Rachael Ray's exuberantly titled "Yum-O!" is geared towards families, and a portion of the profits goes to her anti-obesity campaign. Noble cause, good idea... but does it work?

"Yum-O!" is a melange of recipes. They're rather complicated,have too many ingredients (not exactly economical),and her condescending directions for the "itty-bitties" (little ones) are either minimal or inappropriate. Either kids hardly participate, or they're doing difficult stuff. To Ray's credit,there are recipes from her young fans,such as fish tacos, pancake tacos with fruit salsa, and chili lime chicken, which are actually easy and delish. There are some genuinely good recipes like sweet and spicy sesame noodles, peanut butter and jelly French toast, and Buffalo chicken chili. It's a mixed bag. Some good,some mediocre, some horrific. Ray gets cutesy with "More peas if you please penne","Penne-wise pumpkin pasta" and "Chili cheese dogs in beach blankets."

Now,for the bad. There's a worshipful attitude to whole grain pasta. It doesn't cook well,doesn't cook well either,and tastes awful. There are also some stomach-churning food combinations. Brocco-cheese burritos? Ham and cheese macaroni with asparagus? The "special ham cheese sandwich" has pickle juice. The "inside-out turkey burgers with O-Rings" is,um,creative. With high food prices, Ray's multiple ingredients,as well as her emphasis on meat and dairy, don't help (there's even Gruyere) They don't help the waistline either. Her unholy food combinations is enough to make one a vegan like Moby.

"Yum-O!" shows that one celebrity in the kitchen ruins the soup. Ray was better when she started out. When it comes to easy,kid-friendly dishes,try her original "30 Minute Meals" instead.

The rachael ray yum-o cookbook is just amazing! !! It has recipies for every member of the family and they are really easy to cook. I already tried some and my family is very pleased.

I was just watching Larry King the other day and at the very end of his interview with Joy Behar (whom I love!) he plugged Rach's new book "Yum-O! The Family Cookbook." (Oh, I bet Joy just loved that.) ...Silly me, I had no idea Rach had a new book out but I had to pick it up because Rachael Ray is one of my favorite TV personalities. This cookbook is enjoyable, because like its author, it's cute and lively and full of spice. Rach also has it peppered with a slew of creative and "easy-looking recipes."

OK, can we talk about the white elephant in the room, now? I love Rach but her recipes are generally way too difficult to prepare. Because they always have way too many ingredients and just never come out correctly or in less than 30 minutes. I am a true domestic artist who loves keeping my home looking impeccable and who also loves cooking and putting on casual dinner parties as much as I can. Unfortunately, I have never tried a single recipe that I would ever have the nerve to serve to my friends or family.

Why do I like Rach, though? Rach is just such a loveable loser. I like her personality and her zest for life. I like her determination and the way she's the first to admit that she isn't perfect. I also enjoy some of her ideas. That's what I take the most from books such as this. For example, I love her idea of a "garbage bowl." And, I like how she promotes the idea of making things ahead and washing veggies when you first bring them home because this does save me time.

Truth be told I am not crazy about Rach's daytime talk show. It just seems way too rushed and overproduced, Rachael is trying desperately to appeal to the waspy-0prah-market. But it seems like she's trying to do 10 different things at once and none of it's working out. When I went to her show last year to watch a taping it was a very surreal experience. Because everyone behaved as if it was some huge Broadway production. I really believe Rach's best show was $40.00 a day. It just fit her personality so well because she is so bubbly and outgoing. I really enjoyed that show very much because even though Rach's tips were useless it was still rather entertaining and rather comical. But if they bring the show back in today's economic climate they should change it to $10.00 a day!

Getting back to cooking, what I like to do with books like these are simply skim them for ideas and tips. I also like to take recipes that have more than 10 ingredients (like the majority of the ones inside here) and try to simplify them. Who has the time to be stuck in the kitchen or stuck shopping for all that stuff?

For quality recipes (that really!! do work) I recommend anything by Martha Stewart . (BTW I understand there is a definite hatred...the likes of Crystal Carrington & Alexis Colby...between Martha & Rachie Ray!) And I also very, very strongly recommend anything by Chris Kimball / America's Test Kitchen . ...Remember, you are what you eat!

I was just watching Larry King the other day and at the very end of his interview with Joy Behar (whom I love!) he plugged Rach's new book "Yum-O! The Family Cookbook." (Oh, I bet Joy just loved that.) ...Silly me, I had no idea Rach had a new book out but I had to pick it up because Rachael Ray is one of my favorite TV personalities. This cookbook is enjoyable, because like its author, it's cute and lively and full of spice. Rach also has it peppered with a slew of creative and "easy-looking recipes."

OK, can we talk about the white elephant in the room, now? I love Rach but her recipes are generally way too difficult to prepare. Because they always have way too many ingredients and just never come out correctly or in less than 30 minutes. I am a true domestic artist who loves keeping my home looking impeccable and who also loves cooking and putting on casual dinner parties as much as I can. Unfortunately, I have never tried a single recipe that I would ever have the nerve to serve to my friends or family.

Why do I like Rach, though? I love her personality and her zest for life. I love her determination and the way she's the first to admit that she isn't perfect. I also enjoy some of her ideas. That's what I take the most from books such as this. For example, I love her idea of a "garbage bowl." And, I like how she promotes the idea of making things ahead and washing veggies when you first bring them home because this does save me time.

Truth be told I am not crazy about Rach's daytime talk show. It just seems way too rushed and overproduced. It seems like she's trying to do 10 different things at once and none of it's working out. When I went to her show last year to watch a taping it was a very surreal experience. Because everyone behaved as if it was some huge Broadway production. I really believe Rach's best show was $40.00 a day. It just fit her personality so well because she is so bubbly and outgoing. I really enjoyed that show very much because even though Rach's tips were useless it was still rather entertaining and rather comical. But if they bring the show back in today's economic climate they should change it to $10.00 a day!

Getting back to cooking, what I like to do with books like these are simply skim them for ideas and tips. I also like to take recipes that have more than 10 ingredients (like the majority of the ones inside here) and try to simplify them. Who has the time to be stuck in the kitchen or stuck shopping for all that stuff?

For quality recipes (that really!! do work) I recommend anything by Martha Stewart . (BTW I understand there is a definite hatred...the likes of Crystal Carrington & Alexis Colby...between Martha & Rachie Ray!) And I also very, very strongly recommend anything by Chris Kimball / America's Test Kitchen . ...Remember, you are what you eat!

Nothing really new here. A number of the recipes can be found online. And before
anyone says it will use up more trees to print them well once they are printed
you can put them in a plastic pages in a notebook and keep them.

I have a problem with a comment of hers. She has said in the book and one her shows
that if you eat healthy than you can eat more. Wrong in so many ways. Just because
something is healthy doesn't mean you can eat a lot of it. You can still gain
weight eating healthy food. Portion control is what people should do.

Also when you fry bacon even turkey bacon, you don't need to add oil to the pan.

I applaud her attmepts in getting kids to eat right but it isn't worth the money
to buy it.

In the introduction, Rachael Ray writes: "The goal of Yum-o! The Family Cookbook is to make eating healthier as a family easier, more affordable, and fun."

And it IS a fun and colorful cookbook that is also loaded with practical advice. Full color photographs abound, with kids and food as the centerpiece. The cookbook is designed to get young kids to look at it and get into healthy eating. Very well done.

The book is divided into three parts: healthy breakfasts, lunches & snacks, and dinners. Many of the recipes are classics that have been embellished to make them more nutritious. For example, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich adds banana, honey and turkey bacon slices on whole wheat.

There are sections called Great Ideas. One is to designate a shelf in the kitchen and a shelf or drawer in the refrigerator for easy to grab snacks. Ray provides a list of healthy snacks, too.

There is a list showing how greens differ in nutrition.

Dinners look great and are appealing to both kids and adults. For example, cornflake-crusted tilapia with sweet and spicy watermelon salsa and mega turkey nacho dinner.

This is a terrific cookbook for families with young kids who want to eat nutritional, tasty and easy to make meals.

From the author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet.

This book is good for people with children. I will try some of the recipes, but it does not compare to her expresslane meals.