Save 34% Off: Eat Vegan on $4.00 a Day: A Game Plan for the Budget Conscious Cook Review & Ratings

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Eat Vegan on $4.00 a Day: A Game Plan for the Budget Conscious Cook Review

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There were things I really liked about this book and things I didn't like about it. I am a vegetarian who is striving to move to a totally vegan diet and I really liked the premise of this book. I thought it would really help me make the transition and do it inexpensively.
In a way, it did help me. The first 29 pages of the book are very helpful - packed with info on shopping inexpensively for vegan food. The rest of the book contains a 7 day menu [3 meals per day] and recipes. The author is clear and concise without being preachy. I found her writing easy & enjoyable to read.
But, in another way, I felt kind of ripped off. The first 29 pages were full of info and were great reading, but they weren't worth the price of the book by a long shot. The recipes were OK - some of them are extremely simplistic [like the one for oatmeal: water, oats, salt. Put it in a pot and cook it]. I did not find many recipes that I found appealing - in fact, I doubt I'll try any recipes in the book [other than oatmeal, which I already eat on a regular basis....]. So, it was kind of frustrating - it took me less than 45 minutes [literally] to read this entire book [it is a slim volume, even padded with simple recipes]. I really did not feel I got my money's worth out of the book - I could have done better spending one hour on the internet googling vegan meals and tips.
I also felt that the claim that you can eat vegan for $4 a day was a bit exaggerated.For one thing, the portion sizes she gives are extremely small - for example, on day one you are supposed to eat half a cup of oatmeal for breakfast [and that is it.] For most people, one half a cup of plain oatmeal would not be enough to get them through till lunch. Can you imagine a 180 lb guy trying to get by on that? I can't. The lunches and dinners seemed very slim on serving size too - I think most people would probably end up having to increase what she counts as a full meal just to get enough calories. She does not include calorie counts in her menu plan, but looking at them, I'd guess the menu plans have 1,000-1,200 calories planned per day, which isn't enough for most healthy, active adults. [that is "famine level" caloric intake according to the World Health Organization].
I also felt the prices she said she was getting on the items she includes were awfully low - I am a long time frugal shopper and I have never seen prices as low as the ones she was quoting on some of the products she recommends. I'm a bit skeptical that anyone could really eat what she's recommending for $4 a day. [She also assumes a well stocked pantry in that calculation - such as spices on hand that aren't counted in the cost].
Now, that said, I DO believe that eating the way she recommends is FAR less expensive than eating the average American diet, even if she has exaggerated the inexpensiveness of it. This is still a far superior way of eating - both health wise and financially.
So, I truly felt conflicted by this book - 29 pages of good info and some recipes that were somewhat helpful, but not worth the price of an entire book IMO. I wish there had been MORE to this.
In summary, this book was helpful, but it could have been so much more helpful!

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Miserly Meals: Healthy, Tasty Recipes Under 75¢ per Serving Review & Ratings

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Miserly Meals: Healthy, Tasty Recipes Under 75¢ per Serving Review

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I am a fan of Jonni McCoy's other two books - "Frugal Families" and "Miserly Moms", so I purchased her book "Miserly Meals". I have to say that we have tried a week's worth of meals (including lunches) and we are sorely disappointed. These may be inexpensive and healthy, but they are not all that tasty. Some don't even work right. Last night, I made Mock Pizza in the slow cooker and it called for uncooked egg noodles. There apparently wasn't enough liquid in the recipe because the bottom noodles were cooked, but the top ones were still crunchy. I kept adding liquid, but then it was plain old mush. Yuck. Several other recipes are bland and boring.
I did like the meatball recipe, however, and even tripled it for my freezer. Some of the other basic recipes were also good, such as the taco sauce and spaghetti sauce. But we were very disappointed in many of the meals.
One other concern I had was that the yield of the recipes were not consistent. Some served four, some six, some eight. I would have appreciated a little more consistency there. We have a family of six, though, and even recipes that said they served six weren't enough for us.
I did like the kitchen tips and the nutritional breakdown of each meal. I wish the index was a little more comprehensive so that I could find a recipe when I wanted to use tomatoes, for example.
Overall, we were simply disappointed.

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The $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook: 301 Nutritious, Delicious Recipes That the Whole Family Will Love Review & Ratings

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The $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook: 301 Nutritious, Delicious Recipes That the Whole Family Will Love Review

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While the two entrees I've made from this book were quite tasty, the nutritional information/serving size were a disaster. The Egg Fried Rice with Peas says that it serves 4 and is a mere 182 calories and 3g of fat. However, the recipe takes 4 cups of cooked white rice (which would be 672 calories minimum), then 2 Tbsp Peanut oil (240 calories & 26g fat). If you add these two together and divide by 4 you get 228 calories & 6.5g fat per serving - that's before adding ANY of the other ingredients from the recipe.
The other recipe I made was the Tortellini Pasta with Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives. This recipe says that it serves 8, but it only calls for 1 - 8 oz package of fresh tortellini. Do you know what a teeny little serving 1 oz. of tortellini is? It's probably enough for a 2 year old. Clearly they intended to put a 4 person serving, which would be consistent with the nutritional information. I find it a hassle to double check everything to ensure the recipe makes sense before planning a meal.

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Save 35% Off: The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook: 200 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, and Nourishing Meals That Are Easy on the Budget and a Snap to Prepare Review & Ratings

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The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook: 200 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, and Nourishing Meals That Are Easy on the Budget and a Snap to Prepare Review

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When I became interested in saving money on my grocery bill, I purchased both this book and Mary Ostyn's book, and have read them both thoroughly. Honestly, you will be better off just getting Mary's instead.
Before I get to the negatives, I'd like to state the few positives. I give props to Erin first for recognizing that Americans eat too much, and second for working vegetables into every meal. The reviewer who said that this book is overall unhealthy is exaggerating a little. Yes, she uses regular ground beef, but processed foods are in only a few recipes and frozen vegetables are still vegetables (and she does encourage growing your own). Both Erin and Mary emphasize eating less meat and offer vegetarian meal options. Erin does mention the use of a price book, but Mary does to a MUCH more thorough extent.
Now the other stuff...
The tips in this book are all commons sense-stock up when it's on sale, match coupons to sales. You don't need a book to tell you that. Every positive aspect of this book can be found in Mary Ostyn's book Family Feasts for $75 a Week, and you'll find lots of other information as well. Erin gives an ingredient by ingredient price breakdown in every recipe, which is a good concept, but the problem is that price can vary largely depending on where you are. There are some items that she's apparently been able to find at prices that I've never, ever seen anywhere I've been, and I'm a very price-conscious shopper. So, a lot of her "$5 meals" I would not be able to make for $5. Also, she groups the side dishes right in with the main course, including the price tag, so if you want to change up some of the main course-side dish combos, you're going to alter the price (and if you're not eyeballing the price, there's no reason to buy this book at all). Speaking of side dishes, this book has a lot of "bare" vegetables, so if you have taste buds and like to put a little salt or butter on your veggies, that's going to affect the price.
Some people have expressed concern over the portion sizes in this book for a family of four. Erin has two children, and they are both very, very young, and thus probably consume much less than a teenager or adult. If your two kids are teenagers, most of these recipes will have to be adjusted quite a bit, and thus make the final price much higher than $5 dollars. For that reason, I don't like the concept of putting a dollar value on the meal as a whole, but rather a dollar value on a "per plate" basis. Mary states that she rarely spends more than $1 "per plate."
Mary and Erin differ greatly on their view of coupons. Erin swears by them, and devotes most of the non-recipe section of the book to them. Mary, however, outright says that she rarely uses them. Her reasons are that most food coupons are for highly processed brand name foods that are either unhealthy or have much cheaper generic counterparts. Honestly, most generic foods taste the same. Instead of focusing on coupons, Mary utilizes foods that are inherently a better value to begin with.
Erin does offer some homemade items, such as basic sauces and salad dressings, but you'll find a much larger section on such items in Mary's book. One other thing you will not find in Erin's book is desserts. I believe desserts have their place at the dinner table on occasion, especially if you have children.
As for the recipes themselves, I tried a few of Erin's, and they were just ok. Most of these recipes you could probably come up with yourself or find online, really. There were some I didn't even have to try because I knew how'd they turn out (I cook a lot), and I have a hard time believing kids will eat a few of these. Ziti pasta with plain white sauce and no spices? No thanks. I've tried several of Mary's recipes, and all but one have been really good.Long story short...everything in this book that's worthwhile can be found in Mary's.

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How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy, Balanced Diet: Simple, Wholesome and Nutritious Recipes for Family Meals Review & Ratings

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How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy, Balanced Diet: Simple, Wholesome and Nutritious Recipes for Family Meals Review

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Gill Holcombe gives some good common sense advice on how to cook, healthy and within a budget for your family.
He gives more than 200 recipes in this book. There are no pictures or diagrams. It is printed on newsprint. It is a basic book containing basic recipes.
There is a section on necessary pantry ingredients and how to prepare vegetables. Some recipes, such as some in weekend breakfast just tell how to fix some dishes, they are not set up like recipes with ingredients listed first.. There are good tips for fussy eaters and some for packed lunches. Most of the recipes in here are those for some standard comfort fare with a twist, although there is hamburger, shepherd's pie, chicken nuggets.
Some quandaries occur when directions are given to add ½ package or 5 pieces of ham; or add broccoli or spinach - how much is that?
Menus are given with hints on how to fix some of the dishes. Included are recipes for breakfast, dinner, quick fixes, soup, puddings (desserts), cakes, a few smoothies and drinks, some breads and a few assorted recipes for such as; hummus, mayonnaise, ginger beer, chutney. Our family has enjoyed the Toad in the hole, Tuna lasagna, and Kedgeree among others.
The book does have a British leaning in some of it's recipes and in its language - desserts are puddings, whether they are what Americans call puddings or not. It was printed in Great Britain first. Despite, or maybe even because of it, this book might not be the most picturesque and flashy, but it certainly contains some sensible advice and good recipes.

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