Living Large On A Lean Food Budget


Non-Fiction - Cooking/Food
154 Pages
Reviewed on 04/26/2016
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Is your food budget going through the roof? Tired of binge buying and then having to trash what spoils? Perhaps all you need to do is plan ahead. Make a monthly menu plan, shop once a month, and make meals in advance to freeze. So you think it’s not very appetizing to eat a frozen, pre-made meal? I’m sure you’ve purchased frozen, pre-made meals in the past, a quick fix for supper, tasty but full of additives and preservatives. Wouldn’t it be better to make your own from scratch, using the best and freshest products available? It’s not quite as onerous a task as you would think. All you need is a little planning, good organization, and an insightful book to lead you through the mires and pitfalls of preparing meals a month in advance.

Alice Upton has given us just that tool in her new book, Living Large on a Lean Food Budget. She’s worked in food preparation for years and comes very qualified to know how to plan well and plan safely. And, yes, safety in food preparation is a serious issue. Like trying to cool foods on the counter before freezing can allow bacteria to take up residence, but it is imperative to make sure the food is thoroughly cooled before freezing to ensure top quality when serving later in the month (and, yes, this can be done safely without leaving the hot food on the counter for hours).

From planning the menus, to making the shopping list, to organizing the shopping list, to following the grocery store’s floor plan (that’s assuming the grocery store hasn’t changed its floor plan which ours does quite frequently, much to my annoyance), to preparing the meals, to properly packaging the finished meals - this book has everything you need to be creative, industrious, economical and a great gourmet chef ... all on a lean budget. And then, there’s the recipes: lots of them. This is a great resource with great recipes. A real treasure.