I really enjoyed this unique guide to cooking.No recipes no measurements an easy to read to follow.Will be gifting this to a young cook who I think will really enjoy this guide.#netgalley#booksgosocial

Review Title: Are You Hungry? (review of The No Recipe Cookbook by Dr. Samantha Pillay)

Reviewer: Janice S. Garey

***** 5 Stars

If you have a good appetite for a variety of healthy foods, and you desire to learn to cook from scratch for yourself and others, this is the book for you. It entertained me and made me feel cared for which is logical since a wise Austrailian medical doctor wrote the book. It serves as a crash course in cooking which is an essential life skill. It has all one needs to learn to put good food on the table day after day and lose the unhealthy habit of junk food and fast food consumption.

Many people today seem compelled to satisfy their hunger with whatever appears most convenient. Dr. Samantha Pillay teaches that if you learn the basics of cooking you can prepare ahead and make your own quick to go food that won't bust the budget or your waistband. She gives so many excellent tips that would take years to learn by trial and error. This book fills the need of young people with no cooking experience as well as the need for those like myself who at an older age are trying to downsize the kitchen by getting rid of unnecessary equipment and tools that no longer fit a former lifestyle.

This lovely book, which contains no photos because there are no recipes, has great charm for those unfamiliar with some terms used in Austrailia. Biscuits are cookies; peanut paste is peanut butter; and it took me a bit of head scratching to understand that "slices" are like what we in the States know as bar cookies only they are in much greater choices including savory.

I believe most people would benefit from reading this book either for basic cooking knowledge or to streamline processes and get rid of kitchen clutter. Rather than in the format of recipes, these pages give the reader flexible instructions which list a variety of ingredients and ways to prepare them for meals. If one feels the need for more information, a quick search of the internet should provide additional helps to create the meal to your individual specifications.

I received an ebook copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for giving an honest review. I have read the book and find it to be worthy of a high recommendation to anyone who wishes to learn to cook or to enhance their enjoyment of time spent in the kitchen.

Personally, I didn't like the format of the book (that's PERSONALLY). I favor baking over cooking so it scared me a bit that there were no ingredient lists or clear recipe-looking things. I definitely appreciate that all of these tips are coming from a doctor, who likely knows what she's talking about, but recipe-wise, it wasn't my cup of tea. Yes, for baking, there were measurements, but I am not the type of person to throw a bit of this and a bit of that into my pot, so just not for me.

I enjoyed reading through this book, it was so simplistic & easy to follow without the need for recipes. I will definitely be buying a copy of this for my kitchen shelf. Easy to understand & informative

Just when you think you have enough cookery books you come across a gem that is more than just a new collection of recipes. The "No Recipe " cookbook is exactly what it says it is, and more. It is a manual that makes a busy mum or dad's life just a little bit easier. Samantha Pillay smooths the weekly journey from "menu planning" to "tea on table" by providing comprehensive ideas that are flexible enough to cater for even the fussy members of the household.
The format is unusual in that recipes are grouped by "time since shopping" rather than by main ingredient which sounds odd but works brilliantly.
It hasn't changed my life but it has certainly made it easier!

This is an excellent idea, and the writing is well researched and informative. I am sure it would be very helpful in assisting meal and recipe planning. There are plenty of ideas about how one can adapt a basic idea according to the ingredients at hand, and this book gives very useful pointers towards good combinations. I would have given it four or five stars if only it had included some illustrations or photos. Sadly, without something to lighten the pages of text, it seems very dry and boring. It wouldn’t take much; a photo of the basic dish and then perhaps some line drawings of the suggested ingredients before each variation. No recipe is a welcome concept, and the book could easily be adapted to make it much more instantly appealing.

Recipes Written Like Open-Ended Procedures

This book’s title is a bit of a misnomer, as it is full of what I would call recipes. They simply aren't written in a traditional format with a fixed ingredient list and set of directions. Most are ideas with procedures and suggested ingredients; many are left very open to interpretation. The book starts with a long tip section. The author stated people who don't cook often (or at all) could use this book, but I think this section might be a bit much for the true rank beginners as much information in this section requires a level of greater cooking knowledge than a non-cook has. (In some places throughout the book, she actually has sections specifically meant for people who don't cook much.) The bulk of the book is main dishes, with smaller sections for lunches, desserts, and breakfast. You will get the author's “no recipe” recipe for things like muesli, soup, meaty main dishes, and simple desserts. These non-recipes are written in a lot of detail, as the author is more trying to teach you a process or procedure rather than give you a specific recipe with a set list of ingredients. The author is Australian, so some foods mentioned are stated in Australian terminology, and when she provides measurements (which isn’t often), they are in metric. I am a vegetarian, and I felt like the book needed a few more vegetarian and vegan friendly recipes; the book really is meat focused in the main dish and lunch sections. Despite its flaws and idiosyncrasies, this book got me thinking about ways I can better incorporate simple cooking procedures and dishes into my cooking routine to make my food both more healthful and easier to make.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for a digital arc of this book. I loved the premise of this book. I think it will appeal to many who looking to become more empowered in their food choices but do not know where to start and are turned off by most food writing. The book's title, blurb, and synopsis came across to me as approachable and the book offers a refreshing take on food writing. The foods and ingredients discussed are concise and offer non-cooks a manageable set of options to get started with making their own food.

This cookbook is made on the premise that learning to cook without a recipe is possible, and doing so will save your time and money, and is healthier in the long run since you know exactly what you are putting inside your body. Her story at the beginning lays out how meal planning has helped her over the years. There are no pictures, and no real standardized recipes, but conversationally she takes the reader through each dish start to finish.

This book was reviewed on my cookbook blog.

There’s something gently evangelical about this little book which encourages us to get cooking for the sake of our health and our finances.
These are guidelines for the kinds of everyday meals that will nourish and satisfy a family – basics such as risotto, mince and pasta – showing how they can be planned to minimise shopping trips and avoid waste. It reminds me of the old-fashioned ‘home economics’ books for ‘housewives’, but without the sexism and with a definitely more modern style.
A couple of niggles:
Firstly, there are 23 kitchen safety tips , including gems such as ‘don’t lick sharp knives’ and ‘don’t cook naked’ . However, I’ve only ever suffered food poisoning once and that was from rice. Turns out reheated rice is a major food poisoning issue but Pillay mentions reheating rice many times without addressing this.
Also, although I liked the idea of organising the meals into ‘days’, I got a bit confused by this . ( eg days 6,7 and 8 Fried Rice???)
It’s not a long book but it is enjoyable and may be useful for some.
One final amusing point – the author is Australian and she mentions that the English call their main evening meal ‘supper’ – as an English person, I can say that I thought that supper was what you call a bowl of cornflakes before bed!

* I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. All opinions in this review are my own.

A nice straightforward guide on how to effectively grocery shop and cook for a couple of weeks at a time. Gives nice tips on how to shop and how to plan meals out by the freshness of foods to those that are more shelf stable. There are no actual recipes but guidelines on how to make meals, which makes it easy to customize for personal taste and for what is found in the store or your own cupboard. A few pictures or illustrations would have been nice to add visual interests. This book is great for those just learning how to cook for themselves and is a good reference for those that have been using mostly recipes to remind them that there is still a lot of wiggle room in cooking.

This wasn't quite the cookbook I was expecting it to be and was a very quick read. It felt quite dated.

I liked the premise of the book but nothing was new and a lot of the advice was very obvious. I was expecting some more ideas and easy swaps. You can tell this isn't written by a cook and I did like that you got the personal element but I feel it could have been pushed a bit further. Overall a great idea but was very short and didn't live up to what the blurb stated.

Thank you for an arc.

Not up for aspirational, labour-intensive, food porn? Then this might be the cookbook for you. The No Recipe Cookbook is about cooking no-nonsense food using ingredients you can get from your local supermarket.

It kicks off with a summary of the benefits of cooking from scratch, gives hints and tips to make cooking as safe and straightforward as possible (I’ll be keeping my fresh garlic in the freezer from now on), then covers what to make and how.

This no-frills approach focuses on efficiency and meticulous planning. Dr. Pillay shows how to get 14 dinners out of 1 grocery shop. It’s all about considering which ingredients need to be used by when, and making the most of them so nothing goes to waste. So say goodbye to the vegetable graveyard lurking at the bottom of your fridge.

The strategies also include buying in bulk (assuming you’ve got the space to store the items), knowing how to vary meals, and making double portions that can be frozen and eaten at a later date.

In comparison to the usual cookbook fare, Dr. Pillay’s food is unadventurous, but it’s hearty. The evening meal options are things like stir fry, spaghetti bolognese, risotto and egg-fried rice. You’re out of luck if you’re looking for breakfast, lunch or baking inspiration, because those sections are disappointingly small.

This is a handy book to have if you’re looking for an introduction to meal planning, or are on a strict budget. But absolute beginners might struggle with the lack of photos.

Review shared on Amazon.co.uk and Waterstones.com

This book has a lot of tips for young adults who need to learn how to cook. It was a guidebook and simple to read.

The No Recipe Cookbook by Samantha Pillay was a refreshing take on a typical cookbook.

I often take recipes and manipulate them quite a bit to make them my own. However, give me a bunch of raw ingredients and no guidance, and I am useless. That made this book particularly interesting to me. While I do not think this book has instantly made me able to just make something out a thin air, it has provided several ideas that I can play around with in the future. The ideas in this book are pretty simple and not super complicated, which I appreciated.

I also think the information about obesity and the money that can be saved is super important as well.

If you are someone who would like to get better at experimenting in the kitchen, The No Recipe Cookbook is a good place to start.

I received an eARC from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

Hard to say on this one. At first I thought it was a book by Sam Sifton from the New York Times which is more about improvisational cooking. That book is coming out next month.

This is mostly an enthusiastic nudge from someone on what they've lived and learned. It's very basic and much of it to me reads like common sense. I think it promises more than it delivers. I have many cookbooks and I used to be quite an avid cook, but I really detest cooking now. For me, there was nothing new here to learn. YMMV.

I opened the pages of this book expecting a different format from what I was seeing. I actually read the opening pages and felt I was reading the introductory pages of a cookbook. As I continued reading, something felt off. Then I realized I was not reading about the item. Rather, this was the recipe explaining how to prepare the item. All the recipes with their step-by-step instructions are written as if you’re reading a regular book. This is a great approach for those who are not use to regular cookbooks.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the publisher and Net Galley but the thoughts expressed are my own.

This is a solid introduction to an idea, and I liked the way that the ideas in this book were organized. I especially liked the sections where one general item (like meat mince) was presented with multiple options.

However, there wasn't a lot of leeway for alternative diets or general food preferences (in my household, we prefer to eat less meat, and a lot of these were somewhat meat heavy).

Pretty neat tricks and tips. Great for young adults. It was written in a way that wasn’t really a cookbook. It was more of a guidebook which I enjoyed.

Super quick read, informative and packed with hints and tips. Has some basic directions so if you are new to cooking you might need some other reading material to bulk out your knowledge base.