Do you think cooking is a viable form of recovery instead of alchemy or restoration? I've been toying with a shield and sword warrior on expert that doesn't use alchemy or restoration (to minimise level gains) or any h/m/s potions he finds but instead just relies on the good old cook pot. 5x salmon steak or rabbit haunch is 0.5 weight and heals 25 health just like a minor healing potion, while vegetable soup and venison stew are great for combat and exploring in general. Apple and Cabbage Stew weighs 0.5 and heals 15 stam and 10 hp so its a good mid-combat food.

Anyone else tried something like this? With the new recipes in hearthfire and dragonborn there are a couple of good new options, such as Steamed Mudcrab Legs which weigh 0.1 but heal 12hp, so 5x is equal to 60hp healing potion. Juniper Berry Crostata heals 2hp per second for 60s, etc.

Do you think this is something can be reliably done?

Yes. I think cooking is a very viable playstyle in place of alchemy.

Yes cooking is viable for health etc i have a bunch of food i have picked up from the world and it has saved me more than once.

Cooking can give you some great buffs as well as heals. You might also try carrying harvested alchemy ingredients to snack on as well? ...or getting married....?