Stuff We Love: Cooking Light Magazine
This ain't your mama's "diet" magazine
Don’t try this at home. But do try some of these recipes.
It all started on Facebook, when an acquaintance mentioned making the shrimp-stuffed poblanos recipe in the latest issue of Cooking Light for dinner. I was entering my grocery list onto my iPhone and added “Cooking Light,” since I’ve yet to meet a poblano I didn’t like, and I hadn’t read the magazine for years. Why? I’d grown tired of all things “diet” and “light” and “fat free” and “artificially sweetened” and “blast your butt” and “tone your abs” and all of the other promises of perfection made in bright, bold fonts at the checkout stand. I wanted to learn how to cultivate a sensible relationship with food and to make good eats using real and tasty ingredients, and I started doing just that.
Fast forward to my post-grocery-shopping reading, and you may now color me impressed and inspired by Cooking Light magazine. It’s not only for people watching their weight; the recipes are just plain good and emphasize moderation over artificial sweeteners or crazy substitutions. Many of the meals could easily pass Michelle’s muster for a Foodie Fridays entry. Like Fettucine Alfredo with Bacon, Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers, and Chocolate-Cherry Heart Smart Cookies.
Then came the kicker: the January/February issue features 10 rules for eating in 2010 that read like a FGG laundry list of mindful decadence: “try something new,” “cook more often,” “eat more whole foods,” “indulge adventurously.” I also loved the “Dinner Tonight” section that ends with – be still my menu-planning, grocery-listing heart – a food shopping list for each recipe! Swoon.
This just goes to show that not all things labeled “light” will leave you feeling deprived or spin you into “diet” mode. Bravo, Cooking Light!
Got a favorite food-related read? Share it in the comments.
I happened to just start subscribing to this magazine and this was the first issue that arrived in my mailbox last week. Last night I made the Cherry HeartSmart Cookies and my husband and I both loved them. I brought the rest into my office today and the are already gone! I’m definately interested in the stuffed poblano….I’ve already picked up the ingredients and it’s on my list for dinner one night this week.
LOVE Cooking Light! I’m anxiously awaiting the first issue of my new subscription after picking up a stack of “gently used,” older issues for $o.25 ea a while back and deciding I could no longer live without this mag. We’ll definitely be seeing some CL recipes in upcoming Foodie Fridays!!
I am also a fan of Cooking Light Magazine. The recipes are made of fresh ingredients, not processed foods, so they taste better and have lower sodium content. The magazine also does an excellent job following and incorporating current good health guidelines.
I utilize my monthly mag by initially circling and dog-earring the recipes that look good. Then every week I select a menu, make a grocery list and then order from Peapod.
I’m glad you gave them some coverage.
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