Macro Cooking Made Simple by Rachel Werner

Macro Cooking Made Simple (Everyday Wellbeing)

by Rachel Werner

Stop counting calories and start eating smart! Master the macro diet with this accessible guide that includes more than 50 delicious recipes.

Instead of setting a limit on the number of calories you can eat, a macro diet defines the amount of macronutrients you can aim to eat, divided by proportion into the primary categories of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Besides helping burn fat and gain muscle, macros provide the body with energy and can help maintain good health for the long haul. Popular with athletes, this flexible diet can can also be a challenge to plan and track. But it doesn’t have to be! Macro Cooking Made Simple explains what macros are and how you can optimize them for better eating and better health, without suffering or depravation.
 
The first part of the book examines the question, “Why macros?” Nutrition expert and food writer Rachel Werner explains how fueling your body requires more than a few superfoods and why macro-focused eating provides holistic sustenance. She breaks down this complex topic into manageable bites, with a terminology “cheat sheet” that includes:
 
  • Simple Carbs
  • Complex Carbs
  • Carb Tolerance
  • Protein (animal protein vs. plant protein)
  • Fat (trans fat vs. saturated fat vs. unsaturated fat)
  • Flexible Dieting
  • Micronutrients
 
Werner further provides a ratio guide to help you vary your macro ratios for specific health goals. She also presents what goes in a macro-forward pantry, including 15 staple ingredients plus the 7 essential kitchen tools to get you started.
 
The second part of the book has recipes that include gluten-free and dairy-free options, vegetarian and vegan alternatives, and quick or one-pot meals. Broken into breakfasts, mains, sides, snacks, and beverages—along with recipe-pairing suggestions to round out any meal—this book has you covered! Here’s just a small selection of the eclectic, nutritious, and delicious recipes you’ll find inside:
 
  • Caribbean Jambalaya
  • Brunch Burritos
  • Cajun Hot Hash
  • Crispy Fish Curry
  • Smoked Salmon Sliders
  • BBQ Chickpeas
  • Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad
  • Carrot Ginger Bisque
  • Pecan Peach Porridge
  • Pumpkin Oat Bars
  • Matcha Gems
  • Low-Cal Lassi

With these straight-forward explanations, easy-to-understand tips, and amazing recipes in hand, following a macro-forward diet has never been simpler!


Discover today’s top trending health and wellness topics with the Everyday Wellbeing series from Chartwell Books. From smart eating habits to personal growth advice, these engaging lifestyle guides give you the expert tips and life hacks you need to help you make good choices while practicing mindfulness and self-love. Whether you want to explore cooking with new ingredients like adaptogens and CBD, or make it a priority to incorporate self-care into your daily routine, these brightly colored take-along handbooks have the tools you need to succeed.

Other titles in the series include: Adaptogens, The CBD Handbook, The Complete Guide to Self-Care, Air Fryer Instant Pot Cookbook, and The Plant-Based Cookbook.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Macro Cooking Made Simple is a well written beginner accessible monograph on clean eating and macro cooking by Rachel Werner. Due out 25th April 2023 from Quarto on their Chartwell imprint, it's 160 pages and will be available in hardcover format. 

The book is aimed at beginners searching for accessible info about making informed choices about eating in order to promote a healthy lifestyle and gain follow-on physical and mental health benefits. The introductory chapters contain an impressive amount of background and how-to information including why, how, and what. The author is knowledgeable and at the same time has an appealingly informal stayle. The fourth chapter has a solid introduction to meal planning and contains resources and info which are useful even if not used in the context of macro-counting and cooking.

The second section includes the recipes, arranged by mealtimes: breakfast, mains, sides, snacks, and beverages. Ingredient measurements are supplied in imperial (American) units with metric in parentheses (yay). The nutritional information includes calories, fat, protein, and carbs. Each recipe has a header with special labels such as nut-free, gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, etc along with a short description of the recipe and approximate prep-times. Extra tips or recipe alternatives are listed in text boxes in the recipes. The recipes themselves are fairly straightforward and are made for the most part with easily sourced ngredients. Many are very simple, none of them are overly complex.

The photography is gorgeous and abundant. In fact the photography was one of the highlights for me. This not a vegetarian or otherwise plant based collection though it does have many vegan/vegetarian friendly recipes (and many more which can easily be adapted to plant based ingredients).

The book includes a very short abbreviated bibliography for further reading as well as a cross-referenced index.
Four stars. It would make a superlative housewarming gift to a friend or family member or friend trying to eat more health consciously with better quality ingredients. It would also make a good supplemental text in an educational setting (nutrition, physiology, etc) or for library acquisition.

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

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Reading updates

  • 7 April, 2023: Started reading
  • 7 April, 2023: Finished reading
  • 7 April, 2023: Reviewed