Womenheart's All Heart Family Cookbook: Featuring the 40 Foods Proven to Promote Heart Health

The introduction explains that “scientists have identified 40 foods that can help reduce, prevent, and even reverse heart disease.” Those 40 foods—among them chocolate, red wine, tropical fruits, almonds and avocados—are the focus of this health-conscious cookbook. All 175 recipes include one or more of them, and the first section details, food by food, in easily understandable (even occasionally funny) language, why they're good for you. The recipes are accessible and appealing, if not especially original. The superstar ingredients are marked with a heart symbol; key nutritional information accompanies each entry. The full spectrum of basic food genres is covered, from breakfast foods like Broccoli and Cheese Strata (featuring egg whites), Asparagus Frittata (using egg substitute) and Green Tea–Oatmeal Pancakes to desserts such as Orange Pistachio Cake and an antioxidant-rich but still decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake. In between are plenty of soups, salads (including an elegant Grape and Fennel Salad), vegetable side dishes, grains, beans, pasta and main courses such as Sesame Salmon with Spicy Cucumber Salad, Oven-Fried Fish and Chips, Revamped Chicken Potpie and Make-Over Veal Marsala. The variety and simplicity make this a reliable—and lighthearted—resource for anyone trying to fight or prevent heart trouble. (Feb.)