Rating: 
Summary: Practical approach to weight loss and a healthy life!
Review: Chef Kathleen's approach to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle through portion control, regular exercise, and moderation, not elimination has helped our entire family to make necessary changes to our whole lifestyle. And between my husband and I we have lost a combined 40 pounds so far!
The recipes in this book are quick, tasty, and easy. Even my 11 year old has made some of them! Our favorites so far are the Chicken Taco Casserole, and the Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse. YUMMY!The sidebars are very helpful also! Chef Kathleen and her mother offer great tips for substitutions, recipe morphs and how to choose the best ingredients.
Rating:
Summary: Cooking this with Kathleen Daelemans
Review: I got this book because I watched her on TV every day and I have to say I use this book at least 5 times a week its so simple and easy and the meals are delicious and low fat I have been using if for 12 weeks now and along with exercising every day I have lost 22 pounds so far. This is the best book I have ever bought, if you want to lose weight and live a healther life this is the book for you
Rating:
Summary: I can speak from experience -- Chef Kathleen's tips work!
Review: I have been a fan of "Cooking Thin" since the first season because of Kathleen's non-judgmental, no-nonsense approach. To succeed at losing weight, you have to set your life up for success. Many of us who need to lose weight get so caught up in blaming ourselves for having the extra weight in the first place that we decide the situation is hopeless. Not true. It can be done if you're willing to make some simple lifestyle changes. Besides great recipes, this book offers some practical tips on how to add activity to your life, set your kitchen up so that you can cook without making yourself crazy, and lose weight while still enjoying your food. These kinds of changes are nothing like the fad diets or other drastic measures that make news. Kathleen endorses no specific diet or exercise program, but instead urges you to make some sensible "baby steps" toward healthier eating and a more active lifestyle that works for you. The simplest thing we can do, according to Kathleen, is take charge of our own food. If you eat all your meals at restaurants, you are at the mercy of the chef (or fast food company executive), who probably doesn't have your health as his or her top priority. The recipes in this book are creative but also simple to follow. I really appreciate the organization of the book by the amount of time you have to cook. The chatty, conversational style makes the whole cooking experience less intimidating for those who aren't as comforable in the kitchen. The weight loss is slow but steady if you are willing to stick with it. I have lost 50+ pounds with this approach. It took over a year, but was well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: I can speak from experience -- Chef Kathleen's tips work!
Review: I have been a fan of "Cooking Thin" since the first season because of Kathleen's non-judgmental, no-nonsense approach. To succeed at losing weight, you have to set your life up for success. Many of us who need to lose weight get so caught up in blaming ourselves for having the extra weight in the first place that we decide the situation is hopeless. Not true. It can be done if you're willing to make some simple lifestyle changes. Besides great recipes, this book offers some practical tips on how to add activity to your life, set your kitchen up so that you can cook without making yourself crazy, and lose weight while still enjoying your food. These kinds of changes are nothing like the fad diets or other drastic measures that make news. Kathleen endorses no specific diet or exercise program, but instead urges you to make some sensible "baby steps" toward healthier eating and a more active lifestyle that works for you. The simplest thing we can do, according to Kathleen, is take charge of our own food. If you eat all your meals at restaurants, you are at the mercy of the chef (or fast food company executive), who probably doesn't have your health as his or her top priority. The recipes in this book are creative but also simple to follow. I really appreciate the organization of the book by the amount of time you have to cook. The chatty, conversational style makes the whole cooking experience less intimidating for those who aren't as comforable in the kitchen. The weight loss is slow but steady if you are willing to stick with it. I have lost 50+ pounds with this approach. It took over a year, but was well worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many ingredient lists!!!
Review: I like the show and was interested in the book but have to say I was disappointed, mainly at the long ingredient lists for most of the recipes within. Plus I found it hard to believe there couldn't have been more of a variety of desserts offered that were 'cooked thin'. Her recipes seem abit far fetched in most cases and from the one, yes one recipe, that I tried it tasted like a diet recipe and it doesn't have to!
There was alot in the book about health and nutrition that is helpful but as a cookbook, I felt it lacked in the practical. I can't purchase oodles of ingredients for one recipe; I rather having several items on hand. Sorry, Kathleen!
Rating:
Summary: Another great collection of recipes from Kathleen!
Review: I love Kathleen's no-nonsense, no-off-limits-food, get-moving, eat-well approach to diet and exercise. I've lost 50 pounds in a year, and am using this book to get the next 50 pounds off. Her approach works and tastes great. I am not a food weigher, calorie counter kind of person, and her books don't require that. I also like that she includes recipes for foods that are tasty and so relatively low in calories that if you eat the entire 4 servings, you haven't derailed your diet forever. Some of my favorites in this book so far are the white bean and roasted red pepper salad, the apple/celery/pecan salad, the tabbouleh, and her orange-raisin breakfast bars. If you loved the first book and are looking for some similarly fantastic, high flavor, healthy recipes you will like this book!
Rating:
Summary: Another great collection of recipes from Kathleen!
Review: I love Kathleen's no-nonsense, no-off-limits-food, get-moving, eat-well approach to diet and exercise. I've lost 50 pounds in a year, and am using this book to get the next 50 pounds off. Her approach works and tastes great. I am not a food weigher, calorie counter kind of person, and her books don't require that. I also like that she includes recipes for foods that are tasty and so relatively low in calories that if you eat the entire 4 servings, you haven't derailed your diet forever. Some of my favorites in this book so far are the white bean and roasted red pepper salad, the apple/celery/pecan salad, the tabbouleh, and her orange-raisin breakfast bars. If you loved the first book and are looking for some similarly fantastic, high flavor, healthy recipes you will like this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Getting Thin and Loving Food
Review: I really like this book. It's simple to follow instructions, and there is good advice all the way thru it. Everything from the author's mom's advice to what to do to jazz up a low fat, high flavor recipe to make it more flexible, tastier, or fancy enough for company. I like KD's tv show on Food tv, and I liked her first book, this book is better than the first. I am eating more healthfully(Is that a word?) and keep taking the small steps KD recommends to keep doing even better. I highly recommend the book.
Rating:
Summary: More Pep Talks and Good Recipes from Chef Kathleen
Review: Kathleen Daeleman's new, second book deals with exactly the same issue, with exactly the same solution, as her first book, 'Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen'. The message in a nutshell is that you can loose weight and you can keep it off and still eat delicious food. The solution in a nutshell is that you take small positive steps each day guided by an instinctual knowledge of what is good for you and what is not, aided by a systematic study of packaged foods' nutritional labels. So why buy another book with the same message? The first consideration is that the book's list price is well below that of most other celebrity chefs, including most of her Food Network colleagues. From Ina Garten, you will typically get 30% fewer recipes for a 25% higher price, and no feel good healthy eating pep talks. That leads to a second reason. While Ms. Daelemans' 52 pages of introductory material may repeat a lot of her message from her first book, it still has punch, much like a heart to heart pep talk from an wise older sister. This is basically old wine in a new bottle, but still good wine. On Kathleen's principles for loosing weight, I can argue with only one. This is the reliance on that little inner voice of conscience that tells you that a certain indulgence, such as the remainder of a rich German chocolate cake she takes home after her birthday, is simply not good for you. As a one-time professional philosopher trained in the nature of knowledge, I can tell you this intuition is a myth. This knowledge is built up from a lifetime of reading, listening, and connecting things in your own mind. This means that there are a lot of food land mines out there of which you simply are not aware. My favorite is the Jewish soul food dish of oversized bagel, cream cheese, and lox. At one time, I could easily down two of these dietary blockbusters at a sitting without realizing I was eating enough calories for two days at my level of (in)activity. Another surprise is the nutritional danger of eating excess carbohydrates from highly processed foods such as white flour. I applaud Ms. Kathleen's grouping the low carb plans with other fad diets with their danger of failure through boredom. But, I contend that 'that little internal voice of intuition' is not robust enough to support the path to a healthy lifestyle. This does not kill Daelemans argument. It only means that while you are following Ms. Kathleen's culinary techniques, read books such as 'Superfoods Rx' by Dr. Steven Pratt and 'Nourishing Traditions' from Sally Fallon and 'Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy' from Dr. Walter Willett. These books will feed your little voice of conscience with information while Chef Kathleen feeds your tummy. Following the introductory pep talk on building your motivation, Ms. K has a chapter on pantry and kitchen equipment. All pantry lists have the same problem. They talk you into buying things with a limited shelf life and you have no immediate recipe in which to use the ingredients, so something ultimately goes bad. Even such robust looking foods such as fish sauce and rice wine can loose their punch. Buy only what you will use THIS WEEK. Stock up on only stuff you yourself actually use routinely in recipes. Note to the publisher's proofreaders: The pantry list is missing a heading somewhere between Soy sauce and baking powder. Tsk, Tsk. Ms. K's list of kitchen equipment is much better. I think even Alton Brown would admire its sparseness, yet full attention to essentials. I use everything she mentions. I would only go with AB's suggestion to stick with inexpensive nonstick pans with ovenproof handles. These would be midrange priced, not high end priced. The recipe chapters in Ms. K's first book were very familiar. Kathleen has gone in an entirely different direction in this book. Chapter titles are based on a mish-mash of different ideas. The first chapter is for fast dishes when you have little time and the urge to hit the takeout window is strong. Embedded in this chapter of fast at-home meals, a la Rachael Ray are a number of very clever tactics for making dishes more healthy by combining prepared foods with fresh vegetables. I like these ideas a lot. The next chapter is for foodies who what to spend Sunday afternoon cooking, but need to avoid all those calories in classic French, Italian, and Chinese dishes. The third chapter is for 'Barely-Any-Meat' meals. This section is filled mostly with soups such as Rice and Tomato, Potato, Potato and Green Bean, Broccoli-Parsnip, Corn Chowder, Corn and Tomato, etc. You get the picture. All seem to be first rate recipes with the role of fat being filled by that perennial lipochampion, olive oil. The fourth chapter is Ms. K's answer to Mezes and tapas. This is the world of flatbread, dips, salads, and eggplant. The last four chapters have more conventional titles covering breakfasts, Side dishes, condiments, and desserts (Fruit and Chocolate). The recipes in the first book were centered in the western Mediterranean. This book wanders further afield, including a lot of eastern Mediterranean, Mexican, and Oriental dishes. For this variety alone, I endorse this book. The dessert chapter is especially inventive, giving some very creative combinations such as Plum and Rhubarb and Rhubarb and Apple. Warms my Pennsylvania Dutch heart to its core. The low list price, the perky advice (and picture) of Ms K., the creative food tinkering advice, and the broadened range of recipe sources makes this book a worthy tool in taking it off and keeping it off. Highly recommended for all sorts of lipidly challanged couch potatoes.
Rating:
Summary: More Pep Talks and Good Recipes from Chef Kathleen
Review: Kathleen Daeleman's new, second book deals with exactly the same issue, with exactly the same solution, as her first book, `Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen'. The message in a nutshell is that you can loose weight and you can keep it off and still eat delicious food. The solution in a nutshell is that you take small positive steps each day guided by an instinctual knowledge of what is good for you and what is not, aided by a systematic study of packaged foods' nutritional labels. So why buy another book with the same message? The first consideration is that the book's list price is well below that of most other celebrity chefs, including most of her Food Network colleagues. From Ina Garten, you will typically get 30% fewer recipes for a 25% higher price, and no feel good healthy eating pep talks. That leads to a second reason. While Ms. Daelemans' 52 pages of introductory material may repeat a lot of her message from her first book, it still has punch, much like a heart to heart pep talk from an wise older sister. This is basically old wine in a new bottle, but still good wine. On Kathleen's principles for loosing weight, I can argue with only one. This is the reliance on that little inner voice of conscience that tells you that a certain indulgence, such as the remainder of a rich German chocolate cake she takes home after her birthday, is simply not good for you. As a one-time professional philosopher trained in the nature of knowledge, I can tell you this intuition is a myth. This knowledge is built up from a lifetime of reading, listening, and connecting things in your own mind. This means that there are a lot of food land mines out there of which you simply are not aware. My favorite is the Jewish soul food dish of oversized bagel, cream cheese, and lox. At one time, I could easily down two of these dietary blockbusters at a sitting without realizing I was eating enough calories for two days at my level of (in)activity. Another surprise is the nutritional danger of eating excess carbohydrates from highly processed foods such as white flour. I applaud Ms. Kathleen's grouping the low carb plans with other fad diets with their danger of failure through boredom. But, I contend that `that little internal voice of intuition' is not robust enough to support the path to a healthy lifestyle. This does not kill Daelemans argument. It only means that while you are following Ms. Kathleen's culinary techniques, read books such as `Superfoods Rx' by Dr. Steven Pratt and `Nourishing Traditions' from Sally Fallon and `Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy' from Dr. Walter Willett. These books will feed your little voice of conscience with information while Chef Kathleen feeds your tummy. Following the introductory pep talk on building your motivation, Ms. K has a chapter on pantry and kitchen equipment. All pantry lists have the same problem. They talk you into buying things with a limited shelf life and you have no immediate recipe in which to use the ingredients, so something ultimately goes bad. Even such robust looking foods such as fish sauce and rice wine can loose their punch. Buy only what you will use THIS WEEK. Stock up on only stuff you yourself actually use routinely in recipes. Note to the publisher's proofreaders: The pantry list is missing a heading somewhere between Soy sauce and baking powder. Tsk, Tsk. Ms. K's list of kitchen equipment is much better. I think even Alton Brown would admire its sparseness, yet full attention to essentials. I use everything she mentions. I would only go with AB's suggestion to stick with inexpensive nonstick pans with ovenproof handles. These would be midrange priced, not high end priced. The recipe chapters in Ms. K's first book were very familiar. Kathleen has gone in an entirely different direction in this book. Chapter titles are based on a mish-mash of different ideas. The first chapter is for fast dishes when you have little time and the urge to hit the takeout window is strong. Embedded in this chapter of fast at-home meals, a la Rachael Ray are a number of very clever tactics for making dishes more healthy by combining prepared foods with fresh vegetables. I like these ideas a lot. The next chapter is for foodies who what to spend Sunday afternoon cooking, but need to avoid all those calories in classic French, Italian, and Chinese dishes. The third chapter is for `Barely-Any-Meat' meals. This section is filled mostly with soups such as Rice and Tomato, Potato, Potato and Green Bean, Broccoli-Parsnip, Corn Chowder, Corn and Tomato, etc. You get the picture. All seem to be first rate recipes with the role of fat being filled by that perennial lipochampion, olive oil. The fourth chapter is Ms. K's answer to Mezes and tapas. This is the world of flatbread, dips, salads, and eggplant. The last four chapters have more conventional titles covering breakfasts, Side dishes, condiments, and desserts (Fruit and Chocolate). The recipes in the first book were centered in the western Mediterranean. This book wanders further afield, including a lot of eastern Mediterranean, Mexican, and Oriental dishes. For this variety alone, I endorse this book. The dessert chapter is especially inventive, giving some very creative combinations such as Plum and Rhubarb and Rhubarb and Apple. Warms my Pennsylvania Dutch heart to its core. The low list price, the perky advice (and picture) of Ms K., the creative food tinkering advice, and the broadened range of recipe sources makes this book a worthy tool in taking it off and keeping it off. Highly recommended for all sorts of lipidly challanged couch potatoes.
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