Cook This, Not That!: Easy & Awesome 350-Calorie Meals

by David Zinczenko, Maurice Goudeket, Matt Goulding

Tired of always being too hungry (and tired!) to make smart food choices? Ever wonder why the less food you try to eat, the more fat you seem to gain? Ready to start enjoying all your favorite foods and never see an ounce of weight gain? Cook This, Not That! Easy & Awesome 350-Calorie Meals is the ultimate cookbook for people who love to eat—even if they don’t love to cook. The authors of the best-selling diet and weight loss series Eat This, Not That! teach you how easy it is to turn the expensive and unhealthy foods in America’s restaurants into fat-blasting superfoods that cost just pennies—and take just minutes to make!





Can you believe…

*At Olive Garden, an order of Chicken Parmigiana will cost you half a day’s calories—and a day and a half’s worth of sodium! Cook our Chicken Parm recipe at home and save 730 calories and $9.94!

*At T.G.I.Friday’s, a Santa Fe Chopped Salad carries a whopping 1,800 calories—the equivalent of three Pepperoni Personal Pan Pizzas from Pizza Hut! (You call that a salad???) Try the Cook This, Not That! home version and save 1,460 calories!

*Hungry for a panini? At Panera Bread, the Italian Combo on Ciabatta comes loaded with more than 1,000 calories and a side of 45 grams of fat! (In less time than it takes to order their version, you can whip up ours and save 690 calories)



With this illustrated guide to hundreds of delicious, simple, lightning-quick recipes—along with the nutrition secrets that lead to fast and permanent weight loss—you’ll make the smartest choices for you and your family every time.



Additional features in Cook This, Not That: Easy & Awesome 350 –Calorie Meals include:



A step-by-step illustrated guide to every cooking technique you’ll ever need to know




The 50 Best Foods in the Supermarket




The Milk Shake Matrix




The Rules of the Grill




12 Ways to Better a Burger




The World’s Best Condiments




And more!

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Health, Food, Nutrition, Reference

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2010

About the author

David Zinczenko is an American publisher, author, and businessman. Previously, he was the executive vice president and general manager of Men's Health, Women's Health, Prevention and Rodale Books, the editorial director of Men's Fitness and the nutrition and wellness editor at ABC News.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides recipes for making healthier and cheaper versions of popular restaurant foods. I read it for its nutrition tips, not for the recipes. Most aren’t simple everyday meals; they require more ingredients and preparation, because they’re meant to be substitutes for for restaurant foods. The photography is mouthwatering.

Notes
Grains
• Ciabatta is high-calorie.
• Potato buns/rolls are similar to or better than whole wheat ones in calories and fiber.
• Replace potatoes or rice with quinoa, amaranth, couscous, or farro.

Protein
• Deli ham, turkey, and roast beef have similar calories and fat.
• Restaurant chicken, turkey, and veggie burgers tend to be as unhealthy as beef.
• Most restaurant tuna salads are ⅔ mayo and ⅓ tuna.
• Certain fish skins are healthy, including salmon, sea bass, mahi. Avoid skin of halibut, tilapia, swordfish.
• “A recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that consuming processed meats - high in sodium and chemical preservatives - every day could boost your risk of heart disease by up to 42%.”

Misc.
• Losing weight requires diet more than exercise; diet controls about 75% of weight loss.
• Flavored yogurt can contain more sugar than ice cream. Buy plain and flavor yourself.
• Romaine is one of the most nutrient-packed lettuces.
• Avoid baked potato soup, broccoli cheddar, and clam chowder, which are high in calories and fat.
• Mexican-style salads tend to be unhealthiest restaurant salads.
• The Greek “diet” of healthy fats, lots of veggies, and lean protein form the backbone of the Mediterranean Diet.

[Heather Kimiecik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read before, mom uses a few of these recipes as STAPLES to our household. Nice to pick it up again and find new things to try!

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these little books!

Some of the recipes in here look great. I see a lot of good ideas.

What I don't like:
No direct portion size. They'll tell you a pie has 8 servings, but in some cases I'd have liked a more direct approach, as, looking at the recipe, I thought "wow this looks really tasty!" then "oh wait, serves 4.... soooo I can have 2 deviled eggs?"

This was not a good thing to realize AFTER I'd made the key lime pie and realized 1/8th = 1 serving = 350 calories or the equivalent of one cup of ice cream. I'd rather just have the ice cream!

So, some things you may chalk up to it not being worth it. 2 deviled eggs or 2 stuffed dates doesn't "suck" but 3 or 4 would be a little more substantial.


What I DO like:
I love their ideas. And I love the brainstorming boxes/"matrix." They're big on breaking things down, and deconstructing recipes and food this way shows you where the best places are to improvise on flavors and come up with your own concoctions. I love that - gives me ideas. I.E. milkshake matrix has the ice cream type components, the liquid components then a list of what you could add.

Overall I like it. If it's not worth keeping around, it is worth taking some notes and keeping what sounds good.

[Nancy Yob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good for what it was intended to do. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but there were about a dozen that I'd like to try. I think it's fairly easy to make dishes that are much healthier than most of what we eat in restaurants. Being able to eat things you normally wouldn't is part of what makes eating out fun. If you don't do it too often, it becomes a treat; like being able to indulge in that gigantic slice of dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. You know it has a million calories and tons of fat, but just once in a great while you go crazy. I appreciate the book for its slimmed down recipes, but I will admit that there are certain dishes I'm not going to be happy with unless we go all the way with the fat and other good stuff.

[Yolanda32 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I have cooked several meals from the book and each meal has been wonderful. My husband loves the adobo chicken so much that he eats it for breakfast the next morning. I love that taste is not compromised at all in these recipes. I also like the size. I can throw the book in my purse in the morning, decide on a meal on my lunch break, and pick up the ingredients after work. The meals have saved us a lot of money as well. We usually go out to eat every night but cooking at home has been more tasty, my husband lost a few pounds, and it was much more budget friendly than our normal habits. I'm not using it right now because I'm trying the Fat Belly Cure but I'll start again soon.

[Mtbike40 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing little cookbook. I have made multiple recipes out of this book and they have been great. The serving sizes are amazing because the recipes use wonderful vegetable to replace flavors that we normally get from fat and unhealthy cooking techniques. I was intrigued into buying this book because the compare their recipes to some to the restaurant foods that I would like to eat, but these recipes are not just about cutting calories and being able to eat at home on a sustainable budget, these recipes are all about flavor.

I am a big fan! Watch the discussion section for this book to find out what recipes I have tested and what the results were.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this out from the Library thinking I'd try a couple recipes and return it. I found so many that I wanted to try that I bought my own copy. I don't think the calorie or price comparisons are really fair because it seems the portion sizes are not the same. The book's sizes are more along what we SHOULD eat, but when it says you save "1100" calories, I don't think that is for the same size service if you ate the same amount of both.

I do think it has lots of good, fairly easy recipes and ideas.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is currently my go-to book whenever I'm looking for something to fix. I haven't had a dud yet out of any of the recipes I've tried. Along with the full recipes, there are also "blueprints" at the beginning of several sections each listing around a dozen super-easy recipes, taking just a sentence or two to describe. In addition to the recipes, there's also some good general advice on cooking. Don't let the fact that these recipes are all low-calorie throw you either. That's just a bonus, and this would likely still be my go-to cookbook even if that weren't the case!

[Cooper Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the cookbooks over all the years, this one is our favorite--great adaptation of great recipes that still leaves them tasty (no cardboard flavors here), low-cal, and appetizing--oh, yes, EASY/FAST to prepare. We still cook gourmet once in awhile, but for everyday cooking and eating, this one is hard to beat--so much so that we've almost stopped eating out--much healthier and better at home and still have time for all we enjoy doing. Thanks to David Zinczenko.

[Oleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the concept of the book. Camparing it to foods you order in your favorite eatery, with less calories and lower cost. the portion sizes are more realistic. Also provides technique and shopping ideas. Of course I'm a firm believer in home cooked foods. better quality, lower cost and healthy lifestyle.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the comparisons (of calories, fat, sodium, & cost) between each recipe and its fast-food/restaurant twin (how disturbing to see the calorie difference between, for ex., a recipe for a Turkey BLT Salad, 230 cal., and a Quiznos Classic Cobb Regular Salad, 780 cal.). Also, pictures to go with every recipe (a MUST for cookbooks)!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved looking through the pictures of the meals they created and how many calories were in each one. I like their approach to cooking- a recipe is just a guideline, the real magic happens when you tweak to create what you really want. They also have some great "formulas" for salad dressings, marinades, and other basics.

[Maria Catherino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. This one has milkshake and pizza matrices and dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon (appetizer 220 calories per 2). I have a very big intellectual crush on David Zinczenko (doesn't hurt that he's cute too) everything has real ingredients and nothing is "diet" but it's all much healthier than at a restaurant.

[February Four · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with the Cook This, Not That: Kitchen Survival Guide, this book packs in the recipes and posts calorie counts for EVERYTHING. Definitely what you want from your cookbooks. For the cook who's still trying to find his or her way in the kitchen (but still eat healthy), these books are lifesavers.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have several of these little "eat this, not that" books and this one is by far my favorite. Tons of great recipes for healthy eating, many of which are healthier versions of popular restaurant dishes.

[Arwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the idea of the book n the comparison, although i didnt try any of the recipes yet. but knownig how many cal ur fav dish pack n what u can eat instead of it, is the first step in obtaining a healthy lifestyle

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good solid cookbook targeted at young professionals who want to make a change from eating out all the time. Great overview of the basics and good tips on making delicious, quick, healthy meals (for one or two)

[Dr NSCA-CPT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book. Loaded with useful information about cooking healthy meals. The cooking techniques in this book are easy to understand and apply. This book is a must for anyone who is serious about their nutrition, health fitness

[Julie Read Our Lips! Book Review Blog · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely misleading book. The food recipes are not 350 calorie MEALS. They are 350 calories a SERVING. Each prepared meal is around 4 servings each, others more or less, making the calories a lot higher.

[Barb Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book with lots of easy and healthy recipes. The visuals were good. I read this to help me stick to my 100 day challenge to loose a few pounds and cook healthier. Many of these recipes I have tried before and they are very good ...but I am going to try 6 new ones.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and can't believe how simple and delicious some of these recipes are.

[Jacki Potratz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing ground breaking but realistic and still pretty healthy. Great egg ideas and chicken ideas too.

[Ashlei · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what I was looking for so not very helpful.

[Jessica Schell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a little bit different. For cook this, they have a recipe and not that is compare to a restaurant version. Really liked this edition because it has recipe we can do.

[Dona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good recipes in here.

[Nohreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little books are great. Did not disappoint with it's usually helpful tips. Great pictures and the recipes are a great addition.

[Kathleen Messmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best, most realistic book out there for low cal, healthy cookery. Loved it!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives great advice in making wise choices at the grocery store.

[Cari Skuse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series of books. We use them all the time for deciding our dinner menu. Easy to cook and delicious too.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great recipes and I love the pics!