Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight! : 150+ Restaurant Favorites to Make at Home--All 8 POINTS or Less (Paperback)

~ Weight Watchers (Author) "Oversize muffins sound like they should be off-limits, but not this recipe..." (more)
Key Phrases: homemade pesto, rice sit undisturbed, tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger, Sat Fat, Monterey Jack, Clever Cook (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now you can have take-out tonight and every night and still lose weight!

Craving Chinese, Mexican, Thai, or even Japanese for dinner? No problem and no need to worry about the fat and calories thanks to Take-Out Tonight! Based on the Weight Watchers Winning Points® weight loss plan, Take-Out Tonight! serves up more than 150 mouthwatering recipes that reinvent all of America's most-loved take-out dishes -- all 8 POINTS or less! Few people consider, before they stop in for take-out or pick up the phone to call for delivery, how these made-to-order meals fit into their lives if they're trying to lose weight. Truth is, they don't. So let Take-Out Tonight! help you prepare healthy, delicious meals for you and your family using the smart cooking hints people have come to expect from Weight Watchers cookbooks. Take-Out Tonight! includes:

CHINESE CLASSICS, like Shrimp-and-Pork Wontons, Chinese Barbecued Pork, and Szechuan Chicken with Peanuts • MEXICAN MUST-HAVES, like Family-Style Chicken Enchiladas, Chimichurri Steak with Jicama Salsa, and Nachos Supreme • DELI SPECIALS, like Crunchy Chicken Salad Wraps, Reuben Sandwiches, and Crumb-Topped Jumbo Bran Muffins • TOTALLY THAI, like Shrimp Pad Thai and Coconut Rice Pudding • ITALIAN DELIGHTS, like Pizza with the Works, Spaghetti and Meatballs, and Cannoli

Each recipe offers easy how-tos, tips, and complete nutritional information, as well as POINTS per serving. With Take-Out Tonight! there's really no reason to order out -- so get cooking!

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

It's been said over and over: We're overworked, overstressed, and overbooked. But the fact is that somewhere between office work and homework, cleaning and carpooling, running errands and running a house, you have to eat. Add a family into this chaotic equation and what's a stressed-out wife and mother to do?

Call for take-out.

Recent statistics confirm that ordering out is our generation's way of resolving the daily "What's for dinner?" dilemma. You've also probably noticed that it's possible to walk out of your local market with a fully cooked fresh dinner. Rotisserie chicken or sushi, anyone?

Yet the obvious question arises: How does all this taking out to eat in fit into your life if you're trying to lose weight? Most likely, not very well. It's no secret that whether it's take-out from your local Chinese hangout, the fancy gourmet market, or your town's new Mexican restaurant, portions, fat content, and calorie count of these speedy dishes are, in a word, big.

Welcome to Take-Out Tonight! 150+ Restaurant Favorites to Make at Home. We've re-created and reinterpreted you and your family's tasty take-out favorites, keeping fat, calories, and POINTS in mind so that when the craving hits for peanutty sesame noodles, creamy cannolis, filling fajitas, or tasty nachos, you can indulge in your favorites -- guiltlessly.

Our luscious recipes focus on big flavors and feature ingredients that may be new to your cooking repertoire. That's why we've included plenty of helpful hints, as well as listings of the items you'll need to make your kitchen the perfect pantry for creating these delicious dishes at home.

So put down the menu of your favorite restaurant and scan our index for your favorite dish. With Take-Out Tonight! there's really no reason to order out -- so get cooking.

Nancy Gagliardi

Editorial Director

Copyright © 2002 Weight Watchers International, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; 1 edition (April 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743245946
• ISBN-13: 978-0743245944
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,603 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

166 of 168 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy Restaurant Favorites and They Taste Great Too!!!, April 20, 2003

By	Daniel F. Moore (Yarmouth, Maine USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This may be the best book published under the Weight Watchers' umbrella. It is a wonderful collection of favorite recipes from eight culinary genres. Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Italian, Greek, Japanese and Deli cuisine is featured. I love food (that's my problem) and delights such as General Tso's Chicken, Chicken Saltimbocca, Spanakopita, Shrimp Pad Thai and Moo Goo Gai Pan are now healthy, tasty and guiltless. You will not believe that these recipes are all 8 points or less. What is even more remarkable is that the family or guests will not suspect that these recipes came from Weight Watchers. This is a great leap forward for Weight Watchers as it makes the most popular restaurant meals not only available in your home, but healthy and delicious.

The book, unlike some earlier Weight Watchers' cookbooks, is very well laid out. The chapters are color coded and the index is arranged by cooking cuisine, with the recipes listed alphabetically. There are many beautiful illustrations as well. Many of the recipes come with a box called Clever Cook's Tips that give the user some useful suggestions, techniques and recipe substitutions.

You don't have to be a Weight Watchers' client to appreciate this book. The recipes are just good, dieting or not! Buy this one...you won't be disappointed.

97 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Cookbook!, August 19, 2003

By	Robin Currier - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I must say, this cookbook is outstanding. Every recipe I've tried has come out incredibly good, and most of the recipes I've tried are only 4 or 5 points (Weight Watchers will know what I mean!).

This is a collection of ethnic recipes that you might be able to order take-out, but they are done the Weight Watchers healthy way. Although, I must admit that my local Thai restaurant doesn't have all of these great dishes! The Coconut Curry Pork Satay is to die for, as is the Thai Velvet Corn Soup! And there are great Indian, Mexican, Deli, Italian, and Chinese recipes too.

I can imagine that, depending on where you live, some readers may find some of the ingredients hard to find, but here on the West Coast, our local supermarkets carry Thai fish sauce, coconut milk, and the like.

The cookbook is designed really well, attractive and easy to read with photos to guide you.

Full of interesting flavors, these recipes are pretty quick to make. I'm impressing the heck out of my family with these exotic dinners, and I'm not telling them that they are quick and easy!--I'll just let them be impressed!

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, September 25, 2003

By	gigigal "gigigal" (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews

I was just starting WW and it was going well, but I was bored. I had found a bunch of safe foods with just the right point values, but BOY was I craving take-out food and all those yummy things you can only get when cheating on a diet! I wanted Thai food most, which is notoriously filled with coconut cream and salt. Argh!

When I found this book at Amazon, I immediately ordered it... and thank goodness I did! Not only does it have Thai, but Italian, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Greek -- and more. There are foods in here that I never thought I'd be able to have while on Weight Watchers! The recipes are straightforward and actually authentic -- I was worried that they would be too far from the originals but have been pleasantly surprised. The Thai "fresh" spring rolls (also known as Vietnamese Goi Cuon) are SPOT ON! I've even served them to guests, who couldn't stop complimenting them.

One of the best things about this book is that not only do they provide the nutritional information about each serving, but they actually say the size of each serving. This seems like such a small thing - but in another WW book I ordered, the recipe only tells you how many servings for the whole recipe. Maybe I'm just not good at dividing, maybe I'm lazy... but just knowing that I can have a 1-cup serving of something *before* I start making something is helpful.

I'm usually one of those "make it up as you go" people with cooking (this could be why I'm on WW!) but I find myself actually using this cookbook quite often! Hope this helps!