Member Reviews
It's a nice cookbook and there are a few recipes that I would try at home. The book is easy to follow , well organized and colorful. Some recipes have photos but most don't. I love that they're all under 400 cal but not all of them look appealing to me. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review
Some of these dishes sound AMAZING! I can't wait to actually cook a few.
The book is well written, the recipes are simple and you don't need fairy dust to make them, so I am looking forward to some kitchen time
The book starts out with a full chapter about the Mediterranean diet, and how it can improve your health. It provides some scientific information, although there weren’t any links to the information that was cited, unfortunately. Some general, common-sense information is offered as well, including how incorporating more exercise and making slow, gradual changes can be easier to maintain. The author also focuses on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet’s focus on not eliminating any food groups, incorporating larger portions of plant-based fiber, and healthy fats. I’m always interested in new and intriguing ways to incorporate more vegetables into my meals, so this seemed like the perfect book.
Recipes are divided into chapters, including breakfast, soups and salads, appetizers and snacks, side dishes, chicken and poultry main dishes, beef and lamb main dishes, pork main dishes, seafood and fish main dishes, vegetarian main dishes, and desserts. While there aren’t as many pictures as I would have liked, the ones that were included had my mouth watering. The vast majority of the ingredients are common and available in a local supermarket, while only a few would require a trip to a specialty supermarket.
I bookmarked so many pages, since the majority of the recipes sounded delicious. I could easily see myself making and enjoying these recipes. Part of what I loved most about them is that they incorporated fresh ingredients and vegetables. The recipes are easy to make and I can already tell that they’d be filling without being heavy.
I wish that there were more pictures of the finished products, since a lot of them really sounded good and I love to see what they should look like. Especially since my versions don’t always look as pretty, haha! My other complaint, aside from the lack of cited sources, is that the calorie counts were included, although the serving size often wasn’t. The recipe would provide calorie counts per serving, but it wouldn’t specify what a serving size is. For a book that is so focused on calorie counts and portion size, I’d have expected the actual portion size to be listed clearly for the recipes. Other than that, I am quite excited to give some of these recipes a try!
Ok so let's get started, the book starts with a chapter on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and how it can affect your weight. The next chapters are for breakfast, chicken, pork, fish, vegetarian, desserts, etc. Each chapter has over 10 recipes, with each recipe having nutritional value information. I would have loved for each recipe to have its own picture but unfortunately, the book doesn’t include that, which makes me lose interest in doing the recipes. On the plus side, there is a baklava oatmeal (!!), so strange yet appealing.
The Mediterranean diet is often touted as the healthies diet that exists. I like the sound of that because I usually love this style of eating. To me, most of the recipes do not sound like "diet" food, just tasty food that happens to be healthy. The 400-Calorie Mediterranean Diet Cookbook helps you keep your recipes in check by providing recipes ideas that are all 400 calories or less. There are mouth watering recipes like Greek-Style Flank Steak, Zucchini and Sausage Casserole, and Chicken with Figs. I definitely see myself reaching for this cookbook often.
I love cookbooks, collect them, and have been known to just sit and read them. This is an excellent representation of healthy and easy to follow recipes. The Mediterranean Diet is popular, tasty and healthy, however, it can also lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, reduce inflamation and aid in the control of diabetes. All of this, along with getting some exercise is a win win!
The variety of recipes in this book, will appeal to many different tastes. The ingredients are common and ones that can be found at your local market. Instructions are clear and easy to follow even for the novice cook. Also included with each recipe are the calories per serving, fat content, sodium, carbs, fiber, sugar and protein. This information will be helpful for those on a restricted diet. I highly recommend this book as there is something for all ages and tastes. This would be a good basic family resourse to use for meal planning.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing this advanced copy of the book. All opinions and comments are my own.
This book is fine - decent recipes and lovely photos - but I don't feel it offers anything new or particularly interesting. The recipes are all the kinds of things that I've seen already - on websites and in other books. There was no personal perspective - a tiny paragraph about the author on one of the title pages that I missed completely when I read the book initially on Kindle. I also prefer cookbooks that have a recipe alongside a picture of that recipe and a picture for every single recipe. This didn't. I feel like this book could have been so much more!
The 400-Calorie Mediterranean Cookbook provides some great recipes and a helpful guide on how to lose weight with the Mediterranean Diet.
Chapter 1 tells you all about the diet Chapters 2 - 11 provide recipes for breakfast, lunch, main dishes, and desserts. There is even a vegetarian section. My favorite recipes were Spicy Turkey Breast with Fruit Chutney, Eggs in Italian Bread, and Greek Biscotti.
This book will be a helpful resource for anyone who wants to try the Mediterranean Diet.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.
I go back and forth on the Mediterranean diet and am always looking for good recipes. To be honest, I think part of my problem is not having enough recipes that fit the criteria. Eating the same thing over and over gets old and that makes it easy to just walk away.
This books gives a bunch of recipes to help you stick to it and I have to say quite a few of them look tasty whether you’re doing the MD or not. For some reason I don’t recall bread and potatoes on my past attempts so that opens some new doors too, though I will stick with high fiber breads. I think some new doors have opened and it’s time to give it another try with all of these recipes.
I absolutely adored Peter Minaki's 'The 400-Calorie Mediterranean Diet Cookbook'! Not only are the recipes delicious looking and clear, Minaki has also clearly put some thought into his introduction. He lays out the benefits of a Mediterranean diet, while also highlighting the relevancy of exercise and discussing things with a doctor. So many cookbooks make wild claims about nutrition so it was nice to see someone be a little calmer and balanced.
The recipes, as said, can easily be followed and are laid out clearly with (mostly) easy-to-get ingredients. I honestly can't believe some of these recipes are so low-cal because they sound absolutely delicious. The photography is also gorgeous. Overall this felt like a great, no=nonsense cookbook full of recipes I will most-definitely be adding to my own staple.
Thank you Netgalley for an Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. After a family member was told to change their eating habits and lose weight by the doctor, we needed something to follow to help. This book is filled with delicious recipes that are easy to follow as well as new ideas that I wouldn't have thought of to try. I liked the layout of the book and the recipes were easy to follow and not too complicated, and being low calorie was great. Looking forward to trying more of these recipes. Would definitely recommend.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is an ok recipe book.
It focuses on weight loss and calorie intake. The portions of most of the recipes are on the small size because of this. There aren't a lot of pictures in the book and I like to see finished recipes to help me decide what to make. There's a lot of cheese in most of these recipes which feels counterintuitive if you're trying to cut calories.
Overall it's an ok guide to Mediterranean cooking.
Hmmm... This recipe book is hard to recommend, for me at least. On one side it's very much the economy kind of book – one recipe in eight getting a photo, that kind of thing – but on the other it suddenly drops the demand for finding mastiha (??) to go with our chicken in pomegranate juice. All the recipes seem sensible, well-thought-out, and of course edible, but the concentration is very much on scouring the Mediterranean for anything that could be called a superfood, without really touching base with what and who created these dishes in the first place. As a result the book has none of the pulling power required to make it part of your dinner party, and the great bulk of the dishes are to me, an amateur beginner kitchen chef at the very best, on the obvious side. As a result, I find if it would struggle to form a conversation piece when guests arrive, it would struggle to make the change in your health it alleges. There's nothing inherently, poisonously, wrong about these pages, but they didn't convince. It didn't even have the gumption to advertise how many slow cooker recipes it could share with us – and if you put some nice poached flounder on the colours of the Italian flag, at least put the colours in the right place.
Three stars doesn't mean it's horrendous and shouldn't exist – I won't deny taking some screen shots for future reference – but they do imply there are much better sources for your, er, sauces.
What is not to love about the Mediterranean diet, long noted as being one of the healthiest on the planet filled with the right balance of Meat, vegetables, healthy fats and oils and of course seafood. The bonus of all these recipes being under 400 calories is also brilliant.
I thought the book was split in to sections really well and easy to go back and find a recipe you enjoyed without having to go through long lists. The book is also very informative about the diet and balances needed to loose weight and more importantly keep the weight off, as for me this is always the biggest battle.
So far my favourites have been Eggs in Italian Bread, so easy to make but has that wow factor when presented at the table. Sautéed mushrooms were delicious as a side dish to go with the Chicken skewers. One thing I also liked about this book is most of the ingredients I would already have in my store cupboard and fridge, or could easily find in the supermarket.
The only negative I can find so far is that I would have like a few more pictures to go with the receives, I am a very visual person so like to see what I am cooking.
All in all I really like this book and will be buying a hard copy for my collection once it becomes available.
Thank you to Netgalley and Adams Media for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my thoughts. Expected publication date 14th September 2021.
I got to see this cookbook thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
I was intrigued by this cookbook as someone who always wants delicious meals that don’t overload on the calories (so hard to do).
While the recipes in this cookbook are tasty (at least from the ones I tried), the real calorie saving appears to be from portion control. There are some recipes that you could eat two “servings” and still be on the lower side calorically but you’d still be over 400.
The cookbook was laid out well, with clear directions that are well suited for both beginners and more experienced cooks. There are plenty of pictures that are enticing and not unrealistic (always hate when I end up with a “Nailed It” situation)
Overall three stars because the premise is only fulfilled by cutting portions way down. If you’re someone who doesn’t eat big portions, this will be fine for you, but if your looking for recipes to help you cut the pounds, this one may be hit or miss for you.
Thank you to Netgalley and Adams Media for this egalley in exchange for an honest review!
I am a Mediterranean Diet aficionado. Changing the way I eat has lead to weight loss and an overall improvement in my health and well-being. I am always searching for new recipes or different spins on things I normally make. The main meal I struggle with is breakfast and The 400-Calorie Mediterranean Diet Cookbook has plenty of offerings! Catch me making Eggs in Italian Bread and Baklava Oatmeal next week! The side dishes all sounded delicious and there were plenty of different options for dinner based on protein type. This is a great cookbook for anyone who is new to the diet (more like way of life) or anyone who follows the Mediterranean Diet looking to cut some calories!
I received The 400-Calorie Mediterranean Diet Cookbook as part of a NetGalley giveaway.
The Mediterranean diet, with its emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables, olive oils, grains, and seafood, is one of the longer-standing trend diets. With an eye towards portion control and weight loss, The 400-Calorie Mediterranean Diet Cookbook offers an array of recipes from breakfasts to desserts and everything in between.
This is a really robust and well-rounded set of recipes that offer lower calorie counts without compromising flavors or ingredients. The layout is a bit stale and leaves something to be desired, and the fairly simple ingredient lists may not appeal to more adventurous eaters, but for those who are seeking nutritious recipes with easy-to-find ingredients, it's a really good option, whether you're following a strict Mediterranean diet or not.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The 400-Calorie Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.
As it's been touted constantly, the Mediterranean diet is the ideal plan to follow when trying to live and eat healthfully, providing the best combination of healthy fats, vegetables and fruits to curb cravings and lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
I enjoyed most of the recipes, especially the entrees and those featuring seafood. There were quite a few recipes that peaked my interest.
I did appreciate a small section on desserts because what's the point of life and eating if you can't have something sweet to end a meal.
My only caveat is there weren't enough photos.
No new recipes to try. A lot of the recipes looked really delicious, but most of them were variations of things I have already tried or had ingredients that I had never heard of.
This is a lovely cookbook, but I find most of the side dishes and breakfast dishes to be very basic stuff that could easily be found online. However, the main entrees are very unique and interesting! I am excited to cook the pomegranate chicken dish most of all! I also wish it had a few more pictures for some of the recipes, so I could kind of guess what my stuff is supposed to come out looking like.