Most Helpful Customer Reviews
121 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This cookbook really works, January 5, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Low-Carb Meals in Minutes (Paperback)
When I read the first review, of this book posted here, I thought, this person doesn't get it. Linda Gassenheimer has created a very smart collection of recipes which she groups in three stages of a low-carb diet. The recipes in LOW-CARB MEALS IN MINUES are based on three separate 14-day menu plans for beginning, middle and advance low-carb lifestyles. Each recipe in the menu is part of a particular 14-day plan so that all fat intake is planned. You may get an individual recipe that seems to have more fat than it should, but Gassenheimer has compensated by offering recipes with less fat for breakfast or dinner. Most recipes found in such books as The Zone, Sugar Busters and Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution, are not very appetizing. This books is the exception. I'm a cook so I want to good food and Ms. Gassenheimer, a Cordon-Bleu trained teacher, host of her own NPR food show and James Beard Award-winning author of DINNER IN MINUTES (based on her syndicated column) offers delicious, easy, quick and healthy recipes that the low-carb dieter can live with. Ever try to buy breakfast in a coffeshop or a take-out? Most breakfast items are loaded with carbs--bagels, danish, cereals, bread, french toast, pancakes, waffles, hash brown potatoes--you name it--loaded with carbs. Gassenheimer takes the guess work out of this difficult to organize meal. There are even desserts to enjoy. Some of my favorite whole meal recipes menus include: shrimp caesar with pears and yogurt, mussels mariniere with mesclun salad, pesto chicken with steamed artichokes and fresh figs, nuevo tex-mex layered salad, pecan ham roll-ups with cinnamon oatmeal, sirloin burger with fresh slaw, asian ginger salmon with sesame broccoli and yellow bean salad, sunny-side up swiss melt, and grilled potobello and canadian bacon omelette. This is the recipe book us low-carb addicts have been waiting for.
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115 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yummy straightforward recipes for quick meals, April 30, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Low-Carb Meals in Minutes (Paperback)
I've had this cookbook for a few months and love it. I've lost 7 pounds (I wasn't actually overweight) while eating recipes from this book (mostly the middle section of moderately low carb) and thinking up my own recipes that match the formula I see being used in these recipes. My husband has lost 13 pounds, while eating some of this plus his usual fast food lunch and assorted junk. A very dediated friend has lost more than 40 pounds in 4 months eating 90% of her meals (or more) based on this book. I would find it very difficult (and somewhat nauseating eating so much meat, as I used to be vegetarian) to eat these meals 3 meals a day. But I've learned a lot from it. And the recipes are really good, tasty, great additions to my life-long meal planning. She offers ideas on substituting stuff you like, or find available, for stuff you don't/can't. She goes out of her way to offer simple preparation -- i.e., please buy the prepackaged vegis; don't knock yourself out, or you won't stick with it. One of the things I like about this book is that it offers entire meals, not just random recipes. This is a cookbook, not a diet book, but if you follow the meal plans, you'll be on a largely Atkins-style diet. But you'll be eating heart/healthy foods such as lean meats, vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy, and only a very small amount of processed carbs. The book is divided into three sections, which largely match the phases of the Atkins diet. You'll see the people who criticize this book are all seeking nearly-no carb diets. If you want some wacky diet like that, this book isn't for you (though you could use the first 1/3 of the book). If you are seeking a more balanced way to dramatically lower processed carbs and improve blood sugar, while turning your diet to no-carbs and good carbs, here you go! I love it!
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85 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delivers what it promises -- fast, delicious, easy!, November 26, 2000
This review is from: Low-Carb Meals in Minutes (Paperback)
This book speaks to me as a carb lover who can't have very many any more. Now I don't feel deprived, and the recipes are so good that I feel like I'm cheating. I, naturally, started at the back, looking to assuage my sweet tooth, and discovered "Mocha Fudge Cake". (You can even eat both servings without doing damage.) But that's not all -- great tips about shopping (keep a cooler in your car for anytime shopping) and storing food (freeze parmesan cheese). The book is well-organized, and helps you add low levels of carbs gradually so that you don't ever get hungry. And say goodby to prolonged binges. If you have a bad day or week, you can easily go back to the quick start section and get back onto healthy eating without starving yourself. As a run and grab kind of person, I now have lists of healthy flavorful things to grab. I like the fact that Linda allows room for your own creativity by suggesting ways to substitute in many of her recipes. From quick snacks to quick start all the way to those excellent desserts, you'll eat healthy without focusing on dieting.
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