The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook: Easy, Healthy Recipes and Menus for People with Diabetes and Those Who Love Them [Paperback]

Mary Donkersloot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 1999

Possibilities, Not Restrictions!

There is good news for people with diabetes. Eating wonderful meals can be a part of a healthy lifestyle, and Mary Donkersloot, R.D., serves up hundreds of tempting recipes that will satisfy everyone in the family. Featuring the new Carbohydrate Counting System, The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook is filled with easy, irresistible recipes and indispensable information for living a deliciously healthful life.

Following the thorough discussion of living well with diabetes are hundreds of recipes in chapters such as "Breakfast and Brunch,"  "Appetizers and Small Meals," "Poultry," "Sandwiches and Tortilla Stuffers," and "Desserts." Who can resist Bruschetta with Roasted Red Pepper-Eggplant Spread, Seafood Paella, Roast Loin of Pork with Garlic, or Espresso Angel Food Cake with Chocolate? And each of these tempting recipes is accompanied by a complete nutritional analysis, including exchanges.

Also featuring:  
A week's worth of menus
Tips on shopping and reading nutritional labels
Advice on traveling and eating in restaurants
Special information for children with diabetes
Meal-planning guidance
The scoop about fats and cholesterol
Guidelines for exercise and weight management
Information on how different foods affect blood glucose levels

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Possibilities, Not Restrictions!

There is good news for people with diabetes. Eating wonderful meals can be a part of a healthy lifestyle, and Mary Donkersloot, R.D., serves up hundreds of tempting recipes that will satisfy everyone in the family. Featuring the new Carbohydrate Counting System, The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook is filled with easy, irresistible recipes and indispensable information for living a deliciously healthful life.

Following the thorough discussion of living well with diabetes are hundreds of recipes in chapters such as "Breakfast and Brunch,"  "Appetizers and Small Meals," "Poultry," "Sandwiches and Tortilla Stuffers," and "Desserts." Who can resist Bruschetta with Roasted Red Pepper-Eggplant Spread, Seafood Paella, Roast Loin of Pork with Garlic, or Espresso Angel Food Cake with Chocolate? And each of these tempting recipes is accompanied by a complete nutritional analysis, including exchanges.

Also featuring:  
A week's worth of menus
Tips on shopping and reading nutritional labels
Advice on traveling and eating in restaurants
Special information for children with diabetes
Meal-planning guidance
The scoop about fats and cholesterol
Guidelines for exercise and weight management
Information on how different foods affect blood glucose levels

From the Back Cover

"Both my wife, Treena, who has Type II Diabetes, and I, the care-giver, really appreciate this method of staying well. It's a treasure!"
--Graham Kerr, International Culinary Consultant

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (October 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609805142
• ISBN-13: 978-0609805145
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book contains everything I want my patients to know., November 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook: Easy, Healthy Recipes and Menus for People with Diabetes and Those Who Love Them (Paperback)

Diabetes is a major part of every family physician's practice. Though the DCCT in Type 1 diabetics and similar evidence in Type 2's mandates better control, the patient must do the bulk of management with our guidance. Unfortunately, the amount of time we have for education and the coverage for diabetes educators may be limited under managed care. I found a solution to this dilemma with The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook. The first 116 pages of the book contain the best, most concise, patient friendly explanation of diabetes and its management I've read. With nary a wasted word author Mary Donkersloot covers the New Guidelines for diabetic nutrition, the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, carbohydrate counting, weight loss, exercise and cholesterol. In the next 300 pages, she has written a complete cookbook from breakfast to desserts. A very helpful appendix contains the traditional exchange system values for common foods, a guide to reading the new nutrition labels and lists of lean, medium fat and high fat meats along with "free" foods.

Besides clear writing, the formatting is clear with well organized tables. For Type 1 diabetics, the chapter on carbohydrate counting explains how to maintain a consistent caloric intake and match one's insulin requirements for any changes. One big help is advice on compensating for sweets like occasional desserts (for which the author includes a variety of recipes). Also helpful are recipes for various ethnic foods like burritos, quesadillas and enchiladas along with information about eating out at regular restaurants and fast food restaurants. For Type 2 diabetics, chapters on weight loss and exercise essentials are superb.

The recipes are quite varied and well organized. They all contain ten or less ingredients and most have just three steps so they are easy to make. Each recipe lists total calories, percent of fat, sodium, carbohydrate choices and food exchanges for easy calculations.

The cornerstone of good diabetes control is consistent caloric intake and this book tells patients how to accomplish this. It contains everything I want my patients to know. As you all know, after informing patients of their diagnosis, the first question they usually ask is, "What should I eat?" Rather than searching through my files for my diabetic diets, I'm going to be recommending this book to answer their questions, to start them with a good diabetes education, and to save me time.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook, October 17, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook: Easy, Healthy Recipes and Menus for People with Diabetes and Those Who Love Them (Paperback)

If all you can do is buy one book, this is the one! This book is warm, understandable, thorough, educational, and worth every penny. To make things even better, it is full of wonderful recipes! I consider this book a companion, and I am not alone anymore.

I have been diagnosed with diabetes for almost a year. I have struggled through materials from different sources, doctor visits, and nutritionist visits for months and was still confused. With this book in hand, I feel more positive, more grounded, and more capable of managing my disease.

If I could rate this book freely, I would give it more than 5 stars.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Chez Panisse" of Diabetic Cookbooks!, January 21, 2000

By 

lorraine (Beverly Hills, Calfornia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook: Easy, Healthy Recipes and Menus for People with Diabetes and Those Who Love Them (Paperback)

This book provides me with meals that are as delicious as the resturants I frequent in Beverly Hills. It is different from other cookbooks in that, it is not typical Diabetic "American." You do not feel as if you are preparing or eating a meal for diabetes. This cookbook is romantic, especially when you are planning passionate evenings and breakfasts. Another equally import ingrediant of this gourmet book are the educational guidelines for explaining how to critical think through what your goals are and how to achieve them in a chapter by chapter "diabetes 101" support style. Mary Donkersloot wrote a very savy book for everyone to feel as if they are dinning in Beverly Hills or at the Chez Panisse!