Book Review: The Calories In Calories Out Cookbook

What if you could eat every meal with the confidence of knowing just how much exercise you would need to do to "work it off?"  With The Calories In Calories Out Cookbook you can!  This cookbook is unlike anything I've ever seen before.  In addition to the great recipes, it will tell you how many minutes of walking or jogging you need to do to burn off that meal.  What a great concept!  Every recipe also contains swaps for preparing it with less calories, and also other dishes that go well with it.

The book is broken down into sections by calorie count: "0 to 199," "200-299," and "300-399."  No single recipe has more than 399 calories as long as you don't add any extras.  Each section is also broken down by the type of meal:  Breakfast, Vegetarian Mains, Seafood, Salads, Desserts, Red Meat, White Meat, etc.  This makes it easier to find exactly what you need at a glance.

The book also has a forward explaining what calories are, how they got their name, where they came from, what they do and how to burn them off.  I found this to be an extremely boring part to read, so I actually skipped over most of it.  What I did find interesting was a equation that you can use to figure out exactly how many calories your body needs every day.  I've often wondered what my goal should be.  It was very eye-opening to me to see how long I'd have to walk or jog to burn off what I ate.  For instance, I loved the recipe for Banana Pecan Muffins.  They have 167 calories each.  I'd have to walk for 41 minutes or jog for 19 minutes to burn that off!  I will definitely be giving that number some consideration the next time I dig into a cheeseburger!

Overall, if you're committed to losing weight by maintain a low-calorie diet, this book would be  great choice for you.  The recipes aren't for beginning cooks, but they aren't difficult.  They don't require a lot of strange ingredients, but you'll probably see your grocery bill go up a little since generally healthier foods cost more.  I like the recipes and will try some of them.  Also, I plan to put some of that exercise advice into practice too! 

Happy Reading (and eating!)

Lyndsie

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review.