Customer Reviews

Jeanne Jones' Healthy Cooking: For People Who Don't Have Time To Cook

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

 

 

....and I own a lot of cookbooks! Let's face it, who WANTS to cook healthy? When you put so much time, trouble, and expense into cooking what you hope are tasty meals, it's safe to assume that anything loaded with fat and calories will be a big hit. It's not such a sure bet when you're using low-fat this, and reduced-sodium that. But when my husband's doctor ordered him to switch to a low-cholesterol diet, I had to figure something out! I started looking through my many cookbooks, and came across this one by Jeanne Jones. I have to admit, I've had it for a while, and I never had used it much before now. But once I got to really looking at it, I thought, "Hey, these sound really good....like real food!" I went through the entire book and flagged all the recipes that sounded good to me...and when I was finished, there were a LOT of flags sticking out of the book! I made three of the recipes that first week, and my husband didn't even KNOW he was eating healthy! The Baked Quesadillas and Overnight Cheese Strata were every bit as tasty as any recipe using full-fat ingredients. The Tarragon Chicken and Pasta Bake drew rave reviews, and he even took the leftovers to work the next day to nuke for lunch. There's also a great recipe for Fettucine Alfredo, which as we all know, is "Heart Attack on a Plate" in it's original form. This one used fat-free cream cheese and skim milk. Who knew they could taste so good?

The only change I make to the recipes is to add a bit of salt. Since this is technically a "healthy" cookbook, not just low-fat, the author tends to skimp on salt. Since we don't need to do that, I go ahead a add just a bit, but if you are on a low-sodium diet, then the recipes would be just right for you. Next up on the menu....Chile Rellenos Casserole! Or will it be Ham & Cheese Calzone? Hmmmm.....

This book is a must for people who like to try healthy menus that are quick but unique. Jeanne Jones has put together a book of delicious recipes that are short on directions but long on flavor. She emphasizes that, "the aroma of food is essential for our perception of flavor" and hence, she includes a lot of "aroma-producing" ingredients in her book. Each recipe contains the basic directions and steps at the end that tell you how to make it even quicker and what to do with leftovers. The colorful pictures in the book attract you to trying the different recipes shown. Jeanne also gives an overview at the beginning of the book on how to stock your shelves to make quick healthy cooking a reality. With this book, I feel like I might just be able to compete with my friends who are wonderful cooks because they have lots of time and/or don't mind fattening ingredients!

This cookbook was the first one I ever bought...and it remains my favorite, even after getting married and amassing a very large cookbook collection. What I love about the book is that all of the recipes are very easy to prepare, yet taste as good as or better than most high-fat recipes. I am a registered nurse, so I am very careful to cook healthful food at home. There are recipes for everything from breakfast and brunch dishes to lunch dinner, dessert, and holiday menus. The Herbed Lemon Chicken is one of our favorite company dishes. This week I am making the following recipes from the cookbook: Tortilla Soup, Lemon-Tarragon Chicken on Cannellini beans, Shrimp Fettuccine, Beef Spaghetti Pie Ole, and Fat Free Fudge Brownies. A lot of the dishes can be prepared ahead of time, so it's a great book for entertaining or preparing holiday meals, as well. Enjoy!

This book was not at all what I expected. I was looking for fast and healthy meals to put in front of my family every night; and with the title being "...For People Who Don't Have Time To Cook", I assumed it was geared towards busy families. Unfortunately, the majority of the recipes are not kid-friendly. Dishes like Cider-Poached Salmon with Spiced Pear Sauce, Grilled Swordfish on Herbed Couscous with Vegetable Minestrone, and Middle Eastern Lamb Stew are not likely to please my brood. I sent this book back. 2 stars because the presentation of the book is nice, and I'm sure someone looking for fancy dishes like these would enjoy it.

I never dreamt I'd see the day when I, of all non-cooking people, would say these words but wow, what a terrific cookbook Jeanne Jones' HEALTHY COOKING is! And you may be asking yourself "if she's a non-cooking person how would she know this is a great cookbook?" Well, I'll tell you. Because cooking is my father's absolute favorite hobby, I've been handed down many a cookbook from him with his hopes that maybe, just maybe, one of them might spark the hidden cook in me. But until HEALTHY COOKING I've never picked up a cookbook and looked at it more than once before placing it on the shelf to collect dust (let alone actually cook something out of it).

So anyway, back to why this book is wonderful. In addition to the obvious perks of the recipes being healthy and fast (the fast part making cooking relatively painless for those of us who don't wish to be in the kitchen any longer than absolutely necessary) the beginning of the book gives great advice on topics such as setting up your kitchen, purchasing poultry, storing food, and much more; the margins of the recipe pages are chock full of tips; but my absolute favorite is the "Spin Off" section at the bottom of each recipe which provides useful ideas for what to do with those pesky leftovers (invaluable information for those of us cooking for only one or two people). What more could you ask for in a cookbook? A sincere thank you to Jeanne Jones for creating such a tremendous cookbook as it's accomplished a feat none other, neither book nor human, could. You got a non-cook cooking!

This is an outstanding example of a cookbook that accomplishes its stated purpose. These are excellent recipes which produce very agreeable and enjoyable dishes with a minimum of fuss. With each new recipe I keep thinking, "Well, THIS one isn't going to turn out be as good as the others
have...", but everything keeps coming together and turning out great. Working out of this book, I've had a 100% success rate - out of a dozen tries, I've turned out a dozen dishes I'd want to make again...and roommates, girlfriends and guests have all been quite pleased, so it's not just me.

Another argument in favor of this cookbook is that it is very reasonably priced. Collectors of high priced chef-oriented volumes (Thomas Keller, Daniel Bourdain, or even Tyler, Giada and their Food Network peers) will find it somewhat plain and lacking in presentation (it's nicely put together, but without a lot of fancy production or food photography)...but if you are just looking for a lot of "bang" for your cookbook dollar, this one delivers.

Two caveats - as a previous reviewer mentioned, although these recipes aren't especially exotic, neither are they oriented toward children who are picky eaters. In other words, some of the fancier dishes are not going to fly with the "mac'n'cheese and pizza" crowd. This is definitely adult oriented fare for the most part. And on the other hand, this isn't the fare you would cook to impress a first date - it's excellent stuff, but not especially exotic or impressive looking. That's why I called it a "compromise" in the review title. Save these recipes for friends, family and loved ones who just want something good on the table.

Although it isn't formatted to reach the single/couple cooking demographic, I still have come to prefer "Jeanne Jones' Healthy Cooking" over my previous favorite in that category, "Healthy Cooking For Two (or Just You) by Francine Price. Even though Price's book is nicely designed and has a brilliant format, this book simply has better recipes - each book takes a lot of "shortcuts" that simplify meal prep, but Jones' approach is both more meticulous and also more worth the effort. (And the leftovers are invariably devoured for lunch the next day.)

I was surprised how much my daughter loved this cookbook when she received it as a gift. This book is easy to approach and has tasty, healthy recipes organized by how long it takes to cook them. The food photos are a little dated but the recipes and ideas are excellent. A great cookbook for a young working single.