Customer Reviews

Spelt Healthy! Quality Whole Food Cooking and Baking with Spelt

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So many modern wheats have been genetically engineered for specialized uses ranging from 'pop tarts to envelope glue' that they have actually become deleterious to the health of many people. 'Spelt' is an organic 'bread' grain that retains its ancient genetic profile, is naturally self-enriched, especially high in B vitamins, and for those who have developed an aversion to modern wheats, far easier to digest. It is an all-around grain that enjoys an excellent flavor, is absolutely nutritious, and is suited to whole food dishes ranging from baguettes to delicate fruit pastries, from stuffed mushrooms to soups, and salads to pizzas. "Spelt Healthy! is a specialized cookbook that culinary expert Marsha Cosentino has compiled to showcase the versatility of this ancient grain in baking and cooking. There are more than 200 featured, kitchen-cook friendly recipes based on spelt. One of the more unusual nutrition informations provided are the Blood Type eating notations (A, B. AB, O). Another special feature is the section of 'Food Intolerances and Allergies'. There is even a 'Shopping for Spelt' appendix. The recipes range from Whole Grain Waffles with Spelt Sprouts and Fruit Bits; to Pao Doce (Massa Sovada or Portuguese Sweet Bread); to Coated Pan Fried Fish Fillets; to Chocolate Chip Florentines. Combining the features of a reference, a guide, and a recipe collection, "Spelt Healthy!" is a welcome addition to personal, family, professional, and community library specialized cookbook collections.

Spelt Healthy! has delicious recipes in every category from breakfast to dessert. Ms. Cosentino provides in depth research into the advantages of cooking with spelt, from its nutrition, taste, and is great for those with food allergies. The book also includes many recipes utilizing other whole foods and includes detailed information on the benefits of each of the types of whole food the recipes use. The recipes are delicious, easy to follow, and the ingredients are available either at grocery stores or in some cases specialty grocers like Whole Foods.

!!!Spelt Healthy! Quality Whole Food Cooking and Baking with Spelt Do you wish to understand why problems abound with wheat? Do you want to know what makes Spelt Flour so valuable to our bodies? This book is a plethora of information and with many, many recipes you can't help but want to try ......anything you can dream up serving for any situation. With all the info inside the covers, one would think it is complex...NOT. It's simple to follow and understand. Also she uses regular ingredients that you would want in your kitchen anyway. The spinach pesto is out of this world, and so easy. Ms. Cosentino has created an encyclopedia on Spelt along with all the recipes. I was little skeptical when ordering it, then fasinated with the book when I received it...could NOT put it down. This author values the "Eat Right for Your Blood Type" and has incorporated which blood type can reap the rewards of each recipe, and what variations to make for an alternate blood type. This book is worth every dime you will spend on it, and much more as well...amazing !!!

We finally got this book over the weekend and right away I learned what I had been doing wrong all this time baking with spelt. This book has so many great tips and recipes, we can't thank the author enough for all her research. I have Celiac but can eat spelt with no problems and this book makes baking with spelt easy and delicious. When I tasted my first beignet in almost two years, I almost cried it was so great!

I badly wished to enjoy this book since Spelt is my favourite grain and I use it for all my baking. I even buy 25 kilo sacks of it so I disappointed that after having it for a couple of years I am yet to make a recipe out of it. Why? Because everytime I go to use it I spend forever trying to find a recipe to use. Maybe the recipes are wonderful but the layout is impossible. A lot of the recipes make you refer to another recipe, in another section, look in the index before you can even decide whether to make it or not. This book is harder to follow than the bible!
The history and bread making techniques are wonderful but don't buy this book unless you are willing to put a lot of time into it.

I have to admit up-front - as soon as I saw the Blood Type Diet info I was turned off. But I've been grinding my own spelt flour before it was "cool" and wanted to see if there was something to learn. As another reviewer said, very wordy. The history was interesting, if disjointed. The author should not have included the info on genetics and needs to understand what a GMO really is. Parts of Part IV are actually good such as Chapters 2 & 3 - whole grain breads need to be handled differently than white flour - but Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book brought that up in the 80's. Whole wheat and whole spelt doughs need to be wetter and handled less. The recipe section is OK. The beginning loaf should be first, not in the middle - Laurel's Loaf for Learning? The recipes, like the rest of the book, are more complicated than need be, but will turn out fine if you pay attention to the dough. If you're new to bread making, this book would be difficult to decipher. If you're a good bread maker, you won't find enough useful information. Intermediate bread makers may get some good information, it will just take a lot of digging.

I've checked this book out from the library, bought it as a gift for someone else and finally got it for myself: it's that good. It's an excellent source for wheat free recipes and contains more than just great basics for wheat free baking. This is a recipe book that anyone allergic to wheat or just wishing to eat healthier foods can't do without. I consider this the 'Joy of Cooking' for wheat free.

I love this book and consider it a real life-saver for those (like me) that discover an allergy to wheat. The information contained in this wonderful reference book is invaluable. I love the assortment of recipes. My husband is addicted to the Ginger Cookies and prefers them to wheat-based cookies even though he does not have my allergies. Marsha Cosentino and her husband have done an amazing amount of research and do a terrific job of explaining the why's and where for's as well as presenting a fabulous assortment of delicious recipes. This books definitely takes the guess work out of baking/cooking with spelt and has made my transition away from wheat-free cooking a delight! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in healthier eating and baking, even if their journey is not driven by allergies. La chiem!!!

I am enjoying this book and am learning a lot about the healthy grain SPELT. However, I have found that a lot of the recipes are using white Spelt flour, which has had the bran and germ removed. And, the processed white Spelt is very expensive! So, since it is no better nutritionally than a regular unbleached white flour, I will use regular or bread white flour.
When using whole grains (nutritionally complete), I will grind my own Spelt by purchasing the whole berries.

If you want to learn about spelt, this is the book for you, if you want good basic recipes that are easy to read, understand, and with ingredients that can be easily found this is NOT the book you should buy.