How often do you "cook light?"

[pmmahan]

Well, I must qualify this - How often do you use recipes from Cooking Light - every day, once a week, once a month? I love making new recipes from the mag, and it makes it SO easy to eat healthy, but I find the lengthy ingredient lists can get expensive (seems to me that low fat recipes need to use more spices, ingredients, etc. to make up for the lost fat).

I haven't cooked in the magazine in a LONG time. I used to make recipes from it at least 3 times a week, now I am trying to save money AND I haven't seen a whole lot of recipes interesting to me from the last few months.

what about you??

[Alisa]

It really IS more expensive to cook light, but still cheaper than eating out - and what price your health??? I cook from CL almost every day, (on days when I do cook:D), but sometimes I'm not using a recipe, I'm just throwing something together using techniques, ingredients etc that I learned about from CL.
I read lots of cooking magazines & cookbooks but I rarely cook from them - they all seem so unhealthy and complicated. I'm certainly no health nut - CL just suits me. Also I LOVE buying weird and new ingredients - at the same time, I am constantly leaving out or substituting ingredients in CL recipes and it almost always works out.

[guavagirl]

i agree with your cost complaints, chez pate. i remember reading my grandmother's Good Housekeeping and LHJ as a little girl. i was perplexed that many recipes included COST estimates (rather than nutritional ones ;) ), particularly since, at the time, i believed that eating at home was always far less costly.

that tangent aside, you might consider buying spices in bulk. penzey's spices (http://www.penzeys.com) is a good resource as are organic food stores and special sections of regular grocery stores. perhaps in this economic "downturn," CL would do well to publish a feature of lower-cost recipes :)

and finally, i use CL recipes at least once/week, often pulling out old issues for old faves.

[tracey67]

I use recipes from CL about 2-3 times a week. Also, the funny thing is that I don't really think I'm cooking "light" when I use CL -- their recipes are so full of flavor and yummy that I don't feel I'm missing out on anything. I use other sources (usually Bon Appetit) the rest of the week, but after years of using CL (and knowing that good taste doesn't have to involve tons of fat), I find that I'm no longer interested in many of the recipes that call for lots of cream (although I'm still a sucker for cheese).

As far as cost goes, I think I have to respectfully disagree. I don't think their recipes are any more expensive than other sources. Oh sure, when you first look at a recipe it seems a little daunting because the ingredient list goes on for miles (and I DO agree that cooking light with great taste DOES involve more ingredients), however, when you look more closely at the list, you notice that more than half of it is just spices and herbs (and most of these you probably already have on hand -- oregano, thyme, basil, etc.)

And I definitely recommend using Penzeys. They are the BEST!!! I was "in between orders" last week and discovered that I needed basil. Out of desperation I checked the supermarket. The bottle they had was a tiny little bottle for about $8 - I decided I didn't need it that badly and went home and checked the Penzeys catalog. They had a bag TWICE as large as the one at the store, for only $2!

tracey

[pmmahan]

Now that I've stocked up on spices, I don't have to buy them for months. I don't like buying fresh spices, I have a tendency to use them once, and then not again. I think the only exception is basil. I can always make pesto.

When I would make a CL recipe, and I found I had to buy extra ingredients, I would try to get "double duty" by making other recipes with similar ingredients.

However, I find it expensive when I have to buy - cottage cheese and sour cream and 3 pkgs of cream cheese for a lowfat cheesecake. That's the trend I've found in CL. I get a whole lot more "bang for my buck" at the grocery store when I am not shopping for specific recipes. For example, the Chicken and Brie Sandwich from June - looks yummy. Here's what I would have to buy:
Cherry tomatoes
fresh thyme
whole grain Dijon mustard
French bread
Brie (which isn't cheap in the first place)
Chicken breast (at $3.60 a lb)
fresh spinach

That's JUST the ingredients I don't have on hand. That's a lot for one recipe, for one meal! Then having to restock on balsamic vinegar, olive oil, white vinegar, cooking wine (which I use a lot)

Partly the reason for my gripe could be that food (and the cost of living in general) is expensive where I live. I remember someone posted recently that she and her DH spent $60 a MONTH on food. There is no WAY we'd be able to spend that little without eating ramen and Mac and Cheese! We are psyched if we spend that little per WEEK.

Phew. Anway, that's my view. The reality is, it IS expensive for me (where I live, in my financial situation) to use cooking light magazine unless I am clever about it. I am not opening that up to debate. Sorry. I DO wish they'd do a few pieces on cost effective cooking.

[KValley]

Here are a couple of recent threads on these topics:

Cost of cooking light:

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6884&highlight=expensive

Using CL recipes:

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11395

Lots of good food for thought, so to speak :)

Cheers,

Julie

[Jewel]

I'm another one who reads other mags and cookbooks, but when it comes down to actually following a recipe, it's usually from CL. I enjoy the recipes on www.allrecipes.com and I like the reviews, but generally I have to slim them down or ask your help in doing it! ( ;) ) I've just come to expect quality from CL, and even if one or two issues don't really jazz me, I know it's just that they can't please every reader every issue, so I just wait for the next one!

As for cost, I don't think it's costing me more, it's just proving that a well-stocked pantry can take you far! Cooking from CL on a regular basis at first made me realize exactly how unprepared I was! Once I started using Balsamic Vinegar and spices on a regular basis, it wasn't hard to keep the pantry stocked! There's usually an ingredient or two to buy for each recipe, but that's normal with any new recipe you look at. Actually, I don't mind buying the extra ingredients for a CL recipe because I know that 9 times out of 10 it will be worth it! :D

[LGBurns]

I realized the other day that I haven't cooked out of anything but CL in months. I have a few good cookbooks but I find I go through CL for recipes first and then go to my cookbooks when I still am not inspired.

As to cost, I think there are expensive recipes and less expensive ones. I make the Fettucine with Fingerlicking Peanut Sauce, Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pizza, Chickpea Salad w/Yogurt-Curry Dressing, the Mediterranean Lasagna (and too many more to name), all of which are pretty inexpensive and contain ingredients I almost always have on hand. But other recipes in the magazine do tend to turn me off with the amount of expensive ingredients but I just don't make them or save them for special meals. I also want to agree that CL uses tons of non-fat cream cheese in their cheesecakes and in the past they used to use yogurt cheese which is much cheaper. Don't quite know what happened there since I find yogurt cheese works fine. Anyway, that's a bit of a side note.

[browneye]

I must use CL recipes about 50% of the time, for daily fare, mostly. Sometimes for company, too. I don't mind the extra expense of the ingredients because I love to create "gourmet" and healthy meals as much as possible. If CL didn't exist, I'd find another outlet for my creative juices...also, the cost of eating out at *worthwhile* restaurants is relatively much higher.

Having said that, there are many CL recipes that I return to frequently that don't really require the purchase of a whole lot of stuff that I wouldn't buy or have on hand anyway. Some of the simple are some of the best, IMHO.

I still rely on some old standards that I have made for years as well as some out of some special cookbooks I have and stuff I find on Epicurious, or AllRecipes, or Fine COoking. Usually I lighten some of those up with the help of Mastercook. I invent some stuff frequently too. Then I forget what I've done!!!

:rolleyes:

[mcraig13]

Gee guys--I use CL recipes almost all the time--but maybe that is why my grocery bill is so high. It is my answer to dieting--if I cook these really good things from Cl and walk 10 miles a week-- I don't have to diet. Middle-age somehow changes your thinking about food--I have always been one of those people who just loves food--I can be far from hungry but my brain wants food--a terrible way to be in your mid=40's. I love cookbooks and Bon Appetit but find myself always looking for the low-fat recipes.

[Beth]

You've probably noticed that a number of us substitute ingredients, use less expensive cuts of meat, look to capitalize on foods that are in season or on sale, stock a good pantry of staples, and eat some non-meat meals. Eggs, beans and pasta offer some great main dish dollar strechers.

Another tip, if you have ethnic grocery stores, take an adventure into one to find those special sauces, spices and such. I found that at the Asian market I went to, in addition to finding items I could not get at my regular grocery store, I could buy rice vinegar, light soy sauce, Asian noodles, and wonderful fresh produce all at lower prices (an extra large bottle for what I'd pay for a small one). I even found better raw peanuts cheaper for making peanut brittle at the holidays.

The other tip would be to try to plan other meals to use the leftovers perishable items. Do a search by ingredients to find some possibilities.

[JA]

I was amazed at that $60 a month reply too! My grocery bill is easily that a week (for two of us). But that includes not just food, but paper towels and laundry detergent and other household items.
I find it necessary to plan more than one meal around the "special" ingredients in some of the recipes. For example, one month I used coconut milk, but I haven't since. I look in the magazines for more standard meals. Also, I try and plan our meals around what's on sale at the store that week.
I must say, though, that I cook almost exclusively from CL. The food is so good, and I don't feel guilty eating it! That's worth the money.

[suziking]

I think I must use CL about 75% of the time. There are some things taht are really fattening that I just can't bring myself to cook anymore- thanks to Cooking Light - like a heavy cream sauce or deep fried foods. I'll go out and eat those.

I definetely go for the more simple recipes though = with less ingrediants.

I also do a lot of meal planning and I think that has decreased our grocery bills. I will try to only go to the store when I know what our next five dinners will be.

Eating good and healthy foods for us is a big priority - so I don't mind paying a little bit more....

[kwormann]

My answer to the money question is I use the magazine for inspiration, then I always make the recipe my own (unless baking). For example I thought the chipoltle lime flank steak sounded good. Well, I have shrimp in the freezer, so I am using that. Also, I wont be using the recipe for the marinade. I have their wonderful idea of mixing chipotles and limes, both of which I have, and I will make my own marinade from those ingredients and others I have on hand (or maybe just those two). It seems to work for us. DH is always asking if something is actually from a recipe, or is it modified.

[laden]

I use CL recipes about 95% of the time! I very rarely cook from any other source. It does get expensive but I think about it as a hobby as well as a way to eat healthy. It definely is a money saver over going out. Cooking is just one of my vices...it's really fun to try new and different ingriedients.

[guavagirl]

... and thus, the inevitable occurs as i read through a thread: somebody mentions a recipe that i crave , but cannot find! :rolleyes: LGBurns, could you point us to the recipe for Chickpea Salad with Yogurt Curry Dressing? thanks much!

[SueK]

I use CL recipes about 80% of the time. When I first started to really get into cooking a lot at home, I thought it was expensive. But, when I look back on how much we spent eating out or getting take out, cooking at home is not any more expensive than that.

Also, from some great suggestions from others on this board, I've learned to lighten many a "heavy" recipe. Plus, from CL recipes, I've really learned to appreciate how fresh herbs and seasonings can "make" a dish.