Joan Lunden’s Healthy Cooking by Joan Lunden and Laura Morton

Hardcover

Six years ago, no one in Joan Lunden’s weekly audience of 25 million could guess how frustrated she was with her weight. Three pregnancies, three kids, a high-pressure career, and an unhappy marriage seemed to undermine her every effort to lose weight. But then Lunden decided to fight back. Today, she’s fit and trim – and feels great. She still considers herself a work in progress, but her newfound energy fuels her career, her athletic passions, and her total state of well-being.

Lunden has spent years in the kitchen cooking for her family, and the philosophy behind her recipes is simple: in addition to being low in fat, high in nutrition, and utterly delicious, each dish is easy to prepare (everyone is pressed for time), uses readily available ingredients (what is quinoa, anyway?), and adapts well to substitutions (if you hate peppers, use carrots instead).

Each of the more than 100 recipes comes complete with nutritional information, serving size, and substitution possibilities. There are tasty appetizers like Quesadillas, soul-satisfying soups such as Italian Minestrone, and more than a dozen tempting salads, including Curried Chicken Salad with Mango. For main courses, Lunden serves up Spaghetti with White Bean Sauce, Chili Burgers, Chicken Fajitas, Roasted Salmon with Herb Crust, and other family favorites. Her daughter’s vegetarianism inspired meatless main dishes such as Spinach Frittata with Spicy Tomato Sauce and vegetable accompaniments like Twice Baked Parmesan Potatoes and Sweet Potato and Parnsip Casserole. She also offers fun recipes for kids to make: Pita Pizza, Lasagna, and Macaroni and Cheese. And because everyone deserves dessert, there are Vanilla Cheesecake with Fresh Berries, Peach Melba with Raspberry Sauce, Country Apple Pie, and more.