Uses: I am a busy professional and I use this book for meal prep. I use all 3 of her books actually but this is my favorite one. I mark my calendar on Friday afternoons w/what I am going to make that weekend or following week for dinner, depending. Usually have 8-10 weekends indicated in advance. Use this to make quick list before going to the market. Always pick one recipe from this cookbook [preferably a slow cooker one], and one recipe from her other cookbooks. Make one recipe on Sunday [lunch for the week for me] and one recipe on my household dinner day [if serves 6 or more, tend to have leftovers, or just double the recipe to make sure have leftovers, cook once eat twice]. For slow cooking during the week, prep it in a slow cooker after dinner night before. Use a slow cooker liner. Put prepped SC insert into the fridge. In the morning take it out put it in the slow cooker, put on low and go.Pros: Recipes are delicious, great for prepping ahead. Love the detail on how to portion recipes for proper meal prep & weight management. Haven’t had a bad meal since using this. Really appreciate the volume of lower calorie but high protein choices. All very tasty and easy to make.Cons: This recipe book [as with all recipes in my opinion], do not account for prepping in their timing. If it says takes 30 min, I assume 45 min to include 15 min of prep.Note: I have found the pre-cooking before slow cooking to be more of a suggestion for me... I am sure it enhances the flavor of the recipes... I have no doubt it is well tested & makes dishes even more delicious...but ain't got no time for that. So if it's the cacciatore recipe mentioned above, if the ingredient goes in the slow cooker for the full cooking time, I just dump it in at the beginning. No sautéing garlic & onion ahead, or the meat. As a regular slower cooker user, if it's raw beef, turkey, or lamb for ex. I just cook it longer [try to not do more than 10 hours if possible]. If it's chicken, I cook it about the time suggested, maybe a little less if it's breast. Just tends to dry out. Chicken SC recipe great choice for Sunday afternoon cooking for me. Dairy as a general SC rule goes at the end.
