Jerry Wynne 2008-10-23

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

My man has never been the problem in the veggie-eating department; it's *me* who's the problem. I have such a powerful aversion to veggies that I just *can't* eat them. Even when they taste exactly like the dish that they're in, my illogical aversion makes it impossible for me to choke them down. But tonight, I ate chili that had cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, and peas in it--and it looked and tasted just like any "normal" chili I'd ever eaten. Not only did I eat it, I *enjoyed* it, which is just as important. There's only so long one can keep eating things one doesn't enjoy, but if they taste good . . .

If the rest of the recipes in this book are as good as that one, then this book could be literally a life-saver for me. (I didn't know how I was going to get my cholesterol level down when I couldn't eat veggies!)

Sandie Bridges 2008-10-03

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

I thought this would be a great book for my son but it's just too much work. You have to premake some ingridents (and freeze them for future use) and then make the receipe. It's just too much work! I need something easier!

knittingcircuit 2008-09-19

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

I think that should be the titles for this book, but then who would buy it?

I love making fresh baby food for my kids when they were young. I stopped because there wasn't a need anymore. I'm glad this book came out and I've discovered making baby food blends is just as fulfilling.

The book is about adding nutritious foods into your family's diet without their knowledge and it's not about revamping their diets. DH is borderline diabetic and I've tried to get him to eat more beans, cinnamon, fibers, you name it, but he has refused or claims, he can not eat those food (or too much of them).

Last night, I made the 'Radical Ribs' with the 'Basic marinade for Fish, Chicken, & Pork', 'Sweet & Sour Sauce', and 'Re-vamped bottled BBQ sauce.' I made the Orange puree (carrots/yam) and got a bottle of pomegranate juice (at my local produce store) which were required to make the 'Radical Ribs' and the sauces. DH was really excited when I showed him his packed lunch: ribs, steam rice, steamed corn& peas and fruit salad. 7yr DS got a smaller version for his lunch and there was lots of 'Ohhs' and 'Ahhs' about their lunches this morning. They know how to make their mom feel happy.

The ribs tastes like store purchased ribs, but it actually has about 3/4 cup of pureed carrots/yams on them. I can't wait to try out more recipes from this book. I also have checked out the 'kids' version, but my picky 7yr DS won't eat those recipes, he eats like his dad. The recipes in this book are better than the 'kids' version (MHO).

In summary, it's about slowly adding more fiber & nutrients into your family's diet without added hardship. They are going to eat ... (ribs, fried chicken, french fries, chili, chowder, shakes, margaritas (adults only), etc.); why not add some baby food/juice in them and here's how! Nice book, check it out at the library if you don't believe me.

trifle 2008-09-02

0 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

What a poor, poor reflection on our society when anyone would author a book titled, "How to Cheat." Terrible. Is this dishonesty really meant to be out of love? Why anyone, male or female, would want to cheat at anything in their relationship is beyond me. What a shame. Why not try honesty instead? As a marriage counselor I would have much less work if more people did just that.
A shame, on so many levels.

M. A. Brewer 2008-08-13

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

First off, truth be told, I'm not a man at all. I just happen to be a very picky adult woman who can't stomach eating whole vegetables. Health issues spurred me to make some changes in my diet, namely to include more vegetables and fiber. This was a tall order for me, but I'd been hearing rave reviews for books like these and Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious" which make a point of including disguised vegetables pureed seamlessly into the foods I happen to love--which also tend, very often, to be incredibly bad for you. This was a strategy I could live with. If it worked, so much the better; if it didn't, at worst it would be a failed experiment in cooking (to add to my always-growing pile of such experiments).

I looked into the original Sneaky Chef, this book, and several others of the same type before settling on this "men's health" edition, not only because it addressed my own problems but also because I probably eat more of what Lapine calls "man food" than most men I know. The introduction, where she talks about the different emphases men and women place on food and the tastes, sights and textures that appeal to them, I swear could've been written about me.

This was what sold me on the book: though there seems to be little love lost between Lapine and the eating habits of what she calls the "typical man", she writes not without understanding. In fact, simply trying a few of the recipes proves that she does, in fact, have a consummate understanding of what makes foods delicious to men AND women as well as what would make them healthier. The blueberry muffins include no butter and are sweetened with only vanilla extract, cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar in addition to the blueberries, and are loaded with white beans, whole wheat flour, and oat bran, but amazingly, to eat these muffins is to make no sacrifice of flavor. They smell heavenly in the oven and taste just as good out of it. Ditto the Bolognese sauce: while it simmered, I couldn't stop tasting it while adding involuntary "mmm"s. One serving of the sauce over whole wheat pasta makes for a delicious, filling and healthy meal that will give you energy for hours. I've also tried the sesame noodles, pesto pizza and quick stovetop popcorn, all of which were astounding successes!

Lapine is batting a thousand in my book. Now I can feel good about the food I'm eating without feeling deprived by a "diet", and all these recipes have the convenient feature of broadening the taste horizons of the picky man in my own life, who's as committed as I am to changing our habits and living more healthfully. To give us more recipes for healthy treats, I've got the original Sneaky Chef on the way to my house. If the original is half as helpful as its sequel, we'll be pleased.

Bravo to Missy Chase Lapine! Your recipes have achieved what years' worth of my doctors and nutritionists, not to mention my parents, dismissed as a pipe dream: made me eat vegetables... and like them! This is a system that works for more than just the men in your life--it'll work for you too.