500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Recipes from Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love [Paperback]

Dana Carpender (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002

Low-fat or low-carb? A recent New York Times Magazine (July 7, 2002) cover story answered this question and said that Dr. Atkins was right all along, "its not fat that makes us fat but carbohydrates." Though the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in research trying to prove that fat is the cause of obesity, there has been a subtle shift in the scientific consensus over the past five years supporting what the low-carb diet doctors have been saying all along: if we eat less carbohydrates, we will lose weight and live longer.

One of the toughest challenges of any diet is having enough variety and choices to keep the dieter from losing interest. The most common reason that people abandon their diet is boredom but 500 LOW CARB RECIPES: 500 Recipes, From Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love by Dana Carpender has more than enough recipes to keep even the most finicky dieter on track.

With recipes for everything including hors dÆoeuvres, snacks, breads, muffins, side dishes, entrees, cookies, cakes and much more, this is an endless supply for creating meals for the whole family night after night. Whether everyone in the family is on a diet or not, these recipes are proven winners with adults and kids alike.

Also included:

• Many one-dish meals for single people--main dish salads, skillet suppers that include meat and vegetables, and hearty soups that are a full meal in a bowl.
• Ideas for breaking out of old ways of looking at food with suggestions that save time and money and change what is considered a normal meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Information about where to find low-carbohydrate specialty products and descriptions of low-carb specialty foods found in grocery stores everywhere.
• An entire chapter that lists and describes low-carb substitute ingredients such as fats and oils, flour substitutes, liquids, seasonings and sweeteners.

Dieters will be pleased to know that they can eat foods like guacamole, omelets, pizza, steak, ham and dessert without giving up great taste and still lose weight. There are enough recipes to create the perfect menu for any holiday of the year--including Thanksgiving. Each of the 500 recipes includes a carbohydrate count to help calculate the total carb intake of each menu.

There are more recipes for main dishes and side dishes than most low-carb dieters will ever be able to eat--everything from down-home cooking to ethnic fare; from quick-and-easy weeknight meals to knock-their-socks off party food. 500 LOW CARB RECIPES is the last cookbook any dieter will ever need to buy and certain to be used until the binding is worn out!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Best-selling author Dana Carpender was startled to discover that limiting her carbohydrate intake not only helped her control her weight, but produced the health and vitality a low fat diet had promised but never delivered. Fifteen years later, she laughs at people who say “You can’t eat that way long-term.” Her eight cookbooks are the result of her realization that the key to permanent dietary change is the answer to the age-old question, “What’s for supper?” To date they have sold over a million copies worldwide. Dana blogs about low carb nutrition at www.HoldtheToast.com; her weekly blog digest goes out to over 20,000 readers. She is also Managing Editor of CarbSmart Magazine at www.CarbSmart.com, as well as a featured staff writer. She launches her internet radio show, Dana's Low Carb For Life, on Labor Day 2010. Dana lives in Bloomington, Indiana with her husband and a menagerie of pets, all of whom are well and healthily fed.

Product Details

• Paperback: 500 pages
• Publisher: Fair Winds Press (MA); Later Printing edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931412065
• ISBN-13: 978-1931412063
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (305 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Low Fat
  • #29 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Natural Foods
  • #32 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diets & Weight Loss > Low Carb

More About the Author

Dana Carpender is a nationally syndicated columnist and is the founder of Hold the Toast Press, which publishes the biweekly online newsletter Lowcarbezine! She is the author of multiple books on low-carb cooking including the bestseller 500 Low-Carb Recipes.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

298 of 304 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This books deserves 500 stars! Simply spectacular! October 21, 2002

By J. Carroll

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

First let me say that I own many, many low-carb cookbooks, and this one is THE best I have ever read! Not only does it offer 500, yes, 500 recipes that are easy, fabulous and low carb, but the introduction and ingredient chapters were SPECTACULAR! The introduction was warm, witty and informative. I typically skim through the beginning chapters and get right to the recipes, but I couldn't put this one down! So many questions that I had were answered in the Low Carb Specialty Foods chapter, not to mention the Polyols chapter and the Where to Find Low-Carb Specialty Products chapter (she doesn't like paying through the nose for this stuff, either)!

The Ingredients You Need to Know About section was the absolute best--necessary and unique information about eggs, fats/oils, flour substitutes (what the heck are guar and xanthan gums, anyway--she answers that, too!), sweeteners (wow, I can have molasses!), vegetables (and I can have carrots, too!), and oh so much more. Her first recipe is addictive enough to eat every day (Heroin Wings)! I wish I could say that I've made all the recipes, but I'm so busy trying out the recipes from the first chapter, I haven't even looked at the other chapters yet, but believe me, I know they'll be outstanding.

This author is down-to-earth, funny and charming. I can relate to her so well. She stresses over and over again to listen to your body and let that be your guide regardless of whether the food is low-carb. This works so well for me. The BEST book you will ever purchase on low-carbing and low-carb recipes. DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

117 of 118 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars very basic but good January 22, 2004

By Diana H. Faust

Format:Paperback

The book didn't deliver as much as it, at first, appeared to. 470 pages of recipes and no photography sounds like a lot of recipes. Many of the recipes are so basic you wonder who wouldn't know that boiled shrimp means boiling shrimp in a pan of water with some seasoning. But "Unbelievably Easy Shrimp" gets half a page for this 3-ingredient recipe (2 qts. water, a pound shrimp, salt). The balance of the page is a recipe for cooking fish: 1 piece of fish, 1 tbs. butter, with parsley and lemon wedge for garnish.

How to broil a steak (olive oil, steak) gets a page, then variations of steak go on for pages and pages. "Southwestern Steak" is steak served with guacamole. "Cajun Steak" is steak sprinkled with Cajun seasoning. "Garlic Butter Steak" is steak with garlic butter spread on it. There are about 2 of these recipes per page.

It's the same with the egg and omlet recipes. The same basic recipe idea is repeated over and over with a flavor variation.

The most major flaw with the book, however, is the index. My pet peeve with cookbooks is to use cute recipe titles and then index them alphadetically according to those titles. Under "sauces," to pick an example, there is "Dana's No-sugar Ketchup" listed in the "D"s. Why not list it "Ketchup, no-sugar" so you can find it if you go looking for "ketchup?" Also under "sauces" there is "Low-carb Steak sauce" in the "L"s and "Reduced-carb Spicy Barbecue Sause" in the "R"s. It makes it very hard to find a recipe. The back cover of the book touts "Chocolate Mousse to DIE For" and I have yet to be able to find that recipe.... It's not in the index under "chocolate," under "mousse," or under "desserts."

Less annoying but still detracting was the font that was used. It made the recipes somewhat difficult to read.

Even with these flaws, it is still a low-carbohydrate cookbook worth having, especially if you don't have one yet and are new to low-carb cooking. I liked the author's personality as it came through in her introduction and ingredients sections. She comes across as an ordinary, regular person. She is not dogmatic or preachy or pushy or "know-it-all." Read more ›

174 of 179 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Cookbook June 6, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I have a bunch of low-carb cookbooks and will continue to buy more! But, this book is by far the best that I have tried so far. The recipes aren't just tired repeats of ones found in other books or ones you can find on-line. The hot cereal is a life saver in the morning as you make up the mix in bulk and then just add hot water to a serving of the dry mix. I was so tired of eggs and this is great. Also, the recipes aren't swimming in fat like so many low-carb recipes.

232 of 241 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Low-Carb Monotony, Be Gone! June 5, 2003

By "amazoncomwoman"

Format:Paperback

The hardest thing about going low-carb for me was staying excited about eating from the recipes in my plan's book. Then I ordered Dana's book. First, Dana is not a diet doctor, she's real human like the rest of us, and her book is written in a very refreshing, down-to-earth tone. Second, Dana's book has taken the monotony OUT of my low-carb life. Let's talk fabulous stir-fry served over cauliflower "rice" ... absolutely amazing waffles ... terrific spicy Thai cucumber salad that was eaten up to the very last bite at my office picnic today ... and of course, desserts. The hardest problem I have with this book is not giving away the recipes to my friends and low-carb associates who try the dishes because, quite frankly, like any author Dana is trying to make a living too so I tell them they just have to buy the book so she'll be encouraged to write another one. I promise you that you will not be disappointed with this book!!! And yes, Dana has pretty much attained goddess status in my life ;-)

71 of 72 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best In Its Class January 14, 2003

By mibi52

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Struggling to figure out how to keep to your low-carb diet but still enjoy food (plus feed your family)?

This book is the one you need.

Recipes like Pumpkin Cheesecake (great for breakfast with some bacon on the side, by the way), Vegetable Lasagna (tip: add some strips of zucchini cut longwise with a veggie peeler for faux lasagna noodles), and frittatas keep us feeling happy, full, and not deprived. My family has enjoyed many of these recipes (had to arm-wrestle my 16-year-old nephew for the cheesecake - I finally taught him to make it himself).

Some of the recipes - particularly baked goods - may require some nonstandard ingredients. Most of these are available in health food stores, natural food stores, or, if all else fails, online.

Dana has a breezy, enjoyable writing style that makes you feel like you're in the kitchen with your best friend, and none of the recipes are beyond the average cook.

If you can only get one low-carb cookbook, this is the one to buy!