Canyon Ranch Cooking: Bringing the Spa Home

Syndicated food columnist and menu designer for the upscale Canyon Ranch fitness resorts, the prolific Jones (Healthy Cooking for People Who Don't Have Time to Cook, etc.) offers well-flavored, healthful recipes. She restricts fat calories to about 20% and keeps careful tabs on protein-rich foods. The usual healthful helpers (e.g., defatted stocks, fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices) play major roles. Substitutes abound. Instead of the fatty avocado, asparagus and light sour cream make Canyon Ranch Guacamole. Nutritional breakdowns are given for all recipes, and Jones is a firm advocate of portion control. One pound of extra-lean ground round yields eight Canyon Ranch Burgers. Seared Ahi Tuna on Warm Potato and Leek Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing makes a fine luncheon. Fish 'n' Chips ingeniously dips fish in egg white, then in flour and bread crumbs before baking at 450 degrees. A spicy Indonesian Chicken with Grilled Bananas arouses the palate. There's also room for modestly sized Steak au Poivre and Osso Bucco. Desserts are either fruit-based, such as Pear in Phyllo, or pared-down fare like Chocolate Mocha Cheesecake made with light and nonfat cream cheese. This is an appealing collection for disciplined eaters, spiced with helpful tips that might inspire cooks to apply some of Jones's methods to their own recipes. Author tour. (Apr.)