Inside shape: how our lowfat recipes pass the taste test - ShapeYourLife News

Shape, Dec, 2003 by Amy Goldhammer

It's noon and the Shape staff is neither at their desks nor at lunch. Where are they? In the lunchroom assembled for a food test.

While the recipes that appear in Shape have to be healthful (no more than 35 percent fat, low in salt, high in vitamins, rich in good carbs, fiber and phytochemicals), the food also has to taste good. So once a month, Gregory Epstein, a Santa Monica, Calif., chef and food stylist, prepares the recipes we're planning to feature, and we all get to dive in and give the dishes a thumbs up--or return them to the kitchen.

"I'll try anything," declares senior editor Nancy Gottesman, who is responsible for our Lowfat & Easy column and frequent nutrition features. But while the staff might try all the tempting dishes, not every recipe will make it into the magazine. "Too watery," is the consensus on an orange smoothie. So back to the blender it goes for a helping of honey and almonds. Another editor skeptically eyes a chickpea salad, then, after trying the hearty dish, exclaims, "Who'd have thought chickpeas could taste so good!"

The result of a successful recipe testing is obvious--there are no leftovers. If we love a dish, we figure readers will too.

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Log on to our Web site and find a handy list of all the articles that have appeared in Shape during the past year. You'll find it at Shape.com/2003index.

PHOTOGRAPHY: (LEFT) RONI RAMOS; (RIGHT) DAVID PRINCE.