Chris:
Six months ago I decided to change my lifestyle and get in shape. I started lifting weights, doing cardio and began cleaning up my diet.

Everything has been great. I’ve lost 20 pounds and feel like a whole new person. The only thing I struggle with is making healthy meals that taste good. I can accept the fact that I have never been a great cook, and I know that healthy food is obviously not going to taste as good as eating fast food, but there must be a middle ground somewhere.

Must all healthy food taste so bland?

Do you have any special tricks or recipe books that you use to spice things up? Maybe you even have a favorite recipe book that you could tell me about.

Any advice you could share on this topic would be greatly appreciated and most certainly put to good use.
- Karen

Karen:
Over the years I have tried just about every healthy recipe book under the sun and have come to the conclusion that “Eating for Life,” by Bill Phillips is by far the best.

You may remember Bill Phillips as the one-time owner of EAS supplement company and author of “Body for Life.”

However, I believe his best work was done in 2003 when he published his New York Times best seller, “Eating for Life,” a recipe book with gourmet meals made from healthy-choice foods.

“Eating for Life” is a great resource because it has 150 of the best-tasting healthy recipes I’ve ever come across including breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts.

I can honestly say this book is the most important cookbook in my kitchen, and it’s never allowed to leave my site. I admit I haven’t tried all 150 recipes yet, but each weekend I take the time to try a new one.

The book will teach you how to make great-tasting dishes out of healthy ingredients that can be found at any normal grocery store.

It’s also user friendly for those of us who are challenged in the ways of culinary arts.

Some of my favorite dishes I have tried thus far are as follows:

• Baked chicken parmesan - definitley my favorite. It combines a fat-free chicken breast, spinach fettuccine, sauce and parmesan cheese. It makes me hungry just thinking about it.

• Deluxe turkey dinner - This one reminds me of Thanksgiving because it combines turkey breast, stuffing, cranberry sauce and steamed squash. Don’t worry; it’s light, so you won’t have to loosen your belt when you’re finished. Just grab your workout shoes and hit the gym.

• Baked halibut - I’ve always been a big fan of halibut, but this recipe calls for topping it with fat-free yogurt and has a side of lemon parmesan rice and steamed asparagus. The final product is simply delicious.

Still not impressed? You’ll have to try it for yourself. The book sells for $25 to $35 and can be found at most book stores. If a store doesn’t have it, I’m sure it will be glad to order it for you. Trust me; you won’t be disappointed.