Customer Reviews

The Weeknight Survival Cookbook: How to Make Healthy Meals in 10 Minutes

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am very pleased with this book: it is simple, the recipes can easily be modified, and best of all: there are shopping lists. I find that a large part of my meal executing woes are caused by not having time to plan and make lists. The foods are very middle of the road: not too gourmet, not too many processed foods. A couple meals a week are vegetarian, but carb watchers can add a fish fillet or chicken or something to the meal easily. Lots of veggies are included too. After purchasing a similar book that ended up suggesting I make "duck tacos" this book is a winner. Tip: take it to an office supply store and have the cover laminated and have it spiral-bound for easy use.

Review Update: Completed all the recipes in the book, and am almost all the way through a second time
My boyfriend and I LOVE this book. If you love efficiency, you will too. It's not gourmet - you probably wouldn't impress anyone with these recipes, but they're tasty, well balanced, and sooo easy. The book just makes life simpler by doing all the planning for you - you know that every night, you'll have everything you need to make a quick, healthy, hot meal.
I think we found about 4 recipes in the book total that we didn't like very much - and we simply modified them a bit and are now happily working our way through a second time. Everything I said in my original review (below) is still true...we have a quick, easy, low-clean up dinner every night, a healthy home-cooked lunch every day and we've been spending about $3-$4 per meal to do it.


Original Review: Three Weeks In
You need to try this book - it's fantastic. My boyfriend and I have been using it for a few weeks now and can't stop talking about how great it is. Every night, we make dinner, eat it and have all the dishes done within half an hour. We pack the leftovers in tupperware and have lunch for the next day. The best part is that we don't have to plan or make up shopping lists, and the food is (amazingly) both tasty and healthy. Of course, there are a few dud recipes - I think in three weeks we came across two dishes that we didn't like very much, but we've taken notes on how we'll substitute something else next time, and are still really excited about the book.

Positives in our experience
1. We're saving a lot of time
- No more planning or making up shopping lists
- Shopping is a breeze- the shopping lists in the book are categorized
- We honestly spend only about ten minutes every night on dinner (except Sunday, when it's just a few hours)
- Less preparation = less clean up.

2. We're saving money
- The meals are very well sized. Because the meals are designed for four, we eat half for dinner and half for lunch the next day. It's the perfect amount for us- no eating out, no buying lunches!
- So far, we've been spending about $90 each week on the necessary food. That's feeding two people, two meals a day, six days a week...not bad at all for healthy, home-cooked food, and that $90 also includes the money we spend on breakfast items.
- Less impulse buying. We know exactly what we need, so we don't end up buying things we never eat. We go into the store with a mission, and don't stop to think things like, "well, maybe we can eat this later this week"
- We have our shopping lists planned for the next 12 weeks. That means we can look ahead and buy non-perishables when they're on sale, but only buy as many as we'll use.

3. We're eating well

Negatives:
- Every now and then we end up with half a can of something left over, or something like that. However, this is pretty normal when you're doing any kind of cooking. Not a big deal.
- The books calls for a lot of frozen/canned vegetables instead of fresh. Of course, this is how you can afford to have quick meals, but sometimes it's nice to substitute the fresh stuff.

I just purchased this book, and Ihave yet to try any of the recipes. I was excited about the idea of a book helping me to plan better so that we could eat healthier and I wouldn't end up spending all evening in the kitchen. The basic concept of this book is that you make one big meal a week and use the leftovers to make other meals throughout the week. Meaning less prep time on weeknights. This means that one night you'll have chili. The next night you'll have chili stuffed baked potatoes. Then on the third day you'll have chili something else. Some people might not like this kind of repetition, but others will appreciate the convenience. There are 12 weeks of meals included in this book, with few repeats. Usually three or four of the meals are similar and two others are simple recipes that are easily made in a few minutes.

I plan to use this book three to four nights a week--on my nights to cook. There were usually only three recipes a week that my husband and I were interested in. It's too bad this book doesn't have any pictures. But all in all, I'm excited to try it out.

Update after two weeks: Though my husband has enjoyed my using this book because I've made some dinners that we liked but might not have made without this impetus, I think we are going to abandon this system. Too often the shopping lists advise you to buy a particular size package of an item, but the recipe only uses half of it (or less). But there have been a few good recipes. We especially enjoyed the Spanish Rice with Sausage and the Corn Chowder.

This is the first cookbook I have been able to really use. I have used it for three complete weeks and am thrilled. You buy all the ingredients you need for one week at a time. Shopping lists for the week are provided and even broken down by section of the grocery store ie. "frozen foods", "canned goods" etc. You do all the cooking for the week on Sunday and even this only takes a couple of hours. The rest of the week you assemble nutritious meals in 10 to 20 minutes! And all the meals taste good! I would highly reccommend this for any busy person who wants to provide nutritious meals with a minimun of weekday prep time. An excellent holiday gift for busy people.

I stumbled across this cookbook recently, and I am so glad I did! I have read many (too many) cookbooks on how to prepare quick healthy meals and this book is excellent. I love going to the store armed with a list of healthy ingredients that I KNOW will give me a week's worth of nutritious meals--at least for me and my husband. My kids are super picky, so I have to work around them a bit. But it is not hard to do using the ingredients in these meals. I would recommend it to any family looking for healthy and quick dinners. It has definitely helped my stress level and made me feel like a more organized cook. I commend the author for her work on this cookbook. Great job!

I have completed week two of this book and am delighted. The food is simple and good and QUICK! Though the recipes are for four, I have easily made the adjustments for two (my husband and I). The Sunday preparations for the rest of the week have not exceeded an hour yet--wow! With all the money we are saving-no deliveries, and all the extra sleep we are getting (thanks to quick prep and quick clean-up) this could be the best thing that has happened to us in a looooong time! Would have given 5 stars but the meals are not quiet gourmet...

Are you tired of searching through healthy cookbooks to find a recipe, and then spending more than a hour in preparation? This book was a great find. Your grocery list is prepared, buy your food, prepare in one day (about 1 hour), and you're set for the week. The food is delicious (and healthy). If Dena Irwin writes another cookbook in this manner, she will definately have a sale from me.

I have a shelf full of highly rated cookbooks, but always had issues with finding the time, experience, and organization to use them. Domestic I am not, but eating out all the time is expensive and unhealthy so I found this fantastic little book (thanks for all the reviews, everyone).

This book is perfect for us beginners and/or busy people!

I have been using this book for three weeks, and it has been a lifesaver in my home! Sure the Sunday recipes take an hour or two (this is when it useful to get a wife, husband, older child, or roommate to help out) but the weeknight recipes are SUPER EASY (5-15 minutes max). Furthermore, I really love how the book compiles grocery lists for each week. The recipes are healthy balanced meals (low-cal, low-fat and low-sodium) and come with nutritional lists (great for those of us watching our weight).

One final note: The portions are generous, and serving sizes are 4 (great for families). But if you only have 1 or 2 people in your home it's adviseable to half the ingredient portions once you get your feet wet.

Like one of the reviewers, I also have never taken the time to write a review but this book is so worth it. I have told everyone that I know about this cookbook. Our family loves it. It has been such a time saver AND the meals taste good. My husband likes it so much that he ordered a copy for his brother and sister and their families. I love the shopping list. I just decide which week we are going to do and then I photocopy the shopping list. We have tried ALL thirteen weeks. Some things I tweak a little bit. For example, I use dressing with 2 grams of fat instead of no fat. I just think it tastes better. The meals really do only take 10 minutes AFTER the first day. You have to take some time preparing for the rest of the week, usually only an hour or two (if that). But, after that each meal is easy, fast, and tasty. In addition to being easy, fast, and tasty, the meals are healthy. I love that I can be confident that I am providing a healthy meal for my family. I lost eight pounds using this cookbook and I wasn't even trying. What a nice bonus!

This is the best cookbook I have ever used. The recipes are quick and easy and taste great. There are hardly any pots and pans to clean up. The menus and shopping lists help to keep me organized. This book has changed my life. I can now cook healthy meals for my family in just a few minutes. No more take out. I highly reccomend it.