Skinnytaste Fast and Slow

October 3, 2016
In 140 low-fat, high-nutrition recipes, Homolka (The Skinnytaste Cookbook) shares time-saving techniques for flavorful dishes that are ready in 30 minute or less, and easy-to-assemble slow cooker meals. Healthy morning fare includes fast and slow breakfasts such as quick avocado toasts five ways as well as slow cooker banana bread with chocolate swirls. For hearty one-bowl meals, there’s quinoa with shrimp and artichokes along with assorted stews, chilis, and soups such as slow cooker butternut-apple soup. Fast and slow mains feature pasta sauces on “zoodles” (zucchini noodles) and “squashta” (squash pasta), assorted tacos, poultry and meat dishes, fish and seafood, and meatless meals. There are also side dishes and desserts. Recipes have icons indicating cooking speed, and are helpfully labeled as vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, or freezable. “Fast Cooking Basics” and “Slow Cooker Secrets” contain useful tips for time management, and there is even a complete month of pre-planned “good for you meals.” These easy-to-assemble dishes keep both family mealtime planning and healthy eating in mind with kid-friendly, “simplified and skinny-fied” dishes. Using Homolka’s strategies, home cooks can deliver balanced, delicious meals even when time is an obstacle.

Starred review from September 15, 2016

Low-calorie recipe blogger Homolka follows her popular Skinnytaste Cookbook with a new collection of 140 time-saving recipes that will hit all of the right notes with health-conscious readers who want to eat well with minimal effort. Simple and beautifully photographed dishes (e.g., cream of zucchini soup, slow cooker buffalo chicken lettuce wraps) are divided into "slow" and "fast" categories, meaning they can either be prepared in a slow cooker or in 30 minutes or less. With registered dietitian Jones, Homolka features trendy convenience cooking methods, such as one-pot meals, while also including nutritional analysis and icons denoting suitability for special diets. Owning a pressure cooker is not essential. VERDICT With its attractive design and easy everyday dishes, Homolka's latest may strike advanced cooks as too basic, but these recipes are excellent for novices. Expect demand.

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