Instant Loss On A Budget: Super-Affordable Recipes for the Health-Conscious Cook

by Brittany Williams

Brittany Williams, author of the best-selling Instant Loss Cookbook, reached a peak weight of 260 pounds and struggled with obesity, yo-yo dieting, and chronic fatigue before she changed her relationship with food and lost an astonishing 125 pounds in a year. She cut processed and takeout foods from her diet and eliminated gluten, most grains, and sugar, all without sacrificing the flavours of the foods she loved, and quickly grew legions of fans on InstantLoss.com. Brittany is a mother of three children who are homeschooled, so she recognises the challenges of cooking dinner every night on a budget, but she also wants to make sure the meals she cooks for her family taste great. In this fully gluten-free and dairy-free cookbook, Brittany provides 125 delicious recipes, like Barbecue Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Coleslaw, Spicy Cauliflower Mac and Cheese, and Chocolate Mocha Nut Clusters, that show readers how to keep their families happy and healthy without breaking the bank.

• ISBN10: 0358353920
• ISBN13: 9780358353928
• Publish Date: 13 January 2021 (first published 29 December 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 6 July 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780358353928

Reviews

[annieb123]

To be posted to my blog on release: Nonstop Reader.

Instant Loss on a Budget is a diet plan, information guide, and cookbook with recipes developed by Brittany Williams. Due out 29th Dec 2020 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it's 352 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.
The recipes are grouped roughly thematically: baked goods, breakfasts, party appetizers, soups, salads, sides, pasta, restaurant favorites, meatless, land & sea, drinks, desserts, and basics (sauces, seasonings, ingredient recipes). Each of the recipes includes an introductory description, ingredients listed in a bullet point sidebar (US measurements only), step by step instructions, as well as footers with tips and alternative suggestions and some tips on presentation. Nutritional info oddly not included (in a diet book?). Special tools and ingredients are also listed, along with yields and cooking directions. The ingredients are mostly easily sourced at any moderately well stocked grocery store.

The recipes are varied, delicious, and attractive. The author makes some very salient points about the types of food (especially proteins) we choose and how that has follow on effects for weight loss and food budget. She's included some meal plans as well as clear and useful charts for cooking times for pressure cooking vegetables, grains, legumes, etc. Each of them has an estimated prep cost in a header graphic over the recipe.

The photography is not abundant; maybe 10% of the recipes are pictured, at a rough estimate. The recipes which are included are clear and easy to follow and the serving suggestions are attractive and appropriate. There are a lot of things to like about this collection - the writing is upbeat and no-nonsense. The author has a very supportive and encouraging style. The lack of photos detracts somewhat as does the lack of nutritional info, but overall this is a very good collection of healthy recipes.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.