Customer Reviews

200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes: Healthy Dinners That Are Ready When You Are!

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Dana Carpender has made a serious study of adapting classic recipes from around the world to work with modern low carb diets. In this latest offering, 200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes, she proves once again that you don't need refined grains and sugars to enjoy healthful, satisfying food - no matter your culinary traditions or meat of preference. The key is quality ingredients, simply prepared.


Dana Carpender is a believer in keeping it simple and freshly prepared whenever possible. None of the ingredients were hard to find at my supermarket except perhaps the low-carb imitation honey that shows up in a few recipes. Of the dozen or so main dish recipes I tested in 200 LCSCR I can honestly say that seven were big hits with my family, a few were just okay and just one was bad. All of them cooked on time and just as predicted. There were some very satisfying desserts toward the end, with several variations on cheesecakes and custards that turn out splendidly in my slow cooker. Although I do not normally have a use for appetizer recipes, there is even a section for that - which contains an outstanding hot artichoke dip.

I am impressed with the author's diligence in keeping most recipes under 10 grams of net carbs per serving. Dana really does stick to the universal "rules" of low carb dieting; lots of veggies and meats, occasional artificial sweetening, a sprinkling of fruits now and then and a bare representation of grains and sugars -- and only when absolutely necessary for flavor, never as filler. She is good at innovating more nutritious subs for common starchy side dish ingredients; fauxtatoes (cauliflower) and mashed turnips are big players at her low carb table. Eat the 200 LCSCR way and you will probably have better, more varied natural nutrition than ever before in your typical American diet.

The recipes for lc condiments & sauces are a big bonus to those of us who suffer from sticker shock at the supermarket's low carb pricing practices. Readers of her other lc recipe books may find some of these items familiar, but hey, it is convenient to have them all in one place. And as for convenience, well...slow cooking is the essence of convenience to modern time-challenged dieters.

Did I make it sound as if this book is one of the best kept secrets for low carbers? I hope so, because it is.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle.

This is a really nice collection of slow cooker recipes. Since they've been modified for low-carb eating, you won't find a bunch of recipes calling for "cream of whatever" soup mix. What I like most about this collection is the recipes aren't all really high in calories. Sure, some of them are, but there is quite a variety and I appreciate that.

Most of the recipes call for about 8 ingredients. Some ask for more, a few call for less. They are mostly simple, with a few "worth the extra steps" recipes thrown in.

I think any home cook can find a few things to like or love here. You don't have to be on any special diet to enjoy these recipes.

I recently bought this cookbook, and already own her Carb Counter, 500 Low Carb Recipes, and 15 Minute Low Carb Recipes. I love her writing style, and she's "been there, done that", as far as low-carbing goes. I have never made something that I didn't like from her books, and the recipes are easy to follow ~ I am no fancy cook. The Teriyaki Ribs were so good my DH wants me to do this instead of grilling them! I made her coleslaw recipe from the 500 Low Carb Recipes to go with it, and my family was in love, and I am the only low-carber in the bunch! I think the best testament to Dana I can give is, I ordered the other three cookbooks of hers I didn't have, today. I have gotten rid of any other author's LC cookbooks I have, as well. You ROCK, Dana!!!

Dana Carpender never fails to bring you delicious recipes for "every" low carb(LC)lifestyle. You will find this book versatile with a garden of recipe choices you never thought could be done in a slow cooker! Everything from hot dips to desserts (yes desserts) that will leave you asking "are you sure this is low carb"? She is a gift to those of us who know LC is the magic bullet we've all been looking for... I've lost over 100lbs eating Atkins LC and doing moderate exercise (1hr/3-5x/wk) and Dana's recipes have been my saving grace! This book is worth every penny and praised for every delicious morsel I've consumed while keeping every one of those 100 pounds "lost"!

*Please note optimal weight loss occurs through maintaining an intake of 20 carbs or less "until" you have reached your weight loss goal, after that gradually increase carb intake to find your optimal carb count then stay there to maintain your goal weight* Very easy to do using the recipes in this book-yes even the desserts! As far as exercise, I didn't even exercise the first few months and I stil lost weight rather quickly. Exercise will speed you throught the process and of course tighten up your body; for me it equated to about 6-7lbs a week while I was very over weight, and 4-5lbs a week as I got smaller. Also keep it healthy - don't buy the processed LC snack foods, make them using Dana's recipes (see 500 low carb recipes and 500 more low carb recipes by this author for extensive choices), they taste better and don't have cancer causing partially hydrogenated oils! Very - very important to cut from your diet! Good luck and I hope this review is helpful.

We're a careful carbing family and I have used and enjoyed Dana's other books. This one on slow cooking is super and is a real hit with my sons, ages 21 and 18, both very active college students. They say they want slow cookers and the recipe books when they move out! When I try something new, they ask, "Is this another Dana recipe?" Usually it is! If you've tried slow cooking before, whether you low carb or not, but have been disappointed with the results, give Dana's recipes a chance. They will probably change your mind about slow cooking while saving you time and money and getting you out of the fast (food) (drive thru) lane and into REAL, healthy eating.

I just described myself in the title of this review. I'd lost 45 lbs. doing Atkins 6 years ago, when my kids were small and had no actvities to go to. I gained it back towards the end of pregnancy 4 years ago.

I've known I needed to get it off, but now the first kids are in multiple activities, and it's very rare for us to get home before 7:30 p.m. With normal cooking styles, we'd be lucky to eat by 8 or 8:30! NOT good. And, when I'm tired, it just takes me that much longer to cook.

Last summer I made a serious effort and lost most of it again. But I couldn't find a variety of recipes, and when my kids' activities started up again this year, I had to stop, and (of course) gained most of it back. Low-carb truely IS a lifestyle, and I wasn't following it. I couldn't.

This spring, after experiencing danger signs in my health, I started looking around for a good low-carb cookbook to fit our family lifestyle. I decided I needed to have dinner ready when we finally walked in the door, so that meant getting a good programmable slow-cooker with a keep-warm function.

So many cookbooks SAY low-carb, but they aren't really. They're low-fat/low-carb (DANGEROUS when combined with low-carb), or their idea of low-carb is in one meal what people in Induction can eat in 3-4 days. I bought one slow-cooker book from another author, and out of the whole book, there were only 2 recipes that I could use! I returned it.

So I was thrilled to find this cookbook! Most recipes come in at under 10 carbs; many lower than 6. I can use most of them right now, in Induction!

AND: my kids love these recipes! Not a strike-out yet. We've used it nearly nightly for almost 3 weeks. They loved Roman Stew and Chicken with Creamy Horseradish Sauce (it's very, very mild horseradish flavor); they gobbled down Orange Teriyaki Chicken. Even the Pork Neckbones with Cabbage and Turnips was a hit! The Balsamic Beef was the first thing I made, and they wanted seconds and thirds.

In addition, the nutrition information is good. Nice to be able to see if you're not only getting a low enough number of carbs, but enough fat and protein to boot!

It has a lot of neat recipes in it! My husband is the "low-carber" in our family, and he has said that some of them need a little more flavor, usually salt. I've really enjoyed her unique recipes; out-of-the-ordinary seasonings like curry powder, I enjoy that. And some of them are just so darn easy, I love using it! Healthy yet convenient are my two favorite characteristics of recipe books. Thank you Dana!

This is a great addition to the Carpender Low Carb Library. I have been trying to adapt slow cooker recipes for awhile and never really mastered it. After trying just 3 of Dana's recipes, I see she obviously has. The Simple Meatloaf is superb. Enjoy!

This is the cookbook I've anxiously awaited from Dana Carpender. I've loved all her other ones, but couldn't wait to see what wonderful things she would do with a slow cooker. Even though I work from home and have time to prepare meals, I love the all day cooking smell and no fuss, no muss benefits of crockpot cooking. The first recipe I tried was Braised Pork with Fennel, a real winner! Then I made Slow Cooker Pulled Pork -- fabulous. Detecting a pattern? If you hate eating dry, tasteless pork chops and roasts, Dana's new book is for you. She shows you how to make meals fit for company using cheap cuts of meat. Be prepared for some surprises, too. Snack mix in a slow cooker? You have to try it to believe it. As always, you need to read this one cover to cover. This lady has a real sense of humor!

I have recently discovered slow cooking and this book is fantastic, even though i have more time to cook in the oven i find the process of slow cooking so much more tasty and it makes the meat more tender. A favourite at the momment is the sweet and sour pork, suitably de carbed off course, I have got into the habit off putting the slow cooker onlate at night and then having the food ready to take as a packed lunch in the morning. Pot poasts which i never managed to get just right are now meltingly beautiful, Dana as usual provides a wonderful cookbook