Others say...

"Delicious, realistic food that even my toddler enjoys"
The first 97 pages of this book are devoted to outlining the Eating Well diet and lifestyle plan. Following that is 150 recipes divided into sections such as breakfast, salads, soups, poultry, snacks, etc.

In addition to the nutritional information that one would expect to find, each recipe has an icon at the bottom that indicates if the dish is low carb, low cal, or high in fiber. I've made 9 of the recipes in this book so far and each one of them has surpassed my expectations! In fact, the Chicken with creamy chive sauce has become a regular feature on our weekly menu.

Bottom line: the recipes are well written, easy to follow, contain common ingredients, and result in food that tastes good and is good for you.



"Fantastic"
I am a personal trainer and bought this book as a tool to use not only for myself but with my clients as well. I will suggest to all my clients to purchase this book. I never suggest trying any fad diets but to lose weight through lifestyle changes and this book gives you all the tools to do so. It is easy to read and understand. The tips it gives you are simple and can easily be used to start improving your life and to lose weight. The recipes are great as well and I love that they factor in the calories for you as well as nutritional information. Whether you are just getting started with a weight loss program or just need some new recipes and ideas I highly recommend purchasing this book. In addition I must also say that not only is the information great but the layout and quality of the book itself is wonderful.

"Good cookbook even if you aren't dieting"
Every recipe we've tried from this cookbook has been excellent. They are easy to understand and follow so if you're cooking skills aren't the greatest you won't have a problem. Even if you aren't dieting this cookbook is worth having in your library.

The diet information in the front is very helpful and well written.

We've been a subscriber to the magazine, Eating Well, for 2 years now and highly reccomend it as well.

"Fantastic weight loss advice; good food"
The EatingWell Diet: 7 Steps to a Healthy, Trimmer You is not a book for those who aren't yet ready to make a serious commitment to losing weight. This isn't a book full of empty cheerleading and excited promises. As such, many people who want to lose weight won't be able to make full use of its suggestions. Those who are ready to make the serious commitment needed, however, may find this book to offer one of the more promising roads to healthy, long-term weight loss, and even those who aren't will find useful suggestions to get them started and improve their diet.

Dr. Jean Harvey-Berino is the Professor and Chair of the department of nutrition and food science at the University of Vermont, and she developed the "VTrim Weight Management Program" upon which this book is based. Her background as a researcher shows--you'll learn plenty in the pages of this book about what long-term studies have shown to be truly effective when it comes to health, nutrition, and long-term weight management. It's a very readable book, however, with fascinating tidbits of information and nifty quotes.

The EatingWell Diet doesn't just try to walk you through losing weight. Despite the name of the book, the nutritionist who came up with the program firmly believes that it isn't about `dieting'--it's about adopting a healthy lifestyle. As such, there are plenty of tips for facing and handling everyday temptations and slip-ups. There's also an entire chapter on maintaining your weight loss once you've lost it, and that's after it delves into tracking weight, calories, and exercise.

More than half of this book is actually a set of calorie-calculated menus and accompanying recipes. Some of the recipes are full-sized recipes, while some are quick little things often listed 5 or so to a page. The full-sized recipes I tended to enjoy, such as a "loaded spinach salad" with egg, carrot, toasted nuts, and blue cheese dressing in it. However, I was disappointed with all of the little mini-recipes I tried. Each one seemed to start with a basically good idea, such as sweet potato oven fries, or brown rice with Asian flavors, but they all came out tasting very bland and uninteresting. Diet food just doesn't have to be bland, and it's my own opinion that the fact that so much of it is designed this way is what makes folks think diet food is torture.

Mind you, I'm aware that there are plenty of people who like bland food, so you folks can ignore that particular complaint of mine and consider that you will likely enjoy the cookbook side of this book more than I did.

All in all, I think this is a solidly practical guide to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Just be mindful that there are no easy answers, there's a lot of hard work involved here, and you're going to need a serious commitment to your health to make full use of this book.

"Doesn't taste "diet""
I've always found healthy cookbooks to be hit-or-miss. Either the recipes are excellent or they really, really, really stink - as in, you can't wait to toss the offending dish into the trash.

Not so with this EatingWell cookbook. My fiance and I have been blown away by the amount of excellent recipes contained within. He's 100 percent Italian, and normally there's no pleasing his palate with anything except his mom's pasta. So his satisfaction is a major compliment to EatingWell! Did we love every recipe? No. But at the worst, a recipe might have been so-so.

Now, neither of us needs to really lose weight, so we look at this book more as more of a means to healthier eating. But guess what? Just by eating mainly EatingWell entrees, I did slim down. Can't say I mind that, especially since it was so easy!

While we still have plenty more we want to try, so far these recipes have made the cut: Greens with Parmesan Vinaigrette, Roasted Red Pepper Subs (a particular favorite; try it with some Boar's Head lean, low-sodium roast beef), Oven-Fried Chicken (not quite the same as the real thing, but still delicious), Mushroom-Sausage-Spinach Lasagna (best the day you make it; for some reason it doesn't reheat well), Spicy Beef with Shrimp and Bok Choy, and Oven Fries.

Some people might be surprised to see a good chunk of the book is dedicated to how to eat well, with the actual recipes starting around page 100. Don't skip over that how-to section. It contains a lot of useful information. But if you have a hankering for more recipes - as I did - you can go to www.eatingwell.com. Sign up with the site for free - they won't harass you with e-mails - and you can browse their recipe archive. There's hundreds of great recipes there, as well as diet-related articles. A bonus is that most of the recipes have pictures, even if the cookbook version of the recipe didn't. Plus, the recipes are rated by users!

Some great online recipes that we've sampled: Crustless Crab Quiche, Tortellini & Zucchini Soup, Oven Barbecued Pork Chops, Hamburger and Sour Cream Casserole, Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Pancetta & Wilted Watercress (one of our favorites), Tandoori Chicken and Inside Out Cheeseburgers (yummy cheese on the inside of the burger).

Sound good? They are. My deepest gratitude to EatingWell for making a healthy diet so darn tasty!