Sue Gregg cookbooks
http://www.suegregg.com/cookbooks/mealsinminutes.htm
We received a complimentary copy of Meals in Minutes by Sue Gregg for the purpose of this review. To order your own copy, for $9 plus shipping, see Sue’s website here.
I often freezer cook. I have never frozen a month’s worth at a time, but I usually have some meals put by. When I learned last fall of our opportunity to review something from Sue Gregg, I knew which book I wanted. Meals in Minutes is just one of the many books Sue Gregg has available. These books are not just mere collections of great recipes. Sue takes you by the hand, step by step and teaches you a healthier way to feed your family.
I had heard of Sue Gregg’s website as a great place to learn more about healthier eating. I had read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon last summer. This book is lengthy and detailed into the reasons why and some of the specific whats of a healthier diet. However, I felt at a loss as to how to implement this information. I also do not agree with some of the things that book was suggesting to eat. I found them contradictory to what Scripture says we should or should not eat. This is where Sue Gregg and her website come to the rescue!
SueGreggCookbooks
A Comprehensive Whole Foods Cooking System
Balancing Nutritional Quality & Taste, Convenience & Cost
The above tagline from Sue’s website truly says it all. If you are somewhat comfortable with cooking from scratch, using whole grains, etc. then this book will work for you. If you are a complete beginner to this idea of cooking, Sue has a few other choices to get started. She also has some recipes so that you can ‘try before you buy’. Sue emphasizes baby steps. Most families will not completely drop their familiar, easy way of eating. Trying one new recipe a month or substituting one healthier ingredient/method in your own favorite recipes is a great way to start.
Meals in Minutes has five menus each with five complete meals. Each menu is followed by complete, clear step-by-step directions for preparation of all five meals. This books focus is on the main entree. Some of the recipes for the accompanying side dishes are included at the back, but they are not the focus of this book. The directions are very easy to follow and I like how many of the recipes are intermingled–prepare one ingredient that can be used in two different meals. If you do not want to use the complete menu, it is easy to follow the separate recipe for just the dish you are interested in. Sue has made this very flexible.
There is a downloadable sample (PDF) that contains 39 pages to give you a good idea of what you will find in this book. In addition to the recipes, Sue also goes through a list of some basic ingredients to keep on hand. She then tells you specifics on choosing the best, healthiest ingredients with alternates if you need to substitute due to allergies or availability. We do not have a source for raw milk, which is the most preferred kind. It is not bad to substitute, just not the ideal. Meals in Minutes also has a section full of information for preparing your meals for freezing and then thawing/cooking/re-heating. Probably my most favorite feature of this book, is the Scripture woven throughout and the testimony.
Healthy does not mean without flavor. One of our favorite recipes is the Tamale Pie. I have adapted Sue’s recipe with another I was making prior to reading this book. Our crock-pot tamale pie is in our rotation at least once a month. We all look forward to it after church.
Healthy does not mean complicated. Cooking a whole chicken to have the meat for two recipes and the broth for others is pretty easy. Soaking your beans and/or grains prior to preparing the dish is simple. Both of these are good examples of the small steps you can easily take towards healthier eating.
Healthy does not mean expensive. Another one of our favorite dishes is the Salmon a la Broccoli. This serves 6 according to the recipe. We usually add a frozen vegetable alongside. This will serve our family dinner + enough leftover for my husband to take to work for lunch. Grand total about $9. My husband and eldest daughter are big eaters-usually consuming more than what is considered a serving. Between myself and the other four children (that eat) we consume about 3 typical servings. Not bad for my budget! We try to eat fish weekly; that can get expensive.
Download the sample or try some other of Sue’s recipes from her website. You will see how easy and tasty healthy eating can be. You can check out reviews of other books by Sue Gregg on the Crew blog here.