Smart Breakfasts: 101 Delicious, Healthy Ways to Start the Day

The cookbook's thesis is superb, its execution falls short of the mark. Kinderlehrer ( Confessions of a Sneaky Organic Cook ) advocates a healthful breakfast, and a number of recipes offer enticements to comply. Filling, nutritious drinks like peachy berry banana shake tempt those who eat on the run. However, some recipes relying entirely on whole grains are dense and intensely flavored in the manner of traditional ``health food,'' which may limit their general appeal. Others such as orange spice popcorn waffles, minimally lightened with ground popcorn, look better on the page than on the plate. Each recipe ends with a listing of nutritional data, but the information included varies. For example, fiber content is provided for the oat and cheese blintzes but not for the tortillas found on the next page. Also, some recipes run high in fat: stuffed French toast gets 55% of its calories from fat, although the American diet Kinderlehrer warns us about is 40% fat. When the author takes a debatable nutritional stance, as in preferring butter to margarine, she can give short shrift to information contradicting her view of the facts. Illustrations not seen by PW. First serial to Parenting; Better Homes & Gardens, BOMC and Prevention Book Club selections. (Nov.)