Customer Reviews

Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've only had this cookbook for two weeks, but it has already totally re-shaped the way I cook. I don't have time to go to meetings and don't have the money to join Weight Watchers, but I DO count my points. Before this cookbook came along, I was hard-pressed to stay under 30 points per day, and my food was sooooo boring! I can easily stay under 22 points per day with this cookbook, and there's sooo much variety! I just sit down on Saturday and plan out my next week's menus, then pick everything up at the grocery store on Sunday morning. For a busy person like me, that works best, but if you're not quite as busy, you can probably plan your meals on a day-to-day basis. What's even better is that my fiance likes the meals, too...and he's not even trying to lose weight. About 3 1/2 pounds have come off in less than two weeks and my favorite pair of pants is so loose that I was stepping on my own pantlegs the other day. Great cookbook for those wanting to lose weight.

Only one word of warning: If you don't like to cook, or if you're wanting "simple" recipes, this is not the cookbook for you. I personally think the recipes are relatively simple, but I love to cook and have a ton of kitchen tools to make the dicing, slicing, chopping, and mincing a lot easier. I can see how someone who's not familiar with a kitchen would just throw this book on the pile with their other unused cookbooks; there's a lot of kitchen and food prep work in the recipes I've tried so far, so kitchen-phobes should stay away.

I have a collection of Weight Watcher cookbooks. One, out of print, has some of the best tasting recipes for international favorites. But the older WW books don't have the point system used by the current program. (The older system used servings of food groups, the new one uses points--low calorie foods like vegetables accumulate less points than high calorie fat-laden ones. You can eat anything, up to your point total. But if you blow it all on bags of M&M's you will, of course be hungry!) So having recipes that use the point system is very handy to follow a Weight Watcher program. Plus, when you reach your goal, you have to try to stay within 2 lbs of the ideal weight. So, this book is handy to go back on the program if you need to.

This book has more good international favorites such as stuffed grapeleaves (Dolmades) and some American favorites like Tuna Noodle cassarole, which I love but which normally is too rich for me to enjoy. You can make these recipes for the whole family because they taste good --just make plenty for the skinny big eaters to be satisfied. As always, Weight Watcher recipes are great-tasting. I actually prefer their versions of many things to the higher-calorie and fat original versions. You never are left banging on your plate yelling "Hello, Mr. Taste??? Hello?"

This is another great cookbook from Weight Watchers. One measure of its success is that non-dieting friends for whom I've prepared some of the dishes always ask me for the recipes. The Roast Pork Puertoricano (pork tenderloin marinated in orange, garlic, cumin, and jalepeno then roasted to perfection) and Dolmades (vegetarian, but easily convertable to carnivore) alone are worth the price of admission. As with other WW cookbooks, the lack of portion size is inconvenient. But the pros far overshadow the cons: tasty, easy, and fast recipes the whole family will enjoy; WW 1-2-3 Points and nutritional information; good mix of vegetarian and nonvegetarian recipes; ingredients call for realistic and easily purchased food; complete instructions so novice cooks aren't scared off. The recipes in this book take some of the sting out of watching one's weight. For that, it's a bargain at twice the price.

I bought this book when I started WW. It is so easy to follow and the pictures of the foods make my mouth water. The book is in categories such as: Pork, Fish, Pasta, Meat, Vegetarian, and Poultry. This makes it a snap to plan a menu for the week. For example, I say that I want a chicken dish and then go through the pages in that category. The only problem is that I want to make all the recipes. The recipes all come out well. My family loves them including, my 5 1/2 yr. old son and my 3 yr. old daughter who are very picky eaters. The ingredients are easy to find and many of them are in the house already. I found it interesting to find many recipes that were vegetarian and were not just beans or tofu. It makes yummy meals that are nutritious, colorful, tasty, filling, enjoyable for the whole family, and includes serving sizes, and nutritional content.

I recommend this book for WW members who are looking for new recipes that do not taste like cardboard or lack color. I have read different recipe books for dieters and yuck. Half the recipes were so time consuming and required exotic ingredients that I had to order them. My family did not like any of the recipes. However, the WW books are the exact opposite!

I use the cookbook nearly everyday. It is great to use for party ideas, buffets, breakfast, lunch, and dinners. I have entertained with some of these dishes. My guests thought they were made with the high fat and calories that I substituted low fat and low calories. This means that it truly is great! Go get this book today. Even if you are not a WW member it really helps to keep you eating smart and losing wt.

Weight watcher or no weight watcher, I love this marvellous cookbook simply for the absolutely, positively scrumptous recipes. Many are unique, simple and easy, yet your family or guests will think you spent hours upon hours in the kitchen. What attracted me to the book was the simple fact our family likes to eat healthy, low fat meals - not to lose weight but to prevent weight gain, and to maintain optimum health while still getting our required daily nutrition. This fantastic book fit the bill and my entire family enjoys the recipes and most are are a cinch to prepare. The thorough nutritional breakdown was a real plus and not always found in other cookbooks.

I read the reviews and heard the complaints about the portion calculations. Not a problem. Just divide what you make by serving number visually. This book is terrific. Nothing to complain about only pure enjoyment in eating the foods. Gourmet quality recipes that are fun to make...of course one has to enjoy cooking. GREAT BOOK!

WW has great recipes but they've done my pet peeve again! It is so annoying to look at, for instance, the soup you just made and be forced to either guess at 1/8 or measure the whole batch of soup and then extract an 1/8. Why not: Serving size 1 1/2 cup?

I have been a Weight Watchers member for a long time (over 2 years) and I have succeded in losing over 115 pounds on the diet. I did that by making the recipes from the weight watchers cookbooks. They have hundreds of recipes that are good for you, low fat, and meals that the whole family will love...even if they do not need to lose weight.
I especially love this book because it also has mouth watering pictures. My sister just bought the cookbook because she recently joined weight watchers and she made 2 recipes in 2 days and her whole family loved the meals.
This is a must buy cookbook for any avid cooker.

Like any cookbook, you're not going to love everything. There are some hits and misses here. Fortunately, so far, I've experienced far more of the good than bad. For instance, I can't say enough about how great the Chicken Quesadillas, Tomato Basil Pizza, Beef Chili and Balsamic Veal Chops are. I will avoid like the plague the Chicken Hash and the Roast Beef and Arugula.

What is really lacking from this cookbook, however, is the absence of portion sizes. Like other reviewers have pointed out, this is not a big deal if you are serving up a baked item. But for something like the Beef Chili, you are forced to divide up the meal upon completion just to see what one serving out of four looks like. This is extremely annoying.

Aside from that, the recipes are very easy to make. (Note: when making a dish, trust your instincts. If it seems like too much spinach is being used,like in the Spinach Fettuccine, it probably is. Cut back.)

What I appreciate is the variety, which means you won't get bored and look to that bag of Fritos for comfort.
Despite some shortcomings, I'm still giving this four stars because when this book is on, it's on.

I am a foodie, or an foodie wannabee who has some pounds to lose. Not surprisingly, since there's been a major trend in healthy eating over time, now some even so-called "gourmet" cookbooks are trying to incorporate low-fat things like egg substitutes and evaporated milk into their recipes to make them healthier, or to have less fat.

Luckily, Weight Watchers and the people who publish "Cooking Light" (both owned by same company I think)create truly wonderful recipes which will enable you to stay on a diet and eat well at the same time. The food brains behind these recipes create big flavors from spices, herbs, condiments and pungent additions like exotic mushrooms, chilies, anchovies, capers, olives, etc. instead of from fat.

There is something for everyone in this book. Sometimes you'll make something and go "something's missing" (yeah! the fat!) still there are plenty of keepers here like Roast Zucchini Provencal and the most incredible roast whole chicken w/gravy I've ever had in my life. I have several weight watchers books and don't doubt for a minute that these people are absolute culinary pros who know exactly what they're doing. You won't find classical french cuisine here, but if you need to cut down and eat healthier, this is a great place to start.