I can’t speak for other parts of the country, but here in California — especially Sothern California — Mexican food, and to some degree other Latin culture foods — is a large part of the area cuisine. It doesn’t matter if your heritage includes cultures from south of the border, you probably have a favorite Hispanic-inspired dish, from rice and beans to guacamole to enchiladas. Cooking personality Ingrid Hoffman has partnered with the American Diabetes Association to create Latin Comfort Foods Made Healthy: More than 100 Diabetes-Friendly Latin Favorites in which she gives these traditionally carb-heavy dishes a more diabetes-friendly makeover.
Summary of Latin Comfort Foods Made Healthy
Author Ingrid Hoffman has taken some of her favorite Latin-American comfort foods, such as avocado toast, ceviche, and flautas, and given them a health-minded upgrade.
“Traditionally prepared Latin foods tend to be carb-heavy, deep-fried, and full of salt and fat,” says Hoffman. So she has re-worked these recipes to make them lighter, healthier and easy to prepare.
What Worked for Me
The book is designed for easy use — the book opens up and lays fairly flat so you can actually read the recipe while preparing the dish. It is also lovely to look at. It uses a bold south-western color palette and the type-face is easy to read.
Each recipe includes a “Chica Tip” — a helpful piece of advice that will make the preparation of the recipe easier.
Although I don’t read Spanish myself, I like that every recipe is available in both English and Spanish. It seems appropriate given the content and can be a useful tool for learning the language, as well!
The photography is sparse, giving the content the spotlight it deserves, and of high-quality.
Recipes rarely have more than four steps, so the book delivers on the promise of easy-to-prepare food. Nutritional information, including exchanges for those on special diets, is also included for each recipe.
What Didn’t Work for Me
The different chapters have cutesy titles that sometimes makes it less easy to go to the type of dish you want. For example, instead of simply calling Chapter 1 “Breakfasts,” it is instead called “Pillow Talk and Power Up.”
What I’d Love to See in the Second Edition
This may just be me, but since I have acid reflux I’m acutely aware of how spicy Mexican food is getting. For example, there was a Mexican restaurant that my husband and I loved to go to that we can no longer frequent because they now put hot spices in everything, including the refried beans! Therefore, I’d love to see options for many of these dishes that were on the mild side. Latin foods can be quite tasty without burning your tongue off. 🙂
Recommendation
If you love south-of-the-border foods but are working on eating more healthfully, Latin Comfort Foods Made Healthy is an excellent addition to your cookbook library.
Because the content is provided in both English and Spanish, it is not very comprehensive. However, it does provide an excellent base from which to start your exploration of healthier Mexican and Latin-American cuisine.
Rating for Latin Comfort Foods Made Healthy: 3 out of 5
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Specs
Full Title: Latin Comfort Foods Made Healthy: More than 100 Diabetes-Friendly Latin Favorites
Author: Ingrid Hoffman
Format: Paperback
Publisher: American Diabetes Association
Language: English and Spanish (Bilingual)
ISBN-10: 1580406815
ISBN-13: 978-1580406819 [/two_third]
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Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.
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Take Charge of Your Health!
Changing your eating habits can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be if you take a little time to think it out and create a plan.
This Healthy Eating Worksheet will walk you through the process of creating a healthy eating plan. All you need to do is print it out, set aside some time to complete it, and then fill it out. Then you can create your plan, knowing that you have addressed potential obstacles and came up with some creative ways to handle them.
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