can you reccomend a cook book?

[Anonymous]

need healthy and hearty, DH is overweight and DS is 6 and a picky eater and DD is 2 and still not loving healthy food. HELP ME! SOMEONE! we have been a pasta/takeout/pizza family.

[Anonymous]

I'll admit, I have many cookbooks but don't use them much because of lack of time. That said, one I do use is "Real Food Fast" by the editors of Everyday Food, plus I have "How to Cook Everything" and the traditional Betty Crocker Cookbook for the basics. I also have one of Rachael Ray's that has some keepers, but you have to scan recipes carefully - some aren't very healthy thanks to her love of EVOO. I'll admit, I love to *eat* gourmet, and these definitely aren't, but they work for us.

Another option you might consider is one of the dinner prep places like Let's Dish or Dream Dinners to make/freeze a bunch of meals at once. For the past few years, I've done the former once every couple of months, and with the exception of a couple dud dishes here and there, most of the meals are satisfying, and some are downright delicious (shrimp scampi, chili lime flank steak, molten chocolate cakes!) Not all are healthy (see aforementioned cakes), but the website provides the nutrition info so you can help sort through the options. It's really nice to know on any given night I have dinner defrosted and ready to go and just have to steam some veggies or toss a salad...

[Anonymous]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The 6 O'Clock Scramble. Kids eat almost everything.

This book changed our lives, seriously. It is broken into seasons and you eat a different thing every night. Even suggests sides, etc, and has cooking and storage tips. We never did the service, they will even send you shopping lists. There might be a free trial, never checked. The food is healthy and we are also saving SO much $.

[Anonymous]

The weight watchers series is available on amazon- "Comfort Food" is probably the most kid friendly.

If you go on the Washington Post recipes they'll give you the search option of "heart healthy" "kid friendly" etc. and give you the nutritional info per serving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The 6 O'Clock Scramble. Kids eat almost everything.

This book changed our lives, seriously. It is broken into seasons and you eat a different thing every night. Even suggests sides, etc, and has cooking and storage tips. We never did the service, they will even send you shopping lists. There might be a free trial, never checked. The food is healthy and we are also saving SO much $.

Us, too! Just had the Taco Chili with Cilantro Sour Cream tonight and the whole family loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The 6 O'Clock Scramble. Kids eat almost everything.

This book changed our lives, seriously. It is broken into seasons and you eat a different thing every night. Even suggests sides, etc, and has cooking and storage tips. We never did the service, they will even send you shopping lists. There might be a free trial, never checked. The food is healthy and we are also saving SO much $.

Us, too! Just had the Taco Chili with Cilantro Sour Cream tonight and the whole family loved it.

Whenever my 6 year old is dubious about dinner she always asks suspiciously if it is from "that 6 O'Clock book". If I say yes, she dives in. There have been a few things what have been more mediocre, everyone's tastes are different, but many have been so yummy we have repeated them on the weekends, even for company.

Did you find that you lost weight? I think that the food is pretty flavorful for the most part and we are hardly eating out anymore. Just saving the pizza calories alone probably helped but I have lost 7 lbs without trying.

OP, it's pretty flexitarian, lots of kid friendly pasta but with veggies, some chicken, fish and some beef. You can always sub out things like shrimp if your kids won't eat it. We sometimes add those Trader Joe's chicken strips to the pasta dishes. We are a family of 4 so often there is enough left for adult lunches the next day.

[Anonymous]

Cooks Illustrated - Best 30 Minute Cookbook. I've got a lot of cookbooks and this, by far, is the one I'd choose if I could only have one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cooks Illustrated - Best 30 Minute Cookbook. I've got a lot of cookbooks and this, by far, is the one I'd choose if I could only have one.

I love Cook's Illustrated!


I also like Cooking Light magazine (and searchable website) - I just made a yummy pork stew tonight from the latest issue.

[Anonymous]

I did the 6 O'clock scramble service (versus the cookbook). I liked that you could pick and choose other recipes online. I thought the "create a grocery list" to be a nice idea in theory, but not in practice (as it didn't leave room to write in other groceries and I think it automatically added the suggested sides, but I am a control freak). I also found a lot of recipes to be very bland (not all), but I have never heard anyone say about the cookbook. Of course, it could be the "cook" and not the recipe.

The real upside to me of the service is that after I didn't like a recipe, I just threw it out. And the recipes I did like - and there were some real keepers - I saved and laminated them. Now I have one binder with all my favorites from the Scramble and other places, so I don't have to go hunting through a ton of cookbooks to find my favorite meals. Now when I do my weekly meal planning, I just flip open the binder.

The website itself has free recipes to try and the owner is the best darn customer service person I have ever dealt with. So if you feel you need "support' (aka - ask about a recipe, want to get tips every week), the service would be the best way to go. She also may be open to a trial or give you a money-back guarentee.

[Anonymous]

Second (or third or fourth) Six o Clock Scramble. I do the service - I find the benefit is not in the grocery list, but in having a manageable set of recipes to choose from each week sent to me. If we don't like enough, then we go to standbys, which are usually also Scramble recipes that we have in a binder. Also, the recipes are very customizable for meat vs. non-meat eaters and has tips for how to make the recipe more or less tasty (i.e. blander for the kiddos, if they like that sort of thing). She also includes sides. And the recipes are all very healthy without seeming nutty.

[Anonymous]

Great Food Fast is great as it has recipes divided by what's in season...so there are recipes for Spring, Winter, Fall, Summer which I like. You can take advantage of farmer's markets or even the regular supermarket this way. I recently bought Hungry Girl which I haven't actually used yet but like the recipes. They have recipes for taking regular high fat high calorie food and making them much healthier. If you're used to take out, give this book a look over....it might work for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great Food Fast is great as it has recipes divided by what's in season...so there are recipes for Spring, Winter, Fall, Summer which I like. You can take advantage of farmer's markets or even the regular supermarket this way. .

I second this recommendation (and I think its the same book the first poster referred to as "Real Food Fast"). Its by Everyday Food/Martha Stewart.

Someone else on this board referred to is as Martha Stewart-lite... which is very accurate. I don't have the time or skill to cook like Martha (or even the desire), but I love this cookbook because it is full of fresh recipes (no canned soup here) with fresh ingredients, that are easy and good. It has supplanted the Joy of Cooking as my go-to cookbook. I also love the fact that it is divided by season, because frankly, I eat lighter fare (and more grilled dishes) in the summer, and I eat thicker/heavier meals in the winter. Plus, as the PP suggested, you can always find fresh ingredients in season.

[Anonymous]

We really like the Americas Test Kitchen (part of the cooks illustrated empire) Family Cookbook. The recipes work, the food is generally easy to make, and it appeals to kids and adults.