Customer Reviews

New Dieter's Cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

FINALLY, a cookbook that meets all my requirements: Minimal ingredients - Tasty - Easy to prepare - Low in Cal/Fat - Color Photographs.

I joined the online weight watchers program (no meetings required - weightwatchers.com) 6 weeks ago to loose some post-pregnancy baby weight. Over the first few weeks I purchased 6 different low cal, low fat, healthy, etc. type cookbooks. The recipes resulted in meals that were "just okay" to down right bad and required lots of uncommon ingredients and time to prepare.

Standing in the check out line at the grocery store, I noticed one of those little cookbooks "best ever low-cal recipes" from BH&G. I figured...why not...it was cheaper to try one of these than purchasing another large cookbook.

I tried the "chicken tacos" and the "crunchy fish with potatoes" and my husband (who is the hardest man I know to please when it comes to the taste of food) had no idea that we were eating healthy. I wouldn't have known either if no one told me. This prompted me to purchase the complete version of this cookbook and to date, every meal I've tried has been really very good.

Each recipe has a full color photograph (with the calories highlighted right below) and most of the ingredients are things that I have in my pantry already and the degree of difficulty has been minimal.

This cookbook has a WIDE variety of offerings including "calorie trimmed classics" such as buttermilk biscuts, cinnamon rolls with orange glaze, flan, pork chops with cornbread stuffing, and beef stroganoff.

The following are recipes that I've tried so far and the calculated points for those of you following weight watchers:
Oriental Beef & Broccoli with rice- 6 pts
Baked Chimichangas - 5 pts
BBQ Beef Sandwiches - 7 pts
Chicken Tacos - 6 pts
Cruchy Topped Fish with Oven Fries - 7 pts

I have flagged about 15 other recipes that I am going to try over the next few weeks. To date I have lost 10 lbs. (with 10 more to go) and feel that this cookbook is going to help me achieve me goals and still keep my family satisfied too.

I own the earlier edition of this book (1997) but it got water damaged so I purchased the latest edition. As I compared the two I found that 90% of my favorite recipes were included in the new edition, and I found about 30 new recipes in the latest edition! Beautiful layout- I love the list of recipes at the front of each chapter section; the pictures seem brighter and more appealing; the order of nutrition facts makes more sense (the old version order was calories, carbs, protein, fat, the new version calories, fat, saturated fat, carbs, protein, etc.) I also love the new order of the sections- it makes more sense to have beverages and breakfasts at the front instead of the back. The main dish salads section has increased exponentially and with some very exciting recipes. Overall, very user friendly, great new recipes along with the old ones and very healthful!! Thanks BHG!!!

I love this cookbook. The recipies are easy and delicious. Not the same old thing you always have to eat. Also the book is like a binder with rings,so it lays flat. Each recipie has its own page with a picture. Complete portion control, calorie, carbs, etc. for every recipie. Definitely worth it.

I never write reviews but felt that I just had to since this cookbook is so wonderful! I'm just learning how to cook meals for the first time and picked this up because I wanted to lose some weight anyway. I have never liked to cook because it was so time consuming and most recipes are very fattening. This book is unlike all the others in those ways. The recipes don't call for very many ingredients and they are usually ones that I already have. They are also very easy to prepare: I made the chicken with basil cream sauce last night without messing anything up -- yay! My family told me that it even looked professional, so now I can't wait to try the rest of the recipes. I also agree with what another reviewer said, you can't even tell that what you are eating is healthy! The pictures on every page are also another thing that makes this cookbook better than the rest. I highly recommend this book!!

First of all, I love this cookbook!! I own more than 10 diet/light/low-carb cookbooks, and this is the only one that all the recipes I've tried from haven't let me down. I love the layout as well; every recipe has a picture making it easy to choose a dish I'd like to try that day.

That being said, I regret that I bought a spiral-bound edition. I chose this one, because it was cheaper. And of course, it turned out that there's a reason for that; The book is quite thick while spirals are very tight, making it very hard to turn pages completely. So, some pages were torn off the comb as I flip though the pages very often to choose a recipe of a day.

This is a great cookbook. If I were you, I'd pay a few bucks more now and get a better quality version that would last longer. (like a ring bound or a paperback version? I don't know which one would be better since I haven't tried other editions. But at least I can tell you that spiral-bound is not very sturdy.)

Happy cooking! =)

This is just about my ideal cookbook format! The recipes are clear and have full nutritional info which means that whether you're on Weight Watchers, Atkins, or just watching calories, you can find what you need to know. Best of all--a big, beautiful color photograph accompanies each and every recipe. I like the way the chapters are set up (the main dish salads chapter is one I'm really using this summer!) and FINALLY, ("diet") cookbook authors who can think outside the beans-and-rice and pasta-with-tomato-sauce cliche for meatless meals. Every single recipe I've tried so far is delicious. I use this because I *am* on a diet, but the name should more accurately be "Recipes for a Healthy Life" or some such thing. Even if you're NOT on a diet, you'll enjoy the tasty offerings of this book.

Too many diet cookbooks have recipes that "TASTE" like diet food--rather tasteless, fairly unimaginative (or OVERLY imaginative), and repetitious variations on the same theme (yeah, alright, we KNOW how to put sauce on noodles already). The New Dieter's Cookbook gets it right: fresh, tasty, food in generous portions using mostly familiar ingredients resulting in delicious meals that also happen to be healthy!

My husband started to use this cookbook this winter because he had time to read and cook. We love it! The recipe's are easy, delicious and we feel like we are cooking well and taking care of our bodies.

My sister, the food critic, is here and she is actually going to buy a copy and she never likes my cooking:) We have the first edition.

The book is spiral bound, and while it allows the book to lie flat on a countertop, the pages don't turn easily. I think the problem is that the spiral binder is too small for the book. The pages don't have much "breathing room" as you turn them so it makes browsing the book difficult. The binding isn't an issue if you will find the recipe you're looking for and turn to that page. Aside from the binding issue, the production is top quality. The entire book is color on glossy paper, and you'll find alluring photos of every recipe.

I have read dieter cookbooks that seem to be regular cookbooks with traditional recipes that have been modified. I wouldn't put this one into that category. It's organized just like a cookbook, as the chapters are based on the type of food used in the recipes. However, I would classify the recipes as new and innovative ideas. While there are some basic, traditional recipes, it's more common that you'll find new recipes that you've never seen before which pair healthy foods, for example, Cranberry Grilled Chicken, Veal with Orange Sauce, Pineapple Pork Roast, Gazpacho Sandwiches, Blood Orange Sherbet, Green Tea and Tangerine Sorbet, Peach-Coconut Mousse, and Orange-Blueberry Angel Food Cake.

One of the best parts of the book is its introduction, which tells you how to calculate your calorie needs, provides a sample menu plan with variations for different calorie amounts, reviews the components of a healthy diet, and emphasizes the importance of exercise.

In my collection of cookbooks, it won't be my go-to book. But when I am looking for new ideas, it will provide me with tons of them to help me add flair to the foods I prepare most often.

My husband had to loss a couple pounds for a new job he was trying to get hired for and I decided that I would join him, cause hey what girl doesn't want to shed a little extra weight. We have two young boys, 6 and 2 years, and were worried that if we statred dieting they would be effected. Long story short, rather then trying fad diets or premade meals, we decided it would be best to just change the way we eat to something healthier, which is what lead us to the Dieters Cookbook.

Its wounderful, so far between the two of us, we have lost 20 pounds in three weeks. Now its not all the cook book, we do have a cross trainer at home, a weight bench and two young ones that keep us moving. But the cookbook gives me a great place to find easy to make, healthy meals, that even taste good. (For the boys, we just give them an adult portionand let them eat as much as they like, this allows us not to worry about harming their growth.)The two week jump off menu is also a great tool, even if you don't follow it, it allows you an example of how to plan your meals. And planning has been our best friend, nolonger does it turn 7 o'clock at night and we end up running to pick something up cause, A) we didn't have anything ready to eat or b) there was nothing in the house to make something. I work often into the late afternoon, early night and have found several recipes that I can make ahead and leave just mini notes for my husband to finish up. For example, tonight we'll be having turkey burgers w/ cranberry dressing and oven baked french fries, everyhting is made up in the fridge, all hubbie has to do is put the fries in the oven and place the burgers on the grill, walla healthy easy and no McDonalds, Burgerking or Wendy's needed.

This cookbook, is not a mericale diet, it wont garentee you have the same success as my spouse and I, but it is a great tool, even if you just want a cookbook around with healthy low fat meals in it for when you feel the urge to cook something outside a box. But don't take my word for it, try it and see what you think.

This book has great recipes for those watching the calories and fat in their diet. The nutrition information provided makes it very easy to calculate Weight Watchers points values. Directions are well-written and easy to follow. Recommended for all cooks!