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Proceed with caution.
This book is quite good in theory and does include many helpful ideas about advance planning and freezer cooking. But using it requires some awareness and caution. If you or anyone you cook for has food allergies, sensitivities or other dietary concerns, or if you like real food and not synthetics, you may want to edit the recipes found here. Many of them call for pudding mixes, store-bought piecrust, canned soups and even Cheez Whiz, an artificial product made of hydrogenated fat and chemicals. What particularly troubled me was the author's proclamation, "I HATE to cook!" A little disquieting from someone writing a cookbook. Both Debbie Taylor-Hough and Jonni McCoy have realistic, helpful guidance in their books on advance meal planning and freezer cooking for families as well as for people without children. And both of them give great advice for doing all of this within a limited food budget. Even better, look for any cookbook by Mollie Katzen, who loves to cook and whose books communicate her real enjoyment of food preparation. She uses real, whole food in her recipes, which anyone can easily follow because her directions are so clear and understandable. Best to learn from someone who truly loves her craft rather than from someone who "hates" it! Everyday cooking for everyday people 30 Day Gourmet is a wonderful cookbook for every day people. It does not lock you into a set grocery and meal plan but leaves the choices up to you. Ingredients are readily available and many "healthy" substitutes are suggested for those looking for healthy alternatives. I teach freezer cooking to many in my area and this book is the only one I recommend. If you have this book it gives you tools and guidelines to help you add any recipe you choose in the future. But with all the recipes on their website, and the e-books and newsletters you will not run out anytime soon. Please don't write a review if you don't have an IQ! You know, folks... I have never read this book, and I find the video a little annoying.... HOWEVER.... I am a father of five with a VERY busy wife, and this book has been instrumental in helping her get a handle on managing our home. Further, she has been able to mentor and assist other busy moms using this system. The facts in the case are without dispute: properly done, this will save you money, it will keep your family from starving to death (or subsiding on mac & cheese & hot dogs - or worse), it will save you time, when you take these recipies to potlucks or serve them to company you WILL be complimented, and except for the exceedingly picky and annoying ones, your kids will devour this stuff! DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK if you are afraid of working hard one day a month, are a total moron, need a book to dictate what you eat each day, or have odd delusions that cookbooks should all contain tofu recipies and should sit on the shelf to impress your health-nut friends while you secretly engorge yourself on Big Macs. Also, if you're trying to lose weight, just package the stuff in smaller containers - the secret to weight loss is putting less in the old pie hole, Einstein! In short, if you are sane, have taste buds, have normal friends, live a normal life, etc., etc.... you should really take a serious look at this. It has taken part in maintaining sanity in our family, and it may just do the same for you. Great Book for Cooking Ahead Meals!!!! I find that with any cookbook there are some recipes you are not going to appreciate as much as others. However, I must say this book and the other items produceds by the 30-Day Gourmet publications are well researched and complimentary to each other. The Healty Meals and Lunches books available offer more recipes to add to the numerous in the book itself. There is nothing problematic about the recipes as they all work the way they are suppose to and appeal to differing tastes. Cooking for a variety of people as we do in our family, many of them foster children, it is easy to get even the pickiest eater to find something they like. Making the recipes healthy is not destroyed by occasional pre-packaged food, which can be substituted if your tastes dictate. Besides the software offered to compliment this book making the shopping lists, activities lists and appliances lists very easy to obtain, dealing with the company and its representatives is easy. Keep up the great work! Awsome, information, filled book! This is a wonderful book to help you get started with freezer cooking. Everything is laid out very simple and easy to understand. If your thinking about trying cooking OAM this is deffinitly what you need. | |
