Monday, September 22, 2008

The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner



Palmer/Pletsch Publishing
September 2008

www.thefoodnanny.com


As many families tackle longer work days, back to school activities and household chores, dinner can become a frantic rush to get something on the table. Quite often, meals involve take out options and unhealthy choices. THE FOOD NANNY RESCUES DINNER helps demonstrate how planning a weekly meal schedule can help ensure you are creating healthier home cooked meals and involving the whole family.

Liz Edmunds earns her living as a menu planning consultant. She's the mom of seven and uses her skills to help others manage their mealtimes. The recipes in the book sound great, but I do question if all of them will appeal to fussy eaters. For example, the recipe for macaroni and cheese uses cayenne and Tabasco sauce, two ingredients that guarantee my daughter will not touch them. Thankfully, I cook all the time and know how to substitute or omit ingredients. Those with less skill in the kitchen may find this harder to do.

The recipes are divided into days of the week. Using her meal schedule, you start off Monday with comfort foods and it is the one night of the week that dessert is offered. The rest of the week covers:

  • Tuesday Italian
  • Wednesday Fish/Meatless
  • Thursday Mexican
  • Friday Pizza
  • Saturday Grill Night
  • Sunday Family Traditions
You create one shopping list that will cover two weeks. This helps ensure you have everything you need and only visit grocery stores twice a month usually.

Obviously, you will need to make changes to suit your family. Not everyone enjoys Mexican, others may not enjoy fish. Either way, there are plenty of recipes included that switching days about is simple. I found this to be one of the best cookbooks around for those who are looking to prepare inexpensive, tasty meals at home. They may not always be low in fat, but again you have the power to change meals to fit your own dietary and personal requirements.