Cover Image: Too Good To Waste

Too Good To Waste

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This book is not paleo friendly. Most of the recipes had grains or some other ingredient that I do not wish to consume. As such I couldn't find too many recipes that I thought I might cook so my review is not as in depth as I'd like.

That being said, I found this to be a fairly run of the mill cookbook. I was hoping this book would be more revelatory in terms of food waste and using the tossed bits but I didn't find that much that would be useful to me (albeit someone else with a considerably less restricted diet might find this more useful). Don't get me wrong there was definitely some there (I am indebted regarding a brassica stems suggestion), just not enough for me to add another cookbook to my already burdened shelf.

I was kind of hoping this would be a more modern version of How to Cook a Wolf (which I haven't had the opportunity to read yet so perhaps How to Cook a Wolf isn't what I expect it would be either), instead this is a very well organized cookbook that help you make the most of your otherwise likely to spoil leftovers.

Was this review helpful?

Are you tired of buying good food, forgetting you have it in the fridge, and throwing it out? Would you be interested in getting more out of the food that you buy, and using up every part? Too Good Too Waste: How to Eat Everything is the cookbook for you. Not only will this book help you save money in wasted food, but it will show you how to use up every bit, with no waste. Did it ever occur to you that you can use fava or broad bean pods to make luscious Bean Pod, Coconut, and Lime Soup? Or Chicken and Salad Bag Stew, using up the wilted, almost too old to eat salad greens? There are dozens of unconventional ways to use produce that is sitting in your crisper – Lemon Drizzle Parsnip Muffins, Squash Skin Chutney (yes, using the rind from butternut or other winter squash), Cumin Pumpkin Skin Crisps with Lemon & Tahini dip, and Pumpkin Seed Brittle to name a few.

The book has dozens of ways to use leftovers like rice and mashed potatoes, as well as dairy products that are past their prime.

Everyone can benefit from saving money, and it’s always a good feeling to know that there aren’t things getting rotten at the back of the fridge.

This book is written with regular people in mind; not fanatics who are too cheap to buy good food. Most of us are sufficiently busy that we sometimes forget what there is in the fridge and are a little upset when we discover something there that we had good intentions for.

Too Good Too Waste: How to Eat Everything is highly recommended. It would make an excellent wedding gift for a new bride, and has enough innovative ideas for beginning to advanced cooks. It has good ideas for eliminating waste, and good ideas for using up dairy products that are past their prime.

The book is well organized, has nice pictures of some of the dishes, and includes excellent advice on storing and using food. It should be included in every cookbook collection.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

In a time where there's countless articles and stories out there about the rampant food waste that goes on in, Victoria Glass steps up and does her own part in taking on this ongoing issue with a wonderful collection of recipes meant to take foods that most people might toss away in the trash and gave them the second chance that they deserve.

This book will make a great companion to the waste-conscious cook who is pained whenever they feel like they have no choice but to throw out their wilted celery or overly brown bananas, because as Glass points out, they actually have many more options than they may initially sink.

Was this review helpful?

Unique and innovative recipes which are grouped under 21 titles...... wonderful recipes to try .....

Was this review helpful?

I really like the idea of this book. I was expecting a little more in the way of novel and creative ideas. Definitely some good recipes and I enjoyed it. I would just like more of an expansion.

Was this review helpful?

I agree we toss too much food, and don't use it very wisely. And many of us really are pretty clueless when it comes to cooking with fresh foods. I blame that on working moms who cooked frozen, didn't pass on cooking skills to the kids, and fast foods... So this book does come in handy in teaching us how not to waste, The photos look like they are of the entree and occasionally feature sides, as well. Tho' I only get the b/w photos on my Kindle, the dishes look appealing. I am looking forward to finding a hard copy of the book in the future and will update my reviews!

Was this review helpful?

This is a misleading title for this book but not in a disappointing way. It is a cook book using under utilised ingredients such as cabbage and bone marrow. There are quite a number of recipes which have an Asian influence which I liked, and tips on using peelings for crisps, particularly pumpkin, also using grated root vegetables for fritters, cakes and pancakes. The book helpfully provides measurements in metric and imperial which you don't often get.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book. Such useful recipes to use food that would otherwise go in the bin. I really liked the use of a butternut squash skin, such an unique idea and can't wait to try these ideas in the book. Pictures were really clear and instructions and ingredients every concise.

Was this review helpful?

Brilliant guide for a variety of patrons. At first I was disappointed that the book did not have many photos but then I realized the brilliance behind that. When people see photographs they become inclined to mimic and what Too Good to Waste makes incredibly clear is that there is no right or wrong way to use up the ingredients so that they do not go to waste. The recipes are helpful and not too rigid or complex and won't break the budget since it is a guide for using up what you already have.

Was this review helpful?

I really love the idea of this book, there is a sickening amount of food waste and anything to bring awareness to how simple it is to waste less is a big win in my book. I would have given this book a perfect score but it is lacking a few things, first off is pictures. It has some really gorgeous pictures, but I am very much someone that needs to see the recipes end result and there are too few photos for my liking. Also, I felt a lot of the recipes require specialty ingredients, which seems counter-productive to removing waste if you have to go shopping for other specific ingredients. Granted I do really like how it shows that you can make foods that are more on the gourmet spectrum with ingredients that many would just toss, so well done there.

Was this review helpful?

This one just wasn't for me. I wasn't drawn into any of the recipes, didn't care for the formatting, and, frankly, found the British English distracting. I do think the idea is very good, and I hope to see more cookbooks with a similar focus.

Was this review helpful?

Interesting, modern, quite quirky. I tried several recipes and loved them. There are ideas here you would not even think of, beetroot in a chocolate cake! It works.

Courgette and lemon risotto has become a favourite but rolling the left overs into balls to make Arancini ! Who knew.

I encourage people read it, stop wasting food and money, think out of the box. It's great fun.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this super book.

Was this review helpful?

This book makes so much sense - there is so much waste in the word - food being thrown out because it looks a little limp, or best before dates followed to the letter, or people just not knowing what to do with left-overs or that things do not have to be skinned, scrapped or trimmed to an inch of its life.
This book will save you money and it will probably make you healthier and probably make you feel a little clever as well.
There are recipes which are easy to follow, not everyone will like them all, but there is enough in the book to make many good, tasty and nutritious meals.
Nothing really new in this book, it is what our parents and grandparents used to do. It is just over the years we have lost a bit of common sense or we have been brained washed into only eating the perfect.
The book is written well and fun to read - this book should make a great read for young adults when first leaving home.

Was this review helpful?

This cookbook included the recipes around the world, but with a modern twist. The author utilized easy to find ingredients for the recipes. I would recommend this book to those, who want to add new and healthy dishes to their everyday table.

Was this review helpful?

The intentions of this book are wonderful; we could all benefit greatly from being less wasteful. That being said, I found a bit too many recipes that relied on frying items like peels, skins and off-cuts of vegetables. Some of the things that the author states as being too difficult or extreme to attempt (in being less wasteful) are things that I have grown up doing. I think this book would be great for those who are wasteful and want tips on how to reduce that waste. The recipes were interesting, and I might try a few. And it is always a good idea to learn how reduce food waste.

Was this review helpful?

Too Good to Waste: Making Magic Out of Forgotten Food by Victoria Glass takes a creative approach when it comes to using up food rather than allowing the food to go to waste. I was hoping Too Good to Waste would be like my beloved The Use-It-Up Cookbook: A Guide for Minimizing Food Waste by Lois Willard, but it is not.

As to Too Good to Waste, the recipes are written for both European and American audiences. The author has included both metric, weight, and cups-and-measures, where required, in her recipes. Oven temperatures are written for both European and American cooks. For example you will read 200 degrees C/400 degreesF/Gas 6. Note: I spelled out the word degrees but in her recipes you will read the degree symbol.

Some of the recipes you'll find in her cookbook include:

Chicken Leg Ballotine Stuffed with Liver
Chicken Carcass Curry
Sour Milk Scones
Southern Fried Chicken Drumsticks
Salted Caramel, Chocolate & Beetroot Fudge Cake
Bone Marrow Toffee

The only reason why I gave the book a 4 star rating is the author should have offered some specific guidelines on when to toss food. The author writes she is fairly cavalier concerning use-by dates. She also writes commonsense has a lot to do with cooking and states she would not eat moldy mutton but would probably eat limp lettuce.

In the aforementioned Use-It-Up Cookbook the author does give clear information on when food should not be eaten. It's too bad the same thing was not done for Too Good to Waste.

Overall, this is a very good book as the author has written a creative way to prevent food waste.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from Net Galley.

Was this review helpful?