Customer Reviews

The Joslin Diabetes Quick and Easy Cookbook: 200 Recipes for 1 to 4 People

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the wake of the recent flood of no-carb and low-carb diet plans, the Joslin Diabetes Quick and Easy Cookbook lives up to its name and then some! The recipies included are truly simple to make without a trip to the grocery for new and unusual ingredients. Since each recipie is given for 1 to 4 people, you can try as many as you like without fear of unwanted leftovers. The complete nutritional information given is also a boon for people watching their heart health as well as their blood sugar. Written in a quiet, common-sense tone, this book is a great respite from the hype of many other low-carb volumes. My mother-in-law and I have both enjoyed the ease and good taste of many of the dishes, which makes it much easier for our respective husbands to stay on the health track, too.

Diabetes is a family disease, and all six siblings on my dad's side, including my dad, have been (or were before they died) diagnosed with Diabetes. As I watch my aunts and other members of our family cope or fail to cope with this disease, and my husband and I deal with symptoms of "insulin-resistance" I am taking steps to tackle the problem head on. Part of this effort is learning more about diet and putting what I learn into practice. I recently read, and am using THE INSULIN-RESISTANCE DIET, by Hart and Grossman and find it very helpful. I bought THE JOSLIN DIABETES QUICK AND EASY COOKBOOK with the hope of finding more information that would fit the scheme outlined by Hart and Grossman. I find Frances Giedt's book very useful, however, many of her recipes contain higher levels of carbohydrates than I am allowed with the insulin-resistance diet. In some instances I can make substitutions.

Good features of Giedt's book include - 1) recipes for 2 servings, a brilliant idea since Type II diabetes attacks older folks in greater numbers and the average household size for householders over 50 is less than two. I find dividing a recipe for six can be annoying. It's much easier to double or triple the recipe if you want extra servings for freezing. 2) a pantry list at the front of her book which allows one to assess current stocks. As many recipes call for the same items, and it's nice to have a "core" list. 3) a discussion of storage arrangements. Smaller households find big ingredients a hassle. (Giedt does not mention this, but Giam sells special storage bags and "keeper" disks for the refrigerator vegetable drawer, and they work well.) 4) calorie counts, content measures for protein, carbohydrates, fat, etc. and "Joslin" exchanges are listed beside each recipe. (The latter explained in an appendix.) 5) good ideas such as preparing a beef onion mix that can be frozen and used as an ingredient when a single bowl of Chili or some other meal that includes cooked and crumbled beef is desired.

For me, the annoying aspects of this book are these - 1) Although the recipes are low calorie, many of them are high carbohydrate. 2) While the book is loaded with gems of information, the reader will have to extract them. For example, I had to read through a number of recipes before I found the egg = egg substitute equivalencies. As many of the recipes call for eggs or egg substitute, it would have been good if she had included this information in an index. (If she did, I can't find it!!) Neither of these complaints are a "big deal" however, hence the 5 stars.

This time of year with Christmas and holiday parties there are so many temptations. With rich foods offered at every turn, one struggles against adding unwanted pounds. It can be more of a problem than just excess weight to work off after the holidays. For diabetics, holiday foods pose an immediate threat to their health.
Before setting off in the usual cookie baking frenzy and planning the 2,000+ calorie Christmas dinner, look at ways to keep the flavor while saving on sugar, fat and cholesterol. Sugar-free doesn't have to mean unappealing. Non-diabetics will finds those recipes better for their waistline as well.
Here's old-fashioned bread pudding made "lite". Two hundred recipes give lots of choices. To use up the leftover turkey, try the French sautéed turkey sandwich.

This book has become my bible in planning meals. The menus for 2 weeks are well put together, easy to use, easy to make shopping lists from and realistic for 2 people. The recipes are tasty, easy to understand and follow. For newly diagnosed diabetics, this is a fearless way to plan your eating-for-life. Amazingly, the amount of food presented in the daily the meal plans is almost more than one can eat!The index, appendicies of Q & A, exchange lists and other helps present even more information. Diane Lichtenstein

This is a good basic cookbook whether or not one is diabetic. This is not gourmet but basic good food, most of which can be prepared relatively quickly. Not all of the dishes are from scratch which can be a plus if you are not into alot of cooking but a minus if you dislike most commercial prepared foods. Nice variety of dishes and all have nutritional information, saves lots of time for diabetics!

The meal plans in the back are based on a fairly sedendary life style, so if you are active forget about these plans (or increase the portion sizes).

The recipes are excellent and the best of all, none of the recipes call for exotic ingredients that I could only buy at a specialty store. Everything I can just open my cubbord and pull existing ingredients out to use in these delicious meals.

Using the recipies in this book and the advice of my doctor, I've lost over 100 pounds. I'm not diabetic, but I have family members who are. Both these family members were prescribed the exchange diet. I had my doctor adapt the diet to my needs. I bought this book and have enjoyed every recipie I have tried. All the dishes in this book contain easy to obtain ingredients and require minimal prep time.

I purchased this book because I was going out with a fellow who had diabetes. Funny thing was about the time the book arrived I stopped seeing him. No sense letting a good cook book go to waste! What I discovered were delicious, easy to prepare meals that are healthy. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but my waistline seems to be shrinking just a bit.

If you have a friend or family member who is diabetic they will love these wonderful meals. But even if you are not diabetic, and you just want to eat healthy meals that are economical, with minimal prep time, and taste good, try this cookbook.

Lots of good recipes as advertised. BUT, quick and easy....hardly. Most of the recipes call for ingredients not in my larder and require more prep time than the every day person will invest. Good I guess if you are an accomplished chef.

Recipes were not fast and simple like some other books, but some are interesting. Info was also presented in more detail than I was looking for. If you are "studying" diabetes to learn about it and not so much about the management of it, you will like this book. I was looking for fast info easy to prepare and get husbands diet into foods he likes.