Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Diabetes Meal Planner: A Complete System for Eating Healthy with Diabetes

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a cookbook I was really looking forward to because it is written by a diabetic, not just an educator who has studied about diabetes. The author freely shares that she is type 1 and how she has to work hard to manage it. In the many cookbooks I have read, it is very rare to have one actually written by a diabetic.

And her insights into what it means to try and meal plan as a diabetic are priceless. To me that is one of the greatest strengths of this book. Unfortunately the actual book didn't measure up, or give her the chance I feel she needed to shine.

THE PROS:
Larger font and layout makes it easier to read the recipes - this should be a standard for all diabetic books.

Many meal plans and calorie levels to choose from.

THE CONS:

No pictures at all - I realize that it adds to the cost to put in color pictures but that's an expense I would be willing to pay. Without any pictures it is a very text heavy book.

Recipes have VERY Misleading Names-
For example, take the recipe on page 288 titled, "All Natural High Fiber Peach Squares" But, it is made using Splenda which is artificial and anything but "natural". The fiber is only 2 grams which is not high fiber at all. A high fiber rating needs be 5 grams or more which, as diabetics know, anything over 5 grams can be subtracted from the total carbohydrate count - thus lowering the amount of impact the carbs will have on the blood sugar.

Not enough of the author in the book-
Ms. Higgins does share some from her personal experience in a few pages at the front of the book, but I feel she should have had many more pages of advice and insight scattered throughout the book. I personally wanted more of her advice about the recipes and how to keep motivated as a diabetic; after all it's my understanding that this book came about from the many requests of the people who attended her classes at the fitness club.


OVERALL
I gave it two stars for those reasons, but still if you really need somewhere to start in your meal planning journey this is a good place. And maybe we'll be seeing more from her in another book soon, make no mistake her story is very inspiring!

Whether you have Diabetes or not, you can enjoy all of the recipes. I have tried all of the winter and spring recipes and a few of the summer recipes. A few of our family favorites so far are the Macaroni and Cheese, Chicken Piccata, Potatoes Au Gratin, Peach Cobbler, Splendid Blueberry Crisp, and Buttermilk Biscuits. I love the convenience of the grocery lists and weekly meal plans.
Have your children cook with you and they will more likely to try new things. My 3-year old daughter has become my lil Sous Chef. Teaching children good eating habits at a young age will help them become healthy adults.
Hopefully someone will come up with a more natural alternative to the Splenda and other sugar substitutes.
I highly reccomend this book to everyone!

This is by far the best diet-meal planner book I have seen. It gives you an enormus amount of information and makes your planning a breeze. Just pick your calorie intake and go. shopping list and all. This book is a great tool for anyone not just those who have diabeties. I recommend this book to everyone, you can't go wrong with this book. This lady knows her stuff she should do a DVD next.

Linda in ME

My 10 year old was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes. The visit to the dietician was informative but overwhelming. Thank goodness the "Ultimate Diabetes Meal Planner" took the guesswork out of what to prepare and eat in four easy steps. Although images would be enjoyable to see I'm sure it would have made the cost of the book much more than it was. This book has brought peace of mind and a healthier eating practice to my family.

This book was suggested by our physician. Neither my husband or myself are diabetic but both are overweight and needed assistance in getting on the right track. This book is realistic with shopping lists, calorie intake to follow with numerous recipes for the average person on a budget.

We love this cookbook. The recipes are simple to make and result in tasty healthy meals. None of us are diabetic, but we are committed to healthy eating. This book facilitates healthy eating to all people, not just diabetics. The pre-written grocery list for each meal is a huge time saver. We use this cookbook all the time.

I don't normally do this but felt compelled to do so because I was so disappointed with this book.
This book my as well be called the Splenda cookbook, or imitation egg cookbook, or margarine cookbook. Perhaps if `eating healthy' were taken out of the title of the book I would've have so peeved. I wish I had kept the receipt so I could get my money back. There are no pictures and it reads like a high school textbook with as much flare and personality.
I did read a review online that touched on these issues but was desperate for a guidebook to help me plan my meals, as I am a fairly new type 1 diabetic. I would recommend the South Beach Diet book instead. Fake Food is not Healthy Food!

This book is very helpful in planning meals. There are a lot of ideas for the whole meal not just recipies for one part of it.

I have had diabetes for 40 years, and this book has made my life so much more comfortabe, I have followed the directions for cooking food, and my diabetes has been in remission ever since I started using the suggested meals, I can't thank the authors enough for writing this book, it has changed my life.

This is an excellent teaching tool for new a diabetic patient. Once diagnoses they have no idea how to select or structure the Diabetic diet. This planner gives concrete examples of menus.