Recipes for IBS: Great-Tasting Recipes and Tips Customized for Your Symptoms (Healthy Living Cookbooks) [Paperback]

Ashley Koff (Author), Sonia Friedman (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Healthy Living Cookbooks | Publication Date: February 1, 2007

Recipes that are specifically designed for people diagnosed with IBS.

It is estimated that about five million people suffer from IBS worldwide. The primary treatment for IBS is lifestyle changes, not medication, so a cookbook for healthy living is essential. Paying special attention to what you eat may go a long way toward reducing symptoms and promoting healing. It is generally recommended that people diagnosed with IBS eat a low fiber, non-dairy diet. (Some people find their symptoms are made worse by milk, alcohol, hot spices, or fiber.) However, Recipes for IBS provides readers with recipes that extend beyond just bland foods, allowing them to eat a 'normal' diet, such as comfort foods like macaroni and cheese and shepherd's pie, baked goods like brownies and pumpkin pie, as well as other sweets like ice cream and smoothies. The book features full-color illustrations, patient testimonials, and offers recipes that will make eating easier, enabling people diagnosed with this disease to live a more active, enjoyable life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ashley Koff, Registered Dietitian, is trained in all aspects of nutritional counseling. Educated at Duke and New York University, Ms. Koff trained in clinical dietetics at Los Angeles and USC County Hospital. She founded the Healthxchange nutrition counseling and consulting company in 2002. Currently, she sees patients privately and is on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Fair Winds Press (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592332307
• ISBN-13: 978-1592332304
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #531,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Irritable Bowel Syndrome

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, February 9, 2009

By 

QUE "Q" (LEESBURG, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Recipes for IBS: Great-Tasting Recipes and Tips Customized for Your Symptoms (Healthy Living Cookbooks) (Paperback)

Having purchased too many cookbooks that look appealing online, but prove to be most definitely otherwise. I previewed this book from my library.
In the middle of a severe IBS attack that was keeping me nearly housebound, besides feeling bad physically, I was becoming increasingly depressed as the attack refused to subside. This cookbook is a big moral booster from start to finish. The pictures are great, the recipes fantastic, but the coloring coding for symptoms is the best touch. I shop at an organic co-op and have no problems finding ingredients.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, July 13, 2011

By 

Kris (Oviedo, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Recipes for IBS: Great-Tasting Recipes and Tips Customized for Your Symptoms (Healthy Living Cookbooks) (Paperback)

What I like about this book is the color-coding. It doesn't just tell you what to eat and not eat, but what foods are helpful for certain symptoms. So you can skim the book for the color that matches your symptoms... or if you are having a really sensitive day, you just look for recipes with a purple dot. There are also suggestions next to the dots on how to modify the recipe for the symptoms (ex. skip the peppers for some types of symptoms).

Some of the ingrediants are rather specific. If you are a regular Whole Foods shopper or someone who is careful about nutrition, you may be familiar with many of the ingrediants. But if you do a lot of conventional cooking, it may feel a bit overwhelming to see some ingrediants that aren't always available at a conventional supermarket. If you are interested in eating less processed foods, it might be worth exploring a few new things and seeing what you like & works for your stomach.

On the whole, the recipes here are pretty simple (shorter lists of ingrediants) which helps with modification/substitution. My only criticism is that while the book acknowledges food sensitivities, there are quite a few recipes with gluten grains, nightshades, etc... which is fine... but given the goal of the book, it would be nice to see some footnotes on how to replace common allergens when they appear in a recipe (ex. if you can't eat oat flour, what are some options to replace it with that would still taste good?).

Overall, it's nice to see a resource that acknowledges the variety of symptoms of IBS and uses knows "helpers" (such as ginger or peppermint) in the recipes to help calm things down... and encourages healthy foods, rather than recommending a diet full of white foods (ex. rice, bread and pasta) as the staple of an IBS diet. If it is possible to get in some good nutrition, it is just as important for us as for the average person (if not more)... and this book could be a good "jumping off" point for developing a personalized diet that caters to individual needs while still getting in some good nutrition... Like many things, diet is something where the same thing doesn't work for everyone, but the beginning of the book and recipes might provide some helpful advice for someone who is still trying to figure out how to start getting things under control...

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great recipes, even for those without IBS!, December 24, 2007

By 

H. Zalon (Los Angeles CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Recipes for IBS: Great-Tasting Recipes and Tips Customized for Your Symptoms (Healthy Living Cookbooks) (Paperback)

I would've given this book 5 stars, but felt it wouldn't be completely accurate since I do not suffer from IBS. Nevertheless, I am still a huge fan of a number of these recipes. Ashley uses real ingredients (instead of the processed foods that are on most supermarket shelves) to create real food that benefits both your intestinal system and your taste buds.

To the reviewer who mentioned not being familiar with most of the ingredients (or being able to find them), I would recommend checking out your local Whole Foods or Wild Oats store. If neither one of those has (yet) invaded your hometown, there are plenty of places online that sell these ingredients. It's one of those situations in which a little extra effort (to source these ingredients) pays off big in the long run.

Also, if you do not suffer from IBS, don't let the title scare you away; these recipes are great for everyone - and the plus is that they'll be easier on any system (even if yours is made of steel)!