Book Review: The Flexible Family Cookbook: 75 Quick and Easy Recipes with Over 200 Options to Keep the Whole Family Happy by Jo Pratt

 
The Flexible Family Cookbook: 75 Quick and Easy Recipes with Over 200 Options to Keep the Whole Family Happy by Jo Pratt is full of simple and delicious recipes to keep the whole family happy. Jo Pratt provides flexible adaptations for each recipe to account for allergies, intolerances, and lifestyle choices. Traybakes and one-pot roasts make for easy and convenient time-savers, whilst scrumptious puds and simple bakes help get smaller hands involved in the cooking. Covering everything from gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free cooking and veganism, to suggestions for flavor and spice adjustments for younger or fussier palettes, this book will be a lifesaver in the kitchen and a crowd-pleaser at the table.

The Flexible Family Cookbook is an well organized and attractive cookbook. I thought the recipes and instructions were clearly written and easy to follow. I liked the options, suggestions, and adjustments that were included with most recipes to account for allergies, picky eaters, and personal tastes. The photographs of the food were very appealing, and I think they put a good light on the selected dishes. I just wish that more of the dishes were more centered on ingredients families are likely to already have on hand, or would readily find (at a reasonable price) in the average grocery store. While there are substitutions, I just felt like the ingredients were often a little to upscale for me, and possibly many other households. I am interested in broadening my family's culinary appreciation and the dishes that  make everyone happy, but not when it means stretching our already tight budget and patients to find pomegranate molasses, no matter how good that picture looked. 

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