Customer Reviews

Butter Busters

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased this book in 1994 when I was approximately 50 pounds overweight. I was just learning about lowfat eating and did not know how to prepare foods for myself and my family that we all would like. I did not want to prepare separate "diet food" for me and regular food for my son. However, with this book, I learned how to convert all the foods I craved, namely sweets and breads, to lowfat. My son especially loved the tortilla soup recipe, and he ate everthing I made from this book without asking "is this diet food?"

Using the principles in this book, I lost the 50 pounds and have kept them off for the past 5 years. I recommend this book for anyone who is beginning a lowfat eating regimen and needs guidance on how to start. I have bought other lowfat diet books since 1994 which are good, but this is still my favorite.

I lost 100 pounds over nine months through daily exercise, eating healthy, balanced meals and using this cookbook. The recipies are easy to make and tasty for those who like low-fat and even those who don't (and believe me, they won't know the difference nine times out of 10). If you're looking for a low-fat cookbook, this is the best there is.

I rarely leave a review, let alone one this negative, but I can't be silent on the "food" this book urges you to assemble. It's disgusting. The recipes are loaded with fake and processed ingredients. (Have you ever seen margarine melting in a pan? It's gross.)

The book is also misleading, blurring as it does the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats. Olive oil, inaddition to being an actual food as opposed to one with a bunch of artificial ingredients like Pam's recipes, is a healthy thing. You can cook intelligently and in a healthy way without foregoing pure, healthy ingredients.

Lastly, there are many things that go into being healthy. Exercise, for instance. If "low-fat" were the factor Pam hypes it as, the French wouldn't have a significantly lower incidence of heart disease. (They eat triple cream brie, duck and other high-fat goodies by the pound, yet are far healthier as a group than Americans.)

This book is great at teaching you how to eat healthy, and the best benefit has been the weight I've lost so far!

I have lost 6 dress sizes in 5 months by eating the food in this book, and have never felt hungry a day yet!! There are great entrees but best of all great low-fat desserts. My personal favorite is the Hot Fudge Cake!! It's delicious and simple.

In fact, I am purchasing this book for the second time due to the fact that we lost everything in the flooding, but one of our most missed possessions was this cookbook! If you want to lose weight, or just learn to eat healthier and feel better, you have to try this book!

i am not a fan to write reviews until I see misleading facts. This time I have to agree with T. Dewar that Margarine is terrible and Butter is healthy.

Your body needs fatty acids like butter, avocado, coconut oil,etc. You need to make health decisions based on good information not in myths about things like Dairy Milk is the only source of Calcium that pepper create Ulcers, that eggs produce cholesterol, that butter produce cholesterol. When you hit 40's you need glasses to read.

This a brief article in Dr. Mercola's library :

[...] go to this link to read the complete article and you might subscribe to have updates on health issues.

Vitamins ...

Butter is a rich source of easily absorbed vitamin A, needed for a wide range of functions, from maintaining good vision to keeping the endocrine system in top shape.

Butter also contains all the other fat-soluble vitamins (D, E and K2), which are often lacking in the modern industrial diet.

Minerals ...

Butter is rich in important trace minerals, including manganese, chromium, zinc, copper and selenium (a powerful antioxidant). Butter provides more selenium per gram than wheat germ or herring. Butter is also an excellent source of iodine.

Fatty Acids ...

Butter provides appreciable amounts of short- and medium-chain fatty acids, which support immune function, boost metabolism and have anti-microbial properties; that is, they fight against pathogenic microorganisms in the intestinal tract.

Butter also provides the perfect balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. Arachidonic acid in butter is important for brain function, skin health and prostaglandin balance.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) ...

When butter comes from cows eating green grass, it contains high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a compound that gives excellent protection against cancer and also helps your body build muscle rather than store fat.

Glycospingolipids ...

These are a special category of fatty acids that protect against gastrointestinal infections, especially in the very young and the elderly. Children given reduced-fat milks have higher rates of diarrhea than those who drink whole milk.

Cholesterol ...

Despite all of the misinformation you may have heard, cholesterol is needed to maintain intestinal health and for brain and nervous system development in the young.

Wulzen Factor ...

A hormone-like substance that prevents arthritis and joint stiffness, ensuring that calcium in your body is put into your bones rather than your joints and other tissues. The Wulzen factor is present only in raw butter and cream; it is destroyed by pasteurization.

Butter and Your Health

Is butter really healthy? Let us count the ways ...

Heart Disease

Butter contains many nutrients that protect against heart disease including vitamins A, D, K2, and E, lecithin, iodine and selenium. A Medical Research Council survey showed that men eating butter ran half the risk of developing heart disease as those using margarine (Nutrition Week 3/22/91, 21:12).

Cancer

The short- and medium-chain fatty acids in butter have strong anti-tumor effects. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in butter from grass-fed cows also gives excellent protection against cancer.

Arthritis

The Wulzen or "anti-stiffness" factor in raw butter and also Vitamin K2 in grasss-fed butter, protect against calcification of the joints as well as hardening of the arteries, cataracts and calcification of the pineal gland. Calves fed pasteurized milk or skim milk develop joint stiffness and do not thrive.

Osteoporosis

Vitamins A, D and K2 in butter are essential for the proper absorption of calcium and phosphorus and hence necessary for strong bones and teeth.

Thyroid Health

Butter is a good source of iodine, in a highly absorbable form. Butter consumption prevents goiter in mountainous areas where seafood is not available. In addition, vitamin A in butter is essential for proper functioning of the thyroid gland.

Digestion

Glycospingolipids in butterfat protect against gastrointestinal infection, especially in the very young and the elderly.

Growth & Development

Many factors in the butter ensure optimal growth of children, especially iodine and vitamins A, D and K2. Low-fat diets have been linked to failure to thrive in children -- yet low-fat diets are often recommended for youngsters!

Asthma

Saturated fats in butter are critical to lung function and protect against asthma.

Overweight

CLA and short- and medium-chain fatty acids in butter help control weight gain.

Fertility

Many nutrients contained in butter are needed for fertility and normal reproduction.

This is a huge (almost 500 page) cookbook/lifestyle book on how and why to live almost fat free. This type of lifestyle change takes a huge committment that most people can not sustain. That said, some can and do. For those people this book would be an excellent resourse. Along with many recipes there are brand suggestions that I rarely see and grocery store suggestions that I don't believe I have ever seen. She also gives suggestions about products she especially likes as not all fat-free products are equal in taste appeal.

I think that this book has an *all or none* slant to fat which may or may not be a good thing. Some people who could benefit by adding some of these recipes into their diet might be turned off by this approach. It's unfortunate. There are good options and choices here.

The book is set up as a plastic spiral and the pages are a bit hard to turn. The pages aren't wipe-able altho they do lay flat. the cover is cleanable. The whole package has a *community cookbook* feel. That might be a plus or a minus depending on how you feel about that kind of book, its a bit more personal feeling. The illustrations are a bit of a mixed design. Some more elegant, some more cartoon-ish... nothing garish... NO slabs of horrified suet running from a chubby butcher, thankfully

The recipes, and there are many will help you makeover your favorites. Low-fat pizza, quick spicy chile, mexican lasagna, hot fudge pudding pie, etc. Notably absent are beef dishes.. There are 2. On the otherhand, in the creamy vanilla frosting there is 3 cups of powdered sugar. I have to wonder which is more harmful...a small serving of lean beef or the frosting. To be totally fair... that frosting recipe is really the exception rather than the rule, most sweet dishes call for a sugar substitute. I only added it as an example...that the focus is clearly most on lowering the fat in your diet with this book. Sodium is quite moderate altho some main dishes do hover over 500 mg and some are over 1500 which i consider high per serving.

I think this could be an excellent asset for the right person who is extreamly motivated. I think it also could be great for someone who is looking for ideas to add lower fat dishes into their diet or who is willing to take a recipe and adjust it a bit to their liking (ie, to use spray margaine instead of the suggested butter buds, or egg whites instead of the egg beaters or low fat cheese instead of fat free)

This book is an excellant learning tool for those trying to switch to a low fat way of eating. If your motivation is to lose weight or simply to improve your health, this is the cookbook for you. I bought this book to lose weight. P. Mycoskie helped me learn how to make a transition to low fat eating by teaching me how to read labels, choose ingredients and modify my cooking style. In the process of learning all this I have lost 100 pounds and feel great. No this is not a diet book; this book teaches you how to make a lifestyle change that you control and can live with. The food is actually good; not at all diet food. Your kids and husband will even eat it - mine LOVE IT!!

After reading glowing reviews about this cookbook, I feel compelled to uncover the truth. This cookbook is average, at best! There are MANY other low-fat cookbooks on the market that far outshine Butter Busters. The texture and flavor of many of these recipes rarely even resemble the "real thing." Breads and cakes are often spongy and some recipes are over-spiced (as if the cook is trying to hide something). The whole concept of using Butter Buds in place of ALL fats just ruins the taste and flavor of many recipes. If this is your first low-fat cookbook, don't throw in the towel just yet! This is a bad first impression! Low-fat cooking CAN be delicious...Butter Busters is not.

Aunt Pam and I have been working together to create a website for Butter Busters. Its online now at [...]! Be sure to check it out and come back often for new additions. We're just getting started!

I know the lady who wrote this cookbook and she is truly amazing, not only has she written two best-sellers, but she is the best MOM in the world. I love you mom. Love Paige