Customer Reviews

Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents: Wholesome Family Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less From Three Leading Child Nutrition Experts

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I must admit I'm a cook book junkie--always at the library and book stores looking for healthy, "kid-friendly" recipes. I purchased this book on a whim five years ago, and would rate it my all time favorite "family" cookbook. Recipes are in chapters: Soups, Chicken & Fish, Ground Beef (Turkey), Vegetables, Grains, Tortillas, Potatos, Pita Pockets, Stir-fry, Salads, Breads, Finishing touches, Snacks & Lunch treats for kids, and finally Beverages. At the end of all recipes are suggestions to "balance your meal." Many of these suggestions are other recipes in the cook book. There are also several microwave recipes throught the book. The tortilla recipes (Bean Burrito--micro & fast!) and pita recipes (Chicken Parmesan Pita)are especially good. The Chocolate Pudding (micro) recipe is a great after school snack. The bottom line is that my kids will eat almost everything I cook from this book, and I can't say that about any other cook book I own.

Someone tell me, is instant rice, chopped frozen broccoli and CHEESE WHIZ really healthy? If so, I have been doing family meals all wrong!

The book does have some so-so recipes, but they aren't anything that I cant come up with on my own. There are no pictures which makes searching it as exciting as watching paint dry. It is just a major disappointment. I think people who would benefit from this book are people who tend to do fast-food or frozen food a lot, because these recipes are very easy and quick and a whole lot better then a happy meal. But for me, who loves to cook for the family, its just too boring and doesn't deliver on the healthy aspect.

Pros: Quick easy recipes
Has suggestions how to balance the meal (the key to a healthy dinner)
Recipes are much better then fast food

Cons: Not so healthy sometimes
No pictures

Decent recipes. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but they're pretty good (the Chunky Apple Muffins are *very* delicious!). However, some recipes do use heavily processed stuff like cream-of-whatever soup, cheez whiz, etc. Ick. :( It's very easy and takes just a few minutes to make a white sauce instead of using a can of cream soup. Not sure why the authors didn't do that instead, as it's much better - both for flavor and health - than the processed stuff.

My biggest complaint is that the cover says that the recipes can be made in 30 minutes or less. Not true for all of them! I can think of several off the top of my head that take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. I wish they wouldn't have advertised what they couldn't deliver.

This book was disappointing. For starters, if you're cooking healthy recipes you should not be using instant rice, or canned cream-of-whatever soup. And just because you're cooking for children doesn't mean you have to add sugar to vegetables!

There are a few good recipes but borrow from your library first. I think the early Mollie Katzen cookbooks (Enchanted Broccoli Forest, Moosewood Cookbook) have much healthier recipes.

I have recently purchased several books with the same theme of making quick and easy meals, that are healthy and appeal to a wide varety of ages. This book has been the best of the three so far. I consider myself a good cook and other reviewers have critized the ingredients used in this book. True, the recipes do use some conveience items such as canned soup or baking mixes. But when I have just gotten home from work and want to prepare a decent meal quickly, I don't mind a few shortcuts. These shortcuts do not sacrifice taste. The recipes are easy to read, so the lack of pictures does not bother me either. It makes the book more affordable.

My only gripe with this book is the title. Don't expect all of these recipes to be done in 30 minutes or less. About a third require longer cooking or baking time. I save those for the weekends.

I really like the Quick Meals book - true, no pictures, so if that bothers you, don't get it. As for some of the recipes starting with time-savers like cans of soup or pancake/biscuit mix instead of making it from scratch, that didn't bother me either. I thought the recipes were, for the most part, on the healthy side. (This was important to me, too... I've been careful with what my 14 month old son eats so far - no overly processed foods, etc. He hasn't even had chocolate yet.)

The book has practical, easy recipes using stuff I usually have around the house anyway. I'd been stuck in a rut, feeding my son the same stuff everyday. The Quick Meals book gave me a lot of new ideas... For example, there's a "fun with tortillas" page and "parmesan chicken nuggets" (which aren't fried but are baked), and "basil broccoli and mushrooms" (made with frozen broccoli.)

In short, this book gave me a lot of new ideas, none of the recipes take long to prepare, and I usually already have the ingredients for something from the book at any given time. Most importantly though, my son has enjoyed everything I've made so far!

I absolutely love that I found this book. Everynight I would toil over something easy and quick to make and always ended up with something frozen, coated in shake and bake and following with rice a roni or the like. Now, all has changed! Every recipe I've tried so far is remarkably easy and much healthier! A special note - my 16 month old LOVES the homemade chicken nuggets!!! Who knew wheat germ could taste so good?? I HIGHLY recommend this book for any family on the go, or anybody who doesn't want to spend all day in the kitchen! Oh, and the desserts and breads are sooooooo easy and very delicious!

My main gripe with this book is that there is not 1 picture. It makes it really hard to figure out what you are even making!

I haven't owned this one long but have already made several dishes. I especially like the Crispy Oven Drumsticks and the Taco Balls. The recipes are easy and kid-friendly without being loaded with fat, etc. I am very happy with this purchase.

I have had this book for over a year now and have made and enjoyed almost every recipe. I admit at first I was disappointed that there were no pictures but I'm sure it makes the book more affordable. I love that they give side dish and dessert suggestions with every main dish (although I would appreciate a page number reference so I don't have to look each one up in the index). Our family favorite is the Hawaiian Chicken Breast. I also like the "Tools to Help You Get Started" section.