Get Ready for 'The SparkPeople Cookbook'

By , SparkPeople Blogger
Here at SparkPeople, we have yet another reason to shout "Woohoo!"

Earlier this year, we spilled the beans that we were working on our first cookbook (and we wanted help naming it).  I'm happy to say that "The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight" is almost here!

Written by our very own Chef Meg and myself, the cookbook contains everything you would expect from SparkPeople!

The book combines Meg's cooking expertise with SparkPeople's proven weight-loss and nutrition know-how for what will be the only healthy cookbook you'll need. Like the SparkPeople site that inspired it, "Love Your Food, Lose the Weight" uses education, entertainment and community to prove that healthy living, dieting and weight loss don't have to be boring, dull or difficult.

Though Meg trained at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in London, where she learned classic (and calorie-laden) French cuisine, her at-home meals are like the ones she creates for SparkRecipes--the ones she blogs about each Monday. Meg truly believes that food should be healthy and delicious. As a World Master Chef (one of only 20 women in the world to hold that title!) and a chef instructor at the Midwest Culinary Institute here in Cincinnati, Meg knows that food has to taste great and satisfy the appetite.

But Meg is also a runner, a busy mom of three teenage boys, and a farmer's daughter, so she knows it also has to fuel her body. It's her passion to create food that tastes great and helps you stay slim and healthy. She knows how to cook mouth-watering food while still maintaining her weight (no easy feat for someone who eats for a living!).

It sounds impossible that we were able to create such recipes, but that's exactly what you asked for--and it's what you'll find in "The SparkPeople Cookbook"!

Since our best-selling book, "The Spark," was published in early 2010, members have been asking us for a follow-up--a cookbook! This long-awaited cookbook shows that healthy eating can be simple and fun. In fact, it proves it!

According to our taste test: If people eat flavorful, satisfying foods, they can eat fewer calories without even realizing it, yet be more satisfied while losing weight! We presented dieters and SparkPeople members with two meals: one comprised typical, bland diet foods. The other comprised recipes from our cookbook.

We asked: Which one is healthier? Which one do you want to eat again? Not surprisingly, people thought the “diet” foods were healthier, but they didn’t want to eat them again. What they didn’t know was that our flavorful foods were actually healthier (and lighter) than the diet foods!

We debunked several diet myths, including the thought that you have to eat bland, boring foods to lose weight!

But this is more than a collection of recipes—it’s an education. The SparkPeople philosophy is about encouraging people to achieve personal goals with the support of others. So along with the recipes, you’ll find:
 
  • More than 160 recipes, plus hundreds of variations—all guaranteed to be satisfying, sustaining, and stress-free!
     
  • Slim It Down” options for dozens of the recipes.
     
  • Full nutrition info for each recipe--and you'll be able to add the recipes to your Nutrition Tracker on SparkPeople.
     
  • “Make It a Meal” features—quick and tasty suggestions to turn every main dish into a well-balanced meal in just minutes.
     
  • A full 150 meal ideas and recipes that take 30 minutes or less to prepare—plus dozens of other, more elaborate meals.
     
  • Expert tips and tricks to increase flavor and satiety while cutting unnecessary calories, fat, and salt. (Plus tips from some of our most successful members!)
     
  • A healthy pantry checklist, a list of cheap but nutritious foods, and sidebars on new-to-you “superfoods.”
     
  • 2 weeks of meal plans—with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2 snacks—all for 1,400-1,600 calories.
     
  • Success Stories of how real SparkPeople members used these recipes and our plan to lose weight and eat the foods they love.
     
  • Step-by-step guides to all the healthy cooking techniques you’ll need, plus a list of equipment for a healthy kitchen.
     
  • Recipe lists to suit every meal preference and occasion: heart-healthy, diabetic-friendly, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, quick-cooking, high fiber, kid-friendly, great for entertaining, and more!
Wonder what some of the Success Stories from "The Spark" have been up to? "The SparkPeople Cookbook" picks up where "The Spark" left off, sharing stories of how members learned to cook and changed their lives--shedding the weight forever!

More details will be coming soon, along with information about all the extras you'll receive just for buying the book. (We do know you'll get SparkPoints for buying it!)

Stay tuned to the dailySpark for more updates on "The SparkPeople Cookbook" (available Oct. 1), and be sure to sign up for our Recipe of the Day email, which is full of healthy, delicious recipes from Chef Meg and other members. We'll be sharing tips, recipes, and more! Click here to sign up!

Want to pre-order "The SparkPeople Cookbook"? It's now available on Amazon and elsewhere.

Will you pre-order "The SparkPeople Cookbook"? Are you excited to read it?