Magic Beans: 150 Delicious Recipes Featuring Nature's Low-Fat Nutrient-Rich, Disease-Fighting Powerhouse

Rating:
Summary: One of a Kind
Review: For the beginning bean eater, this book has it all. The recipes are quick and easy, as well as delicious. I took the Crockpot Vegetable Chili to a party last night and it got rave reviews. Haven't gotten the nerve to try the Blueberry Bean Muffins yet, but they're next on my list!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best cookbooks I've ever purchased!
Review: I checked out this book from the library and tried some of the recipes in it. After having had great results with all of them, I knew I got to buy this book. I recently decided to ease into a vegetarian lifestyle and this book has made the transition a lot easier.

Rating:
Summary: Not What I Expected
Review: I ordered this book because I really like to cook and love legumes and my pressure cooker. Perhaps I should have looked elsewhere.

The recipes in here are nicely put together with the nutrition information and there is quite a bit of information on legumes. However, I found that there were too many Southwestern Chili type recipes for my taste. If you like to make chili and lots of Mexican and Southwestern inspired dishes this might be the cookbook for you. That is not to say that there aren't some Mediterranean and Caribbean inspired recipes but it just seems that the Tex-Mex and Southwestern flavors beat out the others.

Also, I happen to loathe margarine and avoid it at all costs. I love to cook and would much rather use less butter or a combination of canola oil and butter or olive oil or even an olive oil spray -- anything but margarine. Not only does this cookbook call for margarine specifically, but diet margarine. In the same vein I understand that the author is an M.S., R.D. but I really don't think there is a need to use Fat-Free Dressing for everything. I also didn't like that one of the recipes called for onion soup mix. I have never purchased onion soup mix and try my best not to purchase lots of processed foods. Thus, I get very uneasy when a cookbook uses these types of ingredients.

One more irksome tidbit was the fact that there weren't any recipes or mention of other beans such as the anasazi, adzuki, flageolet, cranberry to name a few.

This cookbook might not be the best cookbook for someone looking for a wider repertoire of legume recipes than your Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook can offer.

Rating:
Summary: For More Healthful Eating
Review: With 150 recipes, including a handful of bean-based desserts, this book will last quite a while before you run out of ideas for bean-based dishes. From a simple black bean dip to Hoppin' John, this book leaves no excuse for not including beans in your diet.

Rating:
Summary: For More Healthful Eating
Review: With 150 recipes, including a handful of bean-based desserts, this book will last quite a while before you run out of ideas for bean-based dishes. From a simple black bean dip to Hoppin' John, this book leaves no excuse for not including beans in your diet.