Three cookbooks for a healthier new year

If you’re making healthier, calorie-cutting changes to your diet in the new year, here are a few new cookbooks to consider.

• “Raw Energy in a Glass” by Stephanie Tourles (Storey, $16.95) – “Ample consumption of pure liquids is extremely important for maintaining superb health: plain, purified water, fresh-pressed juices, teas or blended beverages consisting of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds or other green leafy plants.” So starts chapter one – “Liquid is Vital to Life” – of Tourles’ latest book on raw energy. The slim, soft-cover volume is divided into two parts: the basics and the recipes. The basics make an argument for raw foods, juicing and blending, and include a primer on super-foods: fruits, berries, veggies, herbs and spices. Of the 13 chapters, 10 are dedicated to recipes for smoothies and other raw beverages. There are 126 in all, including Strawberry-Almond Milk, Cucumber-Apple-Spinach Cleanser, Mango-Lime-Blueberry Blast, Watermelon-Grape Antioxidant Fusion, Watermelon-Cuke Refreshment and Almond White Russian. Drinks are organized by type and ingredients: nut and seed milks, green smoothies, blended salads, raw shots, mocktails and more. Each is topped with an introduction and ends with a listing of nutrients. The Watermelon-Cuke Refreshment, for example, is a good source of antioxidants and vitamin C. The design is bright and fresh, with crisp whites, greens and cut-out images of ingredients, like almonds and slices of peaches and pears.

• “The Fasting Cookbook” by Angela Dowden (Hamlyn, $16.99) – This lean, softbound book describes the benefits of intermittent fasting as well as what to expect when consuming 500 or 600 calories per day for two days in a row. The 5:2 approach to weight loss – five days of normal eating and two days on restricted calories – works as long as dieters don’t significantly overcompensate during the remaining five days, the author advises. Women get 500 calories during fasting days; men, 600. Both should be sure to consume lean protein and stay well-hydrated, but avoid the empty calories of many store-bought juices, according to the book. It includes 100 recipes for 100-, 200- and 300-calorie meals as well as a listing of 50- and 100-calorie snacks. Recipes are broken down by meal type, including dessert, and most are accompanied by photos. Helpful meal planners chart calorie counts and entrée options for breakfast, dinner and a lunchtime snack. Recipes include smoothies, red pepper and ginger soup, coconut and butternut soup, hot and sour mushroom soup, baked portobello mushrooms, red snapper with baked tomatoes and orangey baked nectarines.

• “ New Complete Cookbook” by Weight Watchers (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $29.99) – Brightly colored tabs help organize the more than 500 recipes packed into this five-ring binder. Its 16 chapters are well-organized; each includes its own index of recipes on the tabbed divider. Recipes are also indexed by Weight Watchers points as well as alphabetically in the back of the book. Points, calories and nutritional information are listed with each recipe. Gluten-free and classic Weight Watchers recipes are also noted. Chapters cover 20-minute mains, meat-centered mains, slow-cooker staples, soups, salads, breakfast and brunch, beverages and appetizers, veggie, grain and pasta sides, and more. Look for Fig and Anise Flaxseed Muffins, Roasted Kale Chips, Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup, Pork Chops with Golden Onions and Prunes, Herbed Oven-Fried Chicken, and Asparagus, Arugula and Mint Salad. The cooking school section in the back features an illustrated guide to techniques like basic knife skills, cleaning leeks and peeling and deveining shrimp. There are also sample menus and a guide to “entertaining with ease.” But there aren’t many photos. Each chapter includes only four or five.