The Skinny On Cookbooks

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Eating at home can save you some cash. But a study warns that relying on cookbooks to prepare food can be a recipe for disaster -- in terms of calories.

The study says while restaurants often take the blame for portion distortion, cookbook recipes have done some supersizing of their own.

The study looked at how classic recipes have changed during the past 70 years. It found a nearly 40-percent increase in calories per serving for nearly every recipe reviewed. That's about an extra 77 calories.

The study identified the trend in numerous cookbooks, but it focused on American kitchen icon "Joy of Cooking," first published during the '30s and regularly updated with new editions since then.

The study appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine.