View source for How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even If You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three Saucepans ... - Unless You Count the Garlic Crusher... by Gill Holcombe

{{infobox1 
|title= How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even If You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three Saucepans ... - Unless You Count the Garlic Crusher... 
|author=Gill Holcombe
|reviewer= Sue Magee
|genre=Cookery 
|summary= The basics of how to feed your family decent food without breaking the Bank.  The tone is hectoring in places but the food tastes good.  It's for the beginner rather than the experienced cook.
|rating=4 
|buy= Yes
|borrow= Yes
|pages=264 
|publisher= Spring Hill
|date= October 2007
|isbn=978-1905862153 
|cover=1905862156
|aznuk=1905862156
|aznus=1905862156
}}

These days few people have the luxury of unlimited time in which to prepare meals.  Jobs, children, families and life all seem to get in the way.  The same is true of money and when you put the two factors together it's easy to see why people are tempted to buy cheap convenience food.  It's on the table without much effort, requires little in the way of equipment and superficially it looks a lot cheaper than buying all the ingredients to make a family meal.  In ''How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy, Balanced Diet...'' Gill Holcombe sets out to prove that it's possible to put good food on the table without breaking the Bank.

I very nearly didn't persist with this book as the tone can seem a little hectoring, but I'm glad I stayed the course.  It's the food you're going to eat, not the book.  The principles are very simple.  It is possible to feed a family of hungry teenagers a healthy diet which they will enjoy and which is not going to make them fat or mean that you have to move into the dentist's waiting room on a permanent basis.  There are going to be treats and indulgences in there but they're balanced by other foods which give them real energy.  

It might be the (metaphorical) icing on the cake or it might be the fundamental point but Gill Holcombe proves by costing out her weekly menus that this is actually quite a frugal way of living.  It's certainly a great deal cheaper than buying convenience foods, and you'll never again be in the position of wondering exactly what has gone into the meal you're about to serve.

So, what's the food like?  If you're looking for sophisticated food then this isn't the book for you.  I think the best description I can give is that it's grown up nursery food.  There are a lot of old favourites in there, such as Shepherd's Pie, Toad in the Hole and Fishcakes but they've got some more modern dishes such as Chicken Curry and Smoked Salmon Tagliatelle.  If I never ate outside this book then I would eat well.  It's about taste and nutrition and never about show.

It's refreshing to read someone who advocates puddings and if your family enjoy something sweet to finish a meal then the book could be worth the cover price for this alone.  Such dishes as cheesecakes which don't need gelatine (yes, I know it should work – I just never have the confidence that it will) are gems.

Instructions are reasonably clear and the recipes tend not to rely on overly precise measurements.  You don't need any fancy equipment and you're unlikely to find anything in the cooking methods which you don't understand.  Most meals feed four to six people and I doubt that there will be many left-overs.  Forget about watching fancy chefs on television, or even thinking about Delia's [[Delia's How To Cheat At Cooking by Delia Smith|cheats]].  Get hold of this book and give it a go.

We weren't too impressed by the [[Fish Pies and French Fries, Vegetables, Meat and Something Sweet...Affordable, Everyday Food and Family-friendly Recipes Made Easy by Gill Holcombe|sequel]].

If you really want to learn to cook from scratch then we still think that you can't do better than the original [[Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course by Delia Smith|Complete Cookery Course]] by Delia Smith.  On the other hand, if you're looking for help in planning meals and using seasonal foods than you should have a look at [[The Kitchen Revolution by Rosie Sykes, Polly Russell and Zoe Heron|The Kitchen Revolution]].

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