Customer Reviews

American Heart Association Meals in Minutes Cookbook: Over 200 All-New Quick and Easy Low-Fat Recipes

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

i bought this book after my dad had a heart attack and i needed to cook healthier foods. the title isn't kidding when it says meals in minutes. there are four categories that the recipes fall into: new classics, planned-overs, shopping cart recipes, and express-ipes. planned-overs utilize left-overs from other recipes, shopping cart recipes only require six common ingredients and are easy to remember, and express-ipes only take a maximum of twenty-five mintues including prep time and cooking. at the top of every recipe it lists the serving size, prep time, and cooking time. at the bottom of each recipe there is a nutrional analysis that tells you the amount of calories, protein, fat, carbs, sodium, etc.

This book has made it easy for me to plan and cook healthy meals on a regular basis. I have been pleasantly surprised several times by recipes I wasn't sure I would like. I never knew that healthy food could be so flavorful!

Besides having tasty recipes, this book is user-friendly. There are helpful preparation tips, and some recipes have variations or specific suggestions on how to use the leftovers in another dish. The use of "convenient" ingredients such as frozen chopped onion, bottled minced garlic, and canned beans means that many recipes can be put together quickly. I also appreciate the fact that I can choose any recipe and be assured that it's healthy--I don't have to think about it.

On the downside, my regular grocery store doesn't carry a few ingredients, such as red lentils and no-salt-added canned beans. This means that occasionally I have to substitute ingredients (I just buy the lowest-sodium canned beans) or stop at a natural foods store. The book claims that all recipes require 20 minutes or less of preparation time, but that doesn't include cooking time--some recipes take hours to cook. I'm not particularly fast at tasks like chopping vegetables, so even the prep time often takes longer than 20 minutes for me. There are recipes that can be made from start to finish in a relatively short time, but certainly not all of them.

On the whole, though, this cookbook is one of the best that I own. I heartily recommend it!

Incredible cookbook - the recipes are easy, using everyday "normal" foods, and very satisfying. Put away the rest of your cookbooks - my husband and I lost 50 pounds in 6 months. Stick with this, and you can't help but reach your weight loss goals! With less than an hour a day to devote to kitchen duties, we're able to bypass fastfood on superbusy days, knowing it's faster to cook at home.

I also have the Low Cholesterol/Low Fat cookbook, which I like, but the recipes tend to be a little complicated and take a while to prepare and cook. This book still has low cholesterol and low fat recipes, but they are much easier to make. It also contains many more recipes than the other cookbook, including a lot of pasta dishes, which I thought were lacking in the other book.

There are several great recipes in this book. The disappointing aspect of the book is that many of the recipes rely on already prepard/processed foods (i.e. canned cream soup, etc...) True, the recipes call for the 'lower-sodium' version of the soups, but, to try and be healthy, eating all the chemical crud that's in these soups seems like a dumb idea. So, while there are many recipes that I'll make (modifying the recipes to use non-prepared/processed foods), I probably won't buy any more of the AHA cookbooks.

I decided to buy this book after my husband had a stroke and we had to start eating better. I tend to avoid cooking (my husband has handled almost all dinners for 13 years), but I knew that if I bought this cookbook, I would be the one using it. To say I am pleasantly surprised is an understatement. We have tried over a dozen recipes and we have liked them all. It feels great that we know we are cooking healthy and we are loving the meals. As for the comment that says there is too much fish - I don't know how they missed all of the chicken, pork, beef and vegetarian recipes. We don't fix the fish either because my husband doesn't like it and I avoid the bell pepper recipes because I'm not a big fan of that but there is still PLENTY to chose from. On top of all of that, I can attest that for a novice cook the recipes are clear and easy to follow. Definately a GREAT buy!

Great cookbook for someone who doesn't have ANY time to cook, but still loves to! I made the Creamed Chicken and Vegetables tonight, and it was literally 15 minutes between when I started and when we sat down at the table. I was totally shocked that anything that quick could taste so good and be healthy for you! I'll never do takeout again! The tarragon in the Creamed Chicken added such a great flavor, that everyone was asking what I did to make it taste that way! You also need to try the Devil's Food Cake with Caramel Drizzles! Absolutely sinful!

I love to cook, but most of my kitchen staples are items dripping with unhealthiness-excess fat, cholesterol, and calories. Trying to turn a new leaf in 2008, I was looking for a cookbook that had lots of healthy meals that I could quickly and easily make for a weeknight dinner. And, they had to taste good.

Meals in Minutes fits the bill perfectly. After having this cookbook for a week, I've already got three recipies I'll be making again (and again).

Portion sizes on each of the recipes is pretty good. For dinner, main dishes are pretty filling, so long as you also provide a side dish of some sort.

The only place where this cookbook falls a little flat is in its design and cooking tips. They seem to be a little inconsistent, and not terribly helpful for me, but then again, I'm a pretty good cook to start with.

The other problem is a problem I have with almost all cookbooks: the meals are fast, but the times given for prep are less than the actual time it will take you. Unless you are working in ideal conditions, the recipes will probably take you a little longer than what the recipe states.

Other than that, it's a great book. It's not the most fun cookbook to read, but the quality of the recipes alone makes it a 5-star endeavor.

This little cook book offers recipes that are easy and quick to make with staples usually in my cupboard. We are two seniors and I'm always trying to make palatable, heartfriendly meals.

Another recipe book without ANY pictures. Recipes might be very good, but I can not agree with any recepe books without pictures.