3.65

2

April 19, 2009

Only a few good recipes....

There are some good substitution ideas in here, but especially in the dessert section there was 'way too much emphasis on fake food (fat-free and sugar-free pudding, for example), and there's already enough of that on the show.

Another big problem with this book is that the organization is poor. Several recipes called for another recipe to be made first (e.g. meatloaf sandwich made with leftover meatloaf), but they should have been listed alongside the original recipe, instead of being in separate sections.

Check out of the library first, before buying. If you already use sugar substitutes and sugar-free/fat-free convenience foods in your cooking, this book may have some new ideas. If you're looking for healthier recipes made with regular food that doesn't have additives, there are only a few recipes in this book that fit the bill.

1

August 31, 2009

Budget book for people who are rich.

Listen, if you are the person who skips latte coffee and calls it budgeting and living tight then yes, this book probably will cost you less then the steaks you eat every night. However, I have a family of five, and we already live tight. These recipes cost a lot more then my current budget for food. And I know, we live tight, but when I see a book that says it's for people on a budget, I thought it meant people who actually budget tight for food.

Besides that, it doesn't seem to account for eating food I already have in the cupboard, I have eggs, I have sugar and wheat flour. Why should I have to go out and buy upteen types of brans and fake sugars and fake eggs? Not only would that kill my budget (having to buy all new ingredients instead of being able to use some of the stuff I have) But I can't seem to figure out how much I'm changing the recipes if I do use the stuff I have. Are these recipes even healthy if I use the real food instead of 'substitute' food? It's discouraging, and the few recipes I've tried cost more then any of my other meals.

1

October 4, 2009

Not for the Kindle

Before purchasing this cookbook I tried to research how it would be laid out in the Kindle. I was not able to find any review, description or image of how the cookbook functioned on the Kindle. I was expecting the bookmarks in the cookbook to work similar to other books I have read and used including Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Much to my surprise the only links were in the Table of Contents and to find a recipe under a category like Meats I first had to go to Meats and then click Next Page until I found a recipe that I liked. I was expecting to click Meats and then have a list of links to recipe titles. Not functional at all.

Worse yet was the fact some recipes required a reference to another recipe and there were no links to the other recipe. You once again had to go to the Table of Contents, choose a category and then mindlessly click next page. I am going to by the paper back version.

2

April 2, 2009

Not really recipes

I was very disappointed as this "Cookbook" is not really recipes, slicing a banana and pouring caramel over it is not really considered a recipe!I wish I would have not invested in this one!

4

April 17, 2009

You will reach for this cookbook often...

Great Advice, Great Recipes, Great layout.

I have made the sweet and sour chicken from this cookbook MANY times. It is never something I thought of as low-calorie so I'm so glad this cookbook opened up my eyes and showed me how it could be.

The only reason I give it 4/5 stars is because there isn't a ton of variety. Yeah there is a healthy pizza, some easy desserts, and creative breakfasts, but 90% of the cookbook is chicken and sometimes I would like to make a new dish with ham or turkey.

I recommend this cookbook though. It's worth the money if you are watching what you eat.

5

July 22, 2009

A perfect book for singles!

This book has some outstanding, and easy to make recipes using ingredients you can find in your everyday grocery store.

I really like it because most of the recipes are for 1 to 4 servings. The 1 servings are great for me because I'm single and they are simple to make.

All the recipes seem to be very easy and quick to make and all you need to do is switch some ingredients used in the old "stand-by" recipes to healthier choices for new recipes.

I've already started using many of the recipes!

3

September 2, 2011

It's ok

I love cookbooks plain and simple. This one, it's ok. Nothing special on the receipe end. I was hoping for some new low-fat, low-carb fun receipes. It had a few, but not as many as I had hoped for. The show always demonstrated those unique, healthy food substitutes; the book had a few. Too many "weird" food items to make it a useful cookbook. I suppose if you are into it, the contestant pages could be inspiring. For me those were wasteful as I had enough of that from the show.....I wanted the cookbook to be more about new meals in my home. Also, the lack of pictures really discouraged me. I am a visual person and need that media to spark my food creativity. They should trade the contestant pages for dish picture pages.

5

March 4, 2010

Wonderful cookbook w/ great recipes

I love this cookbook. Me and my husband thought we would try this to lose weight and we have each lost 7 lbs in 3 week so far. I think the recipes are delicious and not very had to make. The ingrediants can get a bit expensive but once you have all the spices stocked up are fine. I have made quite a few of the recipes so far and loved everyone so far. I do not think we will ever go back to eating the way we did before. I am reading a lot of lables on food now. I plan to start exercising soon(which I dispise) but my husband loves to exercise and even does P90X but he had reached that wall and could lose no more weight. This new way of cooking and eating did the trick. I would recommend this cookbook for anyone who wants to lose weight. I have tried lost of my life to lose weight and nothing worked even exercise but this did the trick.

5

February 18, 2010

Cookbook review

The title says it all..FAMILY COOKBOOK...BUDGET-FRIENDLY...the recipes are very easy to prepare and don't call for alot of items not usually found in the home. My husband, who is a "meat and potatoes" man has found all of the recipies quite tasty. Most dinner recipes make a meal for 4, sometimes 6, but they are easy to cut in half. I ordered another one of these books to give to my cousin and she is as pleased as I am! The strawberry-lime smoothie recipe is worth the purchase of the book alone! I am very, very pleased with my purchase! If you have decided to get on the right track and eat healthy, this is the book to buy!

1

December 30, 2011

Budget Friendly... sure, if you spend $900 a month in groceries

This book has good recipes but their idea of "budget friendly" is groceries costing $175 to $225 PER WEEK. That is more than we spend on food for the kids and animals, and we buy nice stuff - In this economy, not many of us are celebrities that can afford that kind of weekly spending!

2

February 4, 2009

Biggest Loser Family Cookbook

the recipes are not great. a lot have ingredients that require a specialty store.

5

February 7, 2016

Top Notch.

This cookbook is awesome.
1) recipes are easy to follow. Even if you're not super skilled in the kitchen, it doesn't ask you to do anything difficult. Stir, boil, sautee, mix, grill. Nothing fancy.
2) ingredients are easily accessible in all grocery stores. I have had some recipe books call for certain peppers, spices, or things that you can't find in a small-town Midwest store. And some of the things other books called for were super expensive. Saffron in a burger, Rachael Ray? Yeah, I don't have $18 to blow on seasoning. The BL Family cookbook has simple ingredients, and there are relatively few in each recipe, so you would t break the bank trying a new dish.
3) the recipes are delicious! The Pizzaburger recipe is amazeballs! And I hate both pizza and burgers, but it was so good I made this twice in a row. I have not tried something in this book that I did not like. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some recipes I will not even attempt, but that's like that with every cookbook.

I like this book far better than the Hungry Girl and Eat This Not That cookbooks (both of which are okay and I enjoy). I think the food in this one tastes better and is easier to make in comparison to the other two. Hey- it has helped me lose 10lbs in 25 days, so I am happy.

UPDATE: This has been my favorite cookbook for about a year. My whole family has enjoyed recipes from it. Easy, simple, and delish!

3

February 9, 2012

not what I expected

The book is ok as far as explaining the program and tips from the former contestants, but I was disappointed in the recipes. There were a lot of sandwiches and simple ideas. I was expecting recipes for family meals with more than a few simple ingredients. There were not many casseroles or muffins. Also there were not many new vegetable recipes. There were not many spices used either. Definitely not a gourmet cook book. I only found 3 or 4 recipes I planned to try.

2

August 16, 2012

A Cookbook You And Your Wallet Won't Enjoy

First off I want to say I "borrowed" this book via the Amazon Prime option for the Kindle and thank goodness I did or I would have been pissed. First off my husband and I are penny pinches so it was a relief to see on the title that this was supposed to be budget friendly. Well they lied on that one, be it that yes it's slightly cheaper than most other nutritional cookbooks but nothing to brag about. Now on to the recipes, to give it a totally fair shot I tried a couple. First being the healthy version of the Egg McMuffin it was decent but very bland and lacked flavor. I also tried the Sloppy Joe Meatloaf recipe and I was so excited it was the first time I was ever making 100% homemade meat loaf ever so I was so disappointed with how this turned out. Now before you say I just messed it up and didn't follow the recipe I'd like to say that first I followed the recipe to the very exact specification (I'm rather literal about recipes when I use them)and I also had my husband who used to be a chef for a high end restaurant helping me and making sure I didn't muck it all up. Now where the biggest problem was when we got to the cook time it says in the book 30 minutes or until meat isn't pink. Well first off like my husband and my dad used to tell me meatloaf takes time that's why I was shocked but pleased to see a quick 30 minute time. But OH NO it took close to 2 hours in a normal (but new) stove on the temp it said. On top of that the mix itself turned everything pink (oh almost forgot I used ground turkey instead) so it was very hard to tell if it was done or not but we kept putting it back in for 15 minute intervals. So anyway I liked someone else's review that said check it out before you buy it. The ingredients for those two meals was almost $50 and for my usual shopping that's not good. They also don't seem to have flavor which was weird to me because they talk about dieting doesn't mean loss of taste on the Biggest Loser all the time but this book doesn't reflect it.

5

January 7, 2018

Five Stars

Healthy recipes that taste great and do not take forever to make.

5

May 13, 2013

Useful Book

Me being a foodie, will say that this book definately made a difference in my & my gf life. It helps me to make the right decisions without going to those nasty fast food places all the time. In fact, i'm the cook now lol. This book is loaded with decent recipes that are delicious without all the crap. I have The original, quick & easy, the 30 day is by far the best for a month worth. Worth getting this book if you want a couple of new ideas that are fairly healthy & better alternatives.

5

May 19, 2009

Another great one from Devin Alexander

I have a couple of other cook books from Devin Alexander and they are wonderful. I love watching the Biggest Loser and decided to try the cook books. Right now my hubby and I are doing Nutrisystems together, I want to loose about 15lbs and he needs to lose the 40 he has gained since his heart attack. I started by using this for the vegetable recipes to add some variety in the NS meal plan. The Cajun Squash fries are to die for!!! There are so many great recipes. My daughter even went through both Biggest Loser cookbooks and marked several she wants to try. I fixed the North Sea Omelet instead of a NS breakfast for my husband the other day and he loved it, my daughter tried it and picked off the scallions and capers. But she ate and omelet, she usually won't eat eggs. We also made the Gourmet Roast Beef Wraps substituting Turkey instead (my daughter won't eat beef or pork) She ate in on the Wheat Tortilla, she hates wheat anything. My son will pretty much eat what I make him. This book is a winner in my home!!

2

December 27, 2011

Disspointed

i bought this book in hopes of being able to cook for everyone but that is not the case,alot of things to make are mainly chicken which my fiance dislikes highly because it makes him sick,and other things neither of us can eat due to allergies of the foods,im so very disappointed,this isn't wallet friendly either,i looked at the price of the ingredients when i went shopping out of curiosity,i'd be spending more in groceries then i have to spend!

1

August 27, 2016

so so

Recipes say for family, but are not that great.

1

May 11, 2016

The food tastes horrible.

My family hated the meals.

1

June 4, 2015

LOSER book

Being fat is hard enough without having to read through this boring cookbook and then make the blah recipes. It's a Big Fat LOSER

1

October 4, 2014

One Star

too many ingredients

1

August 10, 2014

This book is a complete waste of money (even buying it used for $4)

This book is a complete waste of money (even buying it used for $4). Their suggestion of serving peas sprinkled with mint hardly counts as a dinner recipe and grape juice mixed with a little yogurt? Yeah, no thanks. Just because you're on a diet doesn't mean you have to eat this garbage. I highly recommend the comfort food diet cookbook as opposed to this. Their are numerous low calorie recipes which are actually filling and desirable and don't make you feel like some subhuman who should be ostracized from enjoying the benefits of savory food.

1

January 13, 2014

Wife bought it

You'll lose weight with this book-meals so bad you'll rather starve. It could actually cause you to gain weight since you'll want fast food to fill the void.

1

August 12, 2013

Nothing motivated me to cook

No satisfied with the recipes. Though I have not made any recipe in this book because nothing looks appetizing enough. More other great books out there such as the "Cook This, Not That" series...