Ebook The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook Easy and Wholesome Meals to Cook Prep Grab and Go Toby Amidor 9781623159443 Books

Product details Paperback 234 pages Publisher Rockridge Press (August 22, 2017) Language English ISBN-10 162315944X

The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook Easy and Wholesome Meals to Cook Prep Grab and Go Toby Amidor 9781623159443 Books Reviews

• Having personally worked with clients as a registered dietitian, I can attest that most of the difficulty in getting one to reach their health goals is not just eating healthier, but preparing and having the right foods stocked, so that when hunger hits, you’re prepared. My favorite part of the whole book is the step by step process for Sunday meal preps. Choosing a day to commit to your shopping, prepping, cooking and storing is no joke. In many way, this is meal prepping in a nutshell, but Toby makes it easy and fun (believe it or not), because the organization is already done for you. Just follow each step for how to put your meals together for the week, and chances are you won’t go hungry ;) Lastly, the book provides 3 meal plans to choose from, from weight loss, clean eating and building muscle. Pick your goal and head to those recipes, easy peasy.
• In an effort to be transparent, I will start this review by disclosing that I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for writing a review. However, all opinions in the review are mine and have not been influenced by receiving a copy of the book.
  
  I’ll start my review by listing what I did and did not like about the book and then giving my overall opinion as a fellow registered dietitian.
  
  Likes
  - The book is well organized & thought out;
  - There are may tips provided to make meal planning easier;
  - It includes sample meal plans to get you started;
  - There are food safety tips to minimize the chance of foodborne illnesses;
  - There is a wide variety of recipes in the book & most have short to medium length ingredient lists so they feel very doable;
  - I like that there are breakfast & snack recipes included too since meal planning isn’t just about lunch & dinner;
  - Toby adds veggies wherever she can in recipes, which I think is very clever & helps boost the nutrient content of the food we eat
  - The recipes are very straightforward & not complicated so even beginner cooks can feel comfortable with this book
  
  Dislikes
  - Some of the recipes only call for egg whites, which I find to be wasteful (unless you are making a merengue, which is not the case for the recipes in the book)
  - There are not as many vegetarian recipes as I would have liked. This is because I do not like the taste of leftover meat, so when I meal prep I prefer to make only vegetarian dishes. One suggestion for future editions would be to include a tip with the non-vegetarian recipes about what would be the appropriate vegetarian protein source to use in the recipe if you don’t want to use meat (assuming such a substitution can be made).
  
  Conclusion
  Overall, I think this book is a great resource! As a registered dietitian, I am not immune to the struggles of figuring out meals to make and finding the time to make them. This book helps overcome those challenges by breaking down the meal planning process. Toby’s approach to meal planning makes it realistic for everyone to achieve, regardless of the level of cooking skills.
  
  If you are someone who wants to start meal planning but you don’t know where to start or you feel overwhelmed when you think about meal planning, then this book is for you. It is also a useful book for anyone looking for new recipes to incorporate into their repertoire.
  
  I am very much looking forward to trying several of the recipes included in the book including Hawaiian chicken skewers, ginger soy tuna packets with snap peas & bok choy, as well as the skirt steak with Asian peanut sauce. These are flavor combinations that I haven’t tried to make at home before so it will be exciting to see how they turn out!
• Couldn't recommend this more. Short version great recipes, helpful meal plans, less food waste, more free time throughout the week.
  
  I was looking to change things up after following the FitGirlsGuide 28 Day Jumpstart for a while. Although they plan everything out for you, I was ending up with a lot of wasted ingredients and still having to make dinner every night. Some nights I wouldn't feel like it and would go for fast food which wasn't good for my body or my wallet. Plus there were a few recipes I hated so I ended up getting really bored eating the same plan week after week.
  I sat down on Saturday and decided on the 2nd weight loss plan. I was able to write out the servings and calories per serving and make a plan for the week including snacks based on my calorie needs.
  It took a dedicated half of Sunday night to make everything but it wasn't any more than what I'm used to for prepping. The best part is that the recipes used everything! All I had left was a half an onion which I can use later and a little kale.
  Couldn't be happier with the overall flavor of the meals. Can't wait for next week!
  Pictured is my meal plan, beef stew, pesto chicken w/ turmeric rice and beans, home made granola, Mediterranean chicken and quinoa, and cacao-date oatmeal. Some don't look super appetizing but they are all delicious!
• One of the only meal-prep books I could find that is not overly focused on weight loss. This was a gift for a 19 year old learning to cook and stock a kitchen healthfully for the first time, so I wanted to get her something that could teach her about food, meal prep, saving money, being healthy - without the diet-y rhetoric that she doesn't need. There are different plans and preps for muscle building, clean eating, and weight loss - but without an overtone of unhealthy weight loss mania. It's a good one.
• Very easy to follow recipes with useful storage tips throughout. Each recipe species how long it can be stored in the refrigerator and freezer (if freezable) which makes meal planning for the week or for vacation so much easier!