15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Diabetes?, September 9, 2010
This review is from: You Don't Have to be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook: 250 Amazing Dishes for People With Diabetes and Their Families and Friends (Paperback)
If you're diabetic, you're probably aware of the role carbohydrates play on blood sugar. In general, carbohydrates raise blood sugar, more so than protein, and definitely more than fat, which doesn't raise blood sugar at all. Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Diabetics often find that they can eat more carbohydrates from broccoli than potatoes or more from nuts than wheat bread. I don't want to go into the Glycemic Index or Glycemic Load, but how quickly carbohydrates turn into glucose in the blood matters a great deal. Discovering your carbohydrate tolerance (type and quantity) is just one of the joys of diabetes!
Because diabetics are all so different in terms of diet, it's difficult to say what a "diabetic diet" truly is. For a Type 1 on insulin who can bolus for a high-carbohydrate meal, a pineapple and orange smoothie containing a whopping 18 grams of carbohydrate isn't a big deal. Sugar has a fairly predictable impact on blood sugar, more so than complex carbohydrates often, and can be accommodated with insulin. For a Type 2 diabetic using diet and exercise only, or oral medication, diet, and exercise, 18 grams can be significant. My blood sugar would spike 30-40 points and I would end up experiencing reactive hypoglycemia 4-5 hours later.
Even considering the variations among diabetics, I feel confident in saying that many of these recipes are not what I would call "diabetic friendly" for Type 2s or for Type 1s restricting carbohydrates. Some recipes are mindful of carbohydrates, like the frittatas, but the fruit, oatmeal, white bread, breadcrumbs, tortillas, milk, corn meal, corn starch, etc. scattered throughout the pages are all just foods from a normal American high-carbohydrate diet. The author just pays attention to added sugar, lowering the fat content by replacing full-fat dairy products with low-fat alternatives (which is not only unnecessary for a diabetic in terms of blood sugar and cholesterol, but perhaps even harmful because of the increased sugar content), and opting for whole wheat sometimes. A note about whole wheat: the blood sugar impact for a diabetic may not be all that much better on whole wheat than white. Let's take the crab meat stuffed mushroom caps as an example. Crab meat and mushrooms are low carb and healthy for diabetics. The author adds panko breadcrumbs and corn starch to a recipe that didn't need either. Parmesan cheese is a good substitute for thickening and bulking agents, as are almond flour and coconut flour. I don't see any innovation or "thinking outside the box" here. Instead of whole milk he could have used heavy cream or just changed up the whole recipe to include cream cheese.
The recipes look delicious and I wish I could eat them, but I'd say at least 50-60% are not compatible for any diabetic looking to reduce carbohydrates, especially high-glycemic carbohydrates, from his diet. I'm really disappointed with this book. From now on, I think I'm going to avoid purchasing any cookbook that claims to be written for diabetics. I don't know who these diabetics are that can have pizzas and smoothies, but I'm not one of them.
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Expensive Recipes, July 24, 2009
This review is from: You Don't Have to be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook: 250 Amazing Dishes for People With Diabetes and Their Families and Friends (Paperback)
While this cookbook is enjoyable reading, it is New York-centric and obviously written by a chef who has infinite ingredients at his command. Some ingredients not easily available in the hinterlands, and the cost of some recipes would be astounding, especially some of the fish and seafood dishes. For those who are addicted to reading cookbooks, it's an entertaining read. However, I didn't learn much about why the recipes are particularly applicable to diabetics, and I doubt that I will prepare many of the recipes.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not for everday chefs, August 3, 2009
This review is from: You Don't Have to be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook: 250 Amazing Dishes for People With Diabetes and Their Families and Friends (Paperback)
I went through this cookbook and bookmarked all the recipes I'd like to try or find interesting. When I got done there were about a dozen or so--and none of them were main courses. His starters sound good (southwestern chicken wraps; mushroom and goat-cheese pizza); his desserts sound good (strawberry cobbler; melon soup); his soups sound good (acorn squash soup; classic beef stew) and even his breakfast foods sound good (granitas; smoothies, frittatas).
But his mains are not for everyday people. How many folks do you know who pop down and pick up duck legs, or a huge shank of lamb? How many only buy fresh herbs (he lists amounts for fresh herbs, but never their powdered equivalents)? And what the hell is his fascination with "spanish onions," which feature in virtually every recipe?
If you want to make a cookbook for haute cuisine, I think it should be marketed as such; this is not for everyday people, at least not regarding most of the courses which require too much preparation, too many strange ingredients, and access to fresh herbs that, frankly, I've never seen outside of being dried and powdered.
Even though there are a few good recipes in it, I'd pass on this one.
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