Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

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!