 Good beginner's book |
| Review Date: July 23, 2010 |
| Reviewer: A. Thompson, Dallas, TX USA |
| As someone who did not know how to dice an onion a month and a half ago, this book gave me some basic and tasty recipes that are simple to make and loved in our home such as the spicy sweet potato fries, crab tostadas, and tortilla soup. I've since learned how to handle a knife, and thanks to youtube videos, I can now dice an onion and julienne a bell pepper and a lot more. So I'll be moving on in my quest for new recipes, but some of the dishes in this book will remain a permanent fixture in our home. Recommended. |
Where has this been all my life!!!!
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| Review Date: May 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Ann M. Smith, Madison, WI |
As a working mom, I don't think I'm alone in feeling like "if only someone would tell me what to make for dinner, I wouldn't mind cooking". This book not only does that, it gives me a grocery list for each week's menus. I simply make a copy of the list, cross off what I already have at home and head off to the store! Knowing that we have a plan and all the ingredients are at home means no last minute stops at the grocery store or fast food for dinner.
Our family consists of my husband who is diabetic, a teenager who is trying to be a vegitarian and myself. Between work, school and family obligations we found ourselves grabbing fast food or going out to eat several times a week. Now with minimal planning we can have healthy meals at home. There are so many quick recipes in this book that we can often find a meal to fit into those nights where we are on the go or coming home late.
I have recommended this book to so many family and friends. These healthy recipes would be valuable to any family, not only those with a diabetic member. |
Excellent resource!
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| Review Date: October 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: H. Roberts, Puyallup, WA |
So glad portion sizes are included on these recipes, and I love that it comes with the credibility of both a dietitian and a chef.
Lot's of great ideas with both a nutrition label for actual carbs listed and exchanges for those who do either carb counting or exchanges. |
For the working woman with a family...
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| Review Date: October 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. Wilson, Indiana |
| I highly recommend this book especially if you are a working woman with a family, such as I am. The convenience of the shopping list is time saving. The selection of the food has been excellent. The recipes are easy to follow. I look over the instructions, find one that fits my time frame for that particular day, or the item that strikes my fancy, and with minimal prep time, we have a tasty, healthy meal that my diabetics can trust and enjoy. I no longer have to scan my cabinets after a long day, looking for something that goes together for dinner. I look forward to making these dishes: the many fresh ingredients, and flavor combinations give a good variety. No more "food ruts." My husband brought it to his dietician, who was very impressed, and is recommending it to others. |
Great idea...Updated review 7/30/2010
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| Review Date: September 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Tiffany M., Phoenix, AZ |
I bought this cookbook when my husband was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I have been using it now for 4 weeks, and there are some good points and bad. I really like the idea, and having a weekly grocery list pre-prepared is great. Some of the recipes are rather bland, but overall easy. I have found some really good ones too, we especially like the side dish recipes. I do have 2 big complaints: I wonder if some of the recipes were ever tried by the author. For example, the recipe for Greek Lemon Chicken and rice has a marinade for the chicken that is then supposed to be cooked to a boil to use as a sauce, the recipe yielded so little marinade it barely covered the chicken much less left enough over to create a sauce. My 2nd big complaint is there are a few recipes where cooking temperatures and times have been left out.
Updated Review 7/30/2010.
So we have been using this cookbook I would say 75% of the time for almost a full year, and I stand by my original review of 3 stars maybe even going down to 2 1/2 stars. I still really like the idea of having a years worth of recipes planned out, with meals and shopping lists organized a week at a time. Taste wise most of the recipes are good, the ones I did not like were more to do with personal tastes and preference than recipe. The side dish recipes are still my favorite. Along with with the sandwich recipes, there is a portabello/red pepper sandwich that my husband absolutely loves. Health wise, my husband has dropped from pre-diabetic to a normal blood sugar range. But, he did also take up a very stringent exercise regime of running 3 miles a day, etc.
Now for my complaints. As far as meal planning goes, this book has some major flaws. There are several times, as mentioned in my original review where cook times, temperatures, and 1 time method were omitted. It was not uncommon for ingredients to be left out of recipes and shopping lists. For instance, final step might say something like now serve dish over brown rice, yet no where in the recipe did it call for cooking brown rice, nor did the shopping list have brown rice on it. Brown rice is not something that can just be whipped up, should have been step number 1. First time this happen I put it to poor editting, the second time and third time it made me wonder if it wasn't on purpose. I know the author is trying to get the meals to meet certain dietary measurements, so were these steps/ingredients omitted to meet these measurements?
My next complaint is portion sizes. Some meals had huge portions with side dishes, some meals had small portions and no side dishes. Again I believe this has to do with the dietary measurements the author was trying to make, but what good is a meal with just a main dish? An unhealthy side dish can totally negate any benefit of a healthy main dish. Luckily, I keep a staple of vegetables in my pantry, and freezer so when I came across one of the meals without any side dishes I could pull one of those out, but then I had to wonder if I was cancelling out the benefits of the author's dietary measurements.
Of the recipes that called for any type of marinade or sauce, I would say if you followed them exactly, 90% did not produce a marinade or sauce to cover even half of the dish. I was always prepared to double the amount if necessary. I might want to add that many consider it to be a bad idea, cross contamination wise, to reuse a marinade as a sauce, but this author called for doing just that several times.
If you purchase this book just be aware that it is not as "easy" as it appears. You have to check the recipes to the shopping lists, and skim the steps to check for those omitted items. Plus, make sure you have items on hand for those recipes that are main dish only. |
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