The art of health

When Art Smith "tipped the scales at 325 pounds" several years ago, he signed on with a health coach who got him "walking, biking and eating right." The man "made me sweat, made me curb my out-of-control appetite, and taught me the value of a healthful lifestyle."

In his self-help-cookbook hybrid "Art Smith's Healthy Comfort: How America's Favorite Celebrity Chef Got It Together, Lost Weight, and Reclaimed His Health," the slimmed-down restaurateur describes recent shifts in his personal diet. 

He reminds us to eat "foods as close to their whole and most natural states" as possible, offering ideas and recipes for dishes that are delicious and nutritious.

Breakfast might mean steel-cut oats with Greek yogurt and blueberries, for example, or soft-poached eggs with a root vegetable hash. Lunch could be a bowl of yellow tomato gazpacho, three-bean turkey chili or miso corn chowder. Salads and seafood feature prominently among his choices as well.

Smith ("Back to the Table: The Reunion of Food and Family") includes brief sections on everyday habits, too, giving common-sense advice on cooking oils and such.

And though name-dropping in the narrative (Oprah Winfrey is a client, President Obama is a neighbor in Chicago) occasionally gets annoying, it detracts little from Smith's overall goal: to provide a practical framework for good, healthful eating. 

(A version of this review appeared originally at Publishers Weekly.)

Bliss

Fruit bliss.