While "Quick and Easy 400 Calorie Recipes" offers a convenient approach to healthy eating, the absence of photos limits its appeal. As a visual learner, I find myself drawn to dishes that I can envision before preparing them. Pictures serve as inspiration and guidance, enticing me to explore new flavors and ingredients. Without visual cues, I'm left to imagine the outcome, which can be challenging and less motivating. Despite this drawback, the cookbook's promise of quick, low-calorie meals remains appealing for those seeking convenient and healthy options. However, the addition of photos would undoubtedly enhance the overall experience and encourage more experimentation in the kitchen.

I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t on some sort of diet. I always crave high calorie dishes because they seem to have more flavor. However, occasionally a cookbook comes out full of recipes that are as flavorful as their calorie-laden counterparts. Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes: Delicious and Satisfying Meals That Keep You to a Balanced 1200-Calorie Diet So You Can Lose Weight Without Starving Yourself is one such cookbook, and it’s full of mouthwatering dishes that will satisfy even picky eaters and those who are dieting.

This cookbook had several salads that are appealing (some quite hearty and containing much more than lettuce and some that will be very filling), but it seems that salad is always diet food and those of us who are on diets don’t always crave them. There are casseroles that have been “lightened up,” as well as classics that have been gathered from places across the globe, such as Greek Moussaka, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Fried Rice, Spaghetti Pie, Jambalaya, Curry, meatloaf, and even All American steak. There are even a few vegetarian dishes.

The recipes are written in the traditional format so they are easy to follow. Many are very easy, and some have a longer list of ingredients, but the dishes are worth it.

Unfortunately, there are no photographs, so cooks will have no idea what the finished dish should look like. This is a major flaw, because the cookbook, other than that, is very nice and has very good recipes. Although the recipes are excellent, the lack of photos will be a no-go for many of us.



Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Lots of options in the cook book, lots of great low calorie ideas. Including vegetarian. Recipes seemed easy, with ready ingredients.

Some interesting recipes to try and the recipes look straightforward and relatively easy to make.

I love that they're all under 400 calories so they're perfect for reducing calorie intake without reducing flavour.

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

Another great collection of recipes. Good ideas for those wishing to change their diet to include lower calorie meals.

I enjoyed reading this book and it had some good inspiration.

I do find books like this better to read on an iPad rather than my phone and felt it would be better in hardback in terms of formatting.

Thank you for the arc.

Ugh I don’t know why this author doesn’t include pictures in his cookbook?! I get not every recipe can have one since there really are A LOT of recipes in this book but some would be appreciated.

This book is packed with terrific recipes. They are quick and easy to follow. The ingredients are easily accessible. The only downside is the lack of pictures.

Usually I would really ding the stars for the lack of pictures but the amount of good recipes I’m bumping my 3.5 to a 4. With pictures this could easily be a 5.

Not great, not.. okay, it was quite terrible. It's mostly my fault for always jumping at the opportunity to read a new cookbook (especially if it's free to read on NetGalley), but I should've read the title twice. 1200 calorie diet is a red flag.

There is a lack of pictures in this cookbook which makes this book really unappealing. Then it's obviously too American for my European taste, I am not going to hold this against it but it will definitely not prompt me to recreate any of the recipes.

Content wise, the recipes are pretty simple and nothing new under the sun. I did save a few salads, stews and a couple of stuffed bell peppers to maybe try in the future. But a lot of the recipes that are inspired from other cultures are described as "still authentic/traditional" even though they are very American.

This is a very simple cookbook. The recipes look easy to prepare and are mostly common American fare with some ethnic touches. The dishes are mostly meat-based, though there is a vegetarian section. It might be a good cookbook for someone just starting a household, but I wouldn't get it myself for one big reason: there are no photos. For me, a big part of food is what it looks like. Without seeing the end result of the recipe, I'm not very inspired to make it.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an advance review copy of this cookbook. My opinions are my own.

This was an interesting title - I want to learn low calorie recipes so that I can eat my fill and still be healthy.
As a vegetarian, it was a nice surprise to find a section with only vegetarian recipes.
However, as we do not eat egg substitute or cheese with all our meals - i will be modifying these recipes for myself.
I was surprised that almost all recipes use cheese - i am not sure how that would work if you are trying to lose weight.
surprisingly for a cookbook, there were no photos - but maybe that is part of being healthy - if i dont see it, i cannot be tempted by it! :)

Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes is filled with comfort food recipes reduced in both sodium and calories. Each recipe comes with full nutritional information. Unfortunately, there are no photos included.

I also question some of the directions. In More Like Your Mama’s Tuna Casserole, for example, putting cooked egg noodles in a slow cooker for 7-9 hours on low sounds like a recipe for disaster (or at least mushy and/or broken noodles).

On the other hand, some of these recipes are really innovative. Making mole sauce with a can of tomatoes and some spices is an awesome, and gluten free, idea! It also only takes twenty minutes to cook. Will it taste identical to old fashioned mole? Probably not, but close enough with almost no calories and little work is a win for me.

Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes is rather hit and miss for me. I need photos to get my mouth watering. Still, it does have some ingenious ideas for reducing calories so 4 stars from me.

Thanks to New Shoe Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes is jam packed with recipes that are high in fibre and nutrients and low in salt and saturated fat. All – you guessed it – come in around the 400 calorie mark. All involve easily sourced ingredients and straightforward preparation methods. Measurements are given in both metric and imperial.

A couple of things to be aware of. These recipes do not include any added salt which literally won’t be to the taste of everyone. Also there are no pictures of any of the recipes, something which I personally missed.

If you’re looking for healthy recipe ideas, why not start here?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, New Shoe Press, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are some really great recipes in this book! It gave me a lot idea for new meal ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of.

In all good conscience I can not recommend Dick Logue’s, “Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes,” because throughout his cookbook recipes are written using ingredients filled with no-fat cheeses and no-fat sour cream, as well as egg substitutes.

Most scientists and health professionals agree that eating these FAKE products are actually worse than using their full-fat counterparts because to generate TASTE manufacturers fill these “PLASTIC” or GENETICALLY MODIFIED products full of sugars, salt and ingredients that are WORSE than the naturally occurring ones in the real full-fat, more wholesome versions.

Consequently, other than a few salads, grilled meats and veggies that are no-brainers, this is a very disappointing cookbook and dieting reference that anyone caring about good health while reducing calories should avoid at all costs.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Dick Logue, and New Shoe Press / Quartro Publishing Group USA for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

So many amazing recipes, I’m looking forward to trying some of these out.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes is a cookbook developed by the author, Dick Logue, due to being forced into a special diet for medical reasons, and his dissatisfaction with the kind of food he could eat. I think anyone who's ever been on a diet can relate to that disappointment with their food options!

The preparation methods I came across were: stove top, microwave, oven, slow cooker, and grilling

This cookbook is based on Volumetrics, and the recipes were developed with a focus on 6 key areas:
1. Low Energy Density
2. High Nutrient Density
3. Minimally Processed Foods
4. Low Sodium
5. Low Saturated Fat
6. High Fiber

Pros:
- Other than sodium, there is no demonization of any particular food or group of foods (i.e. Carbs or Fats)
- Measurements given in both English and Metric
- No salt is added to a single recipe, other than what is naturally occurring (i.e. a lot of recipes use cheese as an ingredient, which contains salt)
- Recipes don't use any exotic or hard to get ingredients
- Recipes instructions are very simple and straightforward, as well as quick to prepare in most cases

Cons:
- Without salt, the recipes were kind of bland to me. This was an easy fix, as adding salt can be done to your own taste preferences
- No pictures
- Some recipes use artificial sweeteners. Not a con for everyone, but I personally can't stand the taste of them.
- Some of the recipes weren't anything new or particularly interesting, they just swapped less healthy items for more healthy ones. For example, there was a recipe for a BLT, and the difference was basically to use low sodium bacon and whole wheat bread.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for quick, simple to prepare, and healthy recipes that don't use any unfamiliar or hard-to-find ingredients. There are recipes for every meal of the day, which makes meal planning for the week quite easy. But, if you're an accomplished home cook, you'll likely be bored with a lot of these recipes.

With today's busy schedules, and due to the ease of use and the convenience of this book, I give it 4 stars (-1 star for lack of creativity, as I feel like I already have a lot of similar recipes in my repertoire, that I could tweak in a similar way on my own).

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book. I was not required to submit this honest review.

This book was strongly 'just okay' in my opinion. I do want to acknowledge that developing recipes that are so low in calories while still retaining enough nutrition to be healthy and filling is no easy task, so I applaud the author for aiming to meet the interest in these kinds of meals.

However, after reading through and trying out a recipe, I'm left a little unsatisfied. The book doesn't include any photographs of what the finished dish looks like. There are no appealing and inspiring images to kickstart one's interest in diving into the recipes. It's true that a cookbook doesn't necessarily require pictures, but if a book is going to forgo that route, it ought to develop a certain personality in the recipe's descriptions (Peg Bracken's 'The I Hate to Cook Book' is a great example of this). This book doesn't really do that either, so what you essentially receive is a list.

The recipe I tried out was the 'Better Than it Sounds Pasta with Tofu' which turned out fine. It was a little basic, with the addition of tofu being the only real twist to the standard pasta with veggies and red sauce recipes most of us have probably thrown together at some point or other in our lives.

I'm giving this book 3 stars, as it's organized neatly by meal and does what it says on the cover. If you just need some recipes to hit a certain nutritional goal, this book seems okay for that. However, it doesn't have anything particularly inspiring, informative, or unusual about it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Fair Winds, New Shoe Press for an advanced copy to review.

"Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes" really does its best to make a transition to healthy eating as simple and fuss-free as possible. The meals themselves are all very manageable to prepare for any level of home cook on any day of the week. However, where this really shines is the delightfully large variety of different dishes to choose from. There's something here for everybody!

Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes by Dick Logue is a short book which contains the story about Logue's health scare experience and resulting low-calorie diet. He mindfully includes nutrient-dense ingredients in his recipes to ensure a balance and he never adds salt to his food. He also explains his six top ways to change eating habits. For me 1,200-1,600 calories a day would be low but this works for him.

Though I can easily envision recipe outcomes in my mind without photographs, they would be helpful to inspire or draw one to a particular recipe. These recipes are simple (simple is often best!) and would appeal most to new cooks; there is nothing novel for experienced cooks. However, for those who are busy and yearn for the nutrition calculations and calorie counts to be done for them, this would be a great resource. Sometimes one craves a lower-calorie meal, if not a low-calorie lifestyle.

Some appealing recipes include Not Exactly Eggs Benedict, Stuffed Cantaloupe, More Than the Usual Shrimp Remoulade, Honey Fried Chicken Dinner, Pure Comfort Beef and Barley Casserole, Touch of the South Bourbon Pork Chops, Oven Fried Fish and Meal in a Potato, The meals do look delicious and the guesswork is done..

My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - Fair Winds and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book.