Well I don't have a particular cookbook that emphasizes whole foods (and I'd love to see what others have if they do!) but I have two cookbooks that I really like:
1) Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen - she was a spa chef who lost weight. Her recipes tend to emphasize whole food type items and she has some very interesting recipes. One of my favorites from the book is raw beet salad.
2) The New Best Recipe from the Editor's of Cook's Illustrated - This book should come with a warning because it is NOT a dietary cookbook. It is one of my favorite cook books though. If you have an item which you have no idea how to cook, this book will show you. This book will tell you in depth how to make your own chicken broth or which method is best for cooking brocolli. I use this book as a reference to get ideas. They are meticulous in how many recipes that they have tried and they found the BEST possible way to cook something. I have bought veggies from the store with no idea how to cook them and I look in this cook book. They also have another one that is called "The Best Light Recipe" but it does focus mainly on recipes and not on individual food items.
I don't have one favorite either. I get lots of ideas from Cooking Light and here! Also I've adapted some of our family favorites over the years. I've been planning meals and cooking since I was 8 or 9, so I have no hesitation in adpating a recipe, and often use them more for ideas of food combos or spices than actual amounts.
Nelie, I just discovered Cook's Illustrated at my SIL's the past spring. I devoured every issue she had. I've put off subscribing because as you note, it's certainly not a low-cal thing, but I love reading about food almost as much as cooking and eating it. Have you read "Julie and Julia" - it's a woman who decided to cook her way through Julia Child's French cooking - very interesting.
Not specifically "diet" or whole foods cooking, either, but I love Bill Granger's books - he's an Aussie chef who's also pretty big in the UK, and his style of cooking is very fresh and uses a lot of fruits, veggies and lean proteins (well, a lot of Aussie cooking is that way, really - delicious. magazine, which I mentioned in another thread, is also a great resource for healthy but tasty recipes that fit this lifestyle very well).
At my local Chapters (kind of like a Barnes and Noble for Canadians), they stock a UK magazine called "fresh" (lower case) - I've only bought 3 issues so far, but I'm already in love! The focus of the magazine is on simple, seasonal cooking and eating, with a real emphasis on organic foods and superfoods (the issues I have actually have a "seasonal superfoods" section). I highly recommend it!
Nelie and Pat, I received an email not long ago from Cooks Illustrated advertising a new lower fat version of their Best Recipes called "Best Light Recipes. I meant to order it but failed to, and may do it yet. It really sounded delicious
I recently bought two cookbooks from Shape that were good. Shape Lowfat and Easy, and Everyday Indulgences. http://www.shapeboutique.com/books.html I used a coupon code (ishape) to get one free when I bought the other. I've cooked a lot of recipes from them and have enjoyed everything so far. There are a lot of recipes using whole grains which has encouraged me to try more new foods.
I also have a few new vegetarian books that have convinced me that the transition to vegarianism would be completely painless.
New Vegetarian, by Celia Brooks Brown. It's amazing! The recipes are not necessarily diet recipes, but can be easily tweaked to reduce calories. I loved it so much that I bought another of her cookbooks, Entertaining Vegetarians.
I also have the cookbook from Cafe Flora, a famous vegetarian restaurant in Seattle, that is outstanding.
I haven't cooked much from them (turns out I like cookbooks more than I do actually cooking) but you could look at Laurel's Kitchen or any of the Moosewood series of cookbooks.
I have both editions of Laurel's Kitchen (the second is a little lower cal) and I like some of the stuff in them. She has an awsome lentil pilaf type thing. Some of the stuff - not so good. But they're good to just sit and read about being vegetarian. I have tried a couple things out of one Moosewood book and didn't care for them - but that's me, you might like them.
Has anyone heard of or seen Christina Cooks on public tv? Her recipes are centered around whole and natural foods. She did a x-mas cookie episode and instead of sugar she used brown rice syrup..which I've never even seen or heard of! She has a Whole Foods cookbook, and a website with a recipe archive:
I was at Half Price books last week and found a pumpkin cookbook (yup, just pumpkin!) on clearance, which I bought. The only thing is that all the recipes call for fresh pumpkin and I need to figure out how to substitute canned (for convenience).
There was also a walnut cookbook on clearance but I didn't get that one.
Wonder if there are any other "one specific SuperFood" cookbooks out there?
I hardly ever use cookbooks anymore. I go to www.allrecipes.com and get recipes. They have a rating system so you can see if other people actually liked the way the recipe tastes. They have an ingredient search feature and I tend to use that alot. Just today I found a recipe for avocado stuffed yams. Apparently they are supposed to be really good... we'll see
what are your favorite whole foods cookbooks?
Have you read "Julie and Julia" - it's a woman who decided to cook her way through Julia Child's French cooking - very interesting.
The focus of the magazine is on simple, seasonal cooking and eating, with a real emphasis on organic foods and superfoods (the issues I have actually have a "seasonal superfoods" section). I highly recommend it!
I know not much help there... sorry.
