Customer Reviews

The Good Carb Cookbook : Secrets of Eating Low on the Glycemic Index

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I wish I could give a copy to everyone I know. Not only are the recipes the most delicious healthy foods we've ever made, but Sandra Woodruff explains the nutritional and health reasons for eating good carbs in simple, easy-to-understand language. She emphasizes moderation. Her recipes are followed by nutritional information, including whether they are extremely low GI, low GI, or moderate GI.

The first third of the book is all information you need to know about why traditional fat-free eating isn't making people thinner or healthier, but fatter and unhealthier. For the past 20 years, the food industry has been touting fat-free this and fat-free that..."eat pretzels, gummi bears, eat fat-free, and you'll be fat-free". It's nonsense.

Woodruff explains how and why to eat low on the Glycemic Index. She gives you tons of ideas for low GI breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. She includes low GI options for eating out at nearly every possible type of restaurant- Italian, Indian, Thai- you name it. She also gives a few examples of real people, their situations, and how they changed their health by eating low GI. Not only does this book give you sound nutritional advice (the author is a Registered Dietician), but she also includes over 200 phenomenally delicious recipes.

Eat wholesome real foods, watch what kinds of fats you cook with, exercise, and you will lose weight. Most importantly, though- YOUR BODY WILL LOVE YOU. And your doctor will be thrilled! My husband, who was already exercising regularly, has lost 20 lbs in 6 weeks just by changing to eating low on the Glycemic Index- "Good Carbs". I have also lost 20 pounds in 6 weeks by changing my diet and including exercise. Changing our diet has giving us so much more energy. We feel fantastic.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this book! I researched all the low-carb, no-carb, low-sugar, Zone, Busters, etc... books ... and decided after reading all the information and reviews, to purchase this one. I am so glad I did! You will be too. You owe yourself an energetic, long life. BUY THIS BOOK.

One previous reviewer criticaly wrote that this is not a "low carb" cookbook. It should be noted that it does not pretend to be one. It is about lowering "bad" carbs while allowing "good" carbs. The books subtitle is "Secrets of Eating Low on the Glycemic Index", and it does an outstanding job of explaining the nutritional logic for doing so. I lost 43 pounds and achieved a BMI of 22.4 using this principle as espoused in "The South Beach Diet", but I was becomming bored with the limited recipes in that book. Then, "The Good Carb Cookbook" to the rescue. This book greatly enhanced my understanding of good carbs/bad carbs and provided recipes and wisdom for eating out that will allow me to keep the weight off while enjoying tasty and nutritious food. The recipes that I have tried so far are wonderfull tasting and easy to make. They utilize normal foods along with spices that the average person probably already has in the cupboard. There are many studies out now indicating that few people can stick with true low carb diets for the long term. This book reveals that one can enjoy health and weight benifits by eliminating "bad" carbs without trying to eleminate all carbs. I highly rcomend this book, this approach to weight and nutrition, and these recipes.

"The Good Carb Cookbook" is an excellent guide for enhancing your health through carbohydrate control. It can benefit you if you have diabetes/insulin resistance, or weight or heart disease problems (hypertension, high cholesterol/triglycerides) which have not been resolved from a low fat diet. I personally feel that it's also generally good diet advice for everyone, and have heard that Weight Watchers is now advising their customers about good and bad carbs.

"The Good Carb Cookbook" has two sections. The first explains that the carb kingdom is made of good carbs and bad carbs, and what the bad and good carbs do to your health. Woodruff then identifies which carbs are good vs. bad, then makes specific dietary recommendations which include proteins, carbs, fiber, and fat. Although not a really "diet", there are ranges for how many calories and grams of nutrients you should be getting.

The book is concise yet packed with helpful tips and specific food suggestions for cooking and eating out. There is also a fairly complete glycemic index appendix (Glycemic index is a number which indicates about how much/fast, relative to other foods, that a specific food will affect your blood sugar). I would consider it a good basic to intermediate diet guide. For people who don't want to read more than one nutritional/diet book, this is a good choice.

In the second part of the book are recipes which should help you keep your blood sugar low by controlling your carb intake/reaction to carbs. I haven't made a lot of the recipes yet, but of the few I have made, some (3 out of 5) are excellent. The ones that were not scrumptious tended to be simple ones that anybody could make (sandwiches, omeletes); it just needed to be put in the book as a suggestion of what you can eat without messing up your carbs intake.

Even though this is more of a cookbook than a dietary guideline (recipes are 2/3 of the book), the dietary information in here is worth the cover price alone. Although you do have to count calories and grams at first, I don't think this is beyond the average person's understanding. For $(...) you get information which will improve your health yet not get overcomplicated.

One previous reviewer criticaly wrote that this is not a "low carb" cookbook. It should be noted that it does not pretend to be one. It is about lowering "bad" carbs while allowing "good" carbs. The books subtitle is "Secrets of Eating Low on the Glycemic Index", and it does an outstanding job of explaining the nutritional logic for doing so. I lost 43 pounds and achieved a BMI of 22.4 using this principle as espoused in "The South Beach Diet", but I was becomming bored with the limited recipes in that book. Then, "The Good Carb Cookbook" to the rescue. This book greatly enhanced my understanding of good carbs/bad carbs and provided recipes and wisdom for eating out that will allow me to keep the weight off while enjoying tasty and nutritious food. The recipes that I have tried so far are wonderfull tasting and easy to make. They utilize normal foods along with spices that the average person probably already has in the cupboard. There are many studies out now indicating that few people can stick with true low carb diets for the long term. This book reveals that one can enjoy health and weight benifits by eliminating "bad" carbs without trying to eleminate all carbs. I highly rcomend this book, this approach to weight and nutrition, and these recipes.

I just received The Good Carb Cookbook and started right in with three of the recipes. I made the Country Chicken Salad with canned chicken, apples and toasted pecans... VERY tasty. Also, the Tuna Spread with fat-free cream cheese and sour cream, celery, onions and black olives...VERY good. For supper I made the Citrus-Chicken....the spices and the sauce were THE BEST!! Everything looks so easy to prepare and what I have made so far has been wonderful! I am finding it hard to fit in all the calories I need for my healthy, desired weight since I am not eating the high calorie, BAD foods and sweets I normally eat. I am sure I will like this way of eating. Since I have just started I can't tell you about the weight loss yet.

I highly recommend this book for some really TASTY foods! You will not feel like you are on a weight loss diet. Good Luck!

I'm so in love with this cookbook! I've bought so many cookbooks that have maybe 3 or 4 recipes I'd actually make, but not this one, I love them all! I saw a couple of reviews that claimed the recipes were bland, unoriginal, etc. They must be the kind of people who eat things like "Pecan crusted grouper with vegetable creole" or the many other "fancy food" healthy recipe cookbooks that have let me down before. Who eats that stuff? My husband and I sure wouldn't. We LOVE this cookbook cuz it's REAL food. Everyone who I've served the Mexican Lasagna to wanted the recipe right away. We love the Slim Spaghetti Pie, Pot Roast with Sour Cream Gravy, Penne with Ham and Asparagus, Meatloaf, and so many more. It's real food. Real GOOD food.

I've lost over 45 pounds in less than 6 months, and it just keeps going down. I'll never have to "go on a diet" again ... I tried following a low carb plan, but lost and regained the weight too often because giving up bread, cereal and pasta was not something I could do forever ... and once you go off low-carb plans the weight comes back FAST. I knew whatever I did this time had to be a lifestyle change that I could do from here on ... I can still have healthy low G.I. bread, cereal and pasta ... believe me, we eat lots of pasta! Who knew there was a low G.I. way to make Macaroni and Cheese? This one has broccoli in it too and it's wonderful! The Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins and Black Forrest Fudge Cake are so good. My hubby lost about 25 pounds, and I've lost over 45 and it keeps coming off! This book is well used every day, and it's holding up just fine.

This cookbook is good (unrefined) carb rather than low carb so it might have limited application for those on the Atkins diet. But for the rest of us there's lots of healthy recipes, tips on cooking, grocery shopping and dining out, and a good explanation of insulin's role in the body and the concepts of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load.

I use recipes from this book and the SUGARBUSTERS Quick and Easy Cookbook. Woodruff, the author of several other cookbooks, covers her bases by making most recipes low-fat as well. There is some use of sugar, honey, fruit juice and the like, so if you're keen on limiting their intake in your diet you could subsitute non-caloric sweeteners, such as NutraSweet for cold foods and Splenda for the cooked dishes. Or you could just cut out the sugar altogether as I did in making the Sourdough French Toast, which with the cinnamon made no difference in the taste, IMO.

Some of the ingredients listed are a bit esoteric and a few of the recipes may be too fussy for everday cooking. But in general this is a well-rounded cookbook, not a fad diet but a healthy lifestyle...

I bought this book along with THE SOUTH BEACH DIET back in late August. Together, they have changed my life.
At 53, I've struggled to some degree with my weight all of my adult life. I was successful on Weight Watchers for awhile, and still have many positive things to say about it. However, when WW changed their program, and the food pyramid changed to lower fat/higher carbohydrate, I began gaining again.
No one had ever actually said to me that sugar was bad. Oh yes, I knew that candy and cookies and ice cream were not good for me, but I had no idea how harmful relying primarily on refined carbohydrates could be.
I have broken my carbohydrate "addiction," learned to limit my carbs to fresh fruits and whole grains, lost 16 pounds painlessly, and never felt better in my life!
If you love carbs and have trouble controlling your weight, these two books are for you.

The book seemed to me much more a low-fat cookbook than a good carb cookbook. Lots of call for sugar, fruit juice, white pasta etc. Also lots of call for fat free cheese, fat free velveeta, and egg substitute. I prefer to eat natural, whole foods, not processed foods. That is not what I expected from a "good carb" book.

I also found the measurements annoying. The book will call for 2 teaspoons of garlic rather than a clove of garlic. Who measures garlic like that? If you chop a clove, use the whole clove! Also there are many calls for 3/4 cups of something plus 2 teaspoons. I found the fussyness extremely annoying. Round it off, for crying out loud.

As one who has climbed onto the low-GI bandwagon, this book is one of many that I have purchased to help. Using the South Beach Diet, 15 pounds have been shed and am on my way to about 8 more. Like others, the boredom and desire to find ingredients and recipes that help spice up the diet is a goal.

I am a cookbook collector, reader and user. This is truly one that I will seek for guidance and creativity.

What struck me immediately is the great and thorough sections about restaurant dining by overall tips for selection of a restaurant and then once there, what to order at various ethnic eateries which we all love. The insights like to order sauces on the side and ask questions about ingredients are insightful.

The section on mastering low-gi cooking is outstanding. Ingredient recommendations and alternatives are given in the hope that even us amateur gourmets might develop the cuisine that would allow us to modify our fav recipes to fit our new dietary needs. Some of this seems contradictory to South Beach advice, e.g. use of fruit juices. It must be said however in fairness to the author that this can be easily overcome with other alternatives. Again, principles to creativity.

The extensive recipe section which covers necessary categories like appetizers, salads, soups, etc. is attractive, creative, and provides needed great variety. Gravitate to such as: Quick Chicken Chili; Sunrise Smoothie; Buttermilk-Oat-Bran Pancakes; Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich; Cajun Grilled Tuna Salad; Cashew Crunch Turkey Salad; Chicken Breasts with Savory Apple Stuffing; Slow Simmered Pork Roast; Oat-Bran Pizza Crust; Very Blueberry Mousse.

This is just outstanding and one can turn and use this to one's health easily and reliably. Only one small wish that a "Sources" listing for certain ingredients were included for those in areas where finding such might not be found, or for those of internet age who might want to purchase that way.