24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
You CAN Have Your Cake and Eat It Too!, January 23, 2001
This review is from: Fat-free Baking (Paperback)
Sandra Woodruff, RN, is a nutritionist. Her book is informed by her personal experience that "healthy foods serve no purpose if they aren't eaten." Woodruff states that this "is the perfect book for those who want to reduce the fat in their diet, maximize their nutrition, and still enjoy great-tasting sweet treats."
After the introductory chapter on the importance of limiting fat, she presents 130 no- and low-fat recipes, often using creative fat substitutes such as fruit, yoghurt, buttermilk, corn syrup, jam, pruunes, sweet potatoes, and date sugar. (She's also mindful of salt and cholesterol.)
The recipes vary from Cherry Apple Scones (0.3 grams of fat per serving) to Buttermilk Chocolate Cake (1.3 g), pumpkin gingerbread (0.3 g), Pear and Walnut Bundt Cake (0.7 g), Plum Delicous Bran Muffins (0.7 g), and old favorites like oatmeal raisin cookies (0.3 g).
As you can see above, the fat content is indeed low, which sometimes sacrifices the flavor and texture found in higher-fat recipes. (Though I think one reviewer here went a little too far in criticizing the taste). This is a good beginner's book with a variety of recipes, and offers useful cooking tips, a list of stores selling low-fat ingredients, nice old-fashioned color photos, and an index. For a little more flavor (and perhaps a little more fat?), take a look at "Let Them Eat Cake." For those who want to eat their favorite sweet things with minimal fat, this is an excellent book.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent recipes, although her larger cookbook is better, October 13, 2003
This review is from: Fat-free Baking (Paperback)
This is an excellent cook book for those who need to cut out as much fat as possible (I make many of the dishes for those in my office who have had heart attacks) and with care the baked goods are great. For those who can afford a bit of fat I prefer the recipes in Sandra Woodruff's larger all-purpose Secrets of a Healthy Kitchen cookbook, which use a little bit of oil in the baked goods. Her quick breads are excellent and the muffins really hearty; a great way to start the morning. I own both this book and the larger green cookbook and bounce back and forth between the two, often combining recipe elements and experimenting.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I've seen better, August 22, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Fat-free Baking (Paperback)
Most of the recipes in this book turn out too grainy tasting. My muffins have turned out really tough. Other recipes (such as the white cake with strawberries) weren't even edible. These recipes call for a lot of odd ingredients, too. However, the tips in this book for reducing the fat in your own recipes work great. I've tried them several times with much success. If you buy this book, but it for the tips--not the recipes.
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