At first glance of this cookbook, I thought "wow! This is WONDERFUL! Such a pretty cookbook" However, a little more reading made me disappointed in things that are lacking...so I'd like to touch on both positive and negatives and allow you to make your own decision.Incidentally, It always makes me leery when the majority of good reviews do not have the "Amazon verified purchase" stamp on them--especially when the review says they ordered the book but the lack of the "Amazon verified Purchase" stamp on the review dictates they did not. I'm not saying the reviewers are connected to the book company or author and didn't really order the book, but this book had so many funky dishes that it's the one case where I can't say I didn't wonder...just sayin'.
Positives: Really well produced. This book has photographs of almost every single dish on rich glossy stock paper right there next to the recipe. Nice touch. Really helps you not only see the finished product but also serving suggestions as well. Nice compact size too.
Not just low calorie, but low fat too. Nice.
Tasty dishes are included such as turkey sliders (but, um...here's the thing...the calorie count is without the bun so it might should be called turkey patty :-) ), smoked ham pita (yes, this one includes the pita in the calorie count), mini rice krispie treats (basically regular rice krispie treats, but cut to be tiny--but a good idea for a sweet fix), scottish oatmeal scones ( I want to make these; they look so good, but I have yet to find the "graham flour" you need in any grocery. I tried it with regular flour and wheat and didn't like the results), baby arugula blood orange and blue cheese salad, watermelon and feta salad, dirty rice,stuffed zucchini boats, etc. mmmm. all yummy
Negatives: But...aw, darn it...here's the thing that I wished had not been part of this otherwise wonderful treat of a book ( I mean, 100 calorie dishes! yahoo! You can eat lots of these and graze all day without guilt!)
First, I gotta say my honey and I both have a really weird-food-loving-diverse palette. But still...there are some dishes in here even WE wouldn't touch or, if we would, they sure aren't "cravable" so I thought I'd list the dishes and you can decide...Afterall, that would be fine if there were so many dishes that your choices were massive, but there are just around 200 recipes which is one per page...I will say one of her recipes has, in the description "Inspired by a recipe from a pal, this mixture has a flavor that most people have a hard time wrapping their brain around." See, to me, I might think that might be one I'd leave out of the cookbook if I need to start out saying that...but...Everyone's palette is different so it's best you make your own opinion:
here are some of the recipes in the book that I, personally, would rather eat a rice cake then cook:
*deviled eggs with capers, anchovies, and olives
*smoked trout on finn crisp crackers
*smoked trout with horseradish
*tomatoes and vodka (you dont drink the vodka. ha ha; you just mix *tomatoes with vodka and curry powder. that's it. wha? )
*pickled cherries ( I would need that shot of vodka to eat pickled cherries. Or I'd need to win something really good in a bet.)
*pickled carrots with carroway (just in case the cherries didn't cure your pickled food cravings. p.s. say that recipe name 10 times fast for fun.)
*smoked salmon ak-mok
*spicy sesame nori cottage cheese (for those who haven't tried it, nori is black seaweed. I like it on sushi)
*garlicky asparagus with anchovy
*sardines with mustard
(oh, how she does love her some seafood and raw seafood in a good deal of these dishes...just not my personal snack favorite. But I can't speak for everyone)
*wasa crackers with cream cheese and radishes (not odd, just bland)
*smoked salmon nori
*watermelon saandwiches
*smoked salmon tartare
*smoked salmon with asparagus and cucumbers
*scallops seviche (sic...author misspelled this, not me)
(oooo more seafood you dont cook..who needs to spend the time for snack treats, I guess, right?! **giggles**Actually, I like scallops ceviche but, again, I have weird tastes and I think most people would prefer to cook em.)
*avocado and shrimp seviche (more uncooked seafood...)
*ginger tofu
*green beans and tofu ( I like uncooked tofu but not over green beans with vinegar and I'm weird like that anyway)
*tea poached prunes (just stick those prunes in some tea and slurp em up!)
*strawberries with balsamic vinegar and black pepper
*date smoothie (why use bananas and strawberries when ya got dates, right?)
*lemony green and white beans with anchovy paste
*oven roasted parsnips
bok choy with sesame
*candied jalapeno peppers
*chutney stuffed jalapeno peppers
*horshradish yogurt dip
*and the ever-favorite chocolate spoons (really? seriously? the recipe is to melt chocolate and dip a spoon in it and then lick it? seriously? that's a recipe? **giggles** Ya think anyone will guess your secret ingredient here...just sayin...) that's just a sampling of a few things I don't care to pack in my lunchkit. And there's only one recipe per page in the book so there's not a large sampling, in my opinion, of enough other goodies.
Hmmm...just thought of something else. Another negative? I personally don't like to see cookbooks with odd ingredients that not everyone will have easy access to. That's just me...we're lucky to be near several natural food stores in Austin so I am often able to find even odd things but it should be noted as not everyone is going to easily find some of her ingredients needed even in a natural grocery or perhaps not be in the mood to make a special trip if that's not your everyday grocery store so it should be noted I think what some of the recipes call for:
*nori
*farro
*non-fat greek yogurt
*seaweed sheets
* beet greens
*fish sauce
*rice noodles
*lemon grass stalks
*vietnamese chli paste
*pitted medjool dates
*olive paste
*black turtle beans
*mestemacher
*bulgur wheat
*powdered wasabi, ( I can get regular wasabi but can't find powdered)
*shelled fava beans
*fresh jalapenos and chipotles (easy to find here in Texas. Not so everywhere else)
*wheat bran
*craisins
*ground flaxseed
*Marcona almonds...I could go on and on...Yeah, it's not your everyday "what I have in my pantry" cookbook. But these may very well BE in your pantry. At least you can guage. It's up to you whether that's ok or not.
Also, many of the recipes are for drinks rather than things to eat, such as to add honey and vanilla to a glass of milk, or blueberries and lemon juice to green tea, or maple syrup and lemon juice to water (I tried this one. "Not so much"...it won't be a repeat try, I'm sad to say. :-) Liquid calories just aren't as filling for me personally but drink recipes may be something others would like included.
There are recipes in here I do like even if totally simple that remind you of snack ideas to help you shake things up a bit and get variety in your diet, even if just putting pb and j on a ricecake or ham and cheese on a pita or craisins on celery...not really recipes but good ideas from her. She also has a "recipe" for hollowing out the bread in a bagel and putting cheese on top. Another "recipe" she calls black and white edame is this: put salt and pepper on edamame. That's it...She could have listed recipes like this with several recipes per page rather than using a whole page for the above recipe of cheese on a hollow bagel or salt and peppering a vegetable for example (there are lots of 2 ingredient recipes which is good for ideas but dont need to take up the whole page in my humble opinion)...but the great idea fell flat with not making so many of the foods ones you crave everyday and can share with the whole family or friends. Will I keep it? Maybe so. I like even some of the odd recipes in here. but mostly the ones I like are just simple like cucumber sandwiches that I don't really need a recipe for but that reminds me of good low calorie ideas when I can't think of something.
I'm more likely to just tear out the ten or so recipes or ideas I like and put them in my recipe binder. Do I think most people will find it keepable? Probably not. I eat lots of fish and vegetables and that's a good deal of my diet. But I'm observant enough to know the majority of America isn't on a mediterranean diet and even if you scrap all the fish and raw fish dishes, isn't going to find putting peanut butter and honey on kashi cheddar crackers, or dipping pretzel sticks into a tiny tiny bit of chocolate a "recipe"...but if you, instead, take those recipes as good reminders of how to bring new ideas to your snacks...AND you have a diverse palette, well then maybe it would be worth it.
Hopefully this is enough of my own personal overview to help you decide if it's best for you. You may love all of the above...if so, now you know!
I love some of this cookbook, I love the idea of it mostly...but hope maybe there will be an improved follow up. The idea was good. the photography and style was good. But, sadly, I think it will not reach the appeal of a large audience...though it will provide a few new low cal snack ideas even so. I have a cookbook that has 200 calorie recipes that I use very often so I had thought this would be a favorite book of mine...but most of the recipes are for things I personally don't want to try, or I can't find the ingredients for them, or it's too simple of a recipe...Read more›
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