In a food zeitgeist filled with "Top Chef" shows and Food Network fans, a simple cookbook might seem outdated, but with tough times making meals at home more common, cookbook sales have heated up a little.
For the past several years, publishers and trend trackers have reported an increase in that area.
"The cookbook industry has never really gone down the way the economy did," said Susan Dobbs, editorial director for Oxmoor House, which publishes cookbooks under Cooking Light and Health magazine brands. "[Sales of] nonfiction books have been flat, but cookbook sales are up 6 or 7 percent," she said.
People are definitely eating out less, Dobbs said, and many people never learned how to cook when they were growing up.
The publisher just released "Cooking Light, Complete Meals in Minutes," offering users what most of us want -- healthy food made fast.
"It teaches folks how to cook quickly. It is so much of what the staff here has to do," Dobbs said. With more than 700 recipes, the collection, the largest group of recipes that Cooking Light has ever published, offers great value to readers, she said.
And unlike all of those personality-driven titles that may or may not emphasize health, the Cooking Light brand is all about food that is good for you.
Here are three new cookbooks from Oxmoor House that you might want to add to your collection.
For the time-pressed: "Cooking Light, Complete Meals in Minutes" (Oxmoor House, $29.95)
Anyone with a busy schedule can appreciate this ring binder filled with more than 700 recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. The 10 sections include recipes for fish and shellfish, meatless main dishes, side dishes and desserts, while the final section is a kitchen companion offering need-to-know information such as metric equivalents and temperatures. Dishes such as Fettuccine Alfredo With Salmon and Sugar Snap Peas and Sesame Broccoli Stir Fry all come with a full nutritional analysis. Special features provide shortcuts and ideas for making meals in even fewer minutes.
For baby: "Cooking Light First Foods" (Oxmoor House, $19.95)
Even the newest eaters deserve high-quality food. "First Foods" makes feeding baby a little easier with nutritious meals that guide parents through the transition from milk to finger foods. The book begins with a section on weaning to help parents know when baby is ready to make the move to soft foods. There are suggestions for single purees such as avocado or beets and combinations like spinach and sweet potatoes. For toddlers, meal suggestions include quesadillas and smoothies. A special section offers recipes for baby birthday cakes, lunchbox solutions and holidays.
For dieters: "The Carb Lovers Diet: Eat What You Love, Get Slim for Life!" (Oxmoor House, $24.95)
There are so many diet books out there, it’s hard to keep track, but here’s one that anybody could love from the editors at Health magazine. "Carb Lovers" offers scientific evidence to debunk the myth that you can’t eat carbs and lose weight. Resistant starches found in foods such as bananas, brown rice and potatoes make the difference, according to studies noted in the book.
A seven-day plan gets you started, while a 21-day immersion plan keeps you going. There are 75 recipes that make following the program easier with meals such as Roasted Vegetables and Italian Sausage With Polenta or Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches. There are also tips on what to eat when dining at restaurants. Testimonials throughout the book show real women describing their weight-loss success.
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