Let's Cook! Healthy Meals for Independent Living

The first book in the On My Own series. Let's Cook! can help you plan healthy meals, create nutritious dishes, and respect food and kitchen safety. This book promotes self-reliance and reinforces life skills for independent living. <P>Let's Cook! is a how-to-cook cookbook designed for anyone wanting to, or needing to know how to prepare healthy meals for themselves or for others. This book is designed for adults with special needs; for individuals who are learning how to put meals together by themselves for the first time; for individuals learning English as a second language or for seniors who need easy-to-read and prepare recipes. <P> Inside Let's Cook! you'll find more than 50 "I can cook" recipes in large print and written at an early elementary reading level. Full color photos showcase the finished recipe; step-by-step preparations; and the completed healthy meal. Recipes in easy to follow style of: What I Need, What I Use, What I Do Additional information on portion sizes, healthy snacks, eating out, and how to package and save leftovers. <P>Let's Cook! focuses on learning basic concepts of nutrition, skills for making recipes using all the MyPyramid food groups and emphasizes food and kitchen safety.

Elizabeth D Riesz, PhD.: Co-author is the mother of a young adult with Down syndrome. She has enjoyed a career in education including public school curriculum development, teacher education and university program administration. Betsy has recently retired and resides in Iowa with her husband, Peter. <P> Anne Kissack, MPH, RD: Co-author is a public health practitioner in chronic disease prevention and management. She has always had a passion for cooking and for sharing this love with others. She resides in Wisconsin with her husband and children. <P> Linda Hachfeld, MPH, RD: Series Editor had been looking for the "right material" to begin a new series that focused on promoting and reinforcing life skills for the adult with special needs. This book is the result of many voices--individuals who care about the health and safety of those who are challenged to prepare their own meals. We listened to focus group participants talk about what they needed to make healthy meals on their own. This is when we learned that they needed to know "what" to cook as well as "how" to cook. They also asked for a cookbook to be designed and written just for them with specific qualities--recipes in large print, with lots of food pictures, with clear preparation steps, and above all, they wanted a cookbook that couldn't be misinterpreted as a children's cookbook. <P> We've worked tirelessly to meet those challenges. Recipes were triple taste tested and prepared by a number of individuals (at various ability levels) who love to cook. The easy-to-make recipes are in large print, written at a third grade or lower reading level, and the step-by-step preparations take the guesswork out of what to do. The finished recipe is photographed alone and again, as part of a healthy, balanced meal in the appropriate serving size. <P>We hope you take great pleasure in preparing wonderful food from Let's Cook! and that the recipes help you take action for a longer, stronger and happier life.