Healthy Helpings: 800 Fast and Fabulous Recipes for the Kosher (or Not) Cook

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

There is something for everyone in this massive collection of recipes.
Gilletz draws on her Jewish-Canadian heritage and her extensive
background as a cooking instructor and food writer to offer more than
800 kosher and non-kosher recipes designed to be healthy and delicious.
Even those who do not know their kugel from their kreplach will be
tempted to try some of the festive traditional dishes enjoyed by Jewish
Canadians.

Traditionally, blintzes, latkes, and knishes are not considered health
food, but Gilletz tries hard to trim the excess calories off every dish.
She also points out that there is no such thing as the “perfect,
magical food.” Healthy eating is more about smart eating and balancing
the food groups so that people can enjoy the treats they crave and still
maintain a healthy lifestyle. In her introduction, Gilletz discusses
shopping and cooking strategies to avoid empty calories. Her first
chapter includes a quick overview of food labelling on processed foods
that guides the reader through confusing or sometimes deliberately
misleading nutritional information (e.g., the words “light” and
“lite” do not necessarily mean low-calorie—they may be referring
to flavour, colour, or texture).

The recipes are organized in 13 chapters according to meal type; the
last chapter focuses on banquets, including “Passover Pleasures.”
The recipes run the gamut from traditional European/Anglo-American
cooking to Chinese and Mexican fare. Nutritional information detailing
calories, cholesterol, calcium, fat, and fibre accompanies each recipe.
Twenty pages of colour photographs illustrate the dishes. Hundreds of
informal tips and short anecdotes are woven into text so that you feel
as if Gilletz is right there talking to you while you cook. Almost all
recipes are within the range of novice cooks, but even old hands will
likely learn quite a bit from this book.