lighten up y'all -- a book review

Virginia Willis is no stranger to the culinary world.  A regular for her cooking blog, Down-Home Comfort, a regular on the Cooking Channel and the Food Channel, as well as a contributing editor for Southern Comfort, she's appeared on CNN and Food52.  So when Willis writes about "Southern Cooking", people listen.  And her newest book, Lighten Up Y'all:  Classic Southern Recipes Made Healthy & Wholesome, is a real treat for those of us who love that southern cooking tradition and its comfort foods.

Lighten Up Y'all is all about making classic Southern recipes healthy and wholesome.  In a major push to drop a few pounds and lighten up her own diet, Virginia insists that it's important for those who want a new lifestyle to still find their food delicious.  The result of her conviction is Lighten Up Y'all -- a new collection of soul-satisfying food made for a new healthy lifestyle.  She covers all the classics, too:  Southern Style Shepherd's Pie with Grits and Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Pie.  Every recipe is filled with flavor, but has that commitment to healthier ingredients and techniques.

So Lighten Up Y'all has all the recipes, tools and inspiration a cook like me needs to make nourishing, down-home Southern food that I love.

My favorite recipes:  Hot Mess Spinach and Feta Dip, Smothered and Covered Chicken and Gravy, Makeover Broccoli Mac & Cheese and the Stovetop Apple Pie.

This isn't a recipe collection that will disappoint.  In fact, it's one that will stay near our oven for years to come.  It's great!

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I received this book free, from the Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.