Weekend Cooking: Eat What You Love: Quick & Easy by Marlene Koch

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Although (knock on wood) we don't have any particular dietary concerns, we are committed to eating healthfully as much as possible. So when I discovered Marlene Koch's Eat What You Love: Quick & Easy at BEA this year, I decided to give it a try.

The cookbook is particularly geared to people who need to watch what they eat because they've been diagnosed with diabetes, but the recipes are so good and easy to make that they should have wide appeal. If you or a loved one has diabetes, then you'll be reassured to learn that Koch is a registered dietician. Her recipes will fit easily into a diabetic meal plan.

The first several chapters contain good information for people just starting out with more nutritious eating,for whatever reason: diabetes, weight loss, or healthful lifestyle. Koch goes into the details of nutrients, ingredients, and equipment. What I love about her ingredient section is that it names brands, which not only helps you in the store but boosts your success rate with her recipes.

Oh and I have to mention the abundance of advice Koch has included in Eat What You Love, such as how to use your freezer, baking tips, and how to adapt recipes for cooking for two. Seriously good information.

Okay so what about the recipes? I haven't yet made any the beautiful desserts (see that book cover!), but I made a pork chili verde that we really liked, a simple cucumber salad, and a savory zucchini pie. The recipes were easy to put together and the instructions were clear. The pork needed to cook for about an hour, so I'm not quite sure how "quick" it was, but the flavor was there. I have a bunch more recipes marked to try.

Some other things to know:

• Most of the recipes use fresh or frozen ingredients, but some call for store-bought ingredients, like broth, sauces, and pudding mixes.
• All recipes come with good nutrition information, including food exchanges and Weight Watchers points.
• People on gluten-free diets should look before buying.
• Vegetarians should also look before buying.
• There are beautiful photos for some but not all recipes.
• Fast applies to your hands-on time and doesn't always mean you'll be eating in under an hour.

I'm impressed with the variety of foods and how they all look like (pardon the expression) real food--that is, food that doesn't signal it's part of a special diet. Whether you're watching what you eat because you need to lose weight, because you're diabetic, or because you just want to eat right, you won't feel even a tiny bit deprived. I mean, Swedish Meatballs with Sour Cream Gravy, Grilled Peach Sundaes with Caramel Sauce, and Shortcut Veggie Lasagna don't sound like sacrifice dishes to me.

Recommendation: If you are looking for some good, reliable recipes to feed the whole family while accommodating dietary restrictions, here's the book for you. If you want to add recipes to your busy weeknight repertoire, here's the book for you.  If you want some delicious lower-in-calorie recipes to help you feel better and lose weight, you'll want to check out Marlene Koch's Eat What You Love: Quick & Easy. To learn more about Koch, visit her website.

Click to enlarge the image to see one of her recipes. I haven't made this chicken and shrimp gumbo, but it looks good to me.