Customer Reviews

Healthy Crockery Cookery

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

simple recipes with truly unique combos of spices, veggies, etc. with a strong emphasis on ethnic cuisine. Most recipes take only 10 minutes to make. Perfect for the working woman or man who wants to come home to a tasty dinner but doesn't want to go to the effort or put in the time to make it. Definitely a winner.

"A crock pot is a device for making all foods taste the same, " my brother-in-law announced one night twenty years ago as we were eating dinner-- a rather soupy bland pot roast from a crock pot. That was the death knell for the use of the crock pot in our family (and very nearly for my brother-in-law who was put in charge of cooking dinner indefinitely by his wife after that comment.) I haven't used a crock pot muchsince then, and if I ever did, someone inevitably brought up my brother-in-law's remarks. However, what is one to do if one wants homemade food quickly after a day at work? Luckily I found this book, and it has become one of my favorite cookbooks. Although it was written by Mabel Hoffman , one of the original promoters of crock pot cooking, it is a refreshing departure from the bland, watery creations of the early 80's. One secret is the use of more flavorful, less-predictable ingredients. Another secret is that the water in the recipes is greatly reduced from the olden days. A great bonus for us is that that recipes are all low fat, and still incredibly good tasting. Most recipes are fairly simple, with a reasonable amount of ingredients that can usually be found easily at the local supermarket. I haven't had a failure yet. Since it's a paperback, the price isn't bad either. When you get it, check out the recipe for Creamy Chicken and Leeks. It's now my favorite recipe for company because it's unusual, tasty, and easy to make.

Almost all the recipes I've tried in this book taste good. I use it all the time and I have a family of very picky eaters! Flavors are unusual and creatively combined (the pork with mango chutney is fabulous, but very simple to make). I spend very little time actually preparing stuff in the kitchen. This book's a boon to busy people.

I have made many of the recipes in this book and my family has loved them all. I tell everyone about the meatloaf recipe with corn chips in it (I also use the meatloaf recipe to stuff bell peppers). The Navaho Beef and Chile Stew is also a tastey recipe (I add extra bell peppers). Some of the recipes are higher in fat, but you feel more satisfied with less because it tastes so good. This is the best crockpot cookbook I have used so far.

For my fellow foodies that are thinking, "you have got to be kidding" please keep reading and keep an open mind. Even though my favorite cookbook is "The Professional Chef" by the CIA, I still use this one to assist me in determining timing and liquid proportions for making dinners without hovering around the kitchen.

If are a busy mom that wants to put a healthy meal on the table every night this book will become an indispensable addition to your library. The recipes were devised using standard supermarket ingredients but you can easily doctor them up if you wish, I do. Each recipe gives a nutritional breakdown including calories, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

The recipe section is divided as follows:
1. Soups and Chili
2. Chicken
3. Turkey
4. Beef
5. Pork and Lamb
6. Wraps and Sandwiches
7. Beans and Grains
8. Vegetables
9. Desserts and Accompaniments

The most surprising recipe in this book for me was for a roasted chicken with rosemary and garlic, in the slow cooker. I must admit that I was dubious that this would work. However, it works fine, the chicken browns and cooking doesn't heat up the kitchen. If you want the chicken browner, slide it under the broiler for a few minutes before serving. This method works so well that once I taught it to a friend of mine she no longer buys the supermarket rotisserie chickens that she used to rely on.

The author has a nice method in this book that uses foil packet and vegetables that has come in very handy for me. After preparing one of the author's recipes I have used the method to make a lot of the dishes that I would have previously made in the oven in parchment.

There are a couple of nice factors that result from using a slow cooker that I find to be preferable to using the standard stove or oven methods:
1. you don't have to be home to cook.
2. you don't heat up your kitchen in the summer.
3. you can cook without adding extra fat making the meal healthier.
4. you don't release gas into your home (assuming you have a gas cook top and/or oven) increasing the indoor air pollution in your home.

If you want healthy meals for your family, and are not that familiar with the ins and outs of slow cooking, you will find this to be a useful book.

I like the convenience of slow cooking, but have found most crockpot cookbooks to contain fattening recipes with little information on the nutritional breakdown of the completed dish. This book is full of lower fat recipes that are delicious and provide the information needed for anyone watching their weight or just wanting to eat a healthier diet. I've tried many of the recipes, and my favorite is the Smoked Sausage Chowder: a spicy, hearty soup.

I have only been "crocking" for a few years so I'm certainly still learning about what tastes good and what works etc.. I was hoping for more photos to go with the recipes, and more every day recipes, but did not really find those things. This is a good book for someone who has A LOT of different ingredients on hand. More of a gourmet cookbook and it just didn't suit my needs as a busy working single mom.

The book would be perfect for more sophiticated cooks who want to plan a snazzy romantic meal for two or an all adult dinner party.

I've enjoyed all the recipes I've made from this cookbook so far. One nice thing about this cookbook is that it has lots of recipes for wraps, which you won't find in most slow-cooker cookbooks.

In response to some of the other reviews, I don't think this book is particularly "gourmet". I've always been able to find all the ingredients and most are not really that exotic.

The book avoids the typical "add a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup" for the most part, which is a nice change. Some of the recipes call for a thickener when it really should be optional; I prefer broth-y sauces to gravies. Omitting this step will save even more calories.

Overall, these are not extremely low in calories and fat, but you shouldn't need to eat big portions of them to feel satisfied, either.

I BOUGHT THIS COOKBOOK BECAUSE IT COMBINED TWO THINGS I WAS LOOKING FOR, CROCKERY COOKING AND HEALTY COOKING. IMMAGINE MY DIMAY WHEN MANY OF THE RECIPES WHERE HIGH IN FAT AND SODIUM. I TOOK THE BOOK BACK! THIS IS NOT MY IDEA OF HEALTY COOKING. IWOULD ALSO APPRECIATE FIBER AMOUNTS LISTED IN RECIPES

Read the entire thing and couldn't find much more than two truly appetizing ideas. I'm pretty interested in eating healthy, and will honestly eat lots of things that are marginally allealing for the health benefits, but this book was just too "70's" in its tastes for my needs. Returned this one.