Butter Busters

This is a huge (almost 500 page) cookbook/lifestyle book on how and why to live almost fat free. This type of lifestyle change takes a huge committment that most people can not sustain. That said, some can and do. For those people this book would be an excellent resourse. Along with many recipes there are brand suggestions that I rarely see and grocery store suggestions that I don't believe I have ever seen. She also gives suggestions about products she especially likes as not all fat-free products are equal in taste appeal.I think that this book has an *all or none* slant to fat which may or may not be a good thing. Some people who could benefit by adding some of these recipes into their diet might be turned off by this approach. It's unfortunate. There are good options and choices here.The book is set up as a plastic spiral and the pages are a bit hard to turn. The pages aren't wipe-able altho they do lay flat. the cover is cleanable. The whole package has a *community cookbook* feel. That might be a plus or a minus depending on how you feel about that kind of book, its a bit more personal feeling. The illustrations are a bit of a mixed design. Some more elegant, some more cartoon-ish... nothing garish... NO slabs of horrified suet running from a chubby butcher, thankfullyThe recipes, and there are many will help you makeover your favorites. Low-fat pizza, quick spicy chile, mexican lasagna, hot fudge pudding pie, etc. Notably absent are beef dishes.. There are 2. On the otherhand, in the creamy vanilla frosting there is 3 cups of powdered sugar. I have to wonder which is more harmful...a small serving of lean beef or the frosting. To be totally fair... that frosting recipe is really the exception rather than the rule, most sweet dishes call for a sugar substitute. I only added it as an example...that the focus is clearly most on lowering the fat in your diet with this book. Sodium is quite moderate altho some main dishes do hover over 500 mg and some are over 1500 which i consider high per serving.I think this could be an excellent asset for the right person who is extreamly motivated. I think it also could be great for someone who is looking for ideas to add lower fat dishes into their diet or who is willing to take a recipe and adjust it a bit to their liking (ie, to use spray margaine instead of the suggested butter buds, or egg whites instead of the egg beaters or low fat cheese instead of fat free)

I purchased this book in 1994 when I was approximately 50 pounds overweight. I was just learning about lowfat eating and did not know how to prepare foods for myself and my family that we all would like. I did not want to prepare separate "diet food" for me and regular food for my son. However, with this book, I learned how to convert all the foods I craved, namely sweets and breads, to lowfat. My son especially loved the tortilla soup recipe, and he ate everthing I made from this book without asking "is this diet food?" Using the principles in this book, I lost the 50 pounds and have kept them off for the past 5 years. I recommend this book for anyone who is beginning a lowfat eating regimen and needs guidance on how to start. I have bought other lowfat diet books since 1994 which are good, but this is still my favorite.

I lost 100 pounds over nine months through daily exercise, eating healthy, balanced meals and using this cookbook. The recipies are easy to make and tasty for those who like low-fat and even those who don't (and believe me, they won't know the difference nine times out of 10). If you're looking for a low-fat cookbook, this is the best there is.

This book is great at teaching you how to eat healthy, and the best benefit has been the weight I've lost so far! I have lost 6 dress sizes in 5 months by eating the food in this book, and have never felt hungry a day yet!! There are great entrees but best of all great low-fat desserts. My personal favorite is the Hot Fudge Cake!! It's delicious and simple. In fact, I am purchasing this book for the second time due to the fact that we lost everything in the flooding, but one of our most missed possessions was this cookbook! If you want to lose weight, or just learn to eat healthier and feel better, you have to try this book!

This book is an excellant learning tool for those trying to switch to a low fat way of eating. If your motivation is to lose weight or simply to improve your health, this is the cookbook for you. I bought this book to lose weight. P. Mycoskie helped me learn how to make a transition to low fat eating by teaching me how to read labels, choose ingredients and modify my cooking style. In the process of learning all this I have lost 100 pounds and feel great. No this is not a diet book; this book teaches you how to make a lifestyle change that you control and can live with. The food is actually good; not at all diet food. Your kids and husband will even eat it - mine LOVE IT!!