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The Long Life Cookbook by Anne Casale (Ballantine Books: $17.95, hardcover, 387 pp.)

Fortunately for the reader, Ann Casale has eliminated the standard rewriting of scientific studies, facts and figures regarding obesity, degenerative disease and the like. She gets right to the meat and potatoes in this recipe book, offering a simple introductory chapter that capsulizes nutrition guidelines, then provides a glossary of cooks’ tools and ingredients.

The remaining chapters consist of compartmentalized groups of recipes: soups, pasta and sauces; rice, bulgar and barley; meats; poultry; fish and seafood; vegetables; salads; yeast breads, quick breads; desserts and seasonal menus. All are designed for two diners and take into consideration sodium, cholesterol and sugar contents.

“The Long Life Cookbook is more than a collection of recipes,” states the author, “it is a modern, sensible and satisfying approach to food with an emphasis on freshness and simplicity, dedicated to your good health.”