Weight Watchers Make It in Minutes: Easy Recipes in 15, 20, and 30 Minutes Review

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(More customer reviews)First, I do enjoy this cookbook. Everything I have made from it has been wonderful, and if you like the recipes in "Simply the Best: 250 Prizewinning Family Recipes" then I think you will like the recipes in this book. They are slightly more gourmet and less homey than the recipes in "Simply the Best," so if "Simply the Best" was pushing the edge of the exotic envelope for you, then you might prefer a different WW cookbook than this one for your next purchase.
The book is organized into three color-coded sections (15 minute, 20 minute, and 30 minutes) and each section is organized into breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes. Many of the lunch recipes would also work well for dinner or as part of dinner. This is the sort of cookbook that you will enjoy sitting down with and sticking post-it notes to promising recipes.
However, I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 because the preparation times for the recipes are frequently deceptive. They are not the times for fixing these recipes from start to finish, they assume that you have already performed your preps. So, a 30 minute recipe might not include the time for pulling all of the ingredients out of the pantry and refrigerator, and tasks such as slicing raw chicken breasts or steak into strips, chopping onions, mincing garlic, chopping parsley, or peeling, deseeding, and slicing cucumbers. The cookbook "Desperation Dinners" by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross (not a lowfat cookbook), for example, is truly a 20 minute start-to-finish recipe cookbook; this one is not, although in most cases the actual time will not be too much more than the stated time. One exception is the Apricot Glazed Pork Skewers with Mango Quinoa, which is supposed to be ready in 30 minutes. Even if your preps are all ready ahead of time I think you'd be hard-pressed to prepare this dish in under 45 minutes. The 30 minutes includes thinly slicing 1-1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin and threading it onto 12 skewers, which alone took me a good 15 minutes.
One thing I like about this cookbook is that it finally got me to try cooking with Fat-Free Half-and-Half, and I have been very pleased with the recipes that use this, such as a Creamy Cauliflower Soup (saute leeks in a little olive oil, add frozen cauliflower and canned chicken broth, simmer, puree, then finish with FF Half-and-Half, nutmeg, and S&P). My favorites recipes in this book, so far, are the Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Greek Chicken Pasta Toss, Chicken with Spicy Marmalade Glaze, Chicken Tacos with Salsa Verde Cream, and Sesame Glazed Shrimp with Snow Peas and Baby Corn.

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Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight : 150+ Restaurant Favorites to Make at Home--All 8 POINTS or Less Review

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(More customer reviews)This may be the best book published under the Weight Watchers' umbrella. It is a wonderful collection of favorite recipes from eight culinary genres. Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Italian, Greek, Japanese and Deli cuisine is featured. I love food (that's my problem) and delights such as General Tso's Chicken, Chicken Saltimbocca, Spanakopita, Shrimp Pad Thai and Moo Goo Gai Pan are now healthy, tasty and guiltless. You will not believe that these recipes are all 8 points or less. What is even more remarkable is that the family or guests will not suspect that these recipes came from Weight Watchers. This is a great leap forward for Weight Watchers as it makes the most popular restaurant meals not only available in your home, but healthy and delicious.
The book, unlike some earlier Weight Watchers' cookbooks, is very well laid out. The chapters are color coded and the index is arranged by cooking cuisine, with the recipes listed alphabetically. There are many beautiful illustrations as well. Many of the recipes come with a box called Clever Cook's Tips that give the user some useful suggestions, techniques and recipe substitutions.
You don't have to be a Weight Watchers' client to appreciate this book. The recipes are just good, dieting or not! Buy this one...you won't be disappointed.

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Now you can have take-out tonight and every night and still lose weight!Craving Chinese, Mexican, Thai, or even Japanese for dinner? No problem and no need to worry about the fat and calories thanks to Take-Out Tonight! Based on the Weight Watchers Winning Points® weight loss plan, Take-Out Tonight! serves up more than 150 mouthwatering recipes that reinvent all of America's most-loved take-out dishes -- all 8 POINTS or less! Few people consider, before they stop in for take-out or pick up the phone to call for delivery, how these made-to-order meals fit into their lives if they're trying to lose weight. Truth is, they don't. So let Take-Out Tonight! help you prepare healthy, delicious meals for you and your family using the smart cooking hints people have come to expect from Weight Watchers cookbooks. Take-Out Tonight! includes:CHINESE CLASSICS, like Shrimp-and-Pork Wontons, Chinese Barbecued Pork, and Szechuan Chicken with Peanuts • MEXICAN MUST-HAVES, like Family-Style Chicken Enchiladas, Chimichurri Steak with Jicama Salsa, and Nachos Supreme • DELI SPECIALS, like Crunchy Chicken Salad Wraps, Reuben Sandwiches, and Crumb-Topped Jumbo Bran Muffins • TOTALLY THAI, like Shrimp Pad Thai and Coconut Rice Pudding • ITALIAN DELIGHTS, like Pizza with the Works, Spaghetti and Meatballs, and CannoliEach recipe offers easy how-tos, tips, and complete nutritional information, as well as POINTS per serving. With Take-Out Tonight! there's really no reason to order out -- so get cooking!

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30-Minute Meals Review

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(More customer reviews)Rachael Ray shows us how to make healthy dishes from basic, fresh ingredients in, ideally, 30 minutes or less. Unlike her later 30 minute meal books, this first in the series does not group two or more dishes into meals which can take less than a half an hour to prepare. This is largely because the book was written before Rachael showed up on the Food Network show of the same name, which introduced the 3 course meal format. In spite of this timing, almost all of the dishes in this book have shown up on early seasons of Rachael's show.
In many ways, the grouping of dishes by type rather than by meal is an advantage, making it easier to match up different pasta and salad courses on different days. The drawback is that you have no hints on how to coordinate your time in preparing the three dishes at one time, although this is not exactly rocket science.
The main chapter headings / dish types are:
Pastas29 dishes
Salads28 dishes, some suitable as main course salads
Take out lookalike 39 dishes, primarily burgers, sandwiches, pizza, Tex-Mex, and Asian lookalikes
Comfort Foods 34 dishes such as chilis, sauces, soups, and casseroles
Full meals 5 menus for small party (8 to 12) quick cooking
Meatballs 5 recipes
I believe it is an important symptom of one of Rachael's main objectives that many of her dishes are named after family members. She presents the great Italian love of food and family together when you don't have Nona and three aunts at home all day to do all the prep work and braising.
One recent book on cooking traditional recipes slowly to recapture both the joy and flavors of this cooking makes the suggestion that Rachael's style of cooking is too hectic and has too little flavor. While the first has an element of truth, I say it does not remove the `Joy of Cooking'. It actually rescues it from the drive in take out window. On the latter point, this author if plainly wrong. I compared Rachael's Caesar Salad to a recipe from Martha Stewart and Rachael's was superior in taste, as Miss Martha really overloaded her dish with raw garlic.
It is very fortunate that the cuisine on which Ms. Ray's food is largely Italian, as the Italian cuisine has spent centuries perfecting the concentration of flavor in foods such as balsamic vinegar, cheeses, hams, and tomato concentrates, all of which are available in first class products at the local American supermarket.
The only drawback to using these products and prepackaged meats and vegetables is that you may be paying more for the same meal than if slower, prep intensive recipes were used. For thirty-something parents who are in the early middle of their career, this cost is probably inconsequential when compared to the benefits. It is certainly both economically and nutritionally inconsequential when compared to the fast food fare.
I have a lot of respect of Rachael's not overloading the book with suggestions for the pantry. Stocking up a pantry without specific recipes is a waste of time and money. I also strongly suggest the reader play close attention to the tips on knife use. Very important.
I'm afraid Rachal's recommendations on equipment are not helpful. One look at her Food Network show and you may see a Dutch oven, two large saute pans, a grill pan, and a blender in action at one time. Don't scrimp on the pots and pans. Do what Rachael does, not what she says in this department. I will give her credit for getting by with just one very good knife.
Rachael is not Mario or Martha or Emeril. She is teaching you how to do it fast, without loosing the fun and the flavor. As always, the price of the book is very right. Enjoy yourself!

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Rachael Ray's fans can't seem to get enough of the wonderful recipes featured on her television show, 30-Minute Meals.

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Low-Cholesterol Cookbook For Dummies Review

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(More customer reviews)Many of us make resolutions for the New Year. Some we keep and others are hard to stick to. I did not have a choice about lowering my cholesterol. I just didn't know how to go about it. I found myself in the Dummies section of the bookstore, and reached for Molly Siple's book - Low Cholesterol Cookbook for Dummies. I started skimming through it and the recipes sounded delicious and easy. I purchased the book and am eager to share the news that I have lost 4 lbs in two weeks. Not only are the recipes easy to follow, but the ingredients are all available in my local market. No mystery foods. It is astonishing how quick some of the meals are to prepare, and I just love Molly's little tips on what type dish to serve it in and even how to cut up a mango. I am having my cholesterol levels checked in February and will report my success then.

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