Mexican food is without a doubt some of my favourite food to cook and eat, but I will admit that my own recipes lack that authenticity. I was very excited by the idea of this book as I am always looking for new Mexican flavours to mix things up. I also have a tendency to just pile cheese on everything, which is not ideal now I am trying to eat healthier.
The layout of this book is fantastic. The recipes are split into clear sections, the presentation of each recipe is as simple as possible and it also includes detailed nutritional information which is exactly what you want from a health-focused recipe book. At the top of each recipe, there is also a detailed breakdown of which ingredients are good for you and how they help which was a really nice touch. I think more healthy cookbooks should do this as it encourages education and experimentation.
Now to the recipes themselves. I think there is a fine selection but unfortunately a large portion of them aren't personally suitable to me. The sections are: Salsas & Dips, Appetizers & Sides, Soups & Breads, Salads, Meat & Fish, Poultry, Meatless, Rice & Beans and Desserts. As you can probably tell, the bulk of this book was not main meals which was a bit of a shame as that's what I was looking for. Having said that, I am a little biased in that I don't eat soup or salads and I am unlikely to make dip which already rules out three whole sections. Add in my partner being veggie and you can see I have a more limiting set of circumstances than most.
One thing I liked about the recipes themselves is that they are all fairly simple or at least, contain ingredients which aren't too hard to get. I have a strong preference for recipes I am realistically likely to cook and that tends to mean easy to follow, relatively cheap and ingredients that won't go to waste. This book had plenty of those and a lot of them also provided great opportunity for adaptation and experimentation.
Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for a good, all-round Mexican cookbook which also happens to have a healthy skew. I think even if you're not specifically looking for the health aspect, having detailed nutritional information is always a bonus, and the recipes definitely aren't just for people trying to be healthier or lose weight. Advanced chefs might not find enough to offer them here but for most people, it's a great place to start.
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