Lisa Lillien

Love this cookbook. There are a ton of great quick recipes. However...A word to the newbies looking for more healthy eating recipes. Although these recipes are low in calories this cookbook uses a lot of packaged foods and artificial sweeteners which means high sodium and high chemical content. Although a recipe may be low cal or low sugar it doesn't necessarily mean it's good for you.

Many of the recipes go for those "dieting tricks" instead of healthy eating... using very few "real foods" show more and go for the chemical replacements. This isn't to say it's a bad cookbook, just that if you're looking for healthy you'll need to play with these recipes a bit to get the most out of them. show less

I enjoyed this quirky little cookbook. The meals are super easy to prepare, and each serving is under 300 calories. I like that it's organized by meal time, and within that, they're grouped by category. To me, a lot of the recipes could've been omitted and just put as variations on other recipes (e.g., some of the egg mugs or scrambles), but overall, this is a great, quick and easy cookbook!

Definitely an averaging of 4-star qualities and 2-star qualities. On the one hand, there were some great ideas about adding healthier crunch to things, like with the fiber cereal and crushed rice cakes. The single-serving recipes were a refreshing change. Also some really good general restaurant tips in the back. On the other hand, there was much more use of chemicals and other processed items than I would be comfortable using. And the cutsie style gets old.

Each of the recipes in this book includes the nutritional values. The serving sizes are real portions and most items seem easy enough to make. I love the recipe for "freakishly fantastic faux-fried zucchini."
Many of the recipes are for treats or drinks or dips, so you don't get many "mini-meals" for under 200 calories. Some require specific ingredients that aren't readily available and you only use such a small amount of some things that the rest goes to waste (if you're only cooking for show more one or two people). show less