Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recipes for Busy Moms

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
HCI. (2006)
ISBN 0757304044
Reviewed by Vicki Landes for Reader Views (2/07)

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen team up for a tasty new addition to the scrumptious Chicken Soup for the Soul series, called “Recipes for Busy Moms.”  Targeted at the modern, on-the-go mother, this delicious collection includes quick and easy instructions for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as snacks, sides, and desserts.  Many of the recipes are new takes on the classics (no more whining during meatloaf night) while others are freshly new and promise to be lots of fun.  The extra tips on food preparation and healthier alternatives to the already good-for-you recipes add even more to the mix.

In addition to recipes perfect for someone who doesn’t want to spend all day in the kitchen, the book is sprinkled with inspirational stories that speak to the souls of both new and experienced moms.  Tickle your palate with anecdotes on achieving (or not achieving) supermom status, the automatic “yuck” response, and never living down an unsuccessful recipe.  Savor the bittersweet ache of children leaving home for college, marriage, or military deployment while taking comfort in family recipes and traditions.  Both stay-at-home and working moms (and as this book says, “every mom is a working mom”) will appreciate the wit and humor stirred into this compilation that you learn only by being “mom.”  “Recipes for Busy Moms” isn’t just about putting together a meal; it’s about family memories – the good, the bad, and the messy. 

Canfield and Hansen serve up a richly flavorful read with a side of hearty laughter worthy of any dinner table.  Instead of a cookbook with the same old boring things, “Recipes for Busy Moms” is chock full of the spice of life.  “Being able to pull into a fast-food, take-out lane or pop another frozen entrée into the microwave can be a life-saver, but when a family sits down for a meal together, the experience feeds more than a hungry stomach.”  Why put off quality family time any longer?  “Recipes for Busy Moms” satisfies! 

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