Slimming World 30 Minute Meals

My Mother in Law gave me this book for christmas as I was interested in the slimming world diet. What a fantastic book, just as it says 30 minute meals that are easy to to cook and taste delicious. As yet nothing has failed us, infact we have even tried recipes that we would not normally try. I have shown this to a few friends and thay love it and have also ordered it.

Does what it says on the label.

Simple to follow, easy to cook (even for me), tasty low fat meals. Have tried most of the recipes and haven't come across a bad one. Great for everyday meals.

If you want to make a change....

My body shape has always puzzled me. Arms and legs just fine but a big fat tummy in the middle. This is what got me to buy this book as in the past becuase of this tum I have even been congraulated on my pregnancy :( For me, this was just what I needed, after reading I felt like it was speaking to me and it prompted me to make a change which I am currently sticking to. Of course most of it is common sense, eat right, excercise and try and live stress free so Id recommend this book if you are prepared to do a little work, you want to understand more about your body and you need a motivation boost. I hope this helps. (PS I will try and update this in 3 months as thats how long its supposed to take)<br />

Some super tips

This is a good book, as it encourages the reader to use normal ingredients rather than prepacked mixes, and offers recipes for basics which I never imagined I could substitute. Some of the highlights include the great tip of using rice paper wrappers as a crunchy coating for fish (you won't miss batter), the soda bread recipe, and the breakfast health bar which went down a treat - no-one guessed there was anything odd about it, and it's the first time I have cooked with rice flakes. In fact, this book allows you to cook for yourself and others, without things tasting odd or artificial. Although many of the recipes are too high in fat for me (this applies to Irish cookery in general), I have successfully reduced the fat in all cases.

Less than a week on this diet and 8lbs lighter

I cannot commend this book enough. In September of last year I tried the previous revision of this book. It was my first attempt at dieting as I, like most people, loved my food but as I was now in my thirties I could no longer eat anything I wanted without taking exercise and feel no effect. My waistline had grown steadily from a loose 32" to a really tight 34" (effectively 3 sizes) within around a 3 year period and I didn't want to go up another waist size and start making excuses about my double chin.<br /><br />I got some good scales and borrowed the book from a friend who said it would work as it did for him. I weighed 14 stone at the end of September. The next day I stocked up on the food I needed and commenced my diet. I noticed daily waitloss instantly and by the middle of November I weighed 12st 5lbs. I had a couple of business trips away in between these times and didn't stay on the diet every day. But that's the beauty of this because you don't have to punish yourself as it's effectively a 24hr diet.<br /><br />You can have a carb fix and be bad some days if you want and the next couple of days be good and you'll still notice the difference. And by being good I don't mean eat cardboard and lettuce leaves, you can have cream of chicken soup for lunch, big juicy steaks for supper and the best bit, bacon and fried eggs for breakfast. All this and I could finally get into those jeans and that shirt that I couldn't look good in before and I felt fantastic. The added bonus here is that I could go out at night with friends regularly and still have alcohol (wine or spirits) and have a great time with them whilst still losing weight.<br /><br />I hadn't been watching what I've been eating since last November and steadily gained weight from eating all those carbs again and weighed in at 13st 8lbs on Monday last week so I decided to give the new book a go together with the cookbook. I have really gotten into it again and cut out most of the carbs completely. I weighed myself this morning and I'm under the 13st mark! 12st 13.4lbs. I've lost more than 8 lbs in less than 7 days. I knew this would work again but I was truly astonished at the speed of the weight loss this time around and I can go another couple of weeks on this and hopefully reach my target of 12st.<br /><br />Get this book and it will work for you. You have to abstain sometimes and I have virtually no willpower, but believe me, once you see the results you won't mind and it'll all be worth it. It's the best thing for under a tenner I have ever bought.

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping

I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge). <br />I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision. <br /><br />From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.<br /><br />The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!<br /><br />To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain. <br />

Collins Carb Counter

This essential for anyone with type 1 diabetes that is on a basal-bolus insulin regime. Our daughter has the condition and we need to work out her carbohydrate intake with every meal to calculate her insulin.

Free Carbohydrate listings on the internet seem to be based on strange American foods - so it is good to have a book that covers British foods. This book is excellent value, is a handy pocket size and is very comprehensive.

I gave the book 4 stars rather than five because it mainly Gives Carbs per hundred grams - which is fine at home when you can weigh things. But when eating out or at other peoples houses it would be useful to have more portion descriptions - rather than just giving a total weight for many foods.

This book works if you work it.

Being a man I did not think that this book would work for me but my wife suggested that we give it a try and see what happens, In the first month I lost a stone and a half and am now maintaining my weight. This is such an easy and do-able system anyone can follow it without having to suffer. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Poor selection of everyday foods

Items listed within the book assumes everybody buys brands names therefore on that basis the information contained was very limited.

Yum

Best cookbook i own! Lovely pictures and easy recipes (not that i stick to them). Yummy results.

This book is for"normal" people ...

... who have tonnes of money to throw around. The writers of this book need a serious reality check. They don't seem to be in touch with what"real" people are like. The average member of the population cannot afford to eat the food suggested! Heck, they won't even be able to find it. <br /><br />It's an excellent diet, if you live in London and earn a fortune (or have a rich hubby).

Amazingly simple & delicious recipes

This book is fantastic. I bought it because I had his nutrition bible and valued his judgement on good healthy food. When I first got it I was disappointed because it didn't have any pictures but I then sat down and started to read the recipes and they are lovely. I haven't touched the meat section because my husband doesn't eat meat but we've done pretty much all the vegetarian meals and the fish dishes and the side dishes are yummie. I've only given it 4 stars though because I think to make it 5 stars it would need to do the following: Have pictures so you can see what you're making and secondly section the recipes so you know what is in season. I know these days you can pretty much get anything you want in the shops whether it's in season or not but with sustainability becoming a bigger issue then I think it's important to buy food that's in season and as local as possible. They would be my only criticisms.

Become the biggest loser

The Biggest Loser Fitness Program helps customizing your plan to best fit your lifestyle, goals, and current fitness level. Taking the best moves from the workouts at The Biggest Loser Ranch, the routines in The Biggest Loser Fitness Program require very little equipment, are suitable for readers at any fitness level, and are designed with your busy schedule in mind. <br /><br />In addition, The Biggest Loser Fitness Program also offers: <br />* sensible and real-life eating advice from the show's nutrition experts <br />* dozens of tips and tricks for getting started from the show's trainers and contestants <br />* inspiring and motivating contestant testimonials, including before-and-after photos <br />* clear, how-to photographs for each workout move <br />* modifications for beginners and advanced readers alike <br /><br />This fitness program is the best bet for dramatic, weight-loss transformation. Complete with real-life advice and built-in motivation, The Biggest Loser Fitness Program will inspire you to fight fat and become the biggest loser!

Some interesting health information but totally unrealistic as a diet plan

I think this is only useful really as a reference book for looking up nutrition related ailments or juice recipes (although they aren't even that good). My main criticism with this book and Gillian McKeith in general is that it is just too extreme. All the foods she promotes in her book are great to include in your diet and it is best to limit or reduce the 'bad' foods but to totally cut so many things out is unrealistic. Only a very small minority of people could actually stick to her diet in the long term. <br /><br />My main problem with Mrs McKeith is the way that she is so unforgiving of anyone slipping or falling off the wagon by eating something that she claims is 'wrong' or 'bad'. I know she uses shock tactics on her programme but I have been horrified to see her bring people to tears for eating something they shouldn't. When people try to stick to such restrictive diets they are bound to end up craving high fat and sugar foods even more. When this happens the last thing you should do is tell them what a failure they are. That'll only serve to lower their self esteem further. <br /><br />Anyway, good in pricipal - eat good food to be healthy but far too extreme for long term success.

South Beach vs. regular low calorie diet.....and the winner is..........

This is a diet book whose plan is to get you to lose weight by limiting your carbohydrates- essentially another low-carbohydrate diet. It has 3 phases where your carbohydrates are severely restricted at first, and then re-introduced. I have personally read three controlled trials comparing low carb diets to your regular calorie restricted diets that were published in scientific journals. The results? Low carb diets produce more weight loss during the first 6 months, but at one year follow-up, both groups had lost THE SAME amount of weight. Therefore, it really doesn't matter which diet plan you choose, the South Beach diet or your standard low calorie diet, because if you can stay on either of them for a year, you'll lose the same amount of weight. To that end,then, the South Beach diet is a fairly healthy diet plan and a good one to choose from, but the bottom line if you want to lose weight is to cut your calories with ANY diet plan and absolutely stick with it and make it a part of your lifestyle. Also recommend"Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff" if a shoulder problem or torn cuff keeps you from exercising. Good luck! <br /><br />

Curry without the guilt!

I love Indian food but as anyone dieting will know without very selective ordering a trip to the Indian can be bad news for the waistline. Here is the book to solve your problems, good recipies, easy to follow, loads of colour photos. Tried and tested on friends who are not watching their weight and all agreed meals taste great. Details given for those on Slimming World but would be fine for anyone dieting generally.

Great way for foodies to lose weight/eat healthily

Wozzer has done it again - I was running out of recipes from his GI Diet book and was very happy to see this new book at my local Waitrose last week...

A wider range of foods, and bigger portion sizes are covered in this book vs. the GI book. The photography is great and the recipes are delicious - lots of herbs and spices used, not too strict on oils and fats so your stomach won’t believe you’re dieting! Have dropped 6 kilos in just over a month and haven’t felt deprived once...

I would actually give it 4.5 stars if the rating system allowed as once again there are a couple of things that could be improved:
- not enough info on preparation and cooking times (especially important in a book that sometimes advocates using dried pulses rather than canned ones... so factor in overnight soaking and cooking!). There are super-quick recipes too thouugh.
- many of the recipes cater for 4-6 people. There are just 2 of us at home which means either dividing up ingredient quantities or eating each recipe over several meals. They are yummy though...
- finally the recipes are grouped by ingredient type (grains, pulses, desserts etc.) rather than by meal type (breakfast, dinner, snack) as in the GI book. Personally I preferred the latter.

All in all a fab book (buy the GI one too) if you love your food and find most diet food torture to eat, you’ll get along with this eating plan.

Good and bad

I was dianosed as a Coeliac very recently and having tried the store bought stuff I thought I'd try my own. I got the breadmaker (panasonic SD253) and, based on the reviews for this book, bought it. <br />I've had very mixed results. Some may think it's because of my novice bread-making skills, but I had my mother try some of the recipes I did and she got similar results (with a great deal of both machine and handmade bread making). <br />The milk loaf is a disaster, don't bother. The sandwich loaf is okay but I'm not keen on the taste of rice flour. I've just tried the everyday loaf and found the dough is really too dry (though I admit it tastes great).<br />In general I'm not hugely impressed with the recipes as is, but the basic idea is good and I think I'll be able to modify these recipes to my own taste.

At last a sensible approach to eating...

I recently embarked on the lighter life program and lost 3 stone. When I got the end of the 100 days the maintenance programme seemed long and drawn out (not to mention expensive). Once I had established the principles of Low GI, I set out to find a book to help me maintain my weight. I brought several books and I have to say this book was by far the best. It imparts common sense and logical facts on eating rather than tell us what we cant eat. I have found the 10 principles very easy to follow and so far, I have maintained my weight. Whats more, I feel very healthy and comfortable that if I slip up I am following the 80 / 20 rule and being a normal human being!