| From an award-winning food writer and chef-the breakthrough cookbook that identifies 12 micronutrient-rich foods that can help protect you against major disease and shows you how to turn them into mouthwatering dishes. A diet rich in nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, and vitamins, is not enough for our health. For optimum protection against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic diseases, we also need an abundance of micronutrients. How to make sure we get enough of these vital micronutrients-and how to prepare them easily and deliciously-is what Dana Jacobi shows us in 12 Best Foods Cookbook. After identifying the 12 foods containing the most potent micronutrients-broccoli, black beans, tomatoes, salmon, soy, sweet potatoes, oats, onions, blueberries, walnuts, spinach, and chocolate-Jacobi provides 250 fabulous, remarkably varied recipes starring these ingredients. From appetizers and sandwiches to sides and smoothies, from Salmon and Corn Chowder to Curried Tofu Stir-Fry, the recipes in this book prove that a diet rich in all the micronutrients science has shown to be indispensable to our well-being can be a parade of delectable dishes. And, since chocolate is the most powerful antioxidant food, Fudge Surprise Brownies is one of the sweet treats that will satisfy the yearnings of health-conscious eaters and passionate chocoholics alike. |
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 Great Source for Healthy Living. Better Recipes than Others |
| Review Date: April 21, 2005 |
| Reviewer: B. Marold, Bethlehem, PA United States |
'12 Best Foods Cookbook' by culinary journalist, Dana Jacobi presents nutritional information in what I consider a most delightful way, very similar to the excellent book, `SuperFoods' by Steven Pratt, M.D. and Kathy Matthews. As nutritional doctrine is getting more and more complicated, it is a relief to see these two books manage to present a very large body of nutritional wisdom in an easily digestible form.
To Jacobi's twelve (12), Pratt and Matthews present fourteen (14), but the agreement between the two lists is remarkably good. A list of the foods covered in both books follows:
In both:
Blueberries
Beans (Jacobi singles out black beans)
Broccoli
Oats
Salmon (Pratt specifies wild salmon. Jacobi has wild and farm-raised with a caution against the skin)
Soy (in all its gloriously different forms)
Spinach
Tomatoes
Walnuts
In Pratt and Matthews, but not in Jacobi:
Oranges
Pumpkin
Tea
Turkey
Yogurt
In Jacobi, but not in Pratt and Matthews:
Sweet potatoes
Chocolate
Onions
I suspect you could pair off the sweet potatoes with the pumpkin as sources of the `orange' nutrients. As fresh sweet potatoes are available the year around, I'll go for them instead of pumpkin, not to mention the fact that you can do with sweet potatoes virtually everything you can do with pumpkin, from soup to pies and back again. Tea and chocolate are also something of a pairing, as both are sources of caffeine and other nifty natural chemicals. If I had to pick, I would go with chocolate. That leaves Oranges, Turkey, Yogurt, and Onions unmatched between the two books, although I suspect some may claim that anything yogurt can do, soy milk can do better, but I do feel a real gap in Ms. Jacobi's discussion with no true milk product, animal protein, or citrus.
I think that all this means is that if you want excellent information in a very palatable form, get both books. If you can only have space or funds for one, I suggest Ms. Jacobi's book because, as someone who is much more of a culinary writer than a nutritionist, her very sizable selection of 200 very good recipes is more kitchen friendly than ophthalmologist Pratt and professional writer Matthews. This is probably due to both Ms. Jacobi's own talents plus her communications with some very distinguished culinary sources including Rick Bayless, Molly Katzen, Julie Sahni, Elizabeth Schneider, and Arthur Schwartz. And those are just the ones whose culinary credentials I recognize.
While Pratt and Matthews organize their recipes by their fourteen (14) foods, Ms. Jacobi organizes her recipes by type of dish or course. Her recipe chapters are:
Dips, Hors d'Oeuvres, and First Courses
Soups
Salads and Dressings
Poultry and Meat
Fish
Pasta, Sauces, and Grains
Eggs, Beans, and Soy
Sandwiches and Baked Goods
Vegetables and Side Dishes
Desserts
Breakfasts and Drinks
One of the better things about her recipes is that almost all combine two or more of the twelve best foods. The next best thing is that she does not avoid the kinds of meats and grains that make so many dishes so interesting.
If I were to suggest anything for improving these recipes, I would add several recipes for basic pantry items to replace recipe ingredients that call for commercial preparations such as stocks and fruit spreads. If you will go to the trouble of making your own Muesli, stocks and fruit purees are really not all that tough. Where Ms. Jacobi calls for a packaged blueberry jam in some recipes, similar recipes from Alice Waters would just have you mash up some fresh blueberries. Much more satisfactory to my mind. One thing I missed was a good recipe for a Muesli or Granola that has a decent shelf life. This is one of the things you will be inclined to make in large batches, enough for a fortnight or a month. For those looking for it, check out Molly Katzen's `Sunlight Café'.
What this buys us is the fact that Ms. Jacobi's recipes are generally pretty simple. Very few (mostly desserts) take up more than a single page. At the bottom of each recipe, there is an estimate of the calories, grams of fat, grams of saturated fat, grams of protein, grams of carbohydrates, and grams of fiber. I would stress that except for the baked goods where measurements will be pretty exact, these estimates may be off by up to 50%, especially if you have a heavy hand with certain ingredients such as onions.
Ms. Jacobi's list of sources is better than average and needs to be, as organic versions of many of these products may not be that easy to find. Many of the sources are also good places to go for additional nutritional information and recipes. The bibliography is also better than average, roughly evenly divided between nutritional and culinary sources. Note to publisher Rodale: The Bibliography seems peculiarly difficult to read with its oddly indented layout.
This is a really great book for presenting nutrition simply and in an extremely practical form. What few objections I have are a result of a search for a complete lifestyle. As a former Whole Earth Catalogue hippie, I like the whole picture. Not to say Ms. Jacobi will not talk you into a few good lifestyle changes herself, it's fun to see how her ideas fit into other healthy living precepts.
A very highly recommended book for healthy and tasty cooking. This is far more important than cooking fast, cooking local, cooking organic, cooking low carb, cooking authentic xxx, cooking to entertain, grilling, barbecuing, or cooking in a wok.
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Good addition to healthy living collection
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| Review Date: June 15, 2006 |
| Reviewer: R. Addington, GA United States |
I found this book in the library, not long after I purchased SuperFoods. I checked it out 3 different times, and finally decided that both the information and the recipes were worth adding to my collection. I resisted at first, only because I am trying to scale down my cookbook collection. This was a great purchase, well worth the space on my (limited) shelves.
Recipes have thus far proven to be simple and tasty. Occasionally a "different" ingredient is called for, which is hard to find in my medium sized town. In fact, I even looked in a large city for tamarind paste, and was unable to locate it. No matter; in other cookbooks, I am instructed to substitute lemon juice for tamarind paste, and that's what I've done here. None of the main ingredients are hard to find, and in my opinion, a single tablespoon of one odd ingredient is not going to make or break a recipe. Certainly it could alter the final flavor, but I will not pass over a recipe just because I do not have a small amount of one minor ingredient.
There are some recipes which are found in various places (such as Huevos Rancheros), but with the author's own twist on them, still making them worth a try. Others, such as the Sweet Potato Salad, are new to me.
The 12 foods are primarily things that my family eats fairly regularly, and I am enjoying new ideas for preparing and/or incorporating them.
If your family refuses to eat fruits or veggies, this may not be the book for you. I am fortunate that my son (4)... as well as my husband... will eat most anything... at the very least, they will try it once. However, if you (and/or your family) are willing to experiment with fairly common ingredients, you may find some new favorites, as well as an overall healthier diet! |
Healthy and Delicious
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| Review Date: July 12, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Jennifer A. Wickes, |
A cookbook filled with over 200 delicious high-powered, disease-fighting micronutrients. Jacobi uses these superfoods to create mouth-watering healthy meals so easy anyone can create.
Dana Jacobi has worked in highly rated restaurants in France, as well as run her own catering business and has marketed her own line of gourmet sauces. She has written for Food & Wine, Cooking Light, the New York Times, the Associated Press and the American Institute for Cancer Research. She has authored five cookbooks, and contributed to several others. Her work has won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award and been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award. She currently teaches cooking classes and consults in product development in New York City.
The recipes in this book are creative, tasty and attractive to the eye. There are over 40 color photos showing some of the lovely recipes from this book. The recipes were easy-to-read and understand. I feel that Ms. Jacobi has done an excellent job with this book.
The chapters you will find in this book include: The 12 Best Foods; Dips, Hors d'Oeuvres, and First Courses; Soups; Salads and Dressings; Poultry and Meat; Fish; Pasta, Sauces, and Grains; Eggs, Beans, and Soy; Sandwiches and Baked Goods; Vegetables and Side Dishes; Desserts; Breakfasts and Drinks; Resource Guide; and a Glossary of nutritional terms.
For an excellent book on delicious healthy meals written by a person with excellent credentials, then "12 Best Foods Cookbook" is the book for you! |
I swore to never buy another cookbook
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| Review Date: April 22, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Mona Palmer Onstead, San Jose, CA |
This is an exciting concept and the recipe's are exceptional.
Having down-sized and given away as much as possible, I have no room for more books of any kind----however--- Dana Jacobi's new book broke my resolve of 8 years, and I am now happily planning a healthy dinner party out of this book alone.
12 Best foods will make this type of meal so much easier than searching through myriad books and magazines for healthy and delicious (and easy) recipe's. Mona Palmer Onstead |
Fun,healthy and delicious
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| Review Date: June 21, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Hardworker, New York City |
I made the turkey and walnut meatloaf . I don't cook very often due to my work schedule but I had the best time making the meatloaf and presto--a fabulous, light, tasty, healthy dish appeared that my husband loved! The taste and texure reminded me of a light vegetable pate. It was a terrific summer meal, tasting great the next day, too.
This makes shopping a breeze, just have the twelve foods on hand and you can't miss. I am looking forward to having more fun in the kitchen with the blueberries that I have stashed in the freezer. My friends will never believe that I said fun and kitchen in the same sentence. I highly reccommend the 12 Best Foods Cookbook.
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