lowfat products store

I love this book! There are many wonderful recipes in it. I only have 1 complaint and that is the condition I received the book in! The book arrived in worse condition than you could actually purchase it used! Why pay full price for a book only to receive it in poor condition! The book is great but the place I bought it from needs to put some safeguards in place to ensure good products arrive to their customers.
Rating: 4 / 5

I was a little disappointed in this book. Yes, there are lots of doable recipes here, but not much “chat”. Some cookbooks suggest go-withs or introduce the recipes with ingredient information or whatnot, but this one usually just lines out what you need and what you need to do with it. Informative but not entertaining.

Also, I found that the index is difficult to work with. Couldn’t find green peppers!
Rating: 3 / 5

I love to cook but was getting stale with ideas for different items – variety is the spice of life & I need more of it! My boyfriend & I are also pescetarians, which means that we eat fish, & also means that I am not a person who strictly cooks veggies on a regular basis. I am not a gourmet chef with an arsenal of recipes. We wanted some more ideas.

The Pros:

1)This book did provide some new ideas. The biggest hit so far has been stuffed poblanos; my boyfriend & I went nuts over them, but I altered the recipe significantly. The recipe became more of a recommendation to us.

2)The recipes are all pretty easy to follow.

3)There is a lot of variety, including desserts & breads.

4) I love the baked goods section. It is the most frequently-used part of this book. Nice to have recipes for quick low-fat breads.

4)All recipes are coded for easy reference as to what type of vegetarian they are suited towards (octo, lavo, etc).

The Cons:

1)This book is for people with little to no cooking experience. The recipes are mostly very basic, or versions of things you’re already making. If you already know how to cook, you will find yourself making alterations to these recipes.

2)I was disappointed that many of the recipes are things that most people already know how to cook, and utilize store-bought sauces & frozen. Examples would be roasted veggies (too simple!) and spaghetti & meatballs that use frozen meatless balls. I know how to warm up pre-cooked foods. I was hoping for more actual recipes. I realize that this may be considered a “Pro” by some people who prefer to assemble, as opposed to cook, or are trying to save time. Another example would be gorp. Trail mix is not a recipe to me. I can shake up almonds & raisins on my own.

3) There are many errors in the recipes. Some instructions that reference ingredients not listed, some ingredients that do not have quantities/amounts listed. When I notice this in a recipe, I do not attempt to make it. I’m wondering how many people had recipes turn out funky, becuase they may not have noticed the small details missing, or didn’t have enough cooking experience to notice that something was amiss.

4) The index is absolutely horrible. Incorrect page numbers listed for some recipes, & poorly organized. If you’re looking for a recipe you know is in the book by using the index, good luck. Recipes are not listed by the category that common sense dictates they should be listed under…for example by ingredient, or recipe name. I’ve never seen an index like it. I know this sounds harsh, but I seriously wondered if anyone edited this book before it was published.

The Bottom Line:

Good book if you have no experience, or want ideas for cooking new things. If you are a seasoned cook expecting exciting new vegetarian recipes, you will most likely be nonplussed & disappointed by this book.

Rating: 3 / 5