Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The premise of this book is great. The economy is tough and food prices seem determined to outpace unemployment numbers. However this book fails to deliver on several important points:
1.It's not really $3 a meal. It's $3 a serving and even then I'm not sure it really averages out to be that low in some cases.
2.The 'ways to save money' portions of the book are very general and superficial. The book 'hesitates' to recommend specific coupon websites for fear they might become defunct. God forbid we get a bad link! I mean, seriously? Further, aside from being told to use coupons, there is no specific insider advice beyond that. Nor any mention of Angel Food ministries. They are a non profit that offers meat at approximately a 50% savings. (Here's more info:[...])
Essentially,all the cost saving 'advice' is the same generic stuff you've already heard before. There's nothing new or fresh in this section of the book. We're even reminded to avoid grocery shopping while hungry. Like no one hasn't heard that one at least a dozen times!
3.I knew I was in trouble with this book when the basic roast chicken recipe calls for 3 different fresh herbs. If I were to purchase these at the store, it would easily be $6 in herbs alone. Ironically, I don't recall seeing any 'tips' about growing my own herbs as a way to save money.
4.There's big detour into 'knife skills' and other cooking expertise tidbits that I found kind of odd. This is meant to be an economizing cookbook. We don't go in depth on coupons, but chopping food gets a couple pages? Really?
5.There's no mention of cost on the recipes. I understand prices change, but it would be helpful to know if I'm looking at approximately $10 in ingredients or $20. Some barometer of recipe cost would have been helpful and made this cookbook more relevant.
Overall, this is a generic cookbook that falls short of delivering on its premise. However, the recipes seem competent and there's no question the author knows how to cook. I'm not sure they author really knows how to be frugal, though.
M
Click Here to see more reviews about: $3 Meals in Minutes: Delicious, Low-Cost Dishes for Your Family That Can Be Prepared in No Time
This collection of 250-plus recipes has main course entrees that are less than $3 a serving to prepare. That's less than the cost of a decent-size burger at a fast-food drive-through. And all can be prepared in less time than it takes to have a pizza delivered!
