Customer Reviews

Cooking Healthy with the Kids in Mind

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this book for every reason A Reader from Virginia doesen't!!! I wanted a book that was "real world" for my family. We don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen and I don't have a large selection to choose from at my small-town grocery store. I want to teach my kids to eat healhier and I'm attending weekly weight loss meetings. This book fits all our needs and then some!!! Someone at class mentioned that JoAnna Lund's books fit in perfect when counting points, so I purchased this book and have been cooking and eating happily ever since. My kids especially love Josh's Potato Ham Bake and Grandma's Special Spaghetti. I've been so pleased with this book that I've purchsed several more of her cookbooks. I'm glad that someone finally created a book for those of us who want to eat healthier but who don't want to spend tons of time in the kitchen and loads of money at the store.

We all want our families to eat healthy and our families all want to eat the stuff that taste good...more often than not healthy AND good tasting don't describe the recipes in Health Cookbooks. But JoAnna Lund has changed all that! Not only will mom find these recipes healthy and simple to prepare but your husband and kids will find that they taste TERRIFIC too! Many of my 6 year old son's favorites come from this cookbook and never has my husband turned up his nose to a recipe I've tried! And even if you don't have children at home to cook for you won't be disappointed in this book. And you'll have no idea how low fat and sugar free could taste this great...it must be magic!

Let me start by saying that I'm a writer who has helped JoAnna on many of her cookbooks--but since I don't share in her royalties, I think it's fair for me to comment on how using her recipes has changed my life. I love the fact that JoAnna creates dishes that are quick to prepare and still taste really good. This is common sense cuisine--comfort food that is healthy enough for dieters, diabetics, heart patients, and just about anyone else! If you're a busy parent with kids to feed, or an overworked single who'd love to fill your fridge with tasty leftovers--this, and JoAnna's other books, will delight you. Yes, she uses healthy convenience foods--don't most of us? But she's tested and found the best-tasting ones. (For instance, she uses reduced-fat shredded cheese in her recipes, not fat-free, because fat-free doesn't melt or taste right.) My favorite dishes from this book include Grande Meatloaf with Potato Stuffing and Chicken Pot Pie Chowder, but you're sure to find your own must-haves. And yes, I've lost more than 65 pounds eating well with JoAnna. Here's something to think about: a year from now, you'll wish you had started today!

This book was such a hit! My 5 year old "wont tough anything that might be good for me" son and my "if it's not meat and potato's forget it" husband thought they had died and gone to heaven. I was so thrilled to have finally searved a healthy meal that wasn't left sitting on their plate! THANKS SO MUCH!

My 14-year-old son loves the recipes. They don't taste low-fat or low-calorie. Fun food for the whole family.

I was so disappointed when I received this book. The title is so misleading. These recipes are NOT a healthy way to eat. Too much processed and can foods are used here. (hot dogs, processed cheese, Yuck) Where did this author get the idea that these recipes are a healthy way for children or anyone for that matter to eat?? Goodness, no wonder why America is so overweight. There is a star rating on reviews, it truly doesn't even deserve the one star.

I have three children under the age of 7, and they would eat practically all of these recipes! There are some processed foods in the ingredients, but for todays family I think that's what a lot of us are looking for. JoAnna explains in the beginning of her book (in case some of the reviewers missed it) that this cookbook may not be for everyone. Hot dogs are not for every family, but tofu isn't for mine! She did an excellent job breaking everything down for families, and you can tell she has a true desire for families to be healthy. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I like cookbooks the best with pictures to give an idea of what the foods are like. Other than that, it was great!

Need a cookbook that helps you create healthier more appealing meals for your children? Want to know how to create meals from packages off the grocer's shelf? Then Joanna Lund's "Cooking Healthy With The Kids in Mind" is perfect for you!

Joanna M. Lund was once close to 300 pounds. She was tired of diets that would initially help, but could not keep the wait off. She developed Healthy Exchanges. This process helped her lose 130 pounds! She is the author of numerous bestselling Healthy Exchanges cookbooks.

She has been in national publications such as People and the New York Times. She has made hundreds of appearances on radio and television, including the shopping station, QVC, where she has been on regularly for 10 years! She is a speaker on weight-loss, diabetic and cardiac support groups. She runs the Healthy Exchanges business and publishes the Healthy Exchanges newsletter.

The Healthy Exchanges program gives you examples of serving sizes needed from each group each day to live a healthy life. For example, protein, breads, fruit, skim milk, vegetables, fats, free foods (herbs, spices, mustard etc.), optional calories (sugar-free gelatin, fat-free mayonnaise etc.) and sliders (an extra 80 calories that can be used in any group)!

This cookbook also gives you tips on substitutions, needed pantry items and equipment for your kitchen. She explains cooking terms she uses in this book, how to shop for healthy food, as well as a section on sodium, fat and processed foods.

Each recipe gives you the nutritional information for each serving, as well as the diabetic exchanges, and Joanna's Healthy Exchanges.

This cookbook is very easy-to-read. The recipes are easy-to-prepare. This book is perfect for someone who is tired of taking the guess-work out of healthy eating. The recipes are not time-consuming either.

This book is packed with over 200 recipes. The recipe chapters included in this book are: Get-Out-Of-Bed Breakfasts, Super-Super Soups (and Sandwiches, too), Veggies and Salads, Fill-'Em-Up Main Dishes, Delicious Desserts for Good Girls and Boys, Scrumptious Snacktimes, Special Occasion Spectaculars and The Tiny-Tot Top Ten.

Cherry Almond Tarts

Reprinted with permission.

This is my version of a healthy cherry cheesecake-in-a-cup, one I just know your family will love. If you haven't got a biscuit cutter, you can use a small glass to cut out the curcles of dough.

Serves 8 (2 each)

1 Pillsbury refrigerated unbaked 9-inch piecrust

1 (4-serving) package JELL-O sugar-free vanilla cook-and-serve pudding mix

1 (4-serving) package JELL-O sugar-free cherry gelatin

2 cups (one 16-ounce can) tart red cherries, packed in water, drained, and 1/2 cup liquid reserved

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold piecrust. Using a (2 1/2- inch) biscuit cutter, cut 12 circles. Press dough scraps together and cut 4 more circles, for a total of 16 circles. Place pastry into 16 miniature muffin cups. Press into the cups to form shells. In a medium saucepan, combine dry pudding, dry gelatin, reserved cherry liquid, and water. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens and starts to boil, stirring often. Remove from heat. Stir in the cherries and almond extract. Evenly spoon mixture into prepared pastry shells. Sprinkle with about 1/4 teaspoon almonds over top of each. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes. Place pans on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Carefull remove tarts from pans and allow to cool completely.

In this fast-paced society, where time is of the essence, Joanna Lund has made life easier by helping create new healthy recipes for not only us, but also our children.

I was so looking forward to using this cookbook, but the author's reliance on pre-prepared foods (canned biscuits, canned gravies/soups, etc) rather than fresh ingredients in her recipes gave them a frozen or microwave dinner flavor rather than the home cooked fresh food flavor that I would like to have if I go to all the trouble of preparing food. My daughter, who is not a picky eater, was not crazy about the food either. I am a novice cook and I think I will continue to rely on a good basic cookbook like "How to Cook Everything" and leave this one out of my collection.

I'm a working mother to a 3 year old and a husband who eats like one. I wanted to start making fast, easy dinners that were healthy so I purchased this book. The pros are that the recipes are really very simple and quick recipes and don't require a ton of preparation or shopping. My family also liked almost everything I've made from the book.

The con is that most of the recipes use exactly the same thing (canned green beans, no fat franks and a cream of x soup), so there isn't that much variety. My husband jokes about what I"m going to do with the green beans every night. I've had the book for a month, made 10 of the recipes and frankly, I'm already sick of it. There are only so many ways to mix soup and beans together before the family starts getting sick of it. But shame on me for only having this cookbook.

Finally, I find it really hard to believe that these meals are that healthy given all of the ingredients are processed foods. That said, you have to pick your battles - it makes cooking much simpler to mix a bunch of ingredients from cans and boxes together, instead of using fresh ingredients.