Evolution of "healthy" cookbooks

I seem to be behind again,  the fun part of this project is preparing the recipes and eating!  But part of the project was to blog about it all,  so I will attempt to catch up over the next couple of days.

The next cookbook I am going to feature is Anne Lindsay's Lighthearted Everyday Cooking. 
When it was published I was just finishing up my university program and on my way to become a dietitian, beginning to collect "healthy" cookbooks as a resource for my future career.

It is interesting to look back at "health" cookbooks over the last 30 years to see the evolution of the health messages based on the latest research that was available at the time or based on the health concerns.  If someone has not already done an evaluation, I think it would be a fascinating thesis topic.

My copy of Lighthearted Everyday Cooking is well used, having tried many recipes at the time.  "Chinese Noodle and Mushroom Soup", "Easy Everyday Chicken Stir-Fry",  and "Citrus Sangria" made frequent appearances on my table at the time and the Lemon Tea Loaf recipe is still a go-to recipe.

Anne Lindsay always provides great tasting recipes with simple instructions and easy to find ingredients that allows anyone to put a great meal on the table.  Over the years I have picked up several more of Anne Lindsay's cookbooks simply because she was the author.  Like a great fiction author you continuously go back to the ones that give you a great experience.

After not looking fully through the cookbook in years, it was hard to narrow down which new recipes I was going to prepare.  (O.K. I admit I made the Chinese Noodle and Mushroom Soup and Lemon Tea Loaf just because 😀 ).  I know I say this about every cookbook, but I think that is part of the reason why I stared the project,  there is so many great recipes it is hard to choose; whether it is a new cookbook or one you've had forever (unless it is the only cookbook you have 😃)

I started with the Green Onion Dip, a quick, easy dip to have with vegetables especially if you like green onions.

I moved onto Microwave Sole with Mushrooms and Ginger.  To me, the microwave has always been a way to re-heat food, I never really embraced it as a method to cook food - usually disappointed with the results.  This time I was pleasantly surprised - the microwave cooked the fish to perfection without drying it out or over cooking.

The picture doesn't do the outcome justice,  I had pared the fish with some brown rice and steamed broccoli.  Which made for a quick supper which I will try again.

My choice for the dessert recipe had more to do with apples that needed to be used up rather than just picking a recipe.  But that is a reality of cooking, sometimes plans have to change to make sure food is prepared/eaten before it is spoiled to cut down on food waste.

Baked Apples with Maple Yogurt Sauce allowed me to use some apples that were starting to shrivel up, but once prepared looked fine.  It is also one of those quick desserts that you usually have all the ingredients on hand so can be done quickly if you suddenly want dessert but were not planning to have one.   This time I didn't follow the microwave instructions but stuck with the regular oven!

I also made Smoky Sausage and Lentil Soup for lunch.  It was a cold weekend when I was reviewing/preparing the recipes and a nice bowl of soup is a good way to warm up.  This soup was a great one for that - thick and harder that had great flavour even after only a short simmer.