Reddit Reddit reviews The Make-Ahead Cook: 8 Smart Strategies for Dinner Tonight

We found 5 Reddit comments about The Make-Ahead Cook: 8 Smart Strategies for Dinner Tonight. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

Cookbooks, Food & Wine
Books
Culinary Arts & Techniques
Cooking for One or Two
The Make-Ahead Cook: 8 Smart Strategies for Dinner Tonight
Cook s Illustrated
Check price on Amazon

5 Reddit comments about The Make-Ahead Cook: 8 Smart Strategies for Dinner Tonight:

u/superpony123 · 74 pointsr/xxfitness

You don't hate healthy food, you just haven't found ways to eat healthy that you like. Look, I used to feel exactly the same. Then I got myself some cook books and learned how to cook beyond the "college" level (ie very rudimentary cooking skills).

It sounds old fashioned, but buy some cook books. Eating healthy does NOT have to mean (and shouldnt mean) eating boring, bland food. I have been eating quite a healthy balanced diet lately, but it doesn't suck and I enjoy everything I eat because I cooked it and it tastes really good. I am a pretty proficient cook now because I've learned enough from cook books that I can create something tasty on my own if I want to. But for the most part, I'd say I still follow recipes very frequently, mostly because a) I know it will turn out really well unless I royally screw up like forget an ingredient an b) I'm not that creative when it comes to meal planning - I'd prefer to flip through my cook books and pick out new recipes to try for dinner this week.

If you do take my advice and go the route of cook books, I will make a few suggestions below. You will notice that all of them are America's Test Kitchen. There's a reason I suggest mostly their books--they are totally idiot proof. Their recipes are thoroughly tested (it IS americas TEST kitchen after all...) They rarely have recipes that call for unusual or hard to find ingredients, and rarely call for unique appliances (like, most people probably do not have an immersion blender). Their recipes are very simple (I've come across a lot of books from other publishers that have incredibly drawn-out steps, or just countless steps, or a lot of unusual ingredients) and easy to follow, and they also include brief scientific explanations for something about every single recipe (example, why you would want to brown your butter when making chocolate chip cookies) which I have always found interesting, and theyre meant to help you build your knowledge in how to cook --ie its often concepts that can be applied elsewhere.

ATK/Cooks Illustrated The Science of Good Cooking

ATK Cooking School

ATK's The Make-Ahead Cook - great if youre into meal prepping

ATK Cooking for Two - great if you are alone or just cooking for yourself and significant other, and dont like having leftovers

ATK Comfort Food Makeovers - turns traditionally unhealthy foods into healthy meals

ATK Slow Cooker Revolution - if you have a crock pot, you NEED this book. I've made a ton of recipes out of here and every single one has come out great.

They have a ton of books out there, many of them for specific things (pressure cooker, paleo, gluten free, vegetarian, mexican recipes, etc.) but you may be saying, "Hmm, none of those books said "Health cooking/eating healthy/buzzwords about health" - they dont need to say that. Quite a lot of their recipes are generally healthy. I haven't encountered many things (outside the dessert chapters, that is) that I've said "oh, I don't think I ought to eat that, it's just not healthy" --but if youre a bit narrow minded in terms of what constitutes a healthy meal (and I find that is common with people who struggle to eat a healthy diet--this is because they think there's a very small amount of "healthy" foods out there) , then maybe these books arent for you. But if you mostly eat intuitively, and know that you should be getting a decent amount of vegetables and fruits in your daily diet, and a good amount of protein, and not an overwhelming amount of starch and net carbs, then youre golden. Get yourself a cook book and learn to cook. Once you eat food that's been properly seasoned and cooked, youll realize that eating asparagus doesn't have to be a boring, unpalatable experience. Brussels sprouts don't have to be awful. I used to hate brussel sprouts...until I had properly roasted sprouts. Holy shit, they are good!!! Peas can be tasty! Baked chicken breast doesn't have to taste bland and dry as hell if you learn about brining, seasoning, and proper cooking times.

TLDR - eating healthy doesnt have to mean eating bland food. You admit your cooking skills are rudimentary, so it's no surprise you are not enthused when you try to make something healthy. A lot of "healthy" foods (veggies, etc) are bland when you don't properly season them or pick the right cooking method. Get yourself a cook book or two and learn how to cook. You won't have a hard time eating something you previously thought unpalatable--like filling half your dinner plate with brussels sprouts and broccoli--when it's seasoned and properly cooked!

u/smclemon · 8 pointsr/AskCulinary

Make Ahead Cook - America's Test Kitchen
The Make Ahead Cook https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936493845/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_RV.PwbFBVEAKW

u/DBuckFactory · 3 pointsr/MealPrepSunday

Some sauces are fine, some aren't. Cheese sauces can break in the freezer. Other sauces, especially broth/vegetable based, should be fine. Pasta and rice shouldn't be a problem.

Something to keep in mind: When freezing, a lot of dishes will lose moisture.

I actually have a book on all of this that explains it all in a scientific manner. The recipes are decent, but the information included is well researched and is very good.

u/Number1AbeLincolnFan · 2 pointsr/AskCulinary

Actually, I think this is the one I have:

The Make Ahead Cook Paperback – September 1, 2014
by America's Test Kitchen


I'm not quite sure what the difference is. It looks like the same people and the same subject matter.

u/HiccupMaster · 2 pointsr/BreakingEggs

Big fan of Seriouseats.com and I have The Test Lab cookbook but haven't cooked anything out of it yet :(. I also checkout http://www.budgetbytes.com/, http://www.thekitchn.com/, http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/ and Alton Brown recipes.

We have 3 (boy was I wrong) 5 America's Test Kitchen cookbooks: