The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Eating [Mass Market Paperback]

Eve Adamson (Author), Tricia Thompson MS RD (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: November 6, 2007

Gluten, be gone!

Gluten intolerance affects almost three million Americans with painful and frustrating symptoms. Although testing for it is fairly simple, it can be difficult to diagnose?and the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet for life. Armed with this book, post-diagnosis readers can meet the challenge. It contains lists of ?legal? and ?illegal? foods, food substitutions, a lesson in how to find gluten in food labels and keep flavor in gluten-free meals, and a section on dieting.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eve Adamson is a veteran pet writer with hundreds of published articles and is contributing editor to Dog Fancy. She is also co-author of several books including The Complete Idiot’s Guide  to Yoga Illustrated, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meditation, and Empowering Your Life with Joy.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1 edition (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592576834
• ISBN-13: 978-1592576838
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eve Adamson is a New York Times Best Selling author and freelance writer who lives, works, parents, cooks, practices yoga, and obsesses about food in Iowa City. Find out more at www.eveadamson.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A celiac's review, January 1, 2008

By 

Bookworm - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Eating (Mass Market Paperback)

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten Free Eating is a very comprehensive resource for newly diagnosed celiacs. The beginning chapters discuss why celiacs cannot eat gluten and the diagnosis process without getting too technical or overwhelming the reader with obscure medical tidbits. The next chapter explains which foods are safe and not safe to eat and explains how to decipher food labels and eliminate potentially harmful ingredients. There are also alphabetized lists of foods that are safe and not safe to eat. I consider all of these lists as part of a gluten free encyclopedia, which is pretty neat and very useful. I find it so easy to just look up any food I'm unsure of here. And even though the unsafe food lists look long and scary, this book does a great job at reassuring celiacs that their lives as they know them are not over. There is even an entire chapter devoted to building the self-esteems of celiacs and dealing with family and friends who just don't seem to understand the gluten free diet.
The book also recommends gluten free packaged products that are favorites of celiacs everywhere. There is also an entire chapter devoted to the ins and outs of gluten free alcohol. There are also recipes for cookies, pancakes, breads, pasta dishes and an all purpose baking mix. The authors even map out a gluten free meal plan for an entire week that's full of healthy, low fat foods and has substitutions for vegetarians. The book ends with a crash course on eating out, taking out and staying healthy on the gluten free diet. Overall this book is very helpful to newly diagnosed celiacs and their families. It's very easy to follow and written in fun, simple English. It's also sprinkled with "Good for You" tips by Tricia Thompson and cute anecdotes from the "Fearless Eater". This book is even great for celiacs who need a confidence boost or people looking for more diet options and recipes.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have read to date, January 7, 2009

By 

Amy L. Sciangula (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Eating (Mass Market Paperback)

I was diagnosed with Celiac about a week ago and since then I have read numerous books and pieces of literature. Several times I went on Amazon to get recommendations and then went to the book store to see the item in person. Each time I found pieces of good information but nothing that made me want to bring the book home. Then I found this great book. I'm not sure what the one poster was talking about but this is a fun, entertaining book that has so much information it is truly amazing. The beginning gives some of the best information about Celiac that I have found so far in simple terms so other folks I'm talking too can understand this is much more than an allergy. There is an entire chapter devoted to teaching you how to read the labels for obvious and those elusive mystery products that may contain gluten along with other chapters full of alphabetical lists of what is safe, may be safe and absolutely not safe unless bought in the gluten free version. Even though I have been researching Celiac for a week now, there were a bunch of foods I hadn't realized were on the no no list. When I was first diagnosed, I made a list based upon information given by my doctor and support gorups on line, that showed what I could and couldn't have. That list accompanied me to the grocery store when I was restocking my kitchen but was very bulky (several pages long) and confusing. This book has the most up to date lists in a simple to read format and easy guide. There is a chapter where the authors list their favorite gluten free products, which I really appreciated. Many books and store personal won't give their opinions for fear of legal action but this book goes there and I'm truly thanful. I already tried one of their suggestions for bread, after buying one that was similar in taste and texture of a brick, and I am in heaven. There is also a section with basic recipes. The thing that I really like about these recipes is they are for basic foods that are normally loaded with gluten but now cooked in a way that we can eat them. I have looked at several "gluten free cookbooks" and a majority of the foods in them are naturally gluten free so there is no point in buying the book. I have been scouring the shelves looking for a cookbook that shows me how to make gluten free mac and cheese, dressings, french onion soup, pancakes and a good cream sauce. Guess what, all of these and more are in the book. Finally, there are chapters devoted to where to shop, find on line support groups and how to stock your kitchen. All in all, the best book I have read yet and the only one I have felt I couldn't leave the store without. It now has a place in my kitchen and will be making many trips to the store as my guide.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly readable, entertaining style, full of the information needed, December 1, 2007

By 

Delray (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Eating (Mass Market Paperback)

I've seen many of the books on the gluten-free diet and this is by far the most fun to read. Eve Adamson is a professional writer who knew nothing about the diet before taking on the assignment, but she totally got "into character" by going gluten-free to gain first-hand knowledge of the dietary challenges celiacs face on a daily basis. Tricia Thompson is a registered dietitian who has built a reputation as a first-rate nutrition consultant & researcher based on a series of publications on the gluten-free diet in various peer-reviewed scientific journals. The book unfolds as an entertaining narrative of Eve's experiences under Tricia's watchful eye, with useful and up-to-date scientific detail provided in various boxes under the headings "Good for You", "Read the Label", and "def-i-ni-tion". All in all, the book covers most everything offered in previously published works but in a much more 'digestable' form--just what the doctor ordered for people with celiac disease!