3 out of 5 stars
I would like to thank Alpha Books ( a division of Penguin Random House LLC) for providing me with a free ARC of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for an open and honest review.
I loved the concept of ‘Healthy Meal Prep’ as I feel a good, routine meal prep is the best way to ensure a healthy, wholefood diet where your energy intake meets your energy output. This is something I am really trying to get back into the habit of right now as do find it the best way to maintain a happy, healthy body/ weight.
So, the actual meal planning information was great. The “how to’s” are very good for all skill sets from the beginner to the expert wanting to brush up on their eating. You can tell both authors are totally passionate about healthy meal prep. It really does shine through that they’re not just writing a book to make money; they have created ‘Healthy Meal Prep’ as a way to help others learn how easy and fun it can be to create well balanced, healthy, whole food meals in advance to save us all time and money. I loved their passion, dedication and plain speaking sharing.
However, the formatting, layout and actual meal contents were a letdown for me, sorry. I think, as a paper copy of the book, the size and level of graphics would work really well, but when trying to thumb through an electronic copy it just make the whole experience rather clunky and hard to read. Especially as sentences were cut off mid-way and not caught back up on until after a few pages of graphics. Basic rules of formatting is to not leave sentences hanging like that. It’s as bad as having the first sentence of a paragraph at the bottom of one page and the rest on the next page. So the formatting/ layout needs some work.
But, on a more personal note, the foods used in the meal plans were not ones suited to me and this isn’t the fault of the authors or publishers at all. I can’t eat a lot of things due to allergies and intolerances, including seafood, allium, brassicas and dairy – to name a few. And so the diets shown in these meal plans were not suited to the likes of me. This does not mean it is a terrible meal planning cook book, it isn’t! It is a great, simple and easy to follow (despite the formatting) meal prep book. It just means I was the wrong reader and, due to the foods being unappealing to me, I marked it down. I am such a stinker, I know.
So, the concept and information given was great… but how it was delivered, not so good. And I was also not the best audience for the types of foods listed. The foods are good, please let me emphasise this! I am wrong for the foods, but the foods are not wrong! Yeah, that makes it soooo much clearer, I know! 😉
Would I recommend this book to others?
I might. I mean, I liked what it covered, felt ‘Healthy Meal Prep’ covered the topic well… but that layout. Hmmmmm, maybe as a paper book the layout would work better? Loved the authors, I strongly recommend people into healthy meal prep looking them up via social media and following them as they have so much to offer… But this book? Really doesn’t work in the electronic format.
Would I buy this book for myself?
Pretty sure we all know what I am going to say here, right? This book is not for me. I am not saying it is a bad book at all. Just that I found it uninspiring as the meals just aren’t things I can eat. Other people will, I’m sure, find it far more useful.
In summary: Loved the author’s passion. For people interested in getting their lives in order through healthy meal prep, there are some good ideas here.
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 