Bowls: Vibrant Recipes with Endless Possibilities

This book is filled with reliable, delicious, healthy recipes that our family and friends really enjoy. I know other reviewers roll their eyes at “wait, isn’t this just a regular dinner with protein, starch, and veggies…. placed in a bowl instead of on a plate?” but, honestly, this cookbook is an enormous help to me (even if that comment still makes me laugh). Because, honestly, it’s a rare cookbook that tells you everything you need for a dinner on one page. Everything! Not just a single idea for a main dish that leaves you puzzling about ideas for the rest of the family meal. If you suffer even this slightest bit of Decision Fatigue around mealtime, this book is a game-changer: lean proteins, veggies, whole grains or other healthy starches, along with sauces or dressings and seasonings for a great and tasty meal, all on One Dang Page plus a gorgeous photograph that helps with assembling the bowl. Now that’s a tiny bit of an exaggeration (the one-page part) because the dressings, veggie prep, grain prep, etc are in sections at the end of the book. But the prep of the component parts are all really simple (“preheat oven, chop broccoli and dress with oil and salt, then roast”) and can easily be done on a weeknight as you are fixing the other parts. Re: the binding. Agree. Annoying that it fell apart after a year or so— I took the cookbook to FedEx Office, had them slice off the cover, make a color copy of the now-removed cover, and add a new coil binding along with a plastic clear cover ($13), as seen in these photos. So that’s either a testament to how much I use this cookbook, or a warning that your book may fall apart too. It’s easily fixed, but if that’s going to make you cross— get the Kindle version, I guess? If you don’t do meal prep, stop reading here. If you do: If you don’t mind batch cooking or are a “meal prep on Sunday” type of person, this is a pretty amazing cookbook for Done In A Day. I’d rather make 5 little jars of dressing in one shot, while roasting veggies in the oven and cooking grains on the stove, and then pop the right portions of whatever into flattened, labeled ziplock bags in the freezer or fridge. With that one cook-session and one clean-up & dishwasher run, you are set for many meals for the weeks ahead— with the easy weeknight addition of organic greens dumped out of a clamshell while searing protein in a pan. Although the authors include a few suggestions about meal prep in the front, there’s an all-inclusive “Nutritional Information” index (pages 228-233) lists ALL the bowl components for every single recipe in the book in **categories** (e.g. grains, spice rubs, vegetables, proteins, etc) that makes a great cheatsheet for cooks who want to prep a bunch of proteins, dressings, toppings in one shot. Just saying: really helpful!

When this book first came out I was really interested. I flipped through it on Amazon and thought, no I don't really need this book. Then I was in a restaurant and had the most amazing "bowl" meal and I knew i needed to take a look at this book again. I have made about 15 of the recipes from this book so far. Some of these recipes have knocked my socks off (Budda bowl, Shrimp and Grits are my favorites so far). I'm glad I gave this book another chance. Many of the recipes are sized for 2 portions which is working our really well for my husband and I. I would say the portions for 2 are good sizes for us, sometimes there is a bit left for a small lunch for me. I recommend giving this book a try. The ingredients are readily available. The recipes are easy to follow, and most of them are pretty quick. This is a great book for some delicious healthy meals ready on your table quickly and easily.

Every recipe I have tried in this book is delicious. Some are more time consuming than others. I have not found obtaining the ingredients challenging as I was already cooking with many of them as part of a gluten free diet that leans more to Asian flavors. I also have access to ethnic and natural foods grocery stores. I have sourced ingredients I can't find locally from Amazon and other online stores. These recipes are worth the search for the ingredients. I am very selective about cook books I buy many have disappointed by asking for expensive ingredients that you need very little of and are not something you can use in any recipe in the book. I had realized bowls were a great option for a gluten free diet so I went looking for a good cookbook as I had grown tired of trying recipes I found on the web that were generally just mediocre. I have borrowed other America's Test Kitchen books from the library and found that while they are packed with information, they are very big and heavy books. I got the Bowls cookbook in the spiral version for ease of use. I don't regret it. I keep it on a cook book holder on my kitchen counter because I use it two to three times a week. This book is just the right balance of information with easy to follow recipe instructions, in a perfect size book format.

I love ATK cookbooks. So far I have about 6 of them and have tried over 300 recipes from them (I lost count after 300). This is another great book in their repertoire. The preparation in whole is simpler than their other books (i.e. Vegetarian), but the book's serving size is quite small and aimed for 2 portions. I usually triple everything to feed a family of 4 with extra for lunch the next day. Furthermore, the recipes at first look much more simpler than it is. To get the complex flavor of each bowl, one has to prep components from mini-recipes written in the back of the book. I find this practice a little deceptive. One can go without it, but than the recipe (in my opinion) is a little bland. So far I've prepared 1/3 of the main recipes in the book, and I'm quite pleased with the results. Unlike other cookbooks, the ingredients are easy to find and purchase unlike most other cookbooks by restauranteurs who require exotic ingredients. This is the reason I love ATK cookbooks. I live in the middle of TX, so unless the recipe is aimed at Southwest / Mexican cuisine, I'm out of luck trying to find what one would call "staple" ethnic ingredients from my local supermarket. I also lived in nowhere OH, and they had NADA when it came to ingredients that did not cater to traditional "American" cuisine.

First of all, I am a married, working mother of two (almost 6yo and 7y5mo) that decided to stay home for in-person schooling. To help make this financially work out, I decided to be the person who does the majority of meal planning, shopping, cooking and packing up of lunches and meals-on-the-go to eliminate eating out. This cookbook has been a huge game-changer and lifesaver! I mean, I feel like a pony in a five horse circus.. If you're a person who needs traditional recipes, this book has them. All of the recipes are AH-HA-MAZING! I did not think the results would have been so pleasant based off these recipes; the ingredients "look" plain. If you are a person, like me, who constantly gets odd and ends from people's gardens and are not sure what to do with it all, this book has solutions that work. In the back are separate recipes for grains, vegetables, proteins, dressings, etc. Simply pick a recipe for what you have, throw together in a bowl, and watch something delicious happen. Really! Each dish has been really healthy too. All food groups usually are represented on each plate. Nothing is deep fried. Nothing requires special equipment like an air fryer. However, you could easily use those things too if you have them. Meat is not the center star of these meals, however; the dishes center around mostly whole grains and vegetables with a protein added. Almost all recipes can be made gluten, dairy and/or meat free. They usually have something raw in them too. You can make them as basic or as complicated as you want. Many recipes offer in-can or bottle suggestions if you're that exhausted, like balsamic dressing, but also offers the made from scratch in a hurry version as well. I highly recommend taking the steps to make any of the quick pickles (especially with red onions, carrots and/or cucumbers) and doubling the recipe and keeping them in the solution in the fridge for future uses. We actually pick at them now for snacks and put them in morning eggs, they're so good. As for the kiddos, they're just not gonna eat anything spicy, fermented or pickled. So what I do is keep a serving each of protein, grain, veges and carbs set aside with a bottle of ranch dressing and use what's leftover as directed. Everyone's happy and I'm not making two different dinners. Now, if you are in a similar economic "bowl" as I am, I look through my freezer, pantry and refrigerator for what I currently own and I will go through all my cookbooks and pick out recipes that have similar ingredients. That way, I am only shopping for the missing ingredients and saving a ton of money. Because of the versatility of this book, I can usually find a recipe that will use up any leftover ingredients. (I've also been saving these grocery and recipe lists for future use and to streamline the time spent on this lol.) This book is unique for that too and saves me time. Plus, I can now spend one afternoon prepping all the ingredients so that way I'm only literally spending 15-30 minutes max cooking per night with minimal clean-up. I can usually have everything cooked, and cleaned by the time it all is ready to eat! To keep me motivated to stay cooking, I like to look through the back of the book for an ingredient that I have no idea what it is, order it and use it. Red miso and gouchujang is a staple now. Where have they been my whole life??! Since the recipes are so big and easily doubled/tripled if needed, packing up for grab-and-go meals is a snap. In fact, my husband's lunches are so beautiful and delicious, co-workers have been asking for recipes and have been offering me their pantry and garden extras if I would pack up a lunch for them! Unbelievable! If they only knew that I love hotdogs and tuna noodle casserole too...

This is an amazing cookbook! The recipes are simple and delicious. It is well organized, offers options for change-ups, the charts are wonderful. I just am so impressed with this book! I have a wall full of cookbooks and this is going to become a favorite! Great job Americas Test Kitchen.

Clearly written with easy to understand directions. Suggestions for equivalent food substitutions. Gorgeous color photos accompanying each recipe. We went wild and tried nearly every bowl recipe we could eat for dinner for a month and a half! Book makes it easy to plan meals.

This cookbook rocks! ATK produces excellent books, but this one is truly outstanding. It is produced and published thoughtfully and lovingly, well bound, good quality paper, lies flat. Each recipe is accompanied by a gloriously colorful and inspirational photo. There are a lot of recipes and photos. Even before looking at the written recipe you can tell what it contains just by looking at the photo. The recipes are legible, clearly outlined, seem to strike a balance in terms of the number of ingredients. Each recipe is written for two servings, but can be easily multiplied. A very thoughtful and practical addition is a calorie number posted near the recipe title. More detailed nutritional information is posted in the back of the book. The recipes are varied drawing from various culinary cultures and traditions, but are also approachable even for a novice cook. I believe that this will appeal to vegetarians, vegans and meat eaters who enjoy vegetable forward dishes. I appreciate ATK's inclusion of variations, enhancements and alternative ingredient suggestions accompanying each recipe. The simple pickle recipes, dressings and other topping creations look wonderful. My only wish is that the book included a dust cover/jacket. Thanks ATK, one of your best, love this book - no regrets! Definitely recommend.

Amazing! Full page photos and tonnes of great recipes

Lovely tasty recipes with great photos.

This book was a recommendation from a friend. It seemed that she had nearly every recipe tagged with post-it notes as a good recipe! America’s Test Kitchen recipes are great because they have the ‘Why This Recipe Works’ section and also provide substitutions for ingredients. The recipes also have full color photos. Very helpful! I entertain a lot and sometimes find catering to many food allergies challenging. With making bowls, I find the flexibility of having many items available for guests to choose and make their own creations.

I have used the book as inspiration for lunch and dinner boxes and the recipes are very easy and with a lot of substitutes

Lets just get the bad thing out of the way first: all units in the book are US units only. I was a bit disappointed when I saw this as I expected a big outlet such as ATC to do better. Oh, but at the end of the book I found conversion tables. And realized they converted food volumes to milliliters. So someone realized that cups and spoons are volume and not weight measurements, and simply converted to equally useless ml. Hmm.. so I guess I'll have to decide on using either 1/3 cup chopped parsley, or I simply use 79ml instead. Yeah. That aside, the book looks very interesting as an inspiration. Calorie amounts are given, and at the back there's a bit table with all nutritional information. I'll find out at some point how well this lines up with my own count. Most recipes are in the 400-500kcal range, but can easily extended to bigger portions of course. So from the food point of view this seems a very yummy and useful book for me. I'll keep it, but the units do annoy me.