I have very little money, a tiny kitchen and no fancy gadgets! (How to Feed Your Whole Family... - Gill Holcombe)

Member Name: Rhiana

Product:	How to Feed Your Whole Family... - Gill Holcombe
Date:	29/04/09 (238 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple, honest, unpretentious food that even an idiot like me can manage!

Disadvantages: Not for the master chef's amongst us.

The full title of this book by Gill Holcombe is, are you ready for it?...

How To Feed Your Whole Family A Healthy, Balanced Diet With Very Little Money...and hardly any time, even if you have a tiny kitchen, only three saucepans (one with an ill fitting lid) and no fancy gadgets - unless you count the garlic crusher... Simple, Whole And Nutritious Recipes For Family Meals.

Phew! Try saying that after a couple of Vino's!

Indeed, it was the title that first caught my eye as I was browsing the best-selling book list on Amazon recently. Falling into at least three of those categories myself I was intrigued enough to hand over £5.99 for this book, which as the RRP is £9.99 is quite a bit of a bargain.

~ About The Book ~

When my book arrived I was quite surprised to see that it didn't look like a typical cook book. It looks very much like a paperback novel, split into chapters with a great deal of text in places and having no glossy pictures to show how your food should look if your perfect (which I am not and do get annoyed by those fussy, faffy pic's). Opening to the first chapter it does also read more like a novel, with the Author giving a detailed opinion on the state of British nutrition, what she believes are the causes, and how she believes we can remedy them.

What pulled me in from the beginning was the first line in the introduction- " Have you ever spent a small fortune in the supermarket and still struggled to put a decent meal together?" YES!! I have, all the time!

The author goes on to discuss time, or the lack of it plus convenience food has created a lazy, easy option culture. Without being patronising, and giving examples about her own food misdemeanors in the past, she discusses the effects of high salt/fat/sugar diets on children, understands how tempting it is to take the easy option, but in a diplomatic way points out that we have more kitchen aides at our disposal than 50 years ago and making a good nutritious meal can be easier and quicker than dialling a take-away.

Now this is not really something I haven't heard before, however the Author manages to persuade me this time it might be possible. She has also been put off by 'easy healthy' recipes by extensive ingredients list, and herbs she's never even heard of. She champions traditional British cooking, dismissing it's modern reputation of being 'stodgy' and points out what can be less healthy than good meat, potatoes and lot's of veg? I'm really liking this no-nonsense author now.

But the 2 pieces that convince me further that this could be a good recipe book for a kitchen-a-phobe like me are the sections under weightloss and children's packed lunches.

She doesn't claim this is a diet book, but suggests perhaps by changing your eating patterns from conveniance to home made will naturally result in you eating less saturated fat, aswell as other nasties.

And the packed lunches... The sentence that convinced me this woman was a true domestic goddess was ''I don't believe the 'one size fits all' philosaphy of schools who invent ridiculous rules about what you can and can't pack in your child's lunchbox as a smokescreen for the unpalatable truth, which is; the food they provide is often even less healthy than crisps and chocolate and they can't be bothered to address the problem any other way." BRAVO!!! Step aside Jamie O!

~ The Recipes ~

So after reading the rather legnthy introduction and loving this womans straight talking, no nonsense approach which I, the worst cook in history (well maybe not quite but pretty uninspired) completely related to, we move on to the recipes. But will they live up to their promise of being easy, quick and nutritious?

I have to admit, they are. Reading the recipes theres nothing I haven't already got in the cupboard or know where to find (or pronounce if I need to ask) in the supermarket.

The recipe section covers: Dinner recipes, soup recipes, pudding recipes, cake recipes (including a section specifically for childrens baking) and bread and sauce recipes

Now I'm quite handy at making soup, so that isn't a section I've used yet. I have no intention of ever making bread no matter how easy I'm told it will be, so I doubt I'll ever use this section.

The dinner section is fantastic however. It has over 61 recipes in this section. While there are a few I just don't fancy (fish finger pie? yuk!) I have already used lots and have many I'm plan on trying. So far I have made Shepherd's Pie, Mousaka, Hamburgers, Chicken Nuggets, Chicken and Ham Pasta Bake, Toad in the Hole, Tuna Lasagne, Fish Cakes, Pizza, Fish Pie and bacon cakes. All of them have minimul familiar ingredients, require minimal preparation and the recipes themselves are laid out in a very easy to follow way.

Perhaps my most successful meal from the book was sweet and Sour Chicken. My kids favourite, I have looked at 'from scratch' recipes but been daunted by the staggering lists of exotic ingrediants so turned right to a jar of Uncle Bens. This book gives me a recipe with just 10 REAL storecupboard ingredients, including the chicken and takes just 20 minutes to make. My kids love it.

I haven't delved too deep into the puddings and cakes section, however we did make our very first fairy cakes that weren't from a box, from a recipe in this book. They were delicious and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed baking them. There's an extensive list of recipes to suit any sweet tooth.

The final section of this book gives 10 weekly shopping lists, which all come in under £30 for 7 main meals from the book. She shows receipts from all the well known supermarkets comparing the cost. I haven't followed a weekly shop, but it's handy to pick bits from and get ideas on how to plan, so the left overs from one day can be used the next.

~ Overall ~

If your a proficient and confident cook, then this book possibly isn't for you. Same goes if you like the more exotic nouvelle cuisine type foods. However if you'd really like to get back to basics and don't know where to start, then I HIGHLY recommend this book. The Author is witty, unpretentious and un-patronising and the recipes are so simple to follow for even the most inexperienced cook.

I rate this cookery book as 5 stars and easily the most use-able cook book I've ever owned (and theres been a few!).

ISBN 978-1-905862-15-3

Summary: I can cook, but will I cook? That is the question.