Low-Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock [Paperback]

Sam Gugino (Author), Frankie Frankeny (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2000

Can low-fat cooking be fast-really fast-and tasty too? You bet! Expanding on the successful formula of Cooking to Beat the Clock, food journalist Sam Gugino is back with Low-Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock. Using clever time-saving (and fat-busting) techniques, Gugino shows busy cooks how to get a healthy dinner fit for a gourmand on the table in 15 minutesincluding the time it takes to chop and prep. Low-Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock drastically cuts the preparation time for meal-sized entrees, while offering creative new ways of thinking about any recipe that will change the way you cook. It's amazing but true: a healthy, great-tasting dinner can be ready in 15 minutes, start to finish!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Imagine being able to prepare a delicious, low-fat meal from scratch in the same time it takes to order a pizza. It may sound too good to be true butAfor the most partAit's not. Gugino builds on the concept behind his first book, Cooking to Beat the Clock, with all of its time-saving strategies such as filling pots with hot water from the tap to save on boiling time, but reduces the fat for the health- and diet-conscious. For flavor, cooks will need a pantry stocked with such specialties as candied ginger, raspberry vinegar and fish sauce, and for speedy preparation, a food processor (to save time chopping) is critical. For the most part, the recipes are low-fat versions of traditional favorites: Spicy Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry, Beef Stroganoff and Spaghetti Carbonara with Prosciutto and Peas. Nevertheless, there are a few original surprises with strong, clear flavors, including Pan-Seared Scallops with Napa Cabbage and Gingered Carrots. Disappointingly, many of the recipes consist of meat and a starch or meat and a vegetableAnot necessarily a complete meal. That said, these recipes are clearly written (though the oddly blurry photos don't do the recipes justice) and will be a boon for cooks with little time on their hands. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Sam Gugino is a columnist for Wine Spectator and a frequent contributor to the New York Times. He lives in New York city. Visit Sam's Web site at: www.samcooks.com .

Frankie Frankeny is a San Francisco-based photographer whose work has illustrated many books, including Wookiee Cookies (0-8118-2184-6) and The Christmas Cookie Book (0-8118-3095-0).

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811827127
• ISBN-13: 978-0811827126
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,356,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delicious, Healthy but not 15 minutes, March 8, 2001

By 

S. Cohen (California USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Low-Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock (Paperback)

This book contains many very clever, tasty, healthy entrees that can be prepared quickly, but realistically not in 15 minutes. These are not "meat & potatoes" recipes -- they presume a well-stocked and diverse pantry. Everything that I have made so far has worked and been delicious. The author employs a "mis en place" cooking style and his clock doesn't start running until all the prep work is done. I suppose if there were a prep chef in my house, I could do the cooking in 15 minutes too. On the other hand, all the recipes can be completed in 30 minutes or less and that's fine by me. One really annoying "technical" nit -- many of the recipes have the ingredients list on one page and the instructions on the following page -- meaning that I am constantly flipping back & forth to follow the recipe. Really annoying for a "quick" cookbook. I would consider this the fault of the publisher not the author. If it weren't for this serious flaw, I would give this book 5 stars.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick, healthy, and great tasting meals, August 5, 2001

By 

swyck "swyck" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Low-Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock (Paperback)

I'm not much of a cook, but I still want to eat healthy yet tasty meals. I also did not want to spend all day cooking. The book title looked interesting, so I decided to take a look. When I found the recipe for Paella, a favorite of mine, along with a great picture, I was sold on this book.

Paella in 15 minutes? Well, not quite. The first time it took me about 45 minutes of stumbling around trying to read and cook at the same time. It was overcooked, and the kitchen was a mess, but still tasted pretty good. The second time around was much easier, took about 25 minutes, and the Paella tasted great.

To use these recipes, it does take some preparation before the 15 minute clock starts. I set up the ingredients, open the cans, and measure some of the components. I would say this is more of a 20-30 minute cookbook. I've enjoyed most of the recipes - loved the Minestrone - and they are not very complicated to make. I recommend reading carefully the first time through a recipe. They are very tightly arranged, and looking for a saute pan or some ingredient while cooking and the clock is ticking is not a good idea.

Another benefit is that the recipes are measured for four, which is fine since I'm single. For 20-30 minutes of work, I have dinner or lunch set for most of the week. The meals are low calory and low fat, but there is enough there to fill you up.

Quick and healthy meals that taste great. Can't beat that.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good quick, tasty, but not quite complete healthy meals., January 14, 2002

By 

Eric Pfeiffer "musicmad" (Palmyra, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Low-Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock (Paperback)

I've cooked for many years, and have probably too large a cookbook collection. This is a great addition. I really like this book. The pantry ideas are good (although you may stock things you normally wouldn't, like canned artichokes in water or tomato paste in a tube...which I'm glad I know of now), the recipes taste good, and they are quickly prepared. Now, 15 minutes? Maybe if you're very organized and your kitchen is set-up perfectly. Mine's not, yet I can still get a meal from raw to the table in 15 to 30 minutes. It's a different way of cooking for me, as I tend to "nurture" my meals, so it's been fun to try a different speed technique. Be warned that most of these are not really whole meals. He is way to light on vegetables, so have some salad or frozen veggies around, or a really fast prep assistant to use raw veggies. I won't use this technique every night, but it's fun to have an extra hour and still enjoy what I've cooked. The only reason I dropped one star is because of the veggie issue. He makes a strong point that these are meals, but I've had to add extra veggies to almost every dish. Easily done, but not quite as advertised. Oh, and what is with the list of ingredients and the recipe on the other side of the page. Not all of them, but enough to be a little frustrating. That said, you'll probably like this.