Real {Fast} Food
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Practical, versatile, approachable: this book gives a zestful take on good food that’s good for you. I’d recommend Real {Fast} Food for any busy person who’s intimidated by cooking healthily, but still wants to be convinced that it can be done.
–Elisabeth
I didn’t think I could eat healthy on the go. It always took to much time. Thanks to Trina’s coaching and tips from Real {Fast} Food I now know it is possible. I have even begun to enjoy cooking again!
–Katie
a review by Sarah:
Reading Trina Holden’s eBook Real {Fast} Food is like having your best friend sit you down and tell you what she has learned about food and cooking. It’s an easy to understand and enjoyable read, unlike much of what has been written about preparing “whole” food.
Trina’s enthusiasm for the subject shows in every aspect of the book. From the beautiful pictures to the carefully designed printout lists, this is a book created with the cooking reader in mind. It has easy, pictorial, step-by-step instructions for making kefir, whey, and many other “whole” foods you may have heard of, but not been brave enough to try.
The ingredients in each recipe are recognizable; nothing sounds like it would only be found in a science supply store. I appreciated Trina’s balanced approach to this way of eating and her suggestions for substitutions if a particular method or ingredient won’t work for you. The recipes I tried came out beautifully. And I loved her healthy updates to staples like ranch dressing and oft-used seasoning mixes, as well as family favorites like lasagna.
I have been cooking for many years, but my mom is the “queen” of our kitchen. I do my own food shopping and cooking, so we don’t butt heads too often when it comes to how the kitchen is run. But since reading Real {Fast} Food, I am inspired with ways that I can help her with food prep and recipes instead of just staying out of her way!
Real {Fast} Food shows that cooking whole food does not have to monopolize your whole day. Trina’s methods of planning and prep leave you time in the day to give to others. It is not just a collection of recipes, but an introduction to a way of thinking about food and cooking that will inspire you to serve with your kitchen.
Sarah enjoys serving her family and church in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When she isn’t teaching or running an office, she is usually found loving on one of her eight ‘Niblings (nieces and nephews).
Real {Fast} Food is available both on Kindle, as well as in eBook form.
Trina’s book is empowering: it gives you not only a fabulous collection of “normal” recipes made with real food, but the know-how of planning and preparation, and the “why” of eating this way. Real {Fast} Food is written in a conversational style that’s fun and easy to read. There’s no condemnation for those who don’t follow every real food method she outlines. In fact, the book makes it easy to pick and choose new real food methods to try without feeling like you have to do it all. But Trina’s batch shopping and cooking methods will give you more time to invest in your real food experiments. We love the apple egg muffins, and the nut butter brownies are as heavenly as they are healthy!
–Gretchen
If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of effort it takes to prepare “real” healthy food, you need Real {Fast} Food. Trina’s brilliant methods make it possible to cook from scratch, soak your flour, shop once a month, and be freed from endless meal-planning. She shows that a little advance planning makes everyday cooking so much easier, and walks you through the process step-by-step. And it’s more than a nice theory: Trina actually cooks this way, with three small children. Now that I have a baby and have less “kitchen time” than before, I’m excited to put Trina’s ideas into practice.
–Jeannie
Why thank you so much! 🙂
A “fast food” I often eat is breakfast. I pour plain rolled oats into a bowl and then add raisins and craisins, I sprinkle generously with cinnamon, and pour milk to the top of the mixture. I let it stand for several minutes (5-15 depending on desired softness). Sometimes I add honey or more milk, but I mostly eat it as is.
I recently read that it is much healthier to eat a larger breakfast, a smaller lunch, and an even smaller supper.
You’ll love all the breakfast ideas in “Real {Fast} Food” — random.org selected commenter #22 as our winner!
One of my favorite “real fast foods” is a homemade protein bar with almonds, raisins, and coconut oil (to name a few of the scrumptious ingredients!). Green smoothies have also become an all-time favorite breakfast alternative in our house.
I love to throw together a “meaty” salad with cheese, nuts, strawberries, dried cranberries, etc.
Healthy and satisfying!
For a quick healthy meal, I like eggs cooked like an omlet with cheese and rolled up in a tortilla. Since my family tries to eat healthy and we have a busy schedule, this would be a great book to have! 🙂
Our favorite real,quick, meal for breakfast would probably be egg-in-a-holes! You use a biscuit cutter to take out a hole in the middle of a piece of bread, crack an egg into it, and stick it on a hot skillet with a little butter and salt and pepper. Fast and yummy!
Our favorite quick meal is to spread fat-free refried beans on a tortilla, sprinkle a little hot sauce and shredded cheese, and pop it in the toaster oven. These have sort of replaced peanut butter sandwiches for us, and they’re much healthier and tastier.
Our favorite quick meals would include: mac & cheese, spaghetti, tacos, and breakfast for dinner. Smoothies definitely win the prize for quick, healthful, and great anytime of day!
This books sounds great! My family and I have taken baby steps to better eating (still have a ways to go).
I like to soak organic steel-cut oats overnight with 1 cup oats to 1 cup water with 1 T. milk (soaking helps break down phytates in the grains so your body can properly absorb the nutrients). And what’s great about soaking the oats, is it dramatically reduces the cooking time in the morning. Instead of 40 minutes on the stove, it only takes about 5 minutes on my gas stove. I add two cups milk to the soaked oats, 1/2 teaspoon salt, some maple syrup and vanilla. One of my favorite breakfasts! 🙂
My favorite quick and healthy meal would definitely be smoothies. I make them practically every day and have experimented with so many different ingredients such as spinach, flax seed, celery, carrots, strawberries, peaches, almond milk or milk, assorted yogurts, blueberries, honey, limes, almonds, etc. Smoothies are so yummy and they can be very healthy and energizing!!!
Our favorite real food meal is quick, cheap and delicious. We usually get a good deal on chicken drumsticks. You put them in the Dutch oven (crock pot would probably work too) with chopped up onions and potatoes, some water (however much broth you want), salt and pepper and put it on top of the wood stove. When your kitchen fills with the delicious smell it’s usually done. No stirring required 😉
Breakfast for dinner is our favourite quick meal…..I recently started our journey into ‘real food’ and in the process, made a painful switchover from my great-grandmother’s biscuits (made with white flour and refined shortening) to a whole-wheat recipe……but we love them!
My favorite quick meal is tacos *licks lips* I love Tex-Mex!
Would love to win! I’m always looking for tips on how to cook faster and healthier suppers.
sounds great! The best way for me to make healthy food easy is to do a Once a Month Cooking Day! Takes a bit of effort for one day, but every day for the rest of the month after that I have way more time to play with my kids and invest in them.
that sounds like a great book! one of our favorites is to keep homemade pizza crusts in the freezer for quick meals…another is to make homemade breakfast burritos (w/ lots of beans :)) for on the go breakfasts
My favourite “fast food” would have to be egg-fried rice. While the rice is cooking (10 mins) there’s plenty of time to beat, fry and dice an egg, fry some onions/spring onions, peas, sweet corn or whatever else takes your fancy. Mix the egg, veg and rice together with a dash of soy sauce and fry for a minute or two. I also like to add coriander, cumin and some parsley to taste- yum! I would love to learn some more quick, mindless but tasty recipes to try out!
Hmmm….I have so many fast tips I implement into our real foods kitchen. First one that comes to mind: having meat in the freezer that’s pre-cooked and/or marinated and/or cut, etc. Also love making doubles/triples of meals and having some freezer meals on hand….effortlessly!
I love to cook, but don’t often hav time as I am currently in my 4th year of Med School. At weekends if I have time I like to make bread dough, roll it flat and scatter ingredients lik cooked ham, peppers, cheese etc. and then roll it up into a “log” kind of like a swiss roll, cook it in the oven and then throughout the week I can cut a chunk of it out for my lunch – as it saves me making sandwiches every morning – and gives me more time for things like my morning devotions – but also ensures that i can eat healthy food on the go. I vary the ingredients. My mum makes one with smoked salmon and cream cheese, or tuna, with egg and cheese beaten into it.
Now that’s an idea I’d love to try! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I guess when you say “quick”, the first thought that comes to mind is apples. Apples can be used in many different ways, but I think one of my favorite is apples with peanut butter dip. We just mix peanut butter with honey, coconut and cinnamon (ginger and a little bit of molasses can be added if you like a slightly spicier dip!) and dip the apples in that. YUM… Another way we enjoy apples is in apple crisp (or just about any other fruit–we also enjoy rhubarb, pear, plum, peach, apricot…or a mixture of different kinds). Just slice them into a 9×13 pan until they come to about the brim, then mix 1 c. oatmeal (or flour), 1/2 c. sugar, and 1/4 c. butter or other fat (such as lard). Then we sprinkle it over the fruit (of course, you need more or less sweetener according to the sweetness/tartness of the fruit) and bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 45 min.-1 hour. We eat it with milk or cream–YUM! Anyway, that’s one way we use some of God’s blessings of food.
My favorite quick healthy meal would be scrambled egg muffins with farms eggs from my aunt and our own deer meat. Can’t get much more natural than that! But I would LOVE more ideas for cooking healthy and faster too. Seems like so much work, and very overwhelming to me!
I think it’s easier to always plan your meals… at least a few days in advance to avoid rushing to the grocery store. But when we get into a jam I make a simple and healthy homemade mac and cheese with whole wheat noodles, milk and cheese and just a bit of salt. It takes about 10 – 15 minutes including dishing it up and praying… (some days that time might include us eating as well). Makes you wonder why anyone buys the boxed version nowadays.
Our favorite “quick meal” would have to be tacos or something of the like. Most of our food is “quick” now that we have our cow precooked. 🙂