Customer Reviews

The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers: Improving the Way Your Family Eats, One Meal at a Time!

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

These recipes are quick, easy, good, and best of all, a little more adventurous than your normal "family" cookbooks filled with chicken nuggets and pasta. I am not one to plan a week's meals ahead, and I love that I can open this book and find something great to make out of what I have on hand. I've made at least 15 of the recipes and every one was great. The prep time estimates seem to be pretty accurate. Our family in general likes things a little more spicy than most, so some recipes were a little bland but I just add a little more seasoning if that happens. I think they would probably be fine for most people, especially kids.

I think the authors are right on the mark with their advice on kids trying new foods, no "yuck!"s etc. Their philosophy is similar to our own house rules, and as a result my boys (3 and 7) are great eaters. I had the pleasure of meeting the authors at a bookstore signing, and I was very impressed with their knowledge, sensibility, and friendliness!

I pride myself on being a pretty good cook, so the idea that a cookbook would contain recipes that were not only easy (being a working mom with five kids made that important), interesting to my children, and, compelling to myself and my partner seemed impossible. I really enjoy this cookbook. I have liked nearly every recipe I've tried--the kids have been much more open than I ever imagined--and some of the tips have already infiltrated their way into other meals. I appreciate the ease of preparation; I appreciate the range of foods suggested; I appreciate the graphics and side bars of the book. In other words, I am convinced. I really urge you to give this cookbook along with the authors' suggestions about changing your family's eating habits a try.

This is a great guide for tweaking your cooking and becoming aware of the many ways you can adjust your own recipies to add nutrition and flavor while cutting out sodium, processed foods, etc. Yes, the recipies themselves are different and tempting in their own right and are creative enough that you can serve them to anyone, not just children/teens. An excellent primer begins the book about how to gradually add nutrition and fiber to your diet over a period of weeks, so you don't have to feel on a "gung-ho" nutrition kick to make some meaningful changes. Includes fun recipes with titles such as "Sweet & Nutty Thai Thing" (a scaled-back/simplified pad thai), plus an entire chapter on one of my favorite subjects "Breakfast for Dinner". A helpful volume for any cook and most any occasion.

This book is great because the attitude of the authors is so realistic: they know we don't have a lot of free time with work and kids to take care of. So there are no recipes that require hard-to-find ingredients and hours of prep time, just lots of quick, easy recipes that resemble stuff kids are already used to eating (but healthier!)

I like the chapter on stocking your pantry, which has great ideas for healthy ingredients and prepared foods that can cut fat and cooking time simultaneously. They even make recommendations of what to order when you buy fast food -- so I can feel virtuous even when I'm running late.

The whole tone of this book is affirming and empowering, and I tore through the first 4 chapters in a week. The rest is the recipes. We've tried a number of them already, and my 3 year old has devoured everything! (and I've lost 4 pounds! Yippee!)

Easy, healthy and yummy. That pretty much sums up the recipes in this great
book. All kinds of common healthy ingredients are used, stuff I bought in
the past but didn't know how to cook/use, like sweet potatoes and black
beans. Southwest chicken and rice, sweet potato and kale soup, all kinds of
different and interesting recipes that aren't too time-comsuming or
intimidating. Highly recommended!

I love this book! I actually look forward to trying new recipes each week. They are easy to make and use ingredients I usually have on hand. Loved Mexican lasagna and sweet and sour shrimp. I also like having new vegetarian recipes to try for my non-meat-eating friends (pumpkin ravioli, zuke pie). You can only make so many veggie lasagnas!
Healthy, quick, easy-the perfect cookbook for busy people!

OK--you know those days when your kids want McDonalds and you're just too tired to argue? You feel guilty as all heck, but let's face it, we've all been there, even super nutritionist moms, Janice and Liz. So the first step of the book is where they tell you how to take the kids to Micky D's (and other fast food places )and give them the healthiest meals possible. You'll be AMAZED by some of the differences between some of the menu options.

The next step is frozen and prepared foods. Again, we all feel so guilty every time we heat up those fish sticks and frozen peas, but Janice and Liz explain, right down to telling us what brands to use, how to make a really, really healthy meal out of frozen and canned foods.

Finally, for those days when we finally do have some time, Janice and Liz make it so easy to cook easy healthy foods for our kids that they'll actually eat and LOVE. They show us how to clean out our pantries so that cooking like this is easy, and no recipe takes more than 20 minutes.

One of the best parts of the book is the companion website, where you can go, join the club, share recipies and anecdotes with other moms, and get more tips and advice from the monthly mom's newsletter by Liz and Janice--our national treasures! Buy this book, join the club, tell your friends--or be sorry you didn't!

This cookbook is the best! With 3 teenagers, our schedules are busier than ever. The recipes are quick and easy to prepare, and my kids love them!! The Fiery Steak Fajitas, and Hunan Beef and Broccoli are 2 family favorites. The books tips on stocking a healthy pantry is especially helpful (I only buy omega 3 eggs, now)! This book is so reasonably priced that I've bought many copies...now when friends have us over for dinner I give a copy of the book instead of a bottle of wine. They love it!!!

I consider myself a healthy cook, though I can't hold a candle to my friend, Janice Bissex. I bought her book thinking it would be an nice addition to my nutritionally correct library. But when the kids were asking for McDonald's chicken nuggets there was only one place I could turn. There has been no mention of going for fast food since we had the Makeover Mom's No-Nonsense Nuggets and Sweet Potato Fries. And the vegetables my kids are asking for? Janice's Finally Edible Brussel Sprouts.

If you cook for a family you need this book.

This is a WONDERFUL cookbook for those parents interested in improving the meals that we prepare for our kids. Our three young children are of normal weight, are super-active and all have high cholesterol levels so I have been searching for a cookbook oriented to healthier cooking for kids and this cookbook is it! The book is a quick, interesting read even before the receipes are introduced. It is quite factual, without bogging you down with minutiae. I have already tried nine receipes and all of them have been winners with my kids---even the one with brussel sprouts! Today my son asked me to make something for dinner "out of that good food cookbook". Everything has tasted great---nothing has tasted "low-fat". I have re-stocked my pantry and freezer with stuff I never would have thought to try because I thought they were too weird (like flaxseed waffles---delicious!!) or because I didn't know what to do with it--like wheat germ. This book has really expanded the foods that I am serving my family. I am committed to improving how our family eats and this book is a fantastic reference. We had friends over tonight with their three young children and we tried three new receipes and they were all hits. Now, she's ordering a copy of the book, too.