Scan barcode
dame_samara's review
2.0
I have mixed feelings while reading this because a part of my idolization of the perfect fridge, as part of my want for a perfect life. Having grown up in chaos, the want for something like this is not uncommon. But in reality, it is unattainable to most people. Even the guidance given in this book isn't enough to make it feasible for most people. Whether due to money or due to a lack of spoons.
booksaremypeople's review
4.0
I have to be honest, I don’t normally read books about refrigerators, but as a long-time fan of Hong’s Instagram pages where she wows with her food is organized in rainbow order in clear jars, I had to check it out. Hong first got into food organization when she was introduced to Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s nutritarian diet, which involves a lot of fruits, veggies, seeds and nuts. As someone who has dabbled in this diet, I know firsthand the hardest part of sticking with it was staying organized and prepared. Hong’s approach to fridge organization makes getting healthy food onto your plate easy and eye-pleasing. She offers organizational tips at various levels of fridge organization motivation. While I couldn’t wait to finish reading the sections on the history of the refrigerator or the mechanics of how a refrigerator works, the rest of the book has a lot to offer in terms of ways in which to organize a fridge, including what to do if you have people on different diets in the same household, which is something I struggle with. While I know my fridge will never look like Hong’s, I now have the tools to make my fridge more inviting and practical. The fridge envy never goes away, but this time, at least my veggies will be pre-chopped. Hear my review on my book recommendation podcast, Books Are My People, episode #71.
amibunk's review
4.0
This is a book I will probably purchase- the alphabetical index of produce (and how to store it best) is a wonderful tool to have on hand. Additionally, I think the pictures will inspire me to keep my fridge organized and correctly stocked.
rainbowbritekid's review
4.0
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC of Fridge Love!
I loved the beginning and learning about the anatomy of a very well organized and beautiful refrigerator. As a mom of a fresh fridge I now see how much fresh we waste. I loved the authors tips to keep everything fresh. The cherry on top was the recipes towards the end.
I loved the beginning and learning about the anatomy of a very well organized and beautiful refrigerator. As a mom of a fresh fridge I now see how much fresh we waste. I loved the authors tips to keep everything fresh. The cherry on top was the recipes towards the end.
annieb123's review
4.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Fridge Love: Organize Your Refrigerator for a Healthier, Happier Life is an impressively organized guide to arranging readers' fridges for efficiency and meal-planning by Kristen Hong. Due out 1st Feb 2022 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on their Mariner Books imprint, it's 352 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.
This is an upbeat and impressively organized book. Most of the time I just look at extreme cleaning and organizational books and get stressed out because that's absolutely not me (side eying you, Marie Kondo). This one is actually more inspiring than stressful and I found a lot of good and usable takeaways here.
The book follows a logical format. Part 1 covers the background and benefits of organization, prepping, meal-prep and planning, and the author offers different ways of looking at and evaluating personal needs to build a plan to get (and stay) organized. The second section offers a look at how to clean, organize, and set up the plans and processes. This part made me tired. She's so encouraging and upbeat that I -am- going to try to start and this is a good time to do it (new year, etc), but honestly the instagram color coordinated -spotless- fridge pictures kinda got me down because my fridge looks like the "before" part of an episode of hoarders. The rest of the book builds on the intro sections with practical plans for incorporating the procedures into daily life. She makes some good points about living in a family where not everyone follows the same sort of diet (nutrient rich meatless diet in her case). This would work well in a family where one person is on other types of food restrictions, low FODMAP, or anti-inflammatory, or diabetic, etc. The book is rounded out with recipes which are perfectly suited to meal-prep and planning/storage.
The recipes have their ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar. Measurements are given in US standard only. Special tools and ingredients are also listed, along with yields and cooking directions. The ingredients will -mostly- be easily sourced at any moderately well stocked grocery store. There are some few which may need specialty retailers or a larger metropolitan area/international grocer. Nutritional information is not included, but the storage suggestions are specific and appropriate.
The photography is sufficient but not abundant; roughly 10% of the recipes are pictured. The photos which are included in the cookbook are well done, clear, appealing, and (for tutorial photos) easy to follow. The photos in the introduction and basic planning sections of the book are abundant and beautifully color coordinated and immaculately styled.
Well done. This book would make a great gift for fans of food prep planning / batch cooking, as well as readers who enjoy organizing manuals à la Marie Kondo.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Fridge Love: Organize Your Refrigerator for a Healthier, Happier Life is an impressively organized guide to arranging readers' fridges for efficiency and meal-planning by Kristen Hong. Due out 1st Feb 2022 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on their Mariner Books imprint, it's 352 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.
This is an upbeat and impressively organized book. Most of the time I just look at extreme cleaning and organizational books and get stressed out because that's absolutely not me (side eying you, Marie Kondo). This one is actually more inspiring than stressful and I found a lot of good and usable takeaways here.
The book follows a logical format. Part 1 covers the background and benefits of organization, prepping, meal-prep and planning, and the author offers different ways of looking at and evaluating personal needs to build a plan to get (and stay) organized. The second section offers a look at how to clean, organize, and set up the plans and processes. This part made me tired. She's so encouraging and upbeat that I -am- going to try to start and this is a good time to do it (new year, etc), but honestly the instagram color coordinated -spotless- fridge pictures kinda got me down because my fridge looks like the "before" part of an episode of hoarders. The rest of the book builds on the intro sections with practical plans for incorporating the procedures into daily life. She makes some good points about living in a family where not everyone follows the same sort of diet (nutrient rich meatless diet in her case). This would work well in a family where one person is on other types of food restrictions, low FODMAP, or anti-inflammatory, or diabetic, etc. The book is rounded out with recipes which are perfectly suited to meal-prep and planning/storage.
The recipes have their ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar. Measurements are given in US standard only. Special tools and ingredients are also listed, along with yields and cooking directions. The ingredients will -mostly- be easily sourced at any moderately well stocked grocery store. There are some few which may need specialty retailers or a larger metropolitan area/international grocer. Nutritional information is not included, but the storage suggestions are specific and appropriate.
The photography is sufficient but not abundant; roughly 10% of the recipes are pictured. The photos which are included in the cookbook are well done, clear, appealing, and (for tutorial photos) easy to follow. The photos in the introduction and basic planning sections of the book are abundant and beautifully color coordinated and immaculately styled.
Well done. This book would make a great gift for fans of food prep planning / batch cooking, as well as readers who enjoy organizing manuals à la Marie Kondo.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
hannas_heas47's review
4.0
Love the cover....beautiful arrangement of food. This is a book to help you organize your fridge and how to better understand food storage. The idea is certainly gorgeous but not every fridge will look as gorgeous as the ones photographed.
What did I like? I went to the Instagram page for this nutritarian... a person whose diet selection is based on nutrient content of food. I don’t understand the correlation between nutrient content and the gorgeous refrigerator pictures but the book was interesting. The book basically helps you understand the zones of your fridge, best placement, and storage practices. Then the author gives you some recipes to help you meal prep and help you understand how food stays fresh. It’s unique and delves into food prep way more than any other food prep book I have read.
Would I recommend or buy? I’d buy a copy! Not only does the book cover how to make food last longer but gives some great vegan looking recipes that I’d love to try. The recipes need pictures too...
Which is why I only gave four stars. If your looking to make those greens last longer than this book is for you! Four stars!
I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review!
What did I like? I went to the Instagram page for this nutritarian... a person whose diet selection is based on nutrient content of food. I don’t understand the correlation between nutrient content and the gorgeous refrigerator pictures but the book was interesting. The book basically helps you understand the zones of your fridge, best placement, and storage practices. Then the author gives you some recipes to help you meal prep and help you understand how food stays fresh. It’s unique and delves into food prep way more than any other food prep book I have read.
Would I recommend or buy? I’d buy a copy! Not only does the book cover how to make food last longer but gives some great vegan looking recipes that I’d love to try. The recipes need pictures too...
Which is why I only gave four stars. If your looking to make those greens last longer than this book is for you! Four stars!
I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review!
lorialdenholuta's review
5.0
If you loved The Home Edit, How It Works and Alton Brown's Good Eats, step away from your television and pick up a book. Fridge Love is a highly satisfying deep-dive into the mysteries of that cold box in your kitchen. You'll learn exactly how it works, how we chilled food throughout history, how to make the best use of the various zones in your fridge, what to store your food in, how to prep your food, and finally, how to cook all that fresh, gloriously chilled but not killed food. You took the time to shop for it, you dug into your wallet to pay for it, so treat your food with the respect and care it deserves, and you deserve to put into your body.
All aspects of your refrigerator and its contents are discussed. They are well-researched and inspired by the author's everyday life experiences. Her suggestions are practical and attainable. She not only tells you what to do, but *why* you should do it, and that's what's going to make your relationship with your own fridge meaningful. As a bonus, you'll learn how to be more eco-friendly for the planet that provided all that food for you in the first place.
The author is vegan and her recipes reflect this, but her meal prep ideas and recipes will help me stick to the low-carb diet my doctor recommends, and are also in good alignment with my husband's heart-related low-sodium diet. I'll keep the book in my kitchen for frequent reference. Her food storage guide will tell me exactly how to prepare, package and choose a fridge zone for each fresh item I purchase.
While everyone can benefit from reading Fridge Love and putting the advice into action, I would especially recommend it for young people just getting started with their first kitchens. Learn good habits young, and reap the rewards for a lifetime.
My thanks to author Kristen Hong, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
All aspects of your refrigerator and its contents are discussed. They are well-researched and inspired by the author's everyday life experiences. Her suggestions are practical and attainable. She not only tells you what to do, but *why* you should do it, and that's what's going to make your relationship with your own fridge meaningful. As a bonus, you'll learn how to be more eco-friendly for the planet that provided all that food for you in the first place.
The author is vegan and her recipes reflect this, but her meal prep ideas and recipes will help me stick to the low-carb diet my doctor recommends, and are also in good alignment with my husband's heart-related low-sodium diet. I'll keep the book in my kitchen for frequent reference. Her food storage guide will tell me exactly how to prepare, package and choose a fridge zone for each fresh item I purchase.
While everyone can benefit from reading Fridge Love and putting the advice into action, I would especially recommend it for young people just getting started with their first kitchens. Learn good habits young, and reap the rewards for a lifetime.
My thanks to author Kristen Hong, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
suetrav's review
4.0
This was an interesting book to read. A bit of a history lesson, some organization and then a lot of recipes. She does a great job of showing all the different types of fridges people might have and gives examples of how to organize them.
The photos in the book are #goals for sure and I am inspired to do better with my fridge space.
This is essentially a cookbook with some fridge history and organization added in. I am not a vegan but I found a lot of interesting recipes in here that I am going to try and I have ordered some wide mouth mason jars with the intention of prepping salads for the week.
Thank you to the publisher and author for the advance copy of this book. Highly recommend if you want to maximize your fridge storage and stop wasting food.
The photos in the book are #goals for sure and I am inspired to do better with my fridge space.
This is essentially a cookbook with some fridge history and organization added in. I am not a vegan but I found a lot of interesting recipes in here that I am going to try and I have ordered some wide mouth mason jars with the intention of prepping salads for the week.
Thank you to the publisher and author for the advance copy of this book. Highly recommend if you want to maximize your fridge storage and stop wasting food.