How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy, Balanced Diet with Very Little Money . . .

by Gill Holcombe

This book provides simple, wholesome and nutritious recipes for family meals; quick lunches, tasty puddings and cakes - and you don't have to spend hours slaving over a hot stove, or spend a fortune at the supermarket.There are menu plans, recipes, shortcuts and dozens of ideas for every meal, together with tried and tested tips to help you save your valuable time and money.

Introduction; 1. Wake up to breakfast; 2. Little gems and tough cookies; 3. Make dinnfer, not excuses; 4. Quick fixes; 5. The joy of soup; 6. Join the pudding club; 7. Can't cook? don't cook!; 8. Let them eat cake; 9. Not only but also; 10. Weekly menu planning.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Health, Nonfiction, Food and Wine

272 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2007

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really easy recipes that are kid-friendly and cost-conscious. She's very down-to-earth, and since she's writing from the UK, some the 'everyday'recipes she provides are actually more exotic to me. She basically leaves you with no excuse for not cooking dinner. The only downside with this book is that while the measurements have been changed for Americans, certain ingredients, like treacle, are not often used here. While you can figure out substitutes (molasses, in that case), it seems like they might have wanted to alter the ingredients a little when they changed the measurements.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the first 30 pages or so, this is purely a cookbook filled with recipes. I wound up copying a few down that sounded easy amd interesting, and I skimmed through the ones that didn't appeal to me. There are some cool British recipes in here that I do plan to give a try, and a lot of the recipes use the same basic ingredient sets, which is useful. 3 stars.

[Wendy Unsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for a busy mum with two very small children. There are quite a few old favourites in there but also a few new recipes that sound tasty and easy to make - essential with a one and a two year old! At the back there are suggestions for weekly menus and supermarket receipts to show how much the ingredients will cost and a real emphasis on the good food that can be prepared without breaking the bank.

What disappointed me is that there are no illustrations of the prepared food, well - or of anything, just a few line drawings. I wouldn't mind that if I was buying for myself but would have liked something with 'pictures' as this is a gift. Maybe it would have been obvious if I had looked more closely at the desciption. However I am giving 4 stars as I think this book will prove to be a useful.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, no-nonsense book full of great recipes for busy families. This is for you if both parents work full time and you need to feed your kids something quick, healthy, containing stuff they will actually eat and doesn't need the culinary skill of Nigella herself. The meal planner is really helpful but the pricing is out of date as the book is 14 years old. This is a kind of proto-Jack Monroe type thing. I note a few bad reviews here claiming the book is very British....the author is British and she is writing to a British audience. It's like me complaining that Martha Stewart is too American and doesn't use metric measures - just ridiculous.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with the premise of this book- there IS time to cook, provided you don't get all wrapped up in 14 page recipes and goofy little gadgets. The recipes felt very British, not surprising since the author lives in London! Beans on toast is one of my favorite foods, I was thrilled to see it here. Kedgeree not so much.

I'd give this book as a gift to a college graduate, a couple with children to feed, and anyone who would like to improve their nutrition without too much stress. Meat-heavy, but again- British.

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

gave me a fair idea why many people say that british cuisine is a contradiction of terms, but had some great points, good info for menu planning and feeding a family fairly cheaply w/o a lot of fancy ingredients or tools.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is extremely wordy (if the title wasn't a giveaway) and some of the recipes seem a little off the wall, but they would definitely save money. There are plenty of normal recipes, too, though.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Recipes, and helpful logic. very reasonable

[Mabawsa Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've become so used to modern cook books with photos I couldn't get into this.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everyone thinks they need to stretch their food budget and, as someone who qualifies for the maximum benefit at my local Food Bank, I have a particular perspective on the matter. Always in need of reducing my expenditures, I took this book out from my local library and wish I could have my time back.

First, I got upset at many of Holcombe's, dare I say, utterances. She complains of food myths but perpetuates many on her own. I hate books that claim, without substance to back it up, that healthy food is cheaper than unhealthy; it is actually cheaper to keep yourself in meat than salads (as meat has become so popular but produce prices have soared), with grains and lentils being the cheapest. Honestly, do you really think I am cooking a meal for under $1.00-$1.50 a portion? No? I can easily get junk for that cheap or just live on carbs... well, if that wouldn't kill me - but there are people who do not have health issues that require special diets.

I also hated her claims of the gross and sometimes non-food items in junk food. It's like the "100% Beef" McDonald's scandal all over again. Her book represents the downfall of the fact-checkers at publishing houses, as well as the assumptions that the populace are stupid and do not know what is in their food. However, I will not rage on every stupid claim Holcombe makes - two is enough.

The real kicker is the recipes. Her audience is clearly the amateur family cook but her recipes are written for people who are more advanced - though the advanced would never eat that crap. She lists ingredients with no proportions: while it makes sense to remind family cooks that they can adjust recipes, her target audience requires quantities to start off with as they learn. Beginners (often even intermediates) cannot be told "just throw in some cumin, chili powder and oregano" and have it taste good - ratios take time. Not all recipes are without proportions but a significant number, especially where spices are involved.

Worse, merely reading her recipes I could see missing ingredients that are crucial to the chemistry of the cooking process: missing leaveners and the like. The woman doesn't even understand the use of salt (it is one thing to say it is overused, it is another to claim it does nothing in a dish), salt being the most basic ingredient. I am hardly an advanced cook, certainly not trying to portray myself as a professional, yet even I can see she is either missing or even wrong regarding some of the fundamentals.

There is also no transferable knowledge. You use her recipes or get no help.

I wouldn't even recommend taking this book from the library. Do not waste your money or time.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the title, liked the premise, but was a bit disappointed with the results. There are very few circumstances where the author being British can affect my enjoyment of a book, but cookbooks are one of them. Only because it's not very realistic that I, average mid-western American, will be able to go to a local fishmonger, or possess 'golden syrup' (whatever that is), treacle, currants or digestive biscuits (?). The textual parts were well-written, humorous, and there were genuinely good recipes. It just struck out with me on the British ingredients that she supposes to be commonplace, and that it's a paperback book, instead of a more realistic form for a cookbook, like spiral-bound or hardcover.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very English. I thought that wouldn't be a problem, because Australians are very influenced by the British, but I was wrong. The English are a law unto themselves and possibly should not be allowed in the kitchen. Anyway, I'm just going to ignore the recipes calling for kidney and stinging nettles and fish fingers in pie. The rest of it seems ok and I'm hoping to get some good recipes out of it. I like the way she is very down to earth and practical. Maybe I'll actually experience some kind of culinary success.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good title! Positive: encourages healthy, whole food eating (still have bread and dessert) and meal planning. Negative: some of the recipes were British scary (scary spice?), like Stinging Nettle Soup. I had to google a stinging nettle. The author raves that this soup is free, because you can pick the stinging nettles in your backyard! I will just stick to Sprouts, the healthy grocery store.

[Marte · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting and useful little book. I have read all the narrative and found it well-written, down to earth and helpful. I want to try out some of the recipes now! I also picked up a few tips and some knowledge on the way. Onto her next title!

[Aja Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - not bad, didn't realize it was from a british writer at first, but after that it made more sense. lots of opinions/ideas on offer without necessarily much research except for anecdotal. recipes are very simple and straightforward, but do make some assumptions of the reader.

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would be more useful than it was. She did have some interesting things to say, but none of the recipes were very exciting.

[laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

gill holcombe is crazy! this is not merely a recipe book... it is her treatise on eating: what's good & what's not or what's quick & easy. the title brings a smile too.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great book but not much applied to my lifestyle

[Zoe King · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think its a good book and has some usable ideas, worth a look

[Maegen · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's mostly recipes, and a lot of them don't have measurements... Some of the tips were alright, but it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.

[Coyney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good recipes

[Shona]

Some good, some bad - but made me think about how much I was spending every week.