Dietitians of Canada Cook!: 275 Recipes Celebrate Food from Field to Table
In the introduction they write that there will be a generation of children growing up having no idea how to prepare food. That has already happened. There is a generation of adults who have no idea how to cook, therefore, no way of teaching the next generation what to do with food. I was one of those adults and taught myself everything I know.
Sadly, as much as their hearts are in the right place, had I started my food journey with this cookbook I would have become quite disillusioned, very quickly. I will let the recipes speak for themselves.
ROASTED RED PEPPER AND FETA HUMMUS
In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup of cranberries and 1/4 cup of orange juice. In a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour, 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of ground flax seeds, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp grated orange zest, 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda.
Whisk together 1 egg, 1/4 cup canola oil and 1 1/4 cup of orange juice. Pour into flour mixture and beat until just combined.
Fold in the cranberry mixture.
Divide batter evenly and baked in a 375F preheated oven for 16-18 minutes until tester comes out clean.
I don’t know if you can see it but there was a green tinge to these muffins. Now I normally try and put aesthetics aside but muffins with a green hue? I took a bite and they were so bland and yet kind of harsh, I could not finish it. I gave my husband a bite and he summed it up sadly, yet perfectly, “I get no pleasure out of eating this at all.”
Perhaps if there was a pinch of salt like most baked goods require for a reason these would have tasted like something. I learned that lesson when I forgot the salt in Chuck’s No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread. I know salt is not great for you but a pinch of it in a batch of muffin batter is not that big a deal and yet could have made these muffins pleasurably edible.
I began the recipe testing with the Broccoli Cheese Soup which was a bit of a disaster. Then I made the Beef Kabobs with Peanut Sauce which I loved. The red pepper hummus was meh and the muffins were not pleasant to eat. After I made those muffins I decided, I was done. I do not have the time, energy, money or resources to waste trying to find the few fabulous gems in this cookbook.
Sometimes I think that dietitians only see food as medicine and do not realize that food is so much more than that. If it is not going to be enjoyed, it will not be eaten. The most important thing is for us to make our own food when we can and that is a huge step towards proper nutrition:
“The recipes in this book have been carefully tested by our kitchen and our tasters. To the best of our knowledge, they are safe and nutritious for ordinary use and users.”
Note, nothing about the food tasting good was mentioned. I am sorry but for me, healthy is not enough. For the seriously dedicated health nut you may enjoy maple barley pudding but I will pass. In fact, whoever writes, “I am a health nut and want this book” and leaves their email address I will send you this book in the mail. I am done with it.
I love your honesty, and how you genuinely tried to take this book for a spin.
And I agree with you a thousand per cent – if it doesn’t taste great, what’s the point?
Thank you.
“I am a health nut and want this book”
kjkelly1@swbell.net
“I am a health nut and want this book”
lmdyment(at)hotmail(dot)com
There’s such a phobia about adding salt to anything from the salt shaker. The danger to our health is from the massive amounts of salt in processed food, not the wee bit that we shake out of the salt shaker ourselves or add to our home cooking or baking. Yet see the results of that overzealousness in those muffins!
I Love your reviews (I know, I have said this before ;-))
I came to the same conclusion as you a long while back, when I started university. I was diagnosed with high cholesterol (runs in the family) around age 20 and given a book to cook with (Smart Cooking). It was a bit of a disaster. I enjoyed learning about cooking, new techniques, new food, but the recipes were so bland. I quickly gave it up, learned about cholesterol elsewhere, made changes myself and haven’t had problems since.
Thank you so much Cathy, I really appreciate that!
Oh it looks like it was a close call but Kim won the book, sorry Lucy!
Debra, I totally agree. I have two small salt containers, one for baking (fine sea salt) and one for cooking (coarse Kosher) and they last a long time. It is packaged food that has so much salt!
Melodie, thank you, hearing it again always helps! 🙂 I think I tried that cookbook too back when I was learning to cook with similar results. I am so glad you found your own way to lowering your cholesterol, good for you!
The use of salt can be tricky, too much and the dish is ruined and lack of it, well…ruined! Our food has to taste great otherwise what’s the point? So yup, a little butter, a little cream and a little salt goes a long way to making our tastebuds and tummies happy. As always, moderation is important but a treat now and then is important too. I’m with you, healthy alone is not enough. You can still have healthy with great flavour.
I agree with you and I think it is entirely possible to have both healthy and tasty food. It’s true, the sodium levels in most packaged food are ridiculously high, but I don’t believe that a pinch of salt in something you make from scratch is unhealthy. The whole point should be to get people to cook from scratch and realize how much better it tastes than packaged foods. Most people won’t want to put in the effort for something that doesn’t taste good – I wouldn’t.
Ava, it’s true, salt is tricky but to not have any of it is ridiculous. I actually have low blood pressure so I have to have it. It’s all about little touches of the special stuff with good quality ingredients and not going too “crazy”.
JavaChick, it is so true, cooking from scratch is the important part and controlling what goes in it is imperative. Yup, if it doesn’t taste good, I would give up. And it can be healthy and taste good!!!
Looking at the ingredients for the hummus that looks good. I have to say that I don’t buy or cook from these cookbooks. They try to cut too much salt, fat, sugar etc. I prefer to eat a small amount of a really good thing than a big plate with no taste.
Oh well, should not have spelled out (at) and (dot)… next time…Thanks anyways.