 Posts: 164 Member
    I happened to see this book at the library recently. It is chock-full of all kinds of tips to lighten up your cooking, and best of all, these are all comfort food recipes, the ones that are usually the hardest to pass up.

    http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Skinny-Comfort-Foods-pounds/dp/1609618734/ref=pd_sim_b_4

    I've only made one recipe so far...the Twice-Baked Potatoes...and they were fantastic! My husband (who is also doing MFP) LOVED them. I know already I'm going to be referring to this book often, so I went ahead and bought it. There is a whole series of these books.
  • nancycaregiver
    nancycaregiver Posts: 812 Member
    You can download the Spark Recipes app on your phone or iPad. It has tons of healthy recipes. You can type something in the search bar and save what you like to favorites to be pulled up whenever you get ready. Oh, and the app is free!! :bigsmile:
  • ClearNotCloudyMind
    ClearNotCloudyMind Posts: 238 Member
    Not sure if you can get it there but the Hairy Dieters cookbook has some lovely food in it. It's not daft either, just reliable healthy meals which (so far) have all been delicious.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    The New Best Recipe is a must-have
    http://www.amazon.com/Best-Recipe-Cooks-Illustrated-Magazine/dp/0936184744
  • kbitzonefour
    kbitzonefour Posts: 114 Member
    The Shredded Chef

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