natural foods

I know what you are thinking (just as I was)-a natural foods/organic store cookbook can't have tasty recipes. This book will prove the naysayers wrong. It is filled with wonderful, great tasting recipes. I bought this book at my local Whole Foods store after tasting one of the dishes (Mediterranean Tuna Salad )of which samples were being handed out. One taste convinced me that I needed to buy this book. A lot of the same dishes in the book are sold at the Whole Foods Stores. The tuna salad is top-notch, as is the Sonoma Chicken Salad. The Tuscan Vegetable Saute is a good cold weather dish. It can be served by itself over rice or polenta or as a side dish. These are just a few examples of the diverse selection of recipes in this cookbook. There are hints/suggestions from the authors throughtout the book on how to alter the recipes to your taste, as well as descriptions and history of some of the ingredients. Every recipe has the nutritional explanation for dish. This book is a wonderful reference for any cookbook library..

I've been a regular shopper at Whole Foods Market for years and I've been waiting for the company to put out a cookbook with some of their own great recipes, like Ed's Tantalizing Tofu, for the home cook. So when this book finally appeared, I was one of the first in line for it. Unfortunately, it's not what I'd hoped for.

I have no complaints about the ingredients list, that's why I shop at WFM -- beautiful fresh, organic produce, all varieties of grain and pasta products, and a wide assortment of gourmet and International foods not found in other stores. For many of my favorite cookbooks [like Nina Simonds' Asian Noodles] Whole Foods Market provides one-stop shopping.

The problem I have with the book is that of the half-dozen or so recipes I tried, I had to make repairs midway through the making, or the flavors or ingredients didn't come together as I expected, or the end product just plain didn't taste good. I was left with beautiful food made into lousy meals.

If you're looking for great-tasting recipes tailor-made for WFM shoppers, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little while longer. This one should be sent back to the test kitchen.

I have made six or seven recipes out of this book--mostly soups and vegetables. They have all turned out quite good, and popular with my non-health-food-eating friends as well. The Spicy Mung Bean Soup, Asian Braised Greens, and Red Beans and Rice are particularly delicious. The tips on natural cooking in the beginning are excellent, and make stepping into the kitchen a fast and simple operation. The book is also consistent with the rules of cuisine and flavor-building, and the recipes are geared towards maximum flavor enhancement (someone put a lot of thought into these). Use of sea salt (commonly recommended by naturopaths as 'healthier' b/c it contains natural iodine) may make things too salty--try using kosher salt instead in the recipes. Use of fresh spices, not old ones that have been hanging around the kitchen for years, is a must. And of course, only the freshest produce. This book is great to have around as a fast reference for a healthy meal because the recipes are simple for the most part, sound delicious when you read them and therefore tempt you to cook them, and ultimately the food is good for you. An added benefit is that you can easily refer to it if you forget your ingredients list when shopping at Whole Foods, as they stock it in the book section. It's one of my most frequently used cookbooks (although a little pricey for a paperback). Definitely a good buy if you like this kind of cuisine, and have a modest understanding of cooking.