207 of 211 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Real food for real lives!, February 23, 2008
This review is from: The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great (Hardcover)
**Edited, 3 years after original review. I am still cooking from this cookbook several times weekly. And I am always finding new recipes to try. Here are some of my faves: crustless quiche, creamy tomato soup, biscotti, all the roasted veggies, granola, creamy parmesean salad dressing. If you are looking for fabulous, everyday, healthy recipes, this is the cookbook for you!***
I have been a huge fan of Pam Anderson's other "Perfect" cookbooks. Especially "Perfect Recipes for Having People Over," and "How to Cook Without a Book." She is just a great chef and writer. Her insight is always invaluable. However, it is not really practical for me (or anyone) to eat most of these foods on a daily basis because many of them are high in fat and calories.
In her new book, Pam shows you how you can eat really good food, but cook recipes that are not too caloric or fat laden. The recipes are really do-able for everyday cooking and eating, even if you have a busy schedule. And, in typical Pam fashion, she gives variations on almost every recipe to suit your tastebuds and the ingredients you have on hand. A calorie count is also given for every recipe.
Just as valuable as the recipes, is the information Pam gives you about how she lost almost 50 pounds. Her biggest tip is that she changed her lifestyle. She added exercise and created kind of a meal plan and guidelines that she feels (and I feel) are liveable. She has a nice breakfast, a nice lunch, teatime with a sweet, a before dinner "nibble" with a glass of wine and a reasonable dinner. And the truth is, if you eat like this day in-day out, you will slowly lose weight (or stay the same). What makes most of us gain weight is the over-indulgent stuff, eating too much on a daily basis, and constant yo-yo dieting.
I am not doing her writing justice, please get it and read it. I am so excited to implement her strategies and recipes in to my life. I love to cook, and I love to eat, but I hate being fat!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
NOT A DIET: A Different, Flexible, Balanced Approach to LIVING, May 16, 2008
This review is from: The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great (Hardcover)
I've used Pam Anderson's recipes for years with confidence and learned a lot from her about technique and the reasoning behind great recipes. She's taught me to consider what I like to eat and why, and how to make recipes work. So it is no surprise that this book continues this way. It is a blueprint for BALANCED LIVING: "What do you need in life to be happy?" "What foods satisfy you? -- and thereby must be incorporated in your life?" This is NOT a DIET. This is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. She says what is common sense but so few women act apon: If YOU are exhausted from always giving and doing for others, then eventually you will break down emotionally, physically, etc. If your life is full of resentment and stress, YOU must do something to address this and deal with it constructively. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!!
The recipes are designed so that you can easily adapt them to whatever is more your style. Use your own ingredients and other recipes to fill in! Her message is to STOP obsessing about fat, carbs, etc and focus more on fulfillment within reason, and taking care of yourself.
I am a busy mom with 3 kids. I am a 'diet/lifestyle change' group leader. I participate in exercise classes as student or leader 3-4 times a week. But I still struggle with weight/food because I focus on food as reward/sacrifice/vice/ETC. That isn't what it's about!
I bought this book when it came out and just went to a cooking demo/class with Pam (I admit with some skepticism) and was inspired by both. She says precisely what is in my mind: Why sacrifice, go on a diet with strict rules and lose weight only to gain it all back when I just go back to my real life? What's the use? This is a guide to living a happy life. Shed the emotional baggage, stop worrying about what everyone else might think! Communicate with your loved ones and develop solid, loving relationships! Find a way of exercising that you enjoy, and DO IT regularly! Eat and ENJOY food without guilt or excess -- not as a vice but as a basic part of a happy life!
BTW, all of the book's recipes I've tried -- at the cooking demo and on my own -- are delicious, pretty, and quite simple to prepare. (She also deliberately makes them a little difficult to simply chow down on-- part of her message is to nibble and savor your food.)
Her 'program' is spreading 6 nice meals and snacks throughout the day. Instead of cramming fast junk down your craw twice a day, take the time to prepare and eat 3 healthy delicious balanced pretty meals three times, also 3 times stop to relax and put up your feet for 5-10 minutes and savor a cup of tea and fruit/1-2 little cookies/etc. What a lovely thought and YES YOU DESERVE THIS and can do it!!! By thinking about when and what you really need to eat --instead of reflexively saying "Noon--it's lunchtime, I must eat something" listen to your body's rhythms and find what works for you to make you happy. OK, so I won't pick a glass of wine and a fancy cracker/cheese; a glass of milk (btw not in a REAL glass not the kids meal plastic cup) with pretzels will do if done in the right attitude. And yes, teach your kids that this 5 minutes is a peaceful quiet time-- they probably need a nice snack then too, sit down and cuddle and talk or read a book with them. What a cherished time and happy memory that will become!
I've read through the negative reviews of this book and basically these people are not 'getting it'. 1) No, she doesn't include exchanges and fat counts, because that's not the type of person she is-- neither am I and that sort of diet is just frustrating to me. She knows how many calories to eat per day and sticks to it, but chooses foods she enjoys to cook and eat--and encourages you to do the same. Know your calorie limits and stick to them. 2)Yes, some of these items are high-end or high in fat or whatever, but if that's not your style then don't use them. She is a cookbook writer and gourmand, so she uses sundried tomatoes, olive oil, and yet ramen noodles. I don't use any of those but can easily substitute something else. Have some basics in your pantry that you can toss together in different variations, being aware that this is @___ calories and addresses this or that food group, etc. 3)She has a flexible time schedule so she was able to take 3 walks a day, etc. That may not work for you, BUT there is a way for you to manage your life and include regular exercise-- not because you HAVE to, because it recharges you and you WANT to do it.
If you truly, truly do NOT have the time and energy to adapt make simple changes, then something is wrong with your life -- and maybe it's time for you to examine your choices and do a little "JUST SAY NO" here and there. Stop making excuses and use your talent and creativity to make a better life for yourself and the people around you!!!
I encourage you to incorporate Pam's ideas into your life, using her structure to guide you to your own balance. Take charge and take responsibility (if YOU don't take care of you, who will?), find what is right for YOU and do it! PLAN AHEAD and have some treats you love on hand, whether it's homemade and in the freezer or a 100-calorie pack of cookies. And savor the food, make it pretty because YOU DESERVE IT, go for a walk with your spouse or a friend, live life fully and happily!
Good luck and best wishes to you!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
65 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing as a weight loss plan, April 13, 2008
This review is from: The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great (Hardcover)
I bought this book because I've been a fan of Pam Anderson's for a long time. Many of her recipes have become staples in my household. Ever since I found out that she'd lost a considerable amount of weight, I've been waiting for her to write a book about it. She has, and the recipes look so delicious that it's hard to believe they are weight-loss fare. Indeed some of the 500+ calorie pastas really are not, unless you plan the rest of the day accordingly.
And that is the main problem with the book: There is no plan to follow. Given that, I wish she'd included the standard nutritional info, such as protein, fat, carbs, and fiber, along with the calories to help readers create their own plan using the recipes.
The key to the book is in the title. The recipe for losing weight is exercise, and the actual food recipes are for eating great. The problem is, if you choose her breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes on the higher calorie end, you will not lose weight unless you engage in the hour or so of running every day that she prescribes. To maintain her weight loss, she says she's cut her runs down to 45 minutes a day.
I don't think this book will be useful to very many as a weight-loss book, unless you stick to the lower calorie recipes and don't go for all the extras and add-ins that are Anderson's trademarks. I think the recipes are probably most helpful for maintaining weight loss. And I'm sure it is very a delicious way to do so.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
