Book Review: Kosher By Design Lightens Up by Susie Fishbein

BIG THANKS to Goldy and Mesorah Publications for my copy of the book!

Kosher By Design Lightens Up by Susie Fishbein

Published by Mesorah Publications

Rating: 4.5 stars

I am already a big fan of Susie Fishbein’s cookbooks and I’m glad to say that her latest one, Kosher By Design Lightens Up, does not disappoint. You definitely don’t need to be kosher to appreciate these recipes however I do keep a kosher home so this book was especially practical for me.

For starters, the colorful photographs alone are beautiful and looked very appetizing! The recipes are all very healthy, as promised, but most importantly their taste is not compromised because of it. All recipes that were attempted turned out really well, such as the wheat germ crusted chicken cutlets and the teriyaki butternut squash rounds.

The book includes a great deal of helpful information about nutrition. There is a section that explains supermarket labels, another with clear definitions of food-related items and even a chart listing superfoods with their properties and health benefits. I also really liked the section describing gadgets for healthy cooking. There was clearly a lot of research done for this book which I really appreciated. Another fun part of the book is the ideas provided for entertaining, such as hosting a tasting party and having a spritzer bar.

My mom also loved the cookbook and here are some of her thoughts on it:

“The informational and educational aspects of this cookbook are astounding!”

“The side dishes are especially unique and tasty”

“Some recipes have an international flare to them and they combine ingredients that you wouldn’t have thought of pairing together but the results are wonderful”


The only problem that I had with the recipes was that many of them have nuts, which I needed to try to find substitutes for because there is a nut allergy in the family. Asides from that I really enjoyed this book’s recipes and all of the valuable nutritional information provided.