Cook Book Review: Eat Better, Feel Better by Giada De Laurentiis

 Eat Better, Feel Better  Giada De Laurentiis 

Maybe I liked this because I have been trying to eat better (just "trying", tbc) by staying gluten and dairy-free, like Giada started to do as a reset from her poorer diet of yore (i.e., the healthyish yet mouthwatering meat/ cheese/pasta dishes we expected from her).  And while her weight was "not the problem", as she tells her readers repeatedly, she "just felt bad," and eating made her feel better -  much much better.   Now, I relate, because I did eat gluten and dairy-free for about nine solid months. But, chose to eat that way explicitly to lose weight, and I did, BUT, I felt GREAT.  Eating well really does make you feel better.  And while Giada is gaggingly beautiful no matter what she puts in her mouth, I totally know she is right.  I just hope she cheats a bit more then she lets on.   

So, the recipes I tasted are great.  They are flavorful, healthy, and tested so they work.  She made a great effort to create different sides made from the same old ingredients, for example: Herbes de Provence Roasted Potatoes, and Roasted Cauliflower with Grapes and Pistachios.  I appreciated her addition of protein in White Bean and Broccoli Rabe Sauté, and the beans and greens combination she adds to her Steak Salad and Broiled Salmon.  The Milanese Chicken using rice flour and gluten-free panko bread crumbs was the best I ever had, and I will continue to use that recipe exclusively when I "Milanese" chicken.  

On the baking front, I made her gluten-free Spiced Apple Muffins, which the kids liked and ate.  Her Chocolate and Orange Brown Rice Treats were good, but nobody craved them, and they ended up in the trash after being in the back of the fridge for a week.  

While I look forward to cooking a few more of Giada's healthy recipes, I will admit that many of the once I didn't try were because they were plain recipes for "Rice" and "Brown Rice", and "Roasted Vegetables."  While it is always useful to see what temperatures and methods a trained chef uses, I would have been more interested to hear about more flavorful recipes.  I hope she writes some more!