Lots of good recipes, some turned out great and some did ...
922446
Lots of good recipes,  some turned out great and some did not but there are PLENTY that are great making the book a good buy.  I like the fact that Rocco game up with recipes with such low calories but a lot of flavor.
4960297
The nutritional value appeared only in some recipes. But I liked the varied combination of recipes here.beans, chicken, chili etc.
No silly descriptions or explanations and stuff, the book starts straightaway with the recipes. Though I do wish there could have been some images included, coz I almost always decided on the dish from such books based on the image (something like a visual feast first).
I'm a bit disappointed because there are only 3 dessert recipes here. For a book on crock pot recipes and since there are like more than at least 5 recipes for other meals, I really hoped there was more dessert ones included. Nevertheless, I still like these other recipes, and I've being successful in surprising my family with the meatballs of the recipes I got from here. :D
4241600
I have made 6 recipes from this book so far. Two were absolutely delicious (and easy) and will be staples in my repertoire for years to come (Tofu Teriyaki and Pierogies with Creamy Mushroom and Sherry Sauce). Two were okay, but not great (Chicken Marsala and Soba Noodles in Ginger Broth)--when I make them again, I'll tweak the ingredients a little. Two were pretty bad (Honey Pecan Chicken and Eggplant and Tofu with Garlic Sauce).

I rate this book 4 stars because I give it the benefit of the doubt. Many of the recipes seem appetizing and I am hoping the two duds were exceptions. Also, the two recipes that were good were REALLY good so they made up for the price of the book, even with the dud recipes.  I think this is a worthy purchase if you're a busy person and need quick meals for weekday evenings, but just be aware that there are some bad recipes in here.
826722
Great tasty recipes! Some of the recipes have become "go to" recipes that I make often.
559603
Some of the recipes called for "hard to actually want to use in real life" ingredients like ground bacon and organ meats. I also had trouble with a lot of the cooking times and will need to adjust the times/temps in the future. (the roasted sweet potatoes came out hard as a rock using their guidelines and the oven-dried fruit leather snacks came out crispy/crunchy... the pork ribs took twice as long as too cook until they were done). I do like how they are a normal family with three young kids and my 16 month old has been happy so far! I like their "treats" section, the chocolate chip cookies are yummy (much better than Sarah Fragaso's "Nutty cookies" from Everyday Paleo. I would recommend this book to anyone with kids and that has time to make this stuff as some of it is time-consuming. There are many "normal" and yummy recipes too, I've tried a bunch of them.
1701246
For the record, I never read the blog these women write.  I just thought this would be a great book to get some recipes from.  But the best parts weren't the recipes but the stories about how the girls came together as friends and started to explore cooking both seperately and together.  I enjoyed the stories about their mistakes and how they learned not to cook certain things because they would be so good they would in demand so much the girls wouldn't be able to actually enjoy any socialization time at their own get togethers.  As far as the recipes go, we made a few of the dips which were quite good, and the yogurt spagehetti thing which really wasn't so good.  The recipes range from super simple to fairly complex.
925295
the posts about the book's horrendous binding are correct.  I did not try using the digital version, so cannot comment on that..  Some of the recipes were good (blue cheese dressing, banana bread, others like perfect pound cake were not - there are much better pound cake recipes elsewhere.  Ms. Reichl writes well and it is easy to identify with her use of cooking to restore a sense of competence after losing her job.  She does a great job evolving the feelings of seasons in the city and in the country and what foods the seasons inspire her to cook. An interesting read from the library.
3535439
The recipes are terrific- tested and mostly great.  He is a little extreme when it comes to some recipes and ideas!
4452022
I received a complimentary copy of Grandma's Back to Basics All Natural More than Just a Cookbook as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team.  Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

Teresa Thompson's recipes take simple and common staples and turn them into complex and rich tasting foods. I tried a few recipes and found most of the ones turned out above my expectations. Though the ingredients in the Potato Soup(pg. 181) were incredibly simple, they worked together really well and tasted great. The biscuit recipe didn't turn out as well as my own grandmother's, but that fault may have been with the chef and not the recipe. My son also enjoyed the Oatmeal Carrot Cookies and if a recipe can fool a child into eating vegetables, it has my seal of approval.

My few main issues with the book were with format and printing. Because the recipe instructions were written in paragraph form, they were often confusing. A few times, the instructions were so vague, it was hard to tell when I was done cooking or if I was correctly following the recipe. There also seemed to be some issues with the printer's format because spacing was off due to the phantom "Strawberry Milkshake" recipe title popping up throughout the book. I found my confidence in the quality of printing and editing slightly unreliable, but was still able to read most of the recipes despite the repeating typo.

Teresa Thompson's writing in the introduction was simple and to the point. It wasn't elegant or flowery. She didn't try and sugar-coat her reasoning for writing the cookbook or persuade me with difficult vocabulary, but simply stated her purpose and hopes for the cookbook. While in some circumstances I may not have been impressed with Thompson, her words and language prove she isn't interested in just selling books, but focused on the quality of each individual recipe.
823368
I've made maybe 7 or so of the recipes, and the results have been amazing.  Maybe one of them was "okay", but otherwise I have been really happy with how they came out!
3875978
I don't find the ingredients in most of the recipes hard to find. But I am in Northern California and most things are abundant here. Fish selections vary because of water temps but a comparable fish can be found in the same family.

Some of the recipes are really good. This is a book for a more experienced cook. As with most cooking, precise measurements really don't exist. This is no exception.

But though I'm not fond of his trash mouth, I love his passion for good, tasty food. If you're into cooking, this is a good book to have.
2187439
Lots of good recipes but the writers are also selling mixes to match the recipes. The recipes I tried were good.
131283
These recipes are very good! My favorites include: Nell's Cranberry Crunch, Ma's Peach Cobbler, and the Maple Apple Cobbler. I would have given this book 4 stars if it had included pictures of the recipe results. Good cookbook!
2183531
The meatloaf recipe is a winner.  Some of the recipes have ingredients not available in my grocery store, but for the most part it's a
good book.
4875947
Some fun recipes, but some unusual ingredients thatneedto be purchased.
34491
I'm a picky eater so some of the recipes weren't for me but lots of them were and gave me ideas for other ingredients
381934
I love lots of the recipes in this book. However, it is frequently hard to find them again under the somewhat vague chapter titles such as, "Fiber Makes Your Day," "Blending East and West," "Mineral Rich Recipes." If you have a favorite recipe, it's sometimes difficult to find it again. You have to remind yourself whether or not it's a good enzyme food or perhaps a macrobiotic something that caught your eye. Forget trying to find it in the index. I've highlighted the recipes that I really like so that I can find them again without resorting to flipping through all the pages again. Also, there isn't a whole lot that's specifically indicated as being beneficial for pregnancy--though I am sure lots of the recipes are great. Overall, it's a great cookbook--the layout and organization just leaves a bit to be desired.