Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 08/99) - There are tons of cookbooks out there vying for our culinary attentions, but none quite like the one dietician Karen Graham has managed to put together.

Meals for Good Health is an extravaganza of food illustration. Each recipe comes with life-size photographs -- one full page for lunches and a full two-page spread for dinners.

The cookbook's intended audience is a varied one: people with heart conditions or diabetes, seniors who find they need to eat less than they did to feel healthy, people who wish to lose weight or maintain their weight.

"I have been working as a dietician for about 15 years and there was a need that I identified," says Graham. "People need guidance in meal planning, they need something that's easy to read. And they not only need to know what to eat but how much."

The project -- which began as a small affair -- grew and grew until it became a book, she says.

"It took five years, about four months of photography, and extensive community evaluation."

People who were consulted range from health professionals such as nurses, teachers and consumers: younger people, adults, seniors, different ethnic groups, aboriginal people, even new learners in literacy centres.

"We wanted to ensure that the book could be read by a majority of Canadians," Graham emphasizes.

The recipes are simple, basic really. Everyday meals for everyday people.

"I wasn't attempting to produce a gourmet cookbook. The stats show that people leave their gourmet cookbooks on the shelf and 90 per cent of cooking involves everyday recipes that do not require people to go out and buy special ingredients."

In other words, the least simple ingredients that make for the best taste possible for the healthiest lifestyle.

"The recipes were developed over a three to four- year period," Graham says.

And there is no calorie counting required. A chart in the cookbook allows you to fit together sensible eating habits with no fuss, whatever your requirements.

Meals for Good Health is available through the Canadian Diabetes Association and in Shoppers Drug Marts across Canada.