Five Ingredient Healthy Recipes: Robin Takes 5

Background

Robin Takes Five is a recipe book created by Robin Miller, food writer, nutritionist and author of the best-selling cookbook “Quick Fix Meals”.

The book features 500 recipes containing less than 500 calories with five ingredients or less. It is designed to help busy people get a healthy, quick meal on the table for weekday dinners.

Robin Takes Five Basics

Miller provides 500 options for dishes you can prepare for your friends and family as an alternative to convenience meals. All of the recipes contain five ingredients or less and take no more than twenty minutes to prepare.

The author draws attention to the very high amount of sodium that is present in processed foods, prepared meals and those from restaurants.

All natural ingredients and low in sodium

Excess sodium can cause hypertension, heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure and is an important health concern, she explains.

While all of her recipes cannot be considered low sodium the book does include many dishes that contain 500mg of sodium or less.

The cookbook features a variety of ethnic meals and comfort food classics

A range of globally inspired recipes are provided such as Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Mediterranean, Southwestern and home-style American. The dishes include soups, stews, pizzas, pasta, rice, chicken, beef, pork, seafood, side dishes, and desserts.

Some of the recipes included in the book are:

• Sesame Miso Soup with Tofu and Scallions
• Italian Sausage and Rice Stew
• Hummus Pizza with Roasted Red Peppers
• Southwest Strudel with Salsa, Black Beans and Mexican Cheese
• Thai Noodles with Soy, Sesame and Peanuts
• Jamaican Chicken Salad with Coconut and Banana Chips
• Beef Rolls with Herbed Goat Cheese and Olives
• Orzo Jambalaya with Ham and Shrimp
• Fresh Lim Pie with Vanilla Cookie Crust
• Dark Chocolate Almond Strudel

Recommended Foods

Vegetables, fruit, black beans, chicken, turkey, seafood, beef, pork, pasta, rice, frozen pizza dough, frozen pie crust, whole wheat tortillas, goat cheese, low fat Mozarella, low-fat milk, half-and-half, peanuts, cashews, reduced-sodium chicken broth, light mayonnaise, olive oil.

Sample Meal Plan

Breakfast Apple-Walnut Strudel

Lunch Sirloin Burgers on Ciabatta with Provolone and Slaw

Afternoon Snack Caramel Almond Popcorn

Dinner Mango Curry Chicken Sesame-Glazed Asparagus Spears

Dessert Rice Pudding with Cardamon and Pistachios

Exercise Recommendations

Robin Takes Five is a cookbook and does not include exercise recommendations.

Costs and Expenses

Robin Takes 5: 500 Recipes, 5 Ingredients or Less, 500 Calories or Less, for 5 Nights/Week at 5:00 PM retails at $29.99.

Click Here to purchase this cookbook for a discounted price.

Pros

• Offers a healthier alternative to fast food, takeout or frozen convenience meals.
• Nutritional information and cooking time is provided for every recipe.
• Recipes are family-friendly.
• Many of the recipes are low in sodium.
• Meals are suitable for lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts.

Cons

• May be necessary to prepare more than one recipe to create a complete meal.
• Some of the recipes contain unhealthy ingredients such as frozen pizza dough, prepared sauces, frozen pastry, sugar and sweetened dessert items.
• Does not include many recipes suitable for breakfast.

Conclusions

Robin Takes Five provides lots of options for busy weeknight meals that will appeal to the whole family, offering an alternative to takeout or convenience food.

While most of the recipes feature healthy ingredients there are also some that contain processed items. So dieters concerned about sugar, refined flour and sodium intake should avoid or limit most of the pizza and dessert recipes.