Healthy Holidays: Total Health Entertaining All Year Round

Henner is on a health kick, and with this holiday cookbook she expands on the philosophy of books like her 30 Day Total Health Makeover. Covering holidays and traditions from Passover to Earth Day, Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year and Bastille Day, each chapter has reminiscences or historical tidbits, plus recipes, drinks, toasts and party suggestions. For Mother's Day and Father's Day, Henner suggests Wild Mushroom Stew and Snapper in Parchment for dinner and creating a ""videotaped tribute"" to parents for an activity; on Super Bowl Sunday, a homemade, easy Onion Dip with soy cream cheese replaces preservative-laden pre-made dips. Cooks can say goodbye to the fatty Thanksgivings of yesteryear with a Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie made with soy cream. The introduction outlines Henner's diet, which eliminates red meat, pork and dairy and replaces refined white sugar with a variety of sweeteners such as honey or Sucanat. Her rules of food combining will put off some readers (""Do not eat proteins and starches together""), but the recipes themselves, with short lists of easily accessible ingredients, aren't at all intimidating-Luck of the Irish Stew for St. Patrick's Day and Passover Carrot Ring can be cooked any time of the year. Henner's tome may be too chatty for some, but her enthusiasm for both health and the holidays make this a handy guide to year-round smart eating.