You're already received some very sound advice... While I can't suggest any cookbooks, I can offer some of the tips I've learned since hubby had his heart attack and strokes ( high blood pressure and high cholesterol )... First things first... If he's unable to go back to work you are going to be under a LOT of stress... Try to finds ways to cope... You won't be much help to him if you get sick too... (ask me how I know) What I found to be the most valuable was keeping track of every thing he ate for a week or two... Every slice of bread, every sip of pop, everything... I made up a chart and kept track of the sodium and fats... ( I used a booklet called Nutritive Value of Foods from the U.S. Publishing Office that I picked up years ago. ) It wasn't all that hard, since he's home all the time, and I found out that I was actually keeping him below his limits ( had him down to 500 mg of sodium and 15 to 20 g of fat a day, way too low for a man )... Check with your hubby's doctor or a good nutritionist to find out his limits... After you find out his limits and total up what he eats you'll be able to cook healthy for him... Try not to refer to it as a diet.... It's best if you think about it as healthy eating, cutting back on the bad stuff and increasing the good stuff... Cut back to 3 or 4 oz, total, of meat a day and double up on veggies & fruits... If he has favorite foods that he says he can't live without, that are bad for him, just limit the amounts or how often he has them... Totally eliminating something will only make him want it more and create more problems, mainly resentment and anger towards you. Keep plenty of fruits on hand for snacking, cut it up if you have to... Within a few weeks he'll head for the fruit instead of looking for the chips... Fruit juice, with all its calories, is better than pop or coffee ( a lot of caffeine is bad for heart patients ).... Only buy frozen or canned veggies without any added salt... My hubby will only eat canned and I was lucky enough to find a Save-A-Lot store that carries them, for a lot less than the regular chain stores and the quality is just as good or better... Hunt's sells a lot of tomato products without salt, including ketchup... Herb-Ox Low Sodium beef bullion is passable but the chicken is lacking... Read the labels of everything you buy, twice... Read it the first time to check the fat and sodium content then read it again for the serving size, low fat - low salt isn't necessarily so... Take the cooking sprays for example, a serving is a 3 SECOND blast, by the time you say it you're already over the 3 second limit... ( I dab a paper towel with canola oil and wipe the pans with that )... Healthy breads aren't all that healthy for heart patients, the mushy white stuff only has 135 mg of sodium per slice and I've seen 'healthy' bread with as much as 450 mg per slice... You have to really read the labels! You can 'fry' healthy with water... I buy pork loins and beef roasts, trim off the fat and grind it up for patties and 'fry' them with a bit of water... Cover the meat, let the steam do its thing and cook a bit more with the cover off to brown... For 'fried' potatoes I parboil them in the microwave then brown in a frying pan with 2 teaspoons of canola... You have to keep turning or flipping them so they brown evenly but most of the time they look like real fried potatoes... French fries don't work as well... I stay away from prepared foods, as much as possible, because of the fats and sodium... But making everything from scratch can truly be a huge pain, especially when things go wrong from lack of salt or are too dry because you've cut the fats too much... Look for recipes that don't call for much of either ( there's 2,132 mg of sodium in 1 teaspoon of salt, it doesn't matter which kind.. watch out for baking soda, baking powder, MSG, soy sauce, anything that has sodium in the word )... Some times you can substitute apple sauce for some of the fats but don't try removing all of it... MAKE SURE HE TAKES HIS ALL HIS MEDICATIONS! If all your efforts fail to get him on the right track ask him if he'd like to have another heart attack or perhaps a stroke and become totally depend on you for all his daily needs. Rita Above all cultivate your sense of humor, you'll need it to get you through the tough times.

The longer the better for carmelizing. Mmm. NOT early in the morning though. I agree it's a bit much for morning coffee. It still lingered in the air the night i made it. Here's a good recipe. 2 lbs onions (red or sweet), sliced thin;  2 tbs extra virgin olive oil;  6 cups rich beef stock;  ¼ cup unsalted butter;  2 bay leaves;  1 tsp sugar;  1 tsp whole black peppercorns;  ½ cup brandy (optional);  ½ lb gruyere cheese;  1 loaf of crusty Italian or French bread. In a large heavy bottomed skillet heat the butter and oil until it just begins to brown on medium high heat. Add the sliced onions and stir them to coat with the butter and oil. Sprinkle the sugar on top and stir to incorporate sugar. Cook the onions until caramelized to a dark golden brown. That process will take approximately 30 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the brandy (if you omit the brandy deglaze the pan with some of the beef stock). Transfer the mixture to a soup pot and add the beef stock, peppercorns and bay leaf. Allow to simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes to an hour. Ladle the soup into oven safe bowls or crocks. Submerge a well toasted piece of bread in each bowl and cover with the cheese. Put the cheese covered bowl under the broiler until the cheese melts and is browned to the desired level. -by Den on Chowhound

This is a variation of a recipe posted at all recipes by Star Pooley. The changes are mostly in cooking the broth for 2+ hours instead of 30 minutes. Level 1 - Pro/Fat 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 onions chopped 2 cloves of garlic - minced - more if you like about 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley - originally called for an entire bunch of parsley 1 large can of diced tomatoes - originally called for stewed tomatoes * optional(if you like a thicker soup you can include a large can of tomato puree or 1 small can of tomato paste) 1/2 cups dry white wine 2 bottles of clam juice - origanally called for water instead of clam juice 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon of dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dired oregano *optional - 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes - if you like a little kick 1 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp 1 1/2 lbs bay scallops 2+ dozen clams 2+ dozen mussels - cleaned and debearded 1 1/2 cups of crabmeat - I used lump crabmeat 1 1/2 pounds of cod cubed - I used tilapia Over medium-low heat melt butter and add evoo in large stockpot, add onions, garlic and parsley. Stir and cook until onions are tender. Add tomatoes to the onions, then add chicken broth, wine, clam broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme and oregano. Mix well, cover and simmer at least 2 hours. Stir in shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, crabmeat and fish. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer about 7 minutes or until clams open. Serve in bowls and enjoy!

I agree with eating more to lose at times. I try to start the day with some protein, a bread and some fruit. If I don't eat some protein I seem to get hungry sooner. A convenient breakfast for me would be a frozen pancake or waffle, lite sausage links or a piece of ham and a piece of fruit. Sometimes an egg, two strips of bacon and toast. Many times I eat lunch for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Lunch is a tuna sandwich on a roll with a salad's worth of greens on top, Sometimes a roast beef or turkey sandwich or a small burger or a Lean Cuisine meal. I don't care for processed meats. Fruits and veggies as needed for hunger. Dinner is standard meat,veggie and starch but portion controlled. If I eat potatoes, pasta or rice I skip the bread. If I don't, I have bread. Snacks are usually chewy granola bars, fruit and grain bars, fig newtons or occasionally a "good" cookie like oatmeal. I eat ice cream almost every day, but measure out 1/2 cup. For crunch I measure out dry cereal or pretzels. I use sugarfree jello sometimes and clear veggie based soups to fill up when I'm on a "can't stop eating binge". I "trick" my sweet tooth by using healthy choices. For example I will slice a banana on a hot pancake or waffle, sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar and add a dollop of whipped cream...banana cream pie thats good for me. For apple crisp I nuke a sliced apple sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon and sugar and top it with crushed honey nut chex cereal. I don't get enough dairy since I'm not a milk or yogurt person, so I take calcium. I do eat cottage cheese and cheese though. The little Babybell cheeses are a good snack at 70 calories each. That's pretty much how I eat and as long as I don't get carried away with restaurant portions or eating too much fat at one meal it seems to work for me. Anyway thats what I eat. Hope it helps.