Wellness Simply Healthy

If you are concerned about your health, you may already be trying to maintain a diet that is low in fat and high in fiber. Now, with The Simply Healthy Lowfat Cookbook, you can go a step further toward staying healthy by preparing recipes that are packed with beta carotene and vitamin C. Known as anti-oxidant vitamins because they protect the body from the adverse effects of oxygen, these vitamins (along with vitamin E) may help prevent such illnesses as heart disease and cancer.

Research has shown that the best way for your body to get vitamin C and beta carotene is to eat fruits and vegetables high in these vitamins rather than to take vitamin supplements. But which foods contain these antioxidants and how much do you need? The Simply Healthy Lowfat Cookbook, developed by the cooks and nutritionists at the Wellness Cooking School in conjunction with the editors of the University of California at Berkeley Wellness Letter, not only details the best sources and an ideal intake for these vitamins, it also answers all your questions about why antioxidants are so beneficial.

To help you maintain an antioxidant-rich diet, more than 250 lowfat recipes featuring many of your favorite fruits and vegetables -- strawberries, melons, sweet potatoes, carrots, red bell peppers, tomatoes and more -- have been specially created for this book. Here are dishes that are not only delicious but innovative. For example, a recipe for California Pizza adds carrot juice to the dough to boost the beta carotene content to 17 milligrams, almost triple the minimum recommended daily intake. Ice cream and chocolate cake are made with sweet potatoes, second only to carrots as the best source of beta carotene. A recipe for sauteed spinach and kale contains 265 milligrams of vitamin C, surpassing the recommended daily intake in just a side dish.

With chapters on Soups & Stews, Poultry, Fish & Shellfish, Meat, Meatless Main Courses, Pasta, Main-Course Salads, Vegetables & Grains and Desserts, Simply Healthy has flavor-packed, anti-oxidant-dense dishes for every course. Throughout the book there are also Super-Quick recipes for the busy cook who doesn't want to sacrifice good nutrition. Moreover, every recipe is accompanied by an extensive nutritional analysis.

Perhaps you are one of the many Americans who do not consume nearly enough beta carotene and vitamin C. With The Simply Healthy Lowfat Cookbook you will find that you can get plenty of these vitamins with a minimum of effort, and that increasing your daily intake of antioxidants can lead to healthier life.