Check out Jaimie Oliver's Food Revolution book.
I made a few dishes over the past two weeks and they have all been easy, tasty, and healthy.
He's also hosting a reality show of the same name. Good stuff!
If you want an excellent beginner's cookbook, I would recommend Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. The recipes are all really simple and designed for someone just starting out cooking. I cook something out of it at least once a week.
I've recommended this before in another thread but the Jamie Oliver "Ministry of Food" book is good as a starter, It's aim is to getanyone cooking within 24hrs. You could probably get it on amazon. You can it's http://www.amazon.com/Jamies-Food-Revolution-Rediscover-Affordable/dp/1401323596/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262439357&sr=8-3 but it's got a different name for the US.
I'm not sure if you ever heard of Jamie Oliver before, but it's a great story. He's a chef that cooks with fresh, natural ingredients and they really only take about 30min to make. Easy stuff. So, he helped to change the British school system from processed foods over to natural foods so they would not eat like crap and live longer. Great story.
There is an ABC special called Food Revolution and they tried to do the same thing in West Virginia. I suggest you watch it, it's a touching show, so you can get some ideas about eating healthier and stuff like that. He's got a cookbook that's really nice too.
Jamie's Food Revolution with delicious recipes
Good luck my friend. Just go to the farmer's market in your area and pick up fresh fruit and vegetables to start out. You should do just fine. I eat a piece of fruit every morning and just find something healthy in either Jamie's cookbook or the Betty Crocker Healthy Cookbook.
Get yourself a Crock-Pot (like $20-30) so you can make a ton of stuff, and make leftovers to take to work, it helps to make healthy lunches, and saves $$$$.
OK, I'm done.