{"id":6360,"date":"2017-09-15T00:23:17","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T00:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=6360"},"modified":"2017-12-07T13:54:07","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T13:54:07","slug":"new-cookbooks-to-kick-start-a-healthy-fall-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/fall-2017\/new-cookbooks-to-kick-start-a-healthy-fall-season\/","title":{"rendered":"New Cookbooks to Kick-Start a Healthy Fall Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

W<\/span>ith summer in the rearview mirror, many of us are ready to head back to the kitchen with the determination to make, serve, and eat healthier foods more than ever before. Certainly, the fall months seem to make us clamor for comfort foods with gatherings of friends and family. Now, the spotlight is all of that with the emphasis on healthy.<\/p>\n

What we are not looking forward to is the beginning of the \u201choliday 15.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you used the summer to get in shape, you are ahead of the game and are ready to tackle the fall and holiday food extravaganzas. If you didn\u2019t or if you don\u2019t want to slip back, we have some new books for you to use as resources. All are guides to preparing healthy meals that are perfect for the season and all year long.<\/p>\n

Begin with the new Dr. Mehmet Oz book, Food Can Fix It: The Superfood Switch to Fight Fat, Defy Aging and Eat Your Way Healthy<\/em>, which is chockful of ideas for how to get your health back on track, including a 21-day weight-loss plan.<\/p>\n

Then, grab these cookbooks for healthy, creative, and new recipes (many of which are vegetarian), while offering new ways with your favorite cast iron skillet or sheet pan: Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen: Delicious, Nourishing Food for Lifelong Health and Well-Being<\/em>\u00a0by Brittany Wood Nickerson; Good Housekeeping Skillet Suppers: 65 Delicious Recipes by Susan Westmoreland; and Sheet Pan Suppers Meatless: 100 Surprising Vegetarian Meals Straight from the Oven<\/em> by Raquel Pelzel.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong>Food Can Fix It: The Superfood Switch to Fight Fat, Defy Aging, and Eat Your Way Healthy\u00a0<\/em><\/h4>\n

By Dr. Mehmet Oz<\/p>\n

You may have started to know Dr. Mehmet Oz when he appeared as a health expert for The Oprah Winfrey Show<\/em> back in 2004. Today, Dr. Oz hosts his own show, The Dr. Oz Show<\/em>, now in its eighth season.<\/p>\n

What makes Dr. Oz such a reliable resource is that he is a cardiac surgeon, a health expert, and an author who shares his knowledge of health and wellness along with the importance of the balance of mind, body, and spirit.<\/p>\n

A professor of surgery at Columbia University, Oz directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital and performs 100 heart operations annually.<\/p>\n

This new book is not his first rodeo as an author. Oz has coauthored six books, started The Good Life<\/em> magazine (Hearst Corporation) three years ago, and is a regular columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Food Can Fix It: The Superfood Switch to Fight Fat, Defy Aging, and Eat Your Way Healthy<\/em> (Simon & Schuster) is his latest book. Drawing on his medical experience, Dr. Oz shares his knowledge of how food affects our bodies, \u201cfood fixes,\u201d or what you can eat to fight what ails you. His important message is to \u201cchange the food you eat, and you change your body.\u201d This simple but important rule is important for all of us.<\/p>\n

Dr. Oz shares ideas on how food can help fix what ails you from how to lose weight and also issues with the heart, fatigue, pain, brain power, bad moods, immunity, skin and hair, and the gut.<\/p>\n

Sprinkled throughout the book, making it not only an interesting but also a fun read, are tips and factoids to devour. There\u2019s the \u201c10-Second Headache Reliever,\u201d which touts drinking six extra glasses of water a day to help relieve chronic headache pain; the anti-inflammatory punch of adding cinnamon to coffee; and ideas for how to feed a cold.<\/p>\n

Wow, did you know that vitamin B9 and B12 deficiencies can lead to prematurely gray hair? Who knew? But this is just one of the many, many facts from Dr. Oz\u2019s latest book.<\/p>\n

The Food Can Fix It\u2019s<\/em> 21-day plan is designed, he says, to help you change your eating habits. On it, you could lose three to four pounds during the first week and one to two pounds each following week. Suggested menus for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinners are included, along with easy-to-follow recipes (many including color photos).<\/p>\n

\u201cFood can break you, but it also holds the power to fix your body, prevent some diseases, and reverse others.\u201d He explains how food\u2019s a medicine that can cure or prevent illness and disease, can be an elixir to a longer life, and is \u201csacred\u201d in the way it brings people together and affects our spiritual and emotional well-being.<\/p>\n

Dr. Oz offers the road map through his 21-day plan and 125 recipes. The plan is designed to help you \u201cre-train your body and your taste buds so that you can start a life-long commitment to eating well\u2014and loving every body-changing bite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than offering lists of superfoods, Oz shares his vision for how to create a \u201csuperfood way of life.\u201d He says the goal for this book is to instill habits rather than to offer silver bullets.<\/p>\n

We give Dr. Oz three cheers for his thoughts on how food should be thought of as even more than just good for the physical body. \u201cYou should not only love the foods you eat, but also love the people you eat with. That way meals become memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

No-Excuses Salad from FOOD CAN FIX IT (Scribner). Photo: Sarah Anne Ward<\/p><\/div>\n

A trendy salad these days is one you can carry in a ball or Mason jar. Dr. Oz gives you step-by-step instructions in his No-Excuses Salad for how to layer salad dressing, veggies, protein foods like hard-boiled eggs or chicken and greens\u2014all without creating a \u201csoggy mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here’s how:<\/p>\n

Bottom layer<\/strong>: Vinaigrette dressing made with olive oil (pour it in first so the rest of the ingredients don\u2019t get soggy)\nSecond layer<\/strong>: Crunchy vegetables\nNext laye<\/strong>r: Sturdy foods like hardboiled eggs or chicken\nTop layer<\/strong>: Greens (so they don\u2019t get crushed by the weight of the other add-ins)<\/p>\n

Mix and match the ingredients as you like, then shake to coat with the dressing (or empty into a bowl) when you\u2019re ready to dive in.<\/p>\n

Baked Eggs with Swiss Chard<\/a> is one of his healthy breakfast or brunch recipes. Making four servings, it\u2019s packed with Swiss chard, which will provide more than 100 percent of your daily vitamin K, he notes.<\/p>\n

A unique take on Brussels sprouts is Special Occasion Veggies Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Grapes<\/a>. The roasted sprouts are combined with roasted shallots and grapes and then topped with roasted almonds.<\/p>\n

Excerpt from <\/em>Food Can Fix It: The Superfood Switch to Fight Fat, Defy Aging and Eat Your Way Healthy<\/a> by Dr. Mehmet Oz. \u00a92017 by Hearst Communications, Inc.\u00a0Excerpted with permission by Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.<\/em><\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong>Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen: Delicious, Nourishing Food for Lifelong Health and Well-Being<\/em><\/h4>\n

By Brittany Wood Nickerson<\/p>\n

This is an absolutely beautiful cookbook that you will want to read on a crisp fall day as you are curled up on your couch, dreaming of new culinary ideas. The gorgeous photography in the quality hardcover book will make this one a keeper in your cookbook collection.<\/p>\n

The hero of this book is \u201cherbalism,\u201d and the author, Brittany Wood Nickerson, introduces you to the method of making and using herbal medicine at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cHerbalism offers us an opportunity not just to feel<\/em> well<\/em> but to live well<\/em>,\u201d Nickerson says. Her hope is for you to learn why herbs have evolved into important ingredients in our dishes, why certain herbs go with certain recipes, and why some are paired with others. She also hopes you will find \u201cyour own deep, meaningful, intimate relationship with herbs, cooking, medicine, and health.\u201d<\/p>\n

She defines it this way: \u201cHerbal medicine is a time-tested system of healing, practiced around the world for thousands of years, and modern science has now confirmed its efficacy for a wide range of health concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herbs from basil and cilantro to tarragon and thyme are presented with details on their flavor, medicinal qualities, and uses in the kitchen. Recipes are here for herbal teas, ice cubes (!), butters, and honeys.<\/p>\n

Here are two we enjoy\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Braised Chicken with Shallots and Figs<\/a><\/strong> is a delicious way to prepare saut\u00e9ed chicken thighs by simmering them in wine that\u2019s enhanced with Dijon mustard, figs, shallots, garlic, figs, thyme, sage, rosemary, and bay leaves.<\/p>\n

Crispy Sage Roasted Garlic Risotto<\/strong><\/a> offers a new method to add to your culinary techniques. If you haven\u2019t tried crispy sage leaves as a garnish, you need to now. Nickerson tells you how to crisp the flavorful leaves and garnish her garlicky risotto recipe.<\/p>\n

Excerpt from <\/em>Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen: Delicious, Nourishing Food for Lifelong Health and Well-Being<\/a> by Brittany Wood Nickerson. Photography \u00a9 by Keller + Keller Photography, and \u00a9 by Alexandra Grablewski. Used with permission from Storey Publishing.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong>Good Housekeeping Skillet Suppers: 65 Delicious Recipes<\/em><\/h4>\n

By Susan Westmoreland<\/p>\n

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of how to add healthier choices to your menus, you may be thinking about how you can create healthy recipes that are easy<\/em>, too.<\/p>\n

How does a one-pot meal sound?<\/p>\n

Chances are you have a cast-iron skillet that you\u2019ve had for years but have not used in a while. It\u2019s time to bring it out of retirement and revisit its special qualities, making it a perfect choice for simple one-pot meals.<\/p>\n

The Good Housekeeping Skillet Suppers 65 Delicious Recipes<\/em> is a terrific resource for everything you need to know about your cast-iron skillet from how to season or re-season it, how to easily clean it, and what to cook in it. This is a must-have fall book for ideas ranging from steaks and chops (try Steak Pizzaiolo, a juicy steak dinner with saut\u00e9ed onion, red pepper, and diced tomatoes) to rice dishes (try Creole Fried Rice <\/a>with smoky andouille sausage, rice, and beans) to seafood (Mediterranean Cod<\/a>, a light seafood recipe bringing together zucchini, spinach simmered in marinara sauce, seasoned with garlic and red pepper).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Baked Pepper Jack Quinoa<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

For a meatless entr\u00e9e, try Baked Pepper Jack Quinoa Skillet,<\/a> a creamy quinoa skillet casserole of broccoli, spinach, and perked up with pepper jack cheese.<\/p>\n

Reprinted with permission from <\/em>Good Housekeeping Skillet Suppers 65 Delicious Recipes<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a92017 by Hearst Books, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Hardcover.<\/em><\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong>Sheet Pan Suppers Meatless: 100 Surprising Vegetarian Meals Straight from the Oven<\/em><\/h4>\n

By Raquel Pelzel<\/p>\n

Another must-have kitchen tool is a sheet pan. Professional cook and recipe writer Raquel Pezel provides a complete resource guide, Sheet Pan Suppers Meatless: 100 Surprising Vegetarian Meals Straight from the Oven<\/em> for how to use one of your most basic pieces of equipment in ways you probably haven\u2019t thought to try before.<\/p>\n

Like you, Pezel says: “I have a kitchen that\u2019s pretty tricked out with gadgets, pots, pans, and appliances. I have every tool you might need, from a cherry pitter to an at-home smoking gun, from humble one-fried-egg-size cast-iron skillets to the finest French-made copper potato steamer. But pop your head into my kitchen on a random Tuesday night, and you\u2019ll know what you\u2019ll see? Me, cooking dinner on my beaten up and well-seasoned sheet pan.”<\/p>\n

Pezel takes you from soups and entr\u00e9e to desserts, all of which can be made in the sheet pan.<\/p>\n

Here are three to try\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Slab Quiche with Spinach<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Spinach, Roasted Root \u201cPetals,\u201d Pistachios and Honey Vinaigrette<\/strong><\/a> is a hearty salad potpourri of radishes and beets, roasted until they look like beautiful flower petals, tossed with spinach and pistachios, and seasoned with a warm, gingery honey vinaigrette.<\/p>\n

Slab Quiche with Spinach, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions<\/strong><\/a> is a perfect recipe for a potluck brunch or impromptu gathering. Have frozen puff pastry on hand to assemble this easy-to-make recipe with a filling of gruyere cheese, chopped spinach, and goat cheese. It can be served warm or at room temperature for, as Pezel says, it \u201cis just as happy on a brunch spread as it is at dinner or in the afternoon with tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lentil and Spinach-Stuffed Squash Halves<\/strong><\/a> could become a new addition to any Thanksgiving menu\u2014if you dare step away from the classics. Hollowed out delicata squash or zucchini halves become the vessel for an herby stuffing of lentils, mushrooms, and spinach.<\/p>\n

Best of all, you don\u2019t have to clean up your cooktop with these recipes. Just use your mighty sheet pan for one-dish meals and use your spare time reading a new book or following your passion!<\/p>\n

Reprinted with permission from\u00a0<\/em>Sheet Pan Suppers Meatless: 100 Surprising Vegetarian Meals Straight from the Oven <\/a>by Raquel Pezel. \u00a92017 Workman Publishing. Softcover.<\/em><\/h5>\n
[vc_text_separator title=”View Recipes In This Issue” title_align=”separator_align_center” border=”no” el_class=”in-this-issue-headline”]\n
\n