By: Dana Magee

Let me start out by saying these books are a little addicting.  I started out with one of them for myself… my mom liked it so much so I bought her one for her birthday…then my boyfriend moved into a new apartment so I bought him one as a housewarming present and before I knew it I had bought half the series!  As you can tell I may be a little obsessed with this series of cookbooks.  The collection of Eat This Not That (ETNT), by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, is a favorite among my college roommates and I, as well as my family.

My first run in with the ETNT team was in none other than Men’s Health. I know what you’re thinking… what is she doing reading Men’s Health?   Believe it or not a woman can find a lot of interesting ideas, to say the least, in this magazine. Mixed in with pages of men giving other men advice on women (it is always interesting to see what they think that we are thinking) they have lots of nutrition and exercise information that is a bit more applicable to my everyday life. Author of ETNT, David Zinczenko frequently writes for the magazine and was featured one particular month with a whole spread about finding the nutritive best brands and running from the worst, which caught my eye.  It included every category from iced tea to chicken sandwiches to smoothies to protein bars.  They listed the brands that offered the best nutrition for items that people crave every day. This is an interesting way of presenting healthy options.  Instead of saying no to everything it allows people to make a healthy choice between two and see the benefits of one item compared to another. This lets people have what they want and enjoy their food by fining alternatives that are in proper portion sizes and have more appealing nutrient breakdowns.

The ETNT team has thought of everything from kids meals, to grocery store and restaurant survival guides, to Drink This Not That spin offs.  The one I bought is the Cook This Not That, Easy and Awesome 350 Calorie Meals (CTNT).  I love this one because it takes popular restaurant meals and recreates them for you at home in a cheaper and healthier way.  From my experience making these meals was relatively easy and they turned out to taste great!  This isn’t just a cookbook, it also features a little bit of nutrition education when preparing and buying food. The first couple pages introduces you to techniques used in a kitchen that save you time while cooking as well as healthy ways of preparing meats, sauces, and vegetables.  Next CTNT talks a little about 50 of the best foods to buy in the supermarket.  This helped me with thing like finding the healthiest brand of ranch since it’s something I cannot go completely without.  It also helped me to narrow down which was the best brand of whole wheat bread for me.  Since there are so many types of bread which are advertised as “wheat bread” but aren’t actually made from WHOLE wheat it can get confusing out there.  From this section I was able to find out that Martins Whole Wheat bread is the best choice with a good amount of fiber that doesn’t leave the bread tasting like cardboard.  This section is great for finding out what everyday items are the best for you from mayo to frozen pizza, without researching every brand yourself and reading hundreds of nutrition fact labels.

Next in the books comes the recipes, which are broken down into breakfasts, appetizers and small bites, soups and salads, sandwiches and burgers, grilled foods, pizza and pasta, international classics,10 minute meals, sides snacks and sauces and desserts.  Alongside this wealth of knowledge are colorful pictures that allow you to pick meals based on what looks good to you and gives you a heads up on what the finished product should look like.

Some of the recipes that I have tried are the French Toast Stuffed with Strawberries, which replicates the IHOP favorite while knocking off 810 calories and saving $11.39! Another great one I tried was the gazpacho, a cold soup perfect for hot summer days! Some favorites were the Grilled Ratatouille Salad, Caprese Sandwich, and Pork tenderloin with Pineapple Salsa. My all-time favorite meal was the Grilled Mexican Steak Salad, which replaces TGI Friday’s Santa Fe Chopped Salad.  By making it according to the CTNT cookbook the meal saves you 1,460 calories! It is packed with veggies and spices that really complement each other with protein from a lean cut of meat. Try this recipe and get started on your way to enjoying home cooked healthy meals without the prices of the restaurant variety!