Go to a day spa for a special treatment — mud facial or massage or whatever you want -– then get out your copy of Scott Uehlein‘s Canyon Ranch: Nourish (Viking Studio 2009) and keep the illusion going.
Canyon Ranch is a byword for health, luxury, and comfort because for nearly thirty years we’ve made it our business to make guests feel loved and cared for…We don’t just feed our guests, we nourish them. (p. xi)
And, frankly, that is what we want out of our food at home whether or not we ever go on a spa vacation.
The first section on Canyon Ranch Nutrition Basics covers basic ingredients and issues like not using artificial sweeteners to choosing pasta and preparing herbs and spices. There are helpful photographs by Julie Toy demonstrating techniques for folding burritos or making medallions.
The recipes themselves range from Californian to Asian and Mediterranean inspired dishes. What connects them is that they are by and large all low fat, low calorie with colorful, bright flavors. Each recipe is followed by a list of calories, fat, protein, and other nutritional elements. After a chapter on Beverages and Snacks and Breakfast, the chapter on Starters and Sides starts with Flatbreads (p. 74) tortilla-like thin bread made with whole wheat, seven-grain cereal and blackstrap molasses. Toppings include Artichoke and Tomato (p. 77), Mediterranean (p. 78) and Pear and Blue Cheese (p. 80). Many of the recipes are vegetarian like Vegetable Nori Roles (p. 86) with cucumber, red pepper and avocado in brown rice or Roasted Tomatoes with Radicchio (p. 88). Others are tweaked standards like Macaroni and Cheese (p. 110) that calls for multigrain macaroni and whole wheat bread crumbs.
In the Soups chapter that follows, the colors in the photographs pop out of the page. First, a burst of yellow – Yellow Gazpacho (p. 121) is made of yellow tomatoes, yellow pepper topped with crabmeat. Then a burst of summer green – Chilled Cucumber Soup with Arugula (p. 122) followed by two red soups – Spelt Berry Gazpacho with Cilantro Lime Shrimp (p. 125) and Cream of Tomato Tarragon Soup (p. 126). Each soup would make a great start to a slimming meal.
It’s early autumn – still time for fresh garden vegetables and light meals. Canyon Ranch: Nourish is a fine cookbook to remind you to eat right.
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