43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful if you're not already a vegetarian, November 29, 2005
This review is from: Month of Meals: Vegetarian Pleasures (Spiral-bound)
I found this book to be helpful in understanding the basic proportions of a healthful vegetarian diabetic diet, but have some reservations about it overall.
First of all, this book, which is sub-titled "Vegetarian Pleasures" might lead a practicing vegetarian to believe that it is focused on vegetarians, but ...throughout the book, vegetable protein sources are referred to as "meat substitutes". To a practicing vegetarian, there is no such thing as a meat substitute because there is no meat on your plate. The editors should take note of this for the next edition or be more up front about the fact that this book is really for non-vegetarians trying to add meatless meals to their diabetic routine. Which I completely support, by the way!
I also found some of the meals a little awkward, like this one: 1 soy dog, 1/2 c EACH carrot and celery sticks, 1/2 brussels sprouts AND 1 c bean salad, made with legumes. I really didn't know what to make of this either from an aesthetic or nutritional viewpoint. And I found the use of a certain brandname dried soup mix throughout to be annoying when it's so easy to make up and freeze nutritious home-made soups.
All that being said, though, I would still recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a selection of usually tasty, nutritious vegetarian diabetic meals, in a easy to read format. I liked the mix and match concept, the meals provide good templates for designing your own favorites, and the nutritional information in the back is very helpful. The menus tend to be the :30 quick-fix at home sort, but some of them are really good and they appeal to a contemporary palate in their mix of ethnic and old standard recipies. The use of soy product is minimal and most folks trying to just add some vegetarian variety to their diets will find many appealing options. The value to the practicing vegetarian is in the way menus are modelled on proper amounts of fats, carbs and proteins, so that you can train yourself to make appropriate and well-balanced meals of the correct portion size. So, despite flaws, I do recommend this helpful and useful book.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Veggie Ideas, January 22, 2007
This review is from: Month of Meals: Vegetarian Pleasures (Spiral-bound)
I have always enjoyed vegetarian meals but find that sometimes they take too much time and a lot of trouble to prepare until I found the Month of Meals; Vegetarian Pleasures. The recipes are easy to prepare and they are very tasty. I am very pleased with this book and would recommend it for anyone with diabetes or not to become a healthier individual through vegetables.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great resource, July 26, 2010
This review is from: Month of Meals: Vegetarian Pleasures (Spiral-bound)
As a diabetes educator, this book is an important resource to have on hand when patients want to see how a diet that both helps control diabetes and is vegetarian can be managed. The American Diabetes association changed the format of this book series, so it is most easily available on Amazon. I strongly encourage anyone who is interested to purchase and try out this book.
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