Apparently simple, healthy foods are a topic that is drawing publishing heavyweights to start magazines catering to this interest…
New Magazines Rewrite the Book On How to Cook
Publications Proliferate to Offer Advice on Quick and Healthy Food
By Candy Sagon
It was 1987. Diet guru Richard Simmons was the rage, oat bran muffins were the health food of the moment and a new magazine was being launched to take on food heavyweights Gourmet, Bon Appetit and Food & Wine.
The magazine was Cooking Light, and its goal was to present recipes as part of a healthier lifestyle -- a decidedly different approach from those of its competitors, whose focus was on the pleasure of cooking. "We could see a movement in the country toward food and fitness, and we thought we could be successful in that niche," says publisher Chris Allen.
The idea of food to fit a lifestyle turned out to be hugely successful. Cooking Light now sells 1.7 million copies monthly, the largest circulation among the country's top monthly food magazines. (Bon Appetit is No. 2 with 1.3 million, followed by Gourmet at 880,000 and Food & Wine at 840,000.) And the number of publications aimed at helping people cook despite their busy lifestyles is growing. More...
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