The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson
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Book Reviews of The Healthy Slow Cooker
Book Review: Inspiring and useful book for cooks of all levels -- and time constraints
Summary: 5 Stars
I think this is an absolutely wonderful book. It makes it possible even for someone like me -- with little cooking experience, even less time, and to boot, a kitchen that is in the middle of a serious renovation -- to prepare delicious and very healthy foods. The food is incredible, the instructions are clear, and the accompanying information is very useful. I can't say enough good things about it. In addition to being healthy, each recipe is unique and subtle, yielding a dish that makes my short time in the kitchen very rewarding. The book is organized well with a layout and pictures that invites browsing through the recipes.
Most of my previous health food endeavors have been limited, primarily, to low-calorie foods. This book takes healthy eating to a different dimension by considering vitamins, ratios of meats to vegetables, and nutritional variety. I've enjoyed reading the information paired with each recipe as much as I've enjoyed the food itself. And that's saying something -- I've prepared perhaps one-third of these recipes, and all have been winners. It includes recipes using a wide variety of ingredients, many of which I would never have tried nor known how to cook without using this book. For me, it's perfect -- this is the kind of food I want to eat, but learning the techniques and cooking it via means other than the slow cooker is not something I have time to do, unfortunately.
My time and budget constraints have meant cutting a few corners prescribed by the recipes, but the recipes have turned out very well for me. The book includes instructions and measurements for grinding your own spices, as well as introductions to exotic and otherwise intimidating (to me) specialty food items that require going beyond the fare at, say, Kroger grocery stores. I don't grind my own spices -- I buy them in bulk to save money, and for these recipes do my best estimations based on guidelines in the beginning of the book and my own tastes. I also try to substitute some of the more expensive food items. (Many recipes call for nothing beyond the ordinary, and the ones that do usually only have an ingredient or two that exceeds my normal food budget.) The recipes are still FABULOUS.
Another aspect of the book that many here have noted is that the cookbook author includes, in each recipe, instructions for "softening" vegetables and browning meats on the stove before putting in the pot. This makes a huge difference in terms of taste. And I must also say that of the other slow cooker cookbooks I own, most say in the introduction that doing this is a good idea, but they don't include it in their recipes. Given that, this cookbook isn't significantly more complicated in its instructions than most others on the market.
I will soon wrap up this long review... but I do encourage anyone interested in a relatively easy way of cooking healthy, truly unique food to seriously consider this book. The results of each recipe are undeniably wonderful, and I believe the ingredients and methods are adaptable to a wide range of cooking abilities and budgets.
Book Review: International Flair
Summary: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Geri Eden for Reader Views (3/06)
In a world of fast food, deli's and supermarket fare, Judith Finlayson shows us how we can savor tasty, slow-cooked meals with only minutes of prep time. Her 288 page cookbook is filled with beautiful pictures of finished dishes, tips, make ahead info, nutritional charts, mindful morsels and natural wonders. Judith opens the book by giving an in-depth look at how to use your Slow Cooker by walking you through information about the various sizes of crock pots, how to care for them, tips on speeding up the cooking process, reducing liquids, the proper size, the use of herbs and baking within the crock pot cooker.
The cookbook is well organized, has an easy to read larger font and uses contrasting headers and shading that aids to move the reader's eye from one section to another. Her cookbook is separated into seven sections titled: Bread & Breakfast, Soups, Poultry, Seafood & Fish, Meat, Pasta & Grains, Just Veggies and Desserts. She closes with Diabetic Food Values, a Bibliography and an Index.
Her recipes include common spices that most cooks should already have on hand and fresh ingredients that can be easily found in any grocery store. No extra trips to specialty food sources. What's really impressive is that she covers all types of meals like dishes you can make for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. One of my favorite recipes was for Creamy Tuna Casserole which is something you might never think of being able to cook in a crock pot.
Judith has written several Slow Cooker cookbooks and this particular book may be of special interest to those that enjoy recipes with an international flair. In addition to American and European favorites, there are numerous dishes from the Middle East. You will undoubtedly find dishes to please just about everyone. Finlayson continues to prove that Slow Cookers can be used every day and should be brought out for more than just the infrequent home or work party with food like queso, cocktail meatballs or party sausages. So dust off your crock pot and get cooking!
Book Review: My Favorite Slow Cooker Cookbook (and Maybe My Favorite Overall Cookbook!)
Summary: 5 Stars
I have made about twenty recipes from this book and, so far, they have all turned out perfectly. I have a demanding job and a bit of a social life so I don't have a lot of time for cooking. This book makes cooking nutritious meals VERY easy -- I prepare the meals on the weekends in large batches and then freeze them to eat throughout the week.
I appreciate the nutritional information provided for each recipe as well as the extensive cook's notes and tips and tricks. The recipes are very easy to follow. I'm not sure about all the criticsm around trying to find "exotic" ingredients -- you can easily find these in a conventional grocery store. If you have trouble finding ingredients, consult a book on cooking substitutions and use whatever is recommended. I've done that with many recipes over the course of my cooking life and it works quite well. (Using substitutions should be common cooking knowledge anyway).
As for prep time....you will spend, at most, 10 minutes preparing food for the cooker (not including chopping, etc.). Yes, you will spend a few minutes browning meat and veggies in a skillet, but you'd have to do that anyway without the cooker and that's how you get slow cooker food to taste REALLY good. As for the comments on the author's recommendation to toast and grind certain spices, take it as just a recommendation. She provides that step in only a few recipes and I've just added the spices out the jar and everything's turned out great. No need to sweat the small stuff -- just use your common sense.
Book Review: Healthy and Delicious!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you read some of the reviews on this site you'd think that the author has you going to exotic and bizarre grocery stores and spending hours preparing these dishes. Its simply untrue. If you're looking for a cookbook that has you open 5 different cans of salty foods and throw em all together for some mushy and unrecognizable (yet fast!) food product then don't buy this one. This one outlines how you can create wonderful, filling, nutritious meals for your whole family. Yep, you are required to chop up fresh fruits and veggies and add in whole grains and beans but isn't this what we should be adding to our meals anyway? I've tried probably half of the recipes in this cookbook and I have enjoyed them all. They freeze wonderfully so you can place them in individual portion sized containers to bring for lunch. This is nutritious and thrifty. She uses almost no processed foods in her recipes (except broths but you can make those yourself) which I appreciate as we try to avoid those foods. I highly recommend this cookbook as her approach to "healthy" food is moderate and logical. BTW, I live in a fairly small area and have been able to find all ingredients needed at my local generic grocery store.
Book Review: Yummy, healthy, beautiful presentation
Summary: 5 Stars
I am so impressed with this cookbook. Until now my slow cooker has been banished to use only when I cook an annual pot roast in the fall when we go apple picking. It has resurfaced! The recipes in this book are fabulous and healthy, plus the presentation is beautiful. If you are health concious and looking for slow cooker recipes, and don't mind an extra step, this cookbook is for you. The author clearly lays out the reasoning for an extra step here and there in her Slow Cooker tips section. Yes, you saute certain veggies, such as onions, before adding them to the slow cooker. Yes, you wait to add some veggies, bell peppers for example, until the last 20 minutes. Yes, the tasty results are worth it! I roll in the door from soccer with the kids, throw the bell peppers in (I have them chopped and ready in the fridge) and by the time everyone is unloaded we're ready to sit down to dinner. I have recommended this book to family and friends and am now using my slow cooker weekly.