The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A Guide to Natural Foods with 350 Recipes

Rating:
Summary: Don't even CONSIDER this cookbook!
Review: As long-time Whole Foods customers, we bought this cookbook without carefully reviewing it. But we had no choice, since the actual ingredients lists weren't clearly highlighted.

We trusted Whole Foods and their editor(s) to use safe and healthy ingredients, and to moderate the amounts of unhealthy ingredients (such as salt, fat, etc.).

The recipes in this cookbook have two fatal flaws, and these flaws are very difficult for us to accept, considering the years of experience with sodium and fat that our culture has had to deal with, and that Whole Foods is well aware of.

Much of the "great flavor" in the recipes in this cookbook seem to come from large amounts of sodium and/or fat, and that's hard to accept, given Whole Foods' reputation.

One of the first recipes that we tried was Kung Pao Tofu, and as we later determined (since the breakdown of each recipe's ingredients is shown at the end of the recipe, and is not adequately highlighted) , the "flavor" seems to come from the use of large amounts of salt/sodium.

This Kung Pao Tofu recipe calls for nearly a GRAM of sodium per SERVING, and when we first tasted this dish, neither of us could believe how salty it tasted.

This cookbook is clearly dangerous to your health, if you believe as we (and most well-informed Americans) do that sodium is bad for you. Furthermore, a significant proportion of the recipes apparently involve higher fat and/or higher sodium dishes.

We still believe that Whole Foods Markets are (in addition to organic farmers' markets) a great place to buy fresh food from. But the Whole Foods Market Cookbook is NOT a great place to get healthy food RECIPES...

Dave Marks
Faith Mitchell

Rating:
Summary: Delicious recipes and a great reference.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Delicious recipes and a great reference.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but.....
Review: I have mixed feelings about this cookbook. While I love shopping at Whole Foods, and this cookbook does indeed remind me of what I see while shopping there (unique ingredients, fresh vegetables), some of the recipes just haven't panned out (no pun intended). There is a kids section in the back and I have so far tried two of the recipes. Tomato Clouds, involving a meringue mixture stuffed into tomatoes, and Fluffy Cottage Cheese Pancakes. The tomatoes did not puff up into meringues on top like promised, and the cheese mixture was very liquidy when eaten. The pancakes were delicious HOWEVER the recipe only made 6 small pancakes and yet called for 1 1/2 tablespoons of SUGAR!!! For children, that is insane for breakfast and I can only assume that was a typo. So this cookbook has some very unique recipes and is fun to read (no photos), however I am hesitant to continue to try recipes when I am already a little disappointed in the results. Worth mentioning is that it is chock full of instructions and information about organic eating.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just Tofu and Veggie Burgers
Review: 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..

Rating:
Summary: Back to the Test Kitchen
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Back to the Test Kitchen
Review: If you are thinking this a book for recipes containing sea weed and soy beans, and an aura of good nature, you will get all three but mostly you will get some great recipes. This book isn't about extreme diets that the majority of the population in the US eats, but its about good food. As others have stated all recipes in this book do not always watch salt and fat intake, we will assume if you are on a specialized diet you will follow it. While fat in the diet may be bad for anyone that doesn't eat it in moderation, it makes some things taste better. Each recipe does contain all nutritional info such as calories, fat saturated and unsaturated, cholestrol, so you are armed with the info you need to make wise choices.
Let's look at the wonderful range of recipes, Whole Foods has always had a unique position catering to Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters, this book accomodates both very well. If you are Vegan you may want to thumb through a copy before you purchase as there tend to be a fewer amount of recipes for Vegans. Recipes include things like Chipotle Potato Salad which was just yummy, Creole Rice and Bean Soup, Panang Green Pea Soup, all sorts of delicious desserts, salads, and much more. If you are a person that likes to experiment with the every day, this book is for you.
There is a recipe on each page. Each recipe is written very clearly and the instructions are easy to follow. Most recipes have a paragraph about each recipe. For example the Chipotle peppers are really dried jalopeno peppers that are smoked, I found this out when I made the Chipolte Potato Salad. The recipes are something you would like to make for company. I personally loved this book, and the variety of recipes found in here.

Rating:
Summary: Delicious and healthful
Review: My daughter and I both bought this book after my sister recommended it, and we love it. My husband was suspicious when I bought some of the ingredients, especially the tofu, but he has loved every recipe I've tried. My whole family has especially enjoyed the Javanese Roasted Tofu, Mediterranean Tuna Salad, and Carmelized Onion Turkey Roulade. We have found every recipe we have tried to be appetizing and a very satisfactory alternative to red meat. I have given this book as a gift, and I would buy the sequel if it existed!

Rating:
Summary: Recipes with Flair and Flavor
Review: This is a beautiful cookbook, with a few very good recipes--Fragrant Ginger Lime Chicken Fingers and Southwest King Ranch Casserole among them. Unfortunately, these are far outnumbered by the recipes that simply do not work, especially those involving the delicate manufacture of dough. At first I thought I had it wrong, but over the course of repeated failures, I realized that the problem was in the testing and/or proofreading. And it's not just dry measures; the text of one recipe calls for onions, when it means potatoes. Several re-readings later, I finally cracked the code. I sincerely hope that the authors try again to get it right. The tragedy is how close they came...