Description:
Move over, Martha Stewart: there's a new chef in the kitchen and she's on a mission to improve everyone's life from the inside out. It's Marilu Henner, bestselling author of Total Health Makeover and The 30-Day Total Health Makeover, but perhaps better remembered for playing Elaine on the popular 1970's TV show Taxi. So much more than a cookbook, Henner's hefty page-turner is like a detox program for the kitchen. She begins--in her typical, perky style--with a hard yet humorous look at the reader's kitchen and how it functions. Next she preaches the dangers of sugar (Henner calls it "kiddy cocaine"), red meat ("animal products are the number one cause of our number one killer, heart disease"), dairy products ("bovine slime"), about 200 food additives, and certain cleaning products. Nicely designed charts make the technical information easy to read; thankfully, Henner's engaging, chatty prose nicely complements the wealth of serious data presented here. Once the kitchen is free and clear, Henner walks readers through the health food store, describing key staples, tasty items, favorite brands, and foods with kid appeal. Then she's on to the bulk of the book: the many savory recipes for entrées, appetizers, sides, salads, sauces, and desserts. Dishes like Linguine with Red Clam Sauce, Coconut Shrimp with Curried Hummus on Wonton Squares, and Killer Brownies certainly don't sound low-cal or low-anything, yet each recipe--borrowed from Henner's pool of friends, relatives, and favorite chefs--follows her Healthy Life food-combining rules (don't mix proteins with carbohydrates, eat fruit separately, etc.) and are free of dairy, red meat, and refined sugar. Especially helpful are the tasters' and contributors' comments that accompany nearly every recipe. And since Marilu has an opinion about everything (it's her book, after all), she too offers comments, suggestions, and anecdotes galore. --Liane Thomas
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