Heart-Friendly Cooking

Theresa Paltzat is the Smart Search librarian at the Edmonton Public
Library.

Jean Paré and Company’s Coming continue to stay in touch with
Canada’s cooking trends. Heart-Friendly Cooking, part of the
health-conscious Lifestyle Series, features recipes that are low in fat
and sodium.

There are recipes for every situation, including appetizers, beverages,
muffins, soups, and desserts. Someone new to a heart-healthy diet will
find such interesting options as Ginger Pork Stir-Fry, Chicken Spinach
Frittatas, and Angelic Berry Dessert. Each recipe provides the nutrient
value per serving, including calories, fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates,
and sodium. The book is not only heart-friendly, but consumer-friendly
as well; as noted in the foreword, Paré has always created recipes that
use everyday ingredients found in the local grocery store.

Interspersed throughout the book are helpful tips on such topics as
decreasing the salt in cooking and increasing the fruit. The first few
pages include information about heart disease, and registered dieticians
identify some heart-friendly habits.

As might be expected of a Company’s Coming cookbook, there are colour
pictures of many of the dishes. Unfortunately, the new larger-format
cookbook does not lie flat, as was the case with the older spiral-bound
style. That quibble aside, Heart-Friendly Cooking is a good choice for
people with heart disease.