Customer Reviews

Let's Eat Out! Your Passport to Living Gluten And Allergy Free

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Eating when you're away from your own home is always a challenge when you are on a special diet.

In "Let's Eat Out!" Koeller and La France have put together an impressive amount of information to make life easier for travelers and people who just want to eat out with family and friends.

I found the book a bit difficult at first because there is just so much content to sort out. It's definitely not a book to digest in one sitting!

I soon realized it really is a combination of broad reference guide and quick reference "cheat sheets." Once that became clear, it was much easier to scan and use the table of contents and index to find specific information. You can choose to just use the quick guides or go to the more detailed explanations.

All in all, the authors cover a very broad topic in an orderly fashion that makes it easy to locate information for a variety of situations. They use 7 common cuisine types, from American Steak and Seafood to Thai, to analyze the issues a diner can expect to face. They offer comments on the ingredients, the way food is prepared and on likely sources of hidden cross contamination.

After you read a couple of these, you begin to see the patterns and it would not be so difficult to apply the same process to another type of food. As they point out, it's all about educating yourself and learning what questions to ask.

Poring through their food/menu analysis, I discovered to my dismay that the item I had been selecting from a fast food restaurant most likely contains hidden gluten that I would not have thought to question. I did wonder why I didn't feel good every time I ate there!

Not only does the book cover information about individual foods, styles of cuisine, and 10 common food allergens, it also provides specific information about travel including contact information for individual airlines and the special diets they provide, contact information for associations and organizations in many parts of the world and even some translation phrases.

I'd recommend "Let's Eat Out!" as a valuable reference book. It's especially useful for those who frequently eat out or travel and even better, those who'd like to eat out more but have hesitated to take the risk. It could open up a whole new world.

The authors deserve the recognition that their book received as a Benjamin Franklin award finalist for 2006 in the Health (Wellness/Nutrition) category.

"Let's Eat Out!" covers a very difficult topic, restaurant dining for people with food allergies and intolerances. For adults who should avoid top allergens due to mild to moderate food allergies and intolerances, this can be a very useful book. I have already referenced it a few times for some restaurant inspiration, outside of my usual Asian selections.

The book itself is stylishly laid out with color-coded chapters, strategically placed photographs, useful charts, and sample menus. It addresses ten of the most common food allergens: dairy, eggs, wheat, gluten (an intolerance), soy, peanuts, tree nuts, corn, fish, and shellfish.

It should be noted, that this book was written with celiac disease, multiple food "sensitivities", and gluten intolerance in mind. It may not be very appropriate for those who have life-threatening food allergies or severe intolerances. This is not to blame the authors. The various styles of food preparation combined with a high risk of cross-contamination in food service kitchens, make this a complicated area to address. Though, as one food allergy mom pointed out to me, the "Allergy-Free" title is a bit deceiving in this respect.

Also, for those who do have true food allergies, this book should not be used as a dining bible, but more as a suggestion based resource for further research and diligence. As someone who lives with a milk protein allergy, I unfortunately noted many errors with respect to the foods listed as "not containing the allergen." Guacamole (often made with sour cream), margarine (frequently contains lactose and/or milk protein), and sausages (many brands contain cheese) were just a few that caused me to raise the red flag. Your own questions and food label reading would still be required when utilizing this book.

Luckily, the authors do relay what questions to ask, and in many different languages. Kim Koeller has traveled extensively while living with multiple food allergies. This is well evidenced by the resources provided, including a multi-lingual phrase section and what seems to be a very useful airline guide. For those most interested in travel, the authors of "Let's Eat Out!" have also produced a "Multi-Lingual Phrase Passport" for food allergies that is pocket-sized. I thought this was a very handy little guide!

My Aunt bought me this book at an allergy convetion. I've only had it for a week, but as someone who has recently been diagnosed with Celiac disease, I was happy to find it easy to understand and can imagine it'll be very useful. Thank you for writing a book that someone who is not a doctor can understand.

This book has been very helpful as a mom of a 2 yr old food allergy child. When my daughter was diagnosed with a couple of severe food allergies and many sensitivies, we had not dined out for a while. This book has helped to truly understand what to look out for and how to manage the eating out process. It's easy to use and I was impressed by the tips and knowledge relating to dealing with the specific top 10 allergens when dining out. Not only does it deal with the 10 allergens but relates them to each of the 7 cuisines such as Indian, American Steak and Seafood, French, etc. giving helpful tips on how allergens may be "hidden" or used in preparation that you would never expect. The book helps you to identify these items and communicate effectively with the restaurant staff. In addition, there is also useful information on safely choosing snacks when you are out, travel, etc. The book has helped me gain confidence in dining out as a family again. The book is a great read for those with celiac, food allergies or even parents of children with food allergies!

I was a little disapointed because many of the allergy graphs show gluten as possible, so that isn't much of a help, since that was already a given. I guess if you are looking for some where to START looking for gluten in your food, then this is a place to start. If you have been doing it for a while, then you really don't need this book....

Basically, it says be suspicious of EVERYTHING. As a Celiac, I am already. This book did not help me and I was disappointed but I can see how it might help someone newly diagnosed. Being vigilant is the key.

Expertly co-authored by Kim Koeller, Let's Eat Out!: Your Passport To Living Gluten And Allergy Free is a simply outstanding reference for managing allergies while traveling or simply enjoying the convenience of dining out. Informed and informative, Let's Eat Out! offers readers an exclusive perspective on innovative strategies for pursuit of an allergen filled healthy yet satisfactory diet without the necessity to stay home and avoiding the social atmosphere of the restaurant. Let's Eat Out! is very strongly recommended to everybody with restrictive allergies wishing to engage in restaurant dining with family, friends, or business associates.

This is a great resource to have for travelling. I love the tabbed setup that makes it easy to get to the section I need. Obviously a lot of thought was put in to making the book (with an amazing amount of info.) as easy to use as possible.

It is obvious that a great deal of thought and experimentation has been put forth in the making of this valuable resource!

After being gf (and other things free) for 5 years, I appreciate the resource as it will make it far more possible for me to visit Italy (and other countries in my future) maintaining my health as much as possible along the way! Well done!

I have dining cards and they work quite well, but the next time I travel, I will be packing this book to take as well, without a doubt!

KimS

I bought this book thinking it would be of great help to me. I found it to be absolutely useless. There are so many other valuable tools to use and informative books out there that I can only say - use your common sense - you know what you can and can't have & all you have to do is ask the server to check in the kitchen to make sure that thee either isn't, or won't be, any gluten ingredients used. I live very near NYC and I can name so many gluten free restaurants that weren't included that it's ridiculous. Don't waste your money.

I bought this as a gift for my daughter, who is allergic to gluten and a vegetarian (now, THERE'S a tough combo).

She loves the book.