Category: Book Reviews

Posted in Book Reviews

Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep Cookbook: Weekly Plans and Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle 

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Fresh, ready-to-go meals for people on the Mediterranean diet

Inspired by the wholesome, heart-healthy lifestyle of the Mediterranean region—and spotlighting regional ingredients like fresh seafood and produce—the Mediterranean diet has become one of the most popular methods of healthy eating. Packed with foolproof meal prep advice and deliciously balanced recipes, the Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep Cookbook makes starting and staying on the Mediterranean diet easy so you can reduce your total time in the kitchen—all while enjoying a lifetime of healthy eating.

Before you get cooking, dig into an overview of the Mediterranean diet principles and health benefits. Master the art of prep with the dos and don’ts of meal planning and helpful storage solutions before jump-starting your diet with 6 weeklong meal preps—each including easy-to-follow recipes and time-saving tips. You’ll find plenty of additional recipes to use as inspiration to customize your own meal prep menus, or even as a foundation for your own creative Mediterranean-style meals.

The Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep Cookbook includes:

  • Guess-free guidance—Take the guesswork out of what to eat with detailed shopping lists and colorful illustrations for essential equipment and grocery shopping tips.
  • Prepped for success—The 6 weeklong meal preps are simplified to keep your kitchen time down, including suggestions for every meal, as well as step-by-step cooking instructions.
  • Mouthwatering Mediterranean—Enjoy a taste of the Mediterranean with 95 delicious, nutritious recipes, including nutritional labels and storage tips.

With the Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep Cookbook, you’ll enjoy healthy, fresh, and fast Mediterranean flavors—without the labor.

Posted in Book Reviews

The 5-Ingredient Dutch Oven Cookbook 

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

One-pot meals, 5-ingredient simple

The Dutch oven is the ultimate secret weapon for simple meals—but what if it could be even simpler? The5-Ingredient Dutch Oven Cookbook is here to deliver, with 101 one-pot Dutch oven recipes that only require 5 main ingredients!

Using just five fresh, flavorful ingredients, this Dutch oven cookbook serves up recipes without the prep and clean-up stress that can get in way of hearty, homemade cooking. Start off your morning with Cinnamon French Toast Casserole or watch your family rush to the dinner table for a Barbecue Beef Brisket they’ll ask for every night. One thing is for sure: whichever recipe you choose, it’s going to be tasty and easy.

Inside The 5-Ingredient Dutch Oven Cookbook, you’ll find:

Dutch oven basics—Learn everything you need to master cooking in your Dutch oven and make homemade meals a breeze.

5-ingredient Dutch oven recipes—Make grocery shopping and cooking a snap with a short list of easy-to-find ingredients—your one-pot wonder will do the rest!

101 family-friendly meals—Whether you serve up classic favorites like Sloppy Joes or mix things up with Teriyaki-Glazed Salmon, this cookbook has you covered for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.

Dutch ovens have helped generations of home cooks serve up delicious, homestyle meals in one pot—and now you can do it with just 5 ingredients.

Posted in Book Reviews

Meal Prep on a Budget

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Tasty, flexible meal prep plans at just $40 per week

Preparing healthy meals in advance is one of the best ways to keep wellness goals on track while saving time and energy. But how do you keep costs down without sacrificing taste or health? Meal Prep on a Budget is a complete resource for creating balanced, delicious meals that are easy to make and easy on the wallet. Discover clear guidance that breaks down exactly what to buy and how to prepare it—for just $40 per week.

  • 4 weeks of plans—Find simple recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day that average $1 to $3 per serving.
  • Room to customize—Every plan offers suggestions for swapping out ingredients that aren’t on hand and includes the flexibility of completing the full week’s meal prep on one day or over two days.
  • Detailed instructions—Each week includes a complete shopping list and step-by-step guidance, so there’s no guesswork involved.
  • Frugal prep 101—Learn how to shop smart, use the same ingredients for multiple recipes, and even how to meal prep for the whole family.

Build healthy habits and stay on budget with the ultimate guided meal planner.

Continue reading “Meal Prep on a Budget” →
Posted in Book Reviews

Essential Spices and Herbs

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

From allspice to za’atar . . . Fifty optimal herbs and spices, as well as ten spice blends, that will transform the way you cook.

 The key to becoming a skilled home cook isn’t about tracking down the perfect recipes or mastering the techniques of professional chefs. It lies in understanding the vast world of flavor, one that can be difficult to navigate.

Essential Spices and Herbs introduces you to the fifty must-know herbs and spices that will take your cooking to the next level. Detailed profiles of these game-changing flavors for the modern kitchen include pairing suggestions, complimentary foods, and noted health benefits, plus recipes to put them to use.

 Acquaint yourself with the aromas and flavors of these fundamental herbs and spices, with:

  • An overview of the healing powers of key herbs and spices
  • Over 100 delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes
  • Ten essential spice mixes to quickly add flavor to any dish
  • A guide to spice and herb combinations by cuisine to celebrate global flavors
  • Informative tips for buying and storing spices and herbs

Part reference, part cookbook, Essential Spices and Herbs will guide you along your journey through the magical world of flavor.

 Recipes include: Cold Bulgarian Cucumber Soup, Roasted Garlic and Brie, Rosemary Grits, Brown Butter-Sage Sauce with Tagliatelle and Pumpkin, Thyme-Stuffed Baked Tomatoes

Go Bronson
5.0 out of 5 stars 
A delight! And a surprise!
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
I cook a lot, at home and like to make meals that are flavorfull and aromatic, and I have been cooking home meals for YEARS for 4 kids, and us adults, and we all love different tastes and smells when it comes to food!

I was able to buy this book at a reduced price in return for my honest, unbiased opinion and I am finding it extremely useful. I especially like having it in paperback so that it can sit on the counter in my kitchen for easy use when I need some inspiration.

I already grow basil and mint and some vegetables etc in the summer, but have an entire cabinet full of hers and spices that I really aught to utilize more! This book gives a lot of basic information on the herbs and spices and then intermitently gives recipes, too!

I like the recipe for Shrimp Cocktail, which i'd never have expected to find in this book! Russian Borscht is another good one, too! Saffron pistachio ice cream is one I am dying to try out and even though the weather is about to get cold, I don't think I could wait to give it a whirl!

Some really surprising finds in this book, and actually I think it is up there in my top 5 cooking related books that I currently own, and I can see it getting a LOT of use in my home.

Some pretty photos and some added bonus health benefit facts throughout the book that just flipping through it while chilling out on the couch can make me hungry!

I definitely recommend it if you can get yourself a copy! I have revisited this one over and over since it arrived and I am itching to put some of these recipies into action.

A real delight.
Posted in Book Reviews

Make-Ahead Meals Made Healthy

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Easily enjoy home-cooked meals with wholesome ingredients every day of the week with a little help from your freezer.

Delight in delicious, nutritious food and save time and money with this guide to preparing meals you can fix and freeze now and enjoy any night of your crazy-busy week!

Unlike the sodium-laced, preservative-filled meals you might find in your grocer’s freezer aisle, Make-Ahead Meals Made Healthy features all-natural recipes full of flavors that come to life the instant you reheat them—so your meals don’t just taste as good as the day you stored them away, but better. In addition, you’ll find great tips and advice on how to best prep, store, and reheat every single dish (in any portion), making mealtime prep a cinch for any member of your household.

From comforting casserole and lasagna recipes made new again with fresh veggies and whole grains, to hearty and wholesome breakfast baked goods and sweet treats, you’ll discover so many “must-make” recipes inside that you may need to consider a larger freezer!

Such show-stopping recipes include:

  • Saucy Saffron Chicken
  • Whole-Grain Pesto Pasta Casserole
  • Asian-Spiced Tuna Cakes
  • Apricot-Pistachio Rice Pilaf
  • Vegetarian Teriyaki Stir-Fry
  • Fast and Easy Fresh Herb Focaccia
  • Baked Gingerbread Cake Doughnuts with Maple Glaze
  • Blackberry Buttermilk Cake

With Make-Ahead Meals Made Healthy, serving healthy, home-cooked meals every night of the week has never been simpler—or more delicious.

Faith Dusky
5.0 out of 5 stars 
Awesome helpful book!!
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2012
Verified Purchase
I am not a great cook, and I don't really like to cook. And many things I make don't really turn out. But THIS book has changed all that!! For ONCE the recipes turn out, they taste good, they are healthy and wholesome. I have been trying new whole foods, and I have been pleasantly surprised. I never know what kind of foods will freeze ok so this book has been very helpful. My eyes usually gloss over when I see more than five ingredients, so I really don't care for fancy-pants cookbooks. The recipes I have tried require a little effort, but no food degree is required!! 🙂 Until recently pretty much everything I made was convenience foods/ pre-made foods, and I did very little actual cooking. With some time invested on Sunday afternoon, I have been making homemade WHOLESOME meals that I can serve easy to my family later in the week (or the next week).

If this book dropped in my life a year ago, it may not have been for me. But I have come to the place where I am trying to get AWAY from processed foods. I am willing to make the time investment to be healthier and eat healthier. I am willing to try new vegetables, new grains, new fresh herbs, new foods. The Make-Ahead Meals Made Healthy has been used more than any other cookbook I have bought, and I have only had it a couple weeks. Now I am off to see what other cookbooks this author has out! 🙂
Posted in Book Reviews

Healthy Meal Prep Slow Cooker Cookbook: Nutritious Recipes to Prep Ahead and Enjoy All Week

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Healthy meal prep recipes for your slow cooker—and your fast-paced life

Eating fresh, healthy food doesn’t have to mean spending hours prepping in the kitchen. Optimize your slow cooker for convenience and ease with the Healthy Meal Prep Slow Cooker Cookbook. This slow cooker cookbook makes preparing delicious, nourishing dishes ahead of time simpler than ever. With 100 meal prep-friendly recipes that let your slow cooker do the work, you can spend more time doing the things you love.

The Healthy Meal Prep Slow Cooker Cookbook teaches you the basics of meal prep, with strategies for prepping using a slow cooker—all adaptable to your schedule and personal needs. Get tips for prepping ingredients to be cooked later, along with instructions for storing your finished dishes safely in the fridge or freezer. With recipes included for breakfast as well as vegetarian and vegan meals, all the variety in this slow cooker cookbook makes it easy to mix and match.

The Healthy Meal Prep Slow Cooker Cookbook includes:

  • 100 tasty recipes—Whip up Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, Samosa Soup, Buffalo Chickpea Sloppy Joes, Zucchini Lasagna, Shrimp Fajitas, Greek Stuffed Chicken Breasts, and much more!
  • Prep strategies—This slow cooker cookbook uses three simple, flexible tactics: prepping ingredients ahead of time, batch cooking components for flexible meals, and cooking and portioning complete dishes.
  • Easy planning—Hit the ground running with a step-by-step sample meal prep plan, handy lists of kitchen staples, and essential food safety guidelines.

Put easy, healthy, satisfying meals on the table all week with the Healthy Meal Prep Slow Cooker Cookbook!

Continue reading “Healthy Meal Prep Slow Cooker Cookbook: Nutritious Recipes to Prep Ahead and Enjoy All Week” →
Posted in Book Reviews

Once-a-Month Cooking

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

“In this homemaker’s equivalent to The One-Minute Manager . . . a system whereby a month’s worth of family dinners can be cooked and frozen in one day.” —Publishers Weekly

Since the first edition of Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth’s Once-a-Month Cooking was published in 1986, its proven, practical method has helped hundreds of thousands of families reduce their cooking time and still enjoy nightly home-cooked meals.

You don’t have to be a super savvy chef to pull your family together each week for these light and simple, easy-to-prepare meals. Updated to reflect today’s healthier diet, this revised edition explains how to: plan ahead, spend less time at the supermarket, cut down on prep time, group similar kitchen tasks together to get them all done at once, make kitchen clean-up more manageable, and use the freezer, computer, and your head to create a month full of delicious meals!

Contains many easy, make-ahead recipes for dinner time success such as:

—Baked Jambalaya
—Chicken Lasagna
—Chicken Taco Salad
—Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork
—Veal Scaloppini
—And more!


Whether you are a busy parent on the go or you just want a quick dinner to warm your spirit, you’ll be instantly hooked on this cookbook classic and its fool-proof Once-a-Month Cooking method!

Posted in Book Reviews

The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Family-friendly meals that are “simple, healthy, delicious and always affordable. Erin proves that budget cooking does not have to be boring!” —Stephanie Nelson, New York Times–bestselling author of The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half

Erin Chase is the founder of “$5 Dinners,” the skyrocketing internet website that’s now the go-to source for families who want to eat well and stay within a budget. Erin became a supermarket savvy mom, challenged herself to create dinners for her family of four that cost no more than $5 and is here to share her fool-proof method with you in her first cookbook that contains over 200 recipes that cost $five or less to make. First, Erin will show you how to size up the best supermarket deals, clip coupons that will really save you money and create a weekly dinner menu plan. Then, in each recipe she shows you just how much she paid for each item and challenges you to do the same.

Here are a few of her favorites:

– North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches – $4.90

– Curried Pumpkin Soup – $4.41

– Apple Dijon Pork Roastfour – $4.30

– Orange Beef and Broccoli Stir – $4.94

– Creamy Lemon Dill Catffours – $4.95

– Bacon-Wrapped Apple  – $4.96

– Country Ribs with Fries – $4.77

Join the army of devoted followers who have already let Erin Chase show them how to be savvy supermarket shoppers who cook tasty, economical meals. You’ll never spend more than $5 on dinner again.

“This book will give you the simple tools you need to become a strategic shopper, make meal-planning manageable, and rediscover the joy of cooking and baking from scratch.” —Crystal Paine, founder of moneysavingmom.com


Editorial Reviews

Review

“Erin’s $5 Dollar Dinner approach is ideal for my family–her recipes are simple, healthy, delicious and always affordable. She proves that budget cooking does not have to be boring!”–Stephanie Nelson, author of The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half

About the Author

Erin Chase is the creator of http://www.5dollardinners.com. She has previously shared her savvy tips for saving on “The Rachael Ray Show” and “The Jean Chatzky Show” on Oprah Sirius Radio. She grew up in San Antonio, TX, went to Texas Christian University, and served as a missionary in the Dominican Republic where she met her husband. They live in Dayton, Ohio with their three children.

Posted in Book Reviews

The $5 Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

The $5 Dollar Dinner Mom–savings guru, savvy supermarket shopper, and mommy extraordinaire Erin Chase–does it again! With the same fool proof system she used to cut your weekly food budget and put a healthy and delicious $5 meal on the dinner table for your family, she takes it one step further with “The $5 Dollar Dinner Mom Does Breakfast and Lunch”. Tailoring her tips at how to size up supermarket deals, clip coupons, and create weekly menu plans, she helps you start your day the right way. With the help of Erin–whether at home or on the go–you can use all the same tools you learned in “The $5 Dollar Dinner Mom Cookbook” to create breakfasts and lunches for less than $5 that are easy and kid-friendly too!
Breakfast favorites include:

Continue reading “The $5 Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook” →
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Prepper’s Dehydrator Handbook

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Tips, tricks, and techniques for preparing shelf-stable foods in your dehydrator—from the founder of PreparednessMama.

Instead of relying on preservative-filled packaged goods, fill your prepper stockpile with the tastier, healthy alternative—dehydrated foods. Whether you grew it, butchered it or purchased it fresh, it’s going to be more delicious and more nutritious if you personally preserve it in your own dehydrator.

Packed with everything you need to know about this power method for creating shelf-stable foods, Prepper’s Dehydrator Handbook includes:

  • Tips for locking in produce’s natural flavor
  • Seasoning recipes for delicious jerkies
  • Drying techniques for delicate herbs
  • Tricks for working in bulk to keep costs down
  • Crucial advice on how to prevent spoilage

“Everything you need to know about getting started dehydrating and building up your food supply is in this book. Solar drying, oven drying, dehydrator drying and microwave drying are all covered.” —Country Living in Cariboo Valley
“This book will be a very important book in my cookbook collection as well as a great reference book for my food storage. I found this to be one of the most complete books on dehydrating that I have seen or owned. I think you will find this to be a very important part of your food storage books too.” —Living Life in Rural Iowa

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