Cook Yourself Thin

Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes by Lifetime Television
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cook Yourself Thin was a cookbook that I downloaded on my Nook for a steeply reduced price. I was very excited because I had seen it in Barnes and Noble, but did not go near it because the last thing I needed was another cookbook on my shelf. Since summer is now in session, I will have time to search for healthier ingredients and put time into preparing body-friendly meals.

Reading the philosophy section, I was surprised that they had a quiz for the reader to take about their eating habits. The results were being an “On-The-Run-Eater,” “Sugar Fiend.” “Yo-Yo Dieter,” and “Comfort Food Craver.” Being the latter, I read over the advice and was ultimately surprised. They mentioned that we have good ideas about nutrition and how to create a flavorful meal. That’s me! Then, they also mentioned the downside, portion control being the biggest. That’s me, too (and rolling my eyes).

Continuing on with the philosophy, keeping portion size in mind, I continued to read the philosophy. They discussed common myths about dieting, the flaws of diet programs, how to keep a food journal just to learn about eating habits, and what a calorie is. There were suggested food lists, directions on how to read better labels, and the many different names of sugars. Towards this part of the philosophy section, I began rolling my eyes. Those of us who have ever dieted know all of this information. I quickly began skimming this section and moved on to the recipes.

Looking over the recipes, I flagged about ten that I would actually cook in real life and not the dream world in my head. The Skinny Down-Home Chicken Pot Pie was one recipe that I liked and this was for two reasons. The first was that it included food substitutions that I already incorporate into my diet, like using ground turkey over ground beef. Secondly, it called for ingredients that I already have in my fridge or could have bought easily on a grocery run trip.

There were two major faults I found with the recipes from this book. The first was a preference thing. Some of the substitutions are ones that are unique to certain diets, such as using ricotta cheese for whipped cream as is frequently done on the South Beach Diet. I personally detest ricotta cheese unless it is in a lasagna. Ricotta does not belong on top of my french toast.

The second issue I had was that the recipes included minute amounts of lots of ingredients, many of which are difficult to find. If I was living near a city, then this would be less of a problem. However, in the country, my grocery store is 35 minutes away. I am not going to make a special trip to the store just because I need two tablespoons of rice flour.

Overall, I think that this book has a lot of value because they are encouraging people to make smarter choices about their cooking. They provide some useful ways to incorporate helpful decision tools for the uneducated individual. However, readers should not expect to have their lives changed by the book. I don’t regret buying this because I got a decent bargain. However, I would be extremely disappointed if I paid full price for it.


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