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Kosher By Design Lightens Up: Fabulous Food for a Healthier Lifestyle    by Susie Fishbein & John Uher Amazon.com order for
Kosher By Design Lightens Up
by Susie Fishbein
Order:  USA  Can
Mesorah, 2008 (2008)
Hardcover
* * *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

Susie Fishbein, author of Kosher by Design, has gone one step further and made her recipes even more healthy in Kosher by Design Lightens Up. Kosher cuisine has become more and more popular in the last ten years. Fishbein's first book sold over 300,000 copies. I predict this new one will surpass that by far. She has brought all the wonderful foods available on the Kosher table and reworked them to meet today's standards of healthy eating. What she has also brought to the table is good tasting food.

The first section of this beautiful cookbook concerns the Kosher kitchen itself, supermarket shopping tips, definitions of words used, and best of all - tips on Superfoods, foods that benefit our health in powerful ways as well as being good to eat. Don't skip this section. It's a must, not only for your cooking but for your health as well.

Now on to the good stuff. Recipes that will open your eyes, tickle your palate, and improve your health. Let's start with Appetizers. Pastrami-Wrapped Stuffed Figs - they look sooo good (by the way, the photos are also stupendous.) I would dive into the Vegetarian Chili at any given moment. Sadly, we leave appetizers behind and move onto Salads. Fat-Free Tuna Salad with Potato Crisps gets my vote as does Salmon Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing. Wow! Poultry has great selections but I would simply start on the first page of this section - as well as the meat section that follows it - and work my way through.

I don't have to enumerate all the categories of foods. We're all aware of how that goes. One after the other. What today's cook should do is take the time to read these recipes and evaluate them. See how they might differ from a favorite - but not in flavor or texture. Nor in eye appeal.

The Moroccan Spiced Vegetables could be a still-life painting - but how good they must taste. Whole Roasted Chicken Tikka Masala would bring exclamations of delight when brought to the table but bring even more on the first taste. How about Enchiladas? Like them? I do. And these look yummy. There's Za'atar-Rubbed Halibut - not a likely dish on my table before this cookbook, but it will be there soon. As will Brown Rice Lasagne and Harvest Bread. The Peanut Butter Pizza would please my taste buds as well as some other people I know. We could enjoy together.

The holidays are approaching and a groaning table is a trademark in many homes. Treat yourself and those you love to some fabulous new recipes from Kosher By Design Lightens Up, and take all the credit. Bon Appetit!

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