Customer Reviews

The Low-Carb Baking and Dessert Cookbook

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love the recipes I have tried. My favorites are Pecan Toffee Crunch, which are just like candied pecans but low in carbs. So often foods that are low in carbs often are even lower in flavor. Another delicious recipe is the Nutty Hi-Pro Mini Bars. These are moist and so creamy......they are worth the price of the cookbook. Try the crepes...you will not be disappointed. Another delicious recipe is the Meringue Shells....made without sugar and yet are fantastic. Another recipe I love is the Shortbread Cookies. They are soft and yummy. The Sandy Pecan Balls are comparable to Russian Teacakes and are as delicious.
Some great bread recipes are the Date bread, olive and Brown bread. These are all wonderful. Just because it's low-carb does not mean you are sentenced to a life of no flavor .The author has spent considerable time in explaining different sweeteners and where to get them. This book will revitalize your commitment to eating low-carb, because the flavor has not been sacrificed.

I come from a family that loves to bake, and homemade breads and cookies have been a staple in my life. I was so excited to find a cookbook devoted to low-carb baking, but I have to say that many of these recipes have not met my need for delicious baked goods. The cheesecakes are fabulous. The muffins are dry, but they pass muster for my morning breakfast. The breads and cookies, however, were so disappointing that my husband and I couldn't eat them. I discovered that I didn't like the taste of vital wheat gluten (a key ingredient in the bread recipe I tried) and the cookies didn't have near the texture I was looking for. I'm still glad I bought the book, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for.

This book has lots of recipes -- over 200 according to the cover.

In this review, I am focusing on giving information about which types of sweeteners are used as ingredients in this cookbook.

The bread recipes use a little Stevia as sweetener, or no sweetener. Most of the recipes for muffins, rolls, coffee cake, and desserts (cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream, pudding) use a combination of 3 sweeteners together -- Stevia, Splenda (sucralose), and Xylitol. Most of the candy recipes use chocolate that has already been sweetened by sugar alcohols by the manufacturer.

Xylitol is a type of "sugar alcohol". Sugar alcohols seem safe for diabetics and those on low-carb diets, because they don't get absorbed by the body (for the most part), and just pass through. Sugar alcohols are used in most low-carb candy bars for dieters and-or diabetics. Sugar alcohols taste great, with no bitterness or aftertaste. The only apparent drawbacks to sugar alcohols are (1) the expense, (2) not available at SOME grocery stores, but there are some mail-order sources; and (3) as stated in small print on the labels of most products with sugar alcohols, "excess consumption may cause a laxative effect". In other words, they can cause loose bowels when eaten "in excess". How is "in excess" defined? It depends on your digestive system. Mine is sensitive, so that half of a candy bar sweetened by sugar alcohols causes unpleasant effects. My husband can tolerate at least twice as much.

In comparison, Splenda (sucralose) and Stevia do not have the potential digestive problems, but do have a tiny bitter after-taste, in my opinion. Some people don't seem to notice the after-taste of Splenda. Splenda is more expensive than regular sugar. Splenda has a little bit of carbohydrate (although much less than regular sugar), so if you have a lot of it, the carbohydrates do "count". Stevia has no carbs. If you have difficulty finding Stevia, try a health food store or the internet.

In the first chapter, the author states that it is OK to modify the ratio combinations of sweeteners in the recipes. "If you want to leave out xylitol, double the about of Splenda called for; reverse this if you want to leave out the Splenda". A chart of sweetener equivalents is on page 14. Exceptions on substitutions: The cookie chapter cautions against leaving out the xylitol for cookie recipes (I assume because of the texture). Substitutions for candy receipes are also restricted.

I haven't actually tried any of the receipes in this book yet, so I can't comment in that regard.

To test how you react to sugar acohols, you could buy some candy that contains Maltitol or other sugar alcohols, and see what effect it has on you and your family. Check how many grams of sugar alcohols are listed in the nutrition information label, when figuring out how many grams you can tolerate. Some sugar-free candies, such as Russell Stover brand, and some sugar-free ice creams are sweetened by a combination of sugar alcohols and Splenda. The ratio of sugar alcohol to Splenda varies by brand.

Ursula Solom has done it again! Gone are the days when low carb means eating food that tastes like cardboard. Thank God. If you want to eat bread that is delicious, try Ursula's Quick Brown Bread...it is moist and dark. Another fantastic innovative bread is the Date Bread. This is one of the best breads I have ever tasted. You have to try the vanilla cookies...if you feel like something sweet...they are great. If you want a cookie that tastes like a Russian Tea Cake- try the Sandy Pecan Balls, with 1.5 carbs per cookie.
How about a cream puff? Yep there is a recipe that is really good. The vanilla custard is creamy and fantastic. I put the vanilla custard into the creampuff. I also tried the Nutty Hi-Pro bars- they are worth the price of the book. Great for kids lunches. This book is brimming with great recipes, although I have not tried them all.

Low carb dieting does not need to mean a life of mundane, tasteless food. This diet has had a tremendous effect on me, with a weight loss of 10 pounds in 2 months. Now I can indulge my sweet tooth or eat some bread and not feel guilty. Thanks Ursula, you are the best.

Excellent! Just Excellent! Ever since I became committed to the
low-carb lifestyle I have sought the secret of enjoying my
favorite breads and desserts without violating my low-carb code.
I have found the secret in Ursula Solom's cookbook.

One of my favorites is the Mocha Swirl Cheesecake. Sweet and moist it will satisfy your cheesecake craving. Both novice and
experienced cooks will find the recipes to be user friendly.

I recommend this book to everyone who is dedicated to a low-carb
lifestyle.

Ursula Solom we are anxiously awaitng your next book.

As a borderline sugar addict who's taken in a frightening number of fast-burning carbs in her near-daily quota of candies, cookies, and the like, I am so excited to have found this book! So far I've only tried a few of the recipes, but it seems that I will now be able to treat my sweet tooth with truly tasty treats without overloading on all the bad stuff -- allowing those goodies to be more like true goodies! I appreciate the time that's taken to introduce and explain the various ingredients, and the best way to tweak them for your own personal taste preferences, as well as the source section in the back to help track down some of the more hard-to-find ingredients. The recipes appear fairly quick and easy to follow, and I note a number of recipes for gluten-free muffins and breads. (Thankfully, I'm not gluten sensitive, but I have a friend who is and know how restrictive her diet can be. She'll be delighted with this.) Overall, a great find!

I must say, I love sweet things and giving up sugar is about the hardest thing I can ever do. But making the easy to follow cookie recipes. And breads out of this world! It is wondeful. The Author Ursula Solom sure knows her stuff. I would reccomend this book to anyone, that is wanting to keep eating sweet things and still loose weight. You will love the writing and you will get healthier at the same time. This is a real winner!

I live in a rural area so it's hard to find a lot of the ingredients here. However, I found all of the products at a health food store in a large suburban area so the products are readily available for most people. The web site doesn't exist anymore that is referenced in the book. I made one recipe: the carrot cake. The cake was moist and surprisingly very similar to regular carrot cake. I was introduced to Xylitol with this book and I am very pleased with that product.
She has recipes for breads and pastries - like cinnamon rolls, yummmmm. The carrot cake was very good and did not taste low sugar or low carb at all. I believe that we should all get away from white flour and sugar anyway - the ingredients include almond meal, xylitol, oat flour, splenda, stevia, and there is a lot of fiber in each recipe. I am surprised the web site is not up. I'm also surprised more people are not talking about this book.

THIS BOOK IS MY SAVING GRACE...IT'S SO HARD TO FIND ANY SATISFYING SCRUPTIOUS ALTERNATIVES TO OUR FAVORITE HIGH CARB COUNTERPARTS ANYWHERE, AND URSULA SOLOM CHANGES EVERYTHING WITH THIS BOOK. I ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE I AM CHEATING IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. THESE RECIPES ARE DELICIOUS AND I ACTUALLY DO PREFER THEM TO THE "OLD BAD STUFF" AS SHE ALLUDED TO IN HER BOOK! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS AUTHOR AND HAVE BOUGHT THIS FOR MANY FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

In no way would any of these things be confused with high-carb counterparts!

BUT having said that, if you are truly desperate for bread and pasta, and it's going to make the difference for you whether you stay on this way of eating or not, it's worth a try to make some items from this book.

I found them to be mostly acceptable. I used to do a lot of baking so I'm not a baking novice; it's just that these carb-substitute items are just NOT the real thing. If you've been low carbing for awhile and are used to the typical texture and appearance of low carb baked goods, you'll do fine with this book.
If you are trying to relive your high-carb past with these items, you'll be deeply disappointed. A few things might even make you spit them out.

Overall it has some good ideas if you are stuck in the breadless rut and want SOMETHING to help you.