Taste of Home Magazine Review – August/September 2010 Issue Part 1 pages 1 – 13

My friend Doris shared her newest issue of Taste of Home Magazine with me.  She’s a subscriber (my Mom used to be too) and we both know there are good recipes to be had in this magazine but I wondered what else I could find.

So here’s the rundown on content.  This issue has 92 pages including the cover and 41 of them contain advertising.  That comes out to 44 1/2% or so.  This is less than the industry standard in my experience but future Magazine Reviews will make that obvious. 

Only 2 pages contain pharmaceutical advertising (for the same drug) and that is VERY low.  I am against drug advertising in magazines because you should rely on your physician to know what is best for you, not some page in a magazine.  If you don’t trust your doctor that much then you should get a new one.

Overall the magazine has a large number of recipes listed and many, many opportunities for submitting your own to them – including some paying opportunities.  This issue also has a their traditional “hidden object” contest – this month it is a slice of cherry pie.  I did find it and I did enter the contest.  (No I’m not telling what page it is on, but it is in the second half of the magazine.)

So here are my notes from this issue:

• Page 1 (Cover): Price is $3.99, on the low end for this type of magazine.  Info can be found at www.tasteofhome.com
• Page 2 (Inside Cover): Contains advertising for Vanity Fair Napkins.  Paper napkins are not necessary in anyone’s home, you can purchase cloth napkins very reasonably or make your own with little or no sewing.  Check my information here on buying and making cloth napkins.  If you are interested in learning how to fold a napkin, Vanity Fair’s website does contain that information here.
• Page 3: Table of contents
• Page 4: Table of Contents, subscription info, contest info
• Page 5: Ad for Dixie plates – no need for paper plates or plastic, use the good old fashioned kind.  Worried about breakage?  Either buy plates at a thrift shop or yard sale for next to nothing or buy Corelle which is resistant to breaking.
• Page 6: Ad for www.tasteofhome.com
• Page 7: Editor’s letter, subscriber info
• Page 8: Taste of Home Field Editors page.  Want to be one?  Apply at www.tasteofhome.com/apply
• Page 9: Ad for Discover card.  Pay cash… use debit.  Ditch the credit.
• Page 10: Kitchen chat, love letter of the issue.  Want to win an apron?  Submit a love letter for Taste of Home (recipe, article or something that you thought was great) to editors@tasteofhome.com
• Page 11:  Ad for Wonder Bread.  Bread is so easy to make at home nobody needs to buy it.  Plus have you looked on the ingredients list of a bread wrapper lately?  Most breads include High Fructose Corn Syrup which is VERY bad for you.  For a great make at home bread recipe, fast too, check out our version of Amy Dacyczyn’s Cuban Bread here.
• Page 12: Ad for MasterChef TV Show
• Page 13: Information on National Coupon Month.  The very best website for coupon and rebate information out there is RefundCents.  It costs very little to subscribe to their online website and just a little more for their paper magazine.  Coupons can make a big difference in your grocery bottom line so check out RefundCents here.

Well, our infant son woke up so that is all I have time for now. I’ll post installments on this magazine until I get it done.