annieb123
Written on Sep 5, 2021
Healthy Easy Mexican is a tutorial guide with recipes developed by Velda de la Garza. Due out 12th Oct 2021 from The Experiment, it's 272 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.
Traditional Mexican food has a less-than-stellar reputation as being full of unhealthy fats and ingredients such as lard, salt, high-fat cheeses, and sour cream. The truth is that much of the traditional cuisine is full of indisputably healthy foods such as avocado, citrus, beans lentils & other legumes, fiber rich corn, and other really good nutrition-rich ingredients. This cookbook is full of well-curated appealing recipes developed by a nutritionist and healthcare provider.
The introduction includes important background information covering ingredients, preparation, an overview over fats, and pantry stocking information including healthy alternatives. The recipes are arranged thematically: Salsas & Dips, Appetizers & Sides, Soups & Breads, Salads, Meat & Fish, Poultry, Meatless Meals, Rice & Beans, and Desserts. Each recipe includes a title, yields, ingredients in a bullet list sidebar, followed by step-by-step cooking instructions. Recipe ingredients are listed with both American standard measures and metric measures (yay!). Nutritional information includes calories, fat, fiber, sodium, saturated fat, cholesterol, and the diabetic exchange values for each recipe.
Roughly 25% of the recipes will contain photographs (not provided with the early eARC for review). The final release copy will also contain a cross referenced index. One thing I liked about this particular book (in addition to the healthier take on Mexican food which is a *huge* favorite in my family) is that the recipes all include the dish names in Spanish in the header. It's a simple way to learn a few words of Spanish as a bonus in additional to family friendly and tasty food.
Four and a half stars. This is a well written book full of good recipes. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, cookbook fans, and lovers of Mexican cuisine looking for healthier & lighter alternatives.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.