30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes [Paperback]

Rachael Ray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2005

No pasta? No dessert? No way! Everything in moderation, says Rachael Ray. After all, some days only chocolate or spaghetti will hit the spot.

In Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Get Real Meals, the bestselling cookbook author and Food Network star serves up another helping of creative, hassle-free recipes that are ready to rock your tastebuds in less than thirty minutes. The latest addition to Rachael’s runaway hit series of 30-Minute Meals cookbooks is designed for cooks who want to look and feel great but long for the fun and the flavor that’s missing from their extreme low-carb meals. Why fill your shopping cart and your stomach with processed, low-carb cereals and breads that taste like cardboard when you can eat the foods you crave? Here, at last, are recipes for those who just cannot and will not live totally carb-free: Pasta dinners made mostly with proteins and vegetables and only a couple of ounces of pasta per servings, fresh Thai and Mexican lettuce wraps, take-out-style stir-frys, and tons of burger ideas—with and without the buns. And when you’ve just got to satisfy that sweet tooth, even nonbakers (like Rachael) will flip for Nutty Creamsicle Pie, Stuffed Roasted Strawberries, and other surprisingly easy dessert recipes.

With more than 150 new dishes, plenty of time-saving tips, and a generous serving of Rachael's “you can do it” attitude, 30-Minute Get Real Meals proves you don’t have to go to extremes to eat healthy.

Rachael Ray confesses that there’s pasta in her pantry, and she isn’t afraid to admit that chili is just an excuse to snack on corn chips. On the other hand, she also confesses that it’s more fun to shop for clothes when she’s eating fewer carbs. So what’s a carb-frustrated cook to do these days? Don’t go to extremes, says the force of nature behind Food Network’s 30-Minute Meals. Get real! With a little creativity and less than half an hour, now you can watch your carbs and eat them, too. Satisfy your carb-starved cravings and still mind that waistline with more than 150 healthy, delicious recipes—including Rachael’s first-ever section devoted just to desserts:

•Snacks and Super-Supper Snacks

•Burgers Gone Wild

•Take a Dip: Fondues

•Salads that Stack Up

•That’s Souper

•Well-Rounded Square Meals

•Pasta: Come Home Again

•Desserts? Yes, Desserts!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Part of Ray's appeal to legions of Food TV fans is her loose, nonnitpicky approach to cooking at home. Every meal she presents can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, and she consistently emphasizes simplicity and nonfussiness. So it's no surprise that Ray's contribution to the supposedly waning low-carb cookbook genre does not strictly adhere to the diet. Ray adores carbohydrates—"I cannot and will not eat without them"—and she believes consuming them "in moderation" is a healthy option. This selection of recipes, then, does include pasta dishes, but Ray wisely makes them heavy on the meat and vegetables and low on pasta (a half pound for every four entrées). Her devoted viewers will delight at the prospect of Bucatini with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions; Creamy Polenta and Bolognese Sauce; and Eggplant and Wild Mushroom Pasta with Ricotta Salata. Other chapters are just as appealing, offering ideas for main course salads, as well as meat and fish dishes, burgers, soups, snacks and desserts. In keeping with her low-maintenance style, Ray is lax with her instructions, calling for "a couple slices of smoked salmon" in one recipe, and "2 tablespoons vegetable oil (eyeball it)" in another. Ray's standard chatty demeanor, which comes through loud and clear, coupled with interesting, varied recipes, make this book a winner. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Rachael Ray appears daily on the Food Network as host of 30-Minute Meals, $40 a Day, and Inside Dish. She is the author of eight bestselling cookbooks, most recently Cooking Rocks! and Cooking ‘Round the Clock. Rachael lives in the Adirondacks.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400082536
• ISBN-13: 978-1400082537
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Meats

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

138 of 152 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT TOO LOW CARB FROM RACHAEL, April 7, 2005

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes (Paperback)

Well, low carb has been all the rage for sometime now although the fad seems to be slowing down somewhat. But not before TV's spunkiest cook can put her stamp on low carb as Rachael Ray does in her latest book. At 256 pages this is Rachael's largest book yet. I've never quite been able to get meals done in 30 minutes. i guess it probably helps having good editors and a staff but even at 45 minutes or so I've enjoyed every one of Rachael's books. It's good food where taste is first, not fancy presntation and ingredients that have you haunting exotic food stores to find.

The recipes here are not all that low-carb so don't be put off by thinking it's a diet cook book. It's just another great one from Rachael where carbs are used in moderation, but not at the sacrifice of taste. Call them good-sense carb recipes as opposed to low-carb. There's plenty of bread and pasta to be found inside. With all her books the emphasis is on good food and good food done fast and this one, like the previous ones, is right on the mark. Wonderful Italian and Mexican dishes, burgers, even desserts. And it all comes to you in Rachael's endearing, homey way of writing that comes across so well on TV. With her new publisher now being a part of Random House, the book is much more well-presented than her previous ones. Bolder colors that stand out and just plain look better.

Another winner from Rachael!

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not strictly "low carb" but close enough, November 14, 2005

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes (Paperback)

We have one Atkins fanatic in our family and several other people, including kids, who want their rice and bread and starches. I've found that the vast majority of recipes in this book can be adapted to suit both tastes.

If you buy any of Rachel Ray's books, you should be prepared to "tweak" them a bit to your personal taste, something she actually encourages. She tells readers to "eyeball" 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or notes that she puts on a "large piece" of salmon. Clearly, precise measurements aren't her strong suit but I actually like this. It encourages cooks to use her recipes as starting points for their own variations.

Don't worry about going wrong if you put in a bit too much of one ingredient or another. There is plenty of room for experimentation while still allowing the recipes to come out wonderfully.

If you're looking for something that follows ATkins to the smallest detail, this book does not. But if you are familiar with the basics of low-carb cooking and know how to adapt recipes to fit the plan, this book should be just fine. Expect to fine her usual standbys such as EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) but she goes beyond the norm by making reasonable and healthy substitutes for pasta and other high-carb foods.

49 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NOT for weight loss!, December 28, 2005

By 

Alison (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes (Paperback)

Don't get me wrong... I love Rachael Ray. But this is not "healthy" cooking, nor should it be marketed as recipes for "minding your waistline." Some examples: A cheddar soup that has one cup heavy cream and four cups cheddar cheese in four servings, pepper steaks in a "creamy pan sauce" that includes 1/2 cup olive oil and 3/4 cup heavy cream, and an appetizer called Draggers that includes a 6" round of Boursin cheese, 1/4 cup olive oil pesto, and 6 additional tablespoons of olive oil tampenade. WHOA. There is NO nutritional information listed for those of us counting calories, fat grams, or carbs. And if I read the words "extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)(eyeball it)" in a row one more time, I am going to puke (it's written in almost every recipe... we get it, Rachael). For a book with a hefty $18.95 paperback price, there are a measly 8 pages of photos. I was very, very disappointed. I guess Rachael's recipes will have to be saved for when I'm not counting calories... this book included.