A great collection of recipes, tips, and resources for cooking for one. I really appreciated this book and ended up buying a copy for myself to use in my daily cooking adventures!

With 175 quick and simple meals for one, this book uses common ingredients for every meal. While the ingredients might be common the results are not. It’s so nice to find recipes for one that are delicious and cut down on time and waste. Looking forward to trying everything!! Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I've been following Kelly Jaggers for years because of the simple fact that there aren't too many cookbooks out there targeted to cooking for one. I very much appreciate that she breaks down recipes into single portions, saving me the time and hassle of diving everything in my head and hoping I've adjusted the cooking times right. I'll be blunt - some of her recipes are great, but more than a few just aren't up to snuff. This book follows that pattern. That being said, my number one complaint about this book, as with all of her books, is that there is a serious lack of photos. I don't understand how an author and publisher can be okay publishing a cookbook without instructive and enticing photos. Despite my reservations with this, and all of her books (and the recipes on her website), I'd still recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to cook for one or who simply wants to prepare more single-serve dishes without the fridge full of leftovers.

I love Mediterranean food and I’m always looking for new recipes. This cookbook has 175 single-serving recipes that are supposed to be easy and delicious. I haven’t made them yet at home but I like that the portions are small for one person. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I love these recipes. They are terrific for a quick, healthy meal with real ingredients. Easily accessible ingredients with easy to follow instructions.

The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cooking for One Cookbook: 175 Healthy, Easy, and Delicious Recipes Made Just for You does a good job of introducing the Mediterranean diet, with a good roadmap to the lifestyle change, staple ingredients to have on hand, tools, shopping tips, and meal prep information. There are good tips scattered throughout, helpful hints to making the diet work for each individual. Another plus is that the recipes are mainly easy to execute, good for those needing quick dishes on a work night. Where the cookbook falls short is in the lack of photographs and its repetitiveness. Some dishes are really similar to others, with few ingredients swapped out to make them different. A good cookbook is a jumping off point to creativity in the kitchen, but I really do not get this feeling from The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cooking for One Cookbook.

The recipes are separated into sections, some of which I have listed below with some example dishes.

Breakfast: Shashuka; Berry and Yogurt Smoothie; Red Pepper and Feta Omelet

Dips and Snacks: Zucchini and Sweet Potato Chips; Spicy Roast Chickpeas

Soups and Salads: Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup; Italian Mixed Green Salad

Side Dishes: Cilantro Lime Rice; Citrus Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Main Dishes: Fettuccine with Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce; Lasagna Rolls

Seafood Dishes: Linguine and Clams; Mediterranean Seafood Chowder

Poultry Dishes: Easy Pesto Chicken; Chicken with Lemon Asparagus; Turkey Meatballs

Pork, Lamb, and Beef Dishes: Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff; Phyllo-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin

Desserts: Dark Chocolate Mousse

Overall, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cooking for One Cookbook just does not stand out from the many other cookbooks on the subject. The lack of photographs is a major detraction, especially as inspiration in cooking often comes from the visual medium. For this reason, I would be hesitant to recommend it to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this cookbook was entirely my own.

Lots of great easy delicious sounding recipes…plus instructions on balancing the diet. Wish I had the willpower to follow thismone.

I am always looking for new cookbooks and especially ones where the meal is not designed for 6 people.. This however was not one for me.

First, I felt like all of the recipes were repetitive just with different proteins. There was a lot of the same ingredients and in most cases ones I did not care for.

Second, I really dislike cookbooks in this day and age that do not have pictures of each dish. It helps me get an idea of what the dish is and we eat with out eyes so it makes me more likely to want to make the dish.

Since food is so personal, this book will be for many out there it just was not for me.

After the Mediterranean diet was highly recommended by my nutritionist, I decided to start looking at some books and check it out. In this book, you will find 175 recipes that are perfect for when you’re cooking for just yourself. However, like most recipes, it’s extremely easy to adjust each recipe for when you find yourself cooking for more than just yourself.

The book is organized by type of recipe: breakfast, appetizers, vegetarian main dishes, poultry, dessert, soups, and so on. It’s easy to jump to what kind of recipe you’re looking for and find a variety of tasty sounding easy to follow recipes. I do wish there were more pictures to go with the recipes, but I don’t mind that it’s lacking in photos. However, I do think that a lot of people find the recipes more enticing when there’s a picture to go along with each one, so I think more pictures would’ve been a great addition to the book.

Each recipe is detailed and easy to follow. Some of the recipes are labor intensive, but if anyone finds that daunting or otherwise can’t commit to that much work in one go, the author recommends doing the prep work in advance. Actually, there are some pretty good tips in the opening of the book before we even get to the recipes. I really liked the section on how to plan ahead and stop wasting food. It’s easy to buy a little too much or have extra veggies and such leftovers from what one needed to make a meal. There are some pretty good tips on how to avoid buying too much but also what you can do with things such as leftover unused herbs so they don’t go to waste.

Overall, the recipes are clear and sound delicious. I actually already eat some variations of a portion of the recipes, but I think that makes the stuff I haven’t eaten before seem more promising. The book is clearly laid out, has excellent tips, and clear instructions for anyone new to cooking. I think it could’ve had more pictures of the finished foods, but otherwise, I think it’s an excellent recipe book that’s great for new and experienced cooks.

Well, this was a bit of a surprise, in that I thought the concept around it all would lead to more context around it all. Here is a book definitively trying to offer the whole Mediterranean diet, in dishes for one person, as well as feed in bits and bobs about meal prep, kitchen planning, and so on. But we have very little preamble before we're in to the recipes, and I might not be alone in thinking we ought to have more – what can and cannot be frozen, how storage should be optimised, and so on. Sure, we get some of the 'can's but not the 'cannot's.

Perhaps that is a leftover from me thinking cooking for one is more of a beginner's thing, which it clearly isn't, the number of single-occupancy households in the western world today. The real novice could easily be drawn to this, however, for the simple fact it has a lot more recipes than many cookbooks, cuts out the flab and photos, and just gets on with letting us get on with the cooking.

And what we're cooking first is of course breakfast, the most important meal of the day until the other two. Pancakes and a berry compote don't seem the most Mediterranean to me, but they're here to show variety, as is yes, the legally-obliged shakshuka – those things are everywhere, and if I see the ISS menu choices and they're not mentioned, I'd be shocked. Prime for me to try – the spanakopita-influenced frittata. After those it's snacking, hence all the dips and condiments like spicy roast chickpeas, then soups and salads (if roasted carrot tahini bisque for one does not appeal, there's a vegan avgolemono), and sides and accompaniments, such as blinged-up asparagus. With multiple options available to us we're only now hitting the main courses, with pasta, from lasagne rolls (to stop us needing a humongous baking dish) to fettuccine with crab and lemon. Veggie mains are next – the tostadas not alone on these pages to look and sound more Mexican, but we're all friends by now. We don't leave the fish behind, with linguine alle vongole right there at the start. Then it's poultry, and the fact the introduction says we have this scarcely, and red meat even more rarely, is proven by the fact it comes dumped towards the end. The desserts never really convinced they were Mediterranean – where's the limoncello sorbet, for one?

Overall, several impressions – this covers the whole Med, never really telling us where a dish comes from unless necessary, which is possibly more honest than other books claiming to know the derivation. You're also, rightly or wrongly, expected to learn on the hoof – to notice the avocado or the chickpea the first time it turns up (breakfast time, in both cases) and take on board then the best storage tips. There might have been a supplement or index for all this info.

And as far as economising goes, it could go further with preservation. Just a symbol on the page each time would tell us if dishes when cooked were freezable for our budget's sake. Many dishes cooked, surely, will last longer than all their constituents alone. If you do have a freezer to fill there is nothing here about sizing up for future servings, meaning we cook this, that and the other one by one – and I know it wasn't the idea to bulk-produce, but this might have helped – certainly more than the 'how to reduce a recipe table'. Also, it seems to be an American book – I don't think I've clapped eyes on 'Montreal steak seasoning'.

All told, this was a sterling success – the photo editor didn't always pick what I thought the best choice, but we have no flannel, and a lot more decisions to make after scanning this. There is a lot here you would wish to try – and then, of course, hope to double-up and try on someone else. It didn't take a silly amount of ingredients or equipment, and it certainly seemed Mediterranean enough to fit the remit. I'd easily see this being returned to on a regular basis. Four and a half stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the recipes that I tried and the author gave some great tips and tricks to store excess ingredients to make them last longer. I went through the book and chose 7 recipes that appealed to me, made a shopping list and got all the ingredients for the following week. There were a couple that will definitely be on my weekly list and some that although looked good were not my favourite. Well worth purchasing this if you are cooking for one.

What a great book if you are cooking for one or two. These recipes are easy to follow, with easy to source ingredients and they taste great!

It is tempting not to make much effort when just cooking for yourself and to revert to convenient yet unhealthy options. This book provides plenty of inspiration for healthy, tasty and simple recipes for one and encourages the reader to make time for keeping themselves healthy and happy.

THE ULTIMATE MEDITERRANEAN DIET COOKING FOR ONE COOKBOOK by Kelly Jaggers includes "175 Healthy, Easy, and Delicious Recipes Made Just for You." Jaggers is clearly passionate about preparing food; she is the author of several cookbooks, a cooking instructor, personal chef, and caterer. And it's a good thing, too, that the recipes are great because that cover could be so much more appealing, right? This new cookbook is part of a series (others are on Baking for One and Cooking for One) and Jaggers divides it into fairly standard sections such as breakfast, side dishes, seafood, poultry, and desserts. She includes nutritional information for each recipe and also has some beautiful pictures (a sampling of which appears in the look inside feature at amazon). In general, the recipes seem to meet the promise of being healthy and relatively easy. I am excited to try the Frozen Fruity Yogurt Bark (only 4 ingredients).

Kelly Jaggers’ The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cooking for One Cookbook is a great and comprehensive collection of single-serving Mediterranean recipes. I love the impressive range of easy-to-follow recipes as well as the helpful tips. However, the book’s layout could have been nicer and I would have loved more pictures.

This well-organised book features chapters on Breakfast; Dips and Snacks; Salads and Soups; Side Dishes; Pasta Dishes; Vegetarian Main Dishes; Seafood; Poultry Dishes; Pork, Lamb, and Beef Dishes; and Desserts. There is also a helpful chapter introducing readers to the Mediterranean diet as well as the process of cooking for one. Jaggers gives useful tips (fresh herbs can be placed in water and stored in the fridge!) and also lists important pantry staples and ingredients like beans, olive oil, and canned tuna. This chapter also features useful tools and equipment.

Although many of the recipes may be time or labour-intensive, all the dishes in this book are approachable for beginner cooks. Many of the ingredients are affordable and accessible pantry staples like chicken, flour, and pasta. However, several of the dishes require quite a few specialty ingredients like feta cheese, clams, polenta, and quinoa. But, they are still moderately inexpensive and not too difficult to find.

There are easy dishes like Spinach and Mozzarella Frittata (made easier with frozen shredded hash brown potatoes), Shrimp Scampi, and Easy Pesto Chicken. You can also try familiar favourites like Shakshuka, Tzatziki Sauce, Baba Ghanoush, and Minestrone Soup. Slightly more difficult dishes include Lasagna Rolls, Beef Stew with Red Wine, and Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff. There are even simple but impressively decadent sweet treats like White Wine-Poached Pear, Frozen Fruity Yogurt Bark, and Red Wine-Poached Figs with Ricotta and Almonds.

The recipes are clearly detailed and easy-to-follow. Each recipe begins with a brief but informative write-up offering helpful tips, useful facts on a main ingredient, tasting notes, ingredient swaps, and a short background of the dish. I also appreciate the inclusion of calorie information and other nutritional values.

The book’s layout is simple and clean but boring. I wish the design was more eye-catching. Furthermore, there are only a sparse handful of pictures which are too simply staged and which do not do the delicious recipes any justice. I would love many more pictures so I can see how the dishes should look.


🍅🍅🍅🍅 out of 5 tomatoes!

Not a year passes without the Mediterranean way of eating being praised or again awarded as the healthiest “diet” on the planet! And yet… maybe your family doesn’t embrace the cuisine or ingredients, and yet you’re interested. Or maybe you cook only for one or two, so large-scale Mediterranean recipes won’t work for you. Well, this little cookbook is entitled Ultimate with good reason. It’s comprehensive! You’ll get a guide to foods you’ll use, and a vast assortment of Mediterranean style dishes for all meals and in between— all scaled to a single serving. (Empty nest couples, I bet doubling the recipes would allow you to enjoy this guidebook too!)

I typically meal prep by cooking a meal for a family and portioning it out. However, sometimes I just want a meal without the hassle of making a lot. Enter the Ultimate for One Cookbook series. I’ve had and enjoyed the dinner cookbook and so was excited for this ARC even though it’s by a different author. It didn’t disappoint. I found the recipes easy to follow and perfectly portioned.

Cooking for just one can be a problem; it’s difficult to cut down regular recipes to make a small amount, or it’s necessary to eat leftovers for days on end. Kelly Jaggers, cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and blogger, has done an excellent job of presenting good recipes for one in her cookbook, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cooking for One Cookbook: 175 Healthy, Easy, and Delicious Recipes Made Just for You.

The book includes dozens of mouthwatering recipes, mostly easy ones, that will appeal to almost everyone. The recipes are written in the traditional manner with a list of ingredients followed by step-by-step instructions, so it will be easy for both beginning and advanced cooks will have an easy time deciding what to make for dinner and preparing delicious picture-perfect dishes. Recipes are included for breakfasts, appetizers, soups, salads, and side dishes, as well as main dishes using meats, seafood, and poultry. There are also vegetarian dishes and small batch desserts that are very appealing.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a photograph of each recipe, but the photographs that are included are beautiful and mouthwatering. That is the only negative to this cookbook. This is one of the best small-batch cookbooks out there and is a good one for those who need to cook for only one.

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

Nicely done and easy to use and follow. This has a nice variety of recipes and ideas, and it is certainly helpful to the growing number of people living alone.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

Whether you live alone, or you just want to cook for yourself while your partner is away, this book has all the information, and recipes that you need! Kelly Jaggers tells you why the Mediterranean diet, with its emphasis on plant-based foods and seafood, is so healthy, and lists all the ingredients you need to start cooking. She even lists the equipment.
Most of the recipes seem easy, and delicious, although some would be too spicy for me. The recipes include Eggs Florentine, Balsamic-Glazed Pork, and Beef Stew with Red Wine. They all have simple instructions, and mouth-watering pictures.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.