Pretty Delicious: Lean and Lovely Recipes for a Healthy, Happy New You: A Cookbook

I will freely admit that I have way more cookbooks than I need, but this is one I keep coming back to again and again! First I love that there are so many pictures to accompany the dishes. I don't really tend to enjoy cookbooks without photography and having all the pictures of tasty things inside really made me more excited to cook. Candice does a really good job with making over familiar things and introducing new things to try as well. I have made so many recipes out of this book and they have all turned out well. None require ingredients that are difficult to track down and the directions are clear and easy to follow. Most of all, she included nutrition information which I find very valuable in my meal planning. Her chicken pot pie recipe is now my stand by and I love everything about it! The creamy tomato soup comes together in a snap and is so convenient when your short on time. One of my favorite snacks/lunches are the cucumber sandwiches. They taste so light and clean and healthy and become addicting quickly! Yet another favorite is her recipe for homemade peanut butter cups! These are so yummy and I would take them any day over the one's in the store. This book also has really helpful information on what nutrients are in food and how to veganize a dish if your vegetarian. I am neither of those but I am working hard on incorporating more veggies into our diet and this is very helpful in that department. She has a "vegetarian mains" chapter that is filled with all sorts of tasty dishes (the platinum mac & cheese is SO good!) that make it easy to have a meat free dish on the table for dinner. Also worth mentioning is the variety in the book. Candice does the standard breakfast, lunch, dinner chapters but she also does snacks, sandwiches, dessert for sure, and that veggie mains chapter I mentioned above. She also has a fish & shellfish chapter along with one for side dishes. I am not a beginner in the kitchen anymore but I would have truly enjoyed having this as a cookbook when I was first learning the ropes. It has more to offer than just the recipes, the information in the book on healthy eating choices is so nice to have, especially when putting together healthy meals can be a little challenging at times. I have so many books in my collection that it is rare that I continue to revisit a cookbook but this one is truly a gem. An absolute must!

Although I didn't watch, Candice Kumai was on the first season of Top Chef. I was intrigued with this book for it's low fat, healthy aspect, since I'm trying to loose weight and get healthier. Candice is also the host of Lifetimes Cook Yourself Thin and has a couple of other cookbooks out.This book is a bit busy with lots going on the pages. Usually that bothers me but for some reason it seems to work in this book. It also has a girly feel which begins right on the dust jacket with part of an arm covered with pearls and a pink bracelet. The hand is reaching for some pancakes which are sitting on a pink cake stand. There are lots of gorgeous photos through out the book. All the pages have a border of what looks like flowers and sometimes lace. The book has hints and tips on almost every page along with a recipe and some background for the recipe. Most recipes include an ingredient she calls Foods with Benefits and is noted in the background section before each recipe as FWB. Nutritional info is also included with each recipe.At the beginning of the book she has information on slimming ways to stretch food and save calories and cash, her Foods With Benefits Philosophy, Rules to cook by, Tips for staying slim and rich, and steps to shinny success. In addition to great sounding healthy recipes she devotes a chapter to Skinny Sweets and Splurges, which she notes is just for once in a while, and a chapter to The Pampered Pantry, with recipes for healthy hair, skin and nails.So far I've tried three recipes, Chinese Chicken Salad Chop Cups, Asian Almonds, and Spicy Salmon Burgers with Creamy Chili Sauce. All were delicious. The Asian Almonds are especially addictive. My daughter and son-in-law tried the cover recipe, Pumpkin Pie Pancakes with Apple Butter and I hope to try that one soon too, as they said it was delicious. I'm looking forward to many more healthy delicious meals from this book.Candice Kumai cooks with real food and keeps calories and fat to a minimum. She's found a delicious way to feed your food cravings while eating healthy. If you're on the look out for recipes that fit that bill then this is a book you should check into.

I bought this book because I enjoyed Candice's work on the Lifetime show "Cook yourself thin." The recipes in the book are healthy and delicious. My one (minor) complaint is that some ingredients need some tweaking. For example, the Platinum Mac and Cheese really does not need the garlic powder (too garlicky). I also tried the Pumpernickel and Lox recipe which was delicious but the extra sea salt called for in the recipe made it a bit too salty. I would give this book 4.5/5!

I cannot recommend this book enough. Up until a few months ago, I only knew how to scramble eggs and bake but then I got Pretty Delicious. The book is absolutely gorgeous and the recipes are healthy, meaning you don't have to indulge to try them out! Buying a few key ingredients and spices allows you to try out a multiple recipes which is great because no one likes buying that one bag of something for a recipe and then finding it in your pantry years later. The recipes are straight-forward to prepare and absolutely delicious. So far, I've tried 25 recipes and only 7 were baked goods! Some of my favorites are the hummus, spinach and strawberry salad, no-cook balsamic beans, eggplant and mushroom saute, and the banana-oat chocolate chip cookies. Also, I've had success partially subbing out sugar with Stevia and AP flour with white whole wheat. Get the book, learn to feed yourself. I used to survive off frozen meals and now my freezer is full of home-made veggie lasagna and asparagus chickpea soup.Bonus, Candice is one of the sweetest people ever! I've made the brownies a couple of times and while yummy, I can't get them to stop turning out like fluffy chocolate cake. She took the time to respond to my e-mail and give me some tips for next time!

Love her Gyoza recipe and her healthy approach to food. lovely photos which can sometimes be missing in an American cookbook. Candice also contributed to the American version of cook yourself thin.

I love Candice Kumai's cook books. Take the guesswork out of healthy eating without compromising taste. Also, her introductions and philosophy on sexy food is just as valuable as the recipes.

Although I need to buy new ingredients, it's a healthy way to eat and feeling good. I feel fabulous cooking these recipes and I know that they are helping me with my weight, my health and my self-esteem. Thank Candice!

Je suis une fan de Candice Kumai et ce livre ne m'a pas déçue !Je le recommande à tous ceux qui veulent manger sainement sans se priver !