Customer Reviews

The Diabetic Gourmet Cookbook: More Than 200 Healthy Recipes from Homestyle Favorites to Restaurant Classics

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was so excited to learn that Diabetic Gourmet Magazine had a cookbook! Not only did it turn out to be a great cookbook, but it also starts off with a few chapters that talk about diabetes, healthy cooking, and meal preparing that are very easy to read and understand. The first chapter about diabetes is perfect for anyone that has just been diagnosed (and their family members) because it really takes the confusion out of diabetes. The other chapters will help just about anyone in the kitchen because it talks about the best cooking techniques to use, good foods to choose, and things to make your kitchen more health-friendly. I guess to me it read more like a book than a medical manual or some stuffy, unapproachable 'gourmet' book, and I really liked that.

As a cookbook, it's packed with recipes that should appeal to everyone. We loved the Spinach-Mushroom Lasagna and the recipe for Marinara Sauce is better than mine (or my mother's) ever was (sorry mom). The Grilled Halibut topped with Vidalia Onion and Raspberry-balsamic Sauce was delicious and incredibly easy to make. As a matter of fact, all of the recipes I've tried so far were easier to make than I expected. I loved the Shrimp Scampi over Linguine and the whole dinner came in at only 22 grams of carbs and under 5g fat.

I don't have much tolerance for spicy food, so I wasn't going to touch the Cajun Pan-Grilled Catfish, but I made it for my husband and he thought it was fantastic. I used the Cajun Mix from the cookbook and he didn't even notice there wasn't any salt in it (and I wasn't about to tell him). I actually used the vidalia onion sauce from the halibut recipe on my piece of catfish because it was so easy to make and it worked great.

I've tried about a dozen recipes so far, and I could go on and on about all of them. Everyone devoured the Pizza Tomatoes and the chicken marsala was better than the one at our local restaurant and definitely better than the one they serve at Olive Garden.

My favorite recipe so far is the Chicken Souvlaki Plate. It is low in fat, calories, and carbs, it's simple to make and more filling than you would think by looking at it, and the cucumber sauce that goes with it is wonderful. I've made this recipe at least 5 times in the past week and I swear it's one of the reasons I've lost a little weight.

I recommend this cookbook to anyone with diabetes and anyone who just wants to eat good food that is healthier for them and that their family can enjoy right along with them. It has lots of different recipes that are easy to follow, it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, it's easy to read, and it's easy to prop open on your counter when you're cooking.

-S.S.

I have never felt compelled to write a book review before. However, after purchasing and reading this book, I thought it necessary to provide other diabetics with the knowledge that the recipes in this book are primarily low fat, high carbohydrate based. While this may be healthy eating for many people and many of the recipes, indeed, looked good, most of the recipes in the book would be inappropriate for me, an insulin dependent diabetic, who limits (but not eliminates)carbohydrate consumption. I was astonished that the primary focus of this book was to be low-fat with really minimal adaption for lower carbohydrates, merely the substitution of artificial sugar for the real thing. While lower fat is healthy, it it hardly the primary and only goal of a diabetic diet.
I love cookbooks, but this was a complete waste of my money and went directly into the trash bin.

One of the things I like about this cookbook is that it has recipes with different numbers of servings instead of just recipes for 2 or 4 or 6 people. Most are for 1, 2 or 4 servings and they tell you whether it is easy to double or half them for more or less people. There are many recipes to choose from and they are easy to follow. I have made several and they turned out great and I am not the most talented cook in the world LOL!

I think the recipes are fairly good; however, the serving sizes are a joke. FOUR raspberries to split among FOUR people for a dessert with raspberry in the name? ONE olive per person in a salad... gimme a break. Other 'BIG serving' recipes allow one cup of soup, or one half a sandwich. I don't believe in super-sized servings, but I do think more than three bites is appropriate. And, of course, if you eat more than the suggested serving, then the nutritional information isn't really all that useful, is it.

I was impressed with the extent of information about diabetes and cooking that preceeded all of the recipes. What a great resource this has turned out to be for me. I have enjoyed several of the recipes very much and was especially pleased to find that they include more nutritional analysis than other cookbooks I have (including saturated fat, sugars and fibre). Lots of recipes low in fat, sugar, salt and cholesterol and lots of real, whole food instead of processed foods and chemicals. I think this book was worth every cent and recommend it.

This cookbook provides recipes for a balanced diabetic diet and I recommend it greatly. It offers many different recipes and styles like Asian, Italian and southwestern, so you won't get bored anytime soon. It also provides very detailed nutritional info especially useful for diabetics that for some crazy reason other diabetic cookbooks don't have, like fiber, cholesterol, sugars, starches and a breakdown of different types of fat. It makes it really easy for me to fit the recipes into my meal plan. I'm also happy to see that it doesn't avoid complex carbs, grains, or fruit. Way too many diabetics are confused about carbs and sugars and end up not eating a balanced diet or they freak out over the mere mention of fruit, sugar, rice or pasta because they think they can't eat it (even though the ada revised it's position on carbs and sugars). Except for a few of the desserts, this book uses very little added sugar and a couple of recipes use fruit, preserves or juice. It uses some pretty neat substitutions that you can use in other recipes and it also keeps sodium, fat and cholesterol in check, which is perfect for me! A great cookbook for anyone, but especially diabetics :).

I was very pleased with this cookbook and recommend it as it is an exceptional value for the price. It offers a nice bit of information about diabetes and healthful cooking before it jumps into scads of enticing recipes. So far, I've tried grilled chicken parmesan over penne, grilled vegetables, Greek style orzo with spinach and tomatoes, soho sirloin salad, and shrimp jambalaya. All of them were quite good and the recipes were easy to follow. The shrimp jambalaya was really easy as it's done as a casserole, but it may be a bit spicy for some people so watch out. The soho sirloin salad was really good, too. I think most people will enjoy this cookbook as it offers such a wide range of recipes.

Very glad I ordered this book. Many good recipes that are easy to read and follow. The first few chapters are informative and I found them very useful. Definitely has a wide enough selection of recipes so there is something for everyone. The refried black beans are great and so is the fiery curry tilapia. The mock mashed potatoes were so good I though I was eating mashed potatoes!

My mother loves it and I love it too. I first ordered this book as a gift for my mother who has type 2 diabetes. After enjoying the recipes that she made, I went ahead and picked up a copy for myself at the local store seeing as I can use a good dose of healthy eating. Of the main dishes we tried, I found the servings to be quite filling and the recipes were easy enough to make. I also found the sections about diabetes to be very helpful and easy to understand. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid getting diabetes like my mom by following the advice of cookbooks like this. Definitely gets a thumbs up from us.

I bought this book and have made at least 20-30 of the recipes. I have enjoyed all of them. My favorite has to be the "Refreshing Spring Tabbouleh". The Diabetic Gourmet Cookbook has a variety of recipes for all types of food styles: Mexican, Italian, Southwestern, American, Asian. I highly suggest that if you are a diabetic, that you buy this book. You won't regret it. And even if you aren't a diabetic, the food is delicious and healthy!