For many of us, the beginning of a new year is a great chance to put holiday excesses behind us and get back on track with healthful eating habits. That’s often easier said than done, but Cooking Light is here to help with Cooking that Counts: 1,200- to 1,500-Calorie Meal Plans to Lose Weight Deliciously.
Over the last 25 years, Cooking Light has established itself as a trusted resource for delicious, healthful recipes through its magazine, website, and cookbooks. Going beyond recipes, they developed the Cooking Light Diet, a customized subscription diet plan. Originating from that diet plan, Cooking that Counts is a cookbook that brings together more than 150 recipes with meal plans, tips, inspirational success stories, and more, all designed to help the reader meet specific daily calorie goals for losing weight.
The book begins with a 30-day menu plan designed to meet a daily 1,200-calorie goal, with instructions for modifying the plan if your daily goal is higher. Each day includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack—you won’t feel deprived when following this plan! The listing of “must-have ingredients” like heart-healthy oil, quick-cooking whole grains, Greek yogurt, and canned beans will help to ensure that you have the things you need as you cook your way through the meal plan. In addition, the extensive list of “healthy cooking basics” covers pantry items that will help you make tasty low-calorie meals and snacks.
After guiding you through weight loss, Cooking that Counts will help you maintain a healthy weight, too. The final chapter is called “Bulking Up Your Meals,” and it’s all about how to modify the meals and snacks in the menu plan to increase your daily calorie intake after you’ve met your weight loss goals. Suggestions for adding 50, 100, or 150 calories to each meal will have you expanding your meals and food choices while maintaining your ideal weight.
Cooking that Counts has a great selection of recipes. Each recipe includes the number of servings and serving size, detailed nutritional information, changes to make if you’re aiming for other than a 1,200-calorie daily goal, and suggested accompaniments like fruit, a salad, or a glass of wine. Where applicable, recipes highlight whether they’re suitable for people with dietary restrictions (dairy free, gluten free, low carb, or vegetarian).
Here are some examples of the nice variety of recipes:
• 3-Ingredient Pancakes, page 48
• Tortellini Salad with Zucchini and Peas, page 115
• Creamy Tuna Noodle Casserole with Peas and Breadcrumbs, page 153
• Quick Fried Brown Rice with Shrimp and Snap Peas, page 156
• Fast Chicken Chili, page 228
• Fudgy Skillet Cookie, page 249
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Giveaway: One lucky winner is going to win a copy of Cooking that Counts Cookbook, thanks to Time Inc. Books.
Giveaway Details: This giveaway is open to residents of the US ONLY age 18 and over. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering. This giveaway will close on February 7th, 2018 at 11:59 pm EST time. No purchase necessary to enter or win.
Disclaimer: A. Bailey received a complimentary product for review purposes & feature on The Classy Chics blog. No monetary compensation was received. A. Bailey’s thoughts, opinions and words are 100% her own. Your thoughts may differ. Please read the blog’s terms of service policy before entering any giveaways. The Classy Chics are NOT responsible for prize fulfillment or shipping of any items won from this blog.
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