Low carb? No carb? High fat? Non-fat? Low-fat? What's a family to do with the mass on nutritional information bombarding them? Leanne Ely, the Erma Bombeck of cooking, will dispel myths, offer truths and help families find real-world ways to implement nutrition. Beyond granola and fad diets, this book is for any family seeking a healthy and well-balanced meal plan.


"Quality nutrition can only come from quality food. Quality food is defined as less processed, more natural, more basic foods-like fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. Easy stuff to get at the market. There are however, concerns that we are necessarily, having to deal with in this 21st century."

Need a recipe for Pesto or want to learn to make healthier French Fries? How did mom make those mashed potatoes anyway?

Well, Leanne Ely has the answers and had created a cute cookbook filled with over 100 family-approved recipes.

If your kids are hungry for pizza and there isn't a frozen pizza in sight, you might enjoy making the Pizza Muffins. If you keep a bottle of spaghetti sauce around, some mozzarella cheese, various toppings and mixed grain English muffins in the kitchen, you will have an easy-to-prepare snack.

The first thing I noticed in this cookbook was an ingredient called "sucanat." If you are wondering what this is, well, I was too. I found the answer on pg. 51, where the author also lists, kamut flour, carob and whole wheat pastry flour. I was then sent to the glossary for explanations.

The glossary is not where you'd expect it to be, it is on page 59. Ok, so it is that natural cane sugar I've seen in health food stores! All the other ingredients seemed pretty normal to me, still, you might want to find a health food store in your area or most grocery stores seem to have an isle of natural foods. If you want to shop online, there is a resource section at the back of the book.

The basic recipe sections:

Breakfast in Bread and Other Comforts
Soup & Salad Bar
Life in the Fast Food Lane
The Main Thing
Dips, Snacks & Tricks
Just Desserts

Some of the recipes include: Buttermilk Cornbread, Mega Manic Muffin Mix, Lentil Soup, Tabbouleh, Mama's Mashed Potatoes, Quinoa Pilaf, Shepherd's Pie, Roasted Garlic, Pizza, Hummus and Mexican Chicken Salad. Want to try something sweet? Try the Apple Cake or Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Some of the highlights of this cookbook include the short essays on food at the start of the book. Leanne Ely explains why writing this book became essential for the health of her family and how you can also change your food and change your life.

Leanne believes we all know what works best for our bodies. She has been a victim of the experts who have given her ideal diets to follow. Finally, she decided to just follow the "guru" within. She explains the basics of protein, carbohydrates and fats.

Then, she delves into the dangers lurking in our regular grocery store shelves. After reading chapter three, organic foods will start looking pretty darn good to you. Do you have a child who has allergies or want to teach "manners to the not so mannerly." I recently read that the top food allergies are nuts, shellfish/seafood, milk, wheat, eggs, a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, yeast and soya protein. So even "healthy" foods might not be healthy for everyone. It is really tricky. Before she gets into the recipe section, she also explains basic tools and how to stock the pantry.

Before you hand your very young child a peanut butter cookie, consider their age. Peanut butter should not be fed to children younger than 3 years old. It is almost as difficult to avoid peanut butter as it is to avoid cottonseed oil. It seems to be in everything. Even chocolate can have traces of peanuts as can soy protein bars, etc, etc. In fact, by avoiding cottonseed oil, palm kernel oils and peanut butter, you might notice your skin clearing up if you didn't realize you had an allergy to begin with. We all live and learn.

If some of the health information intrigues you, you might also want to read: The Metabolic Plan by Stephen Cherniske. It takes health to new levels! A must-read! It has become more and more obvious to me that to live a long and healthy life, you need to read a lot of books!

Choosing a healthy lifestyle seems to be key and it is really this huge puzzle you have to figure out on your own. You find some pieces in books and some pieces are the result of your own experience with food. Leanne Ely gives quite a few great suggestions on how to not only improve the health of your family, she also gives a basic overview of nutrition so you can feed your family well. There are a few puzzle pieces in this book, pieces I have never seen in any other cookbook.

Leanne's "irreverent" style is cute and you will learn a ton about nutrition and I'm even thinking about using "sucanat" in some of my own recipes.