135 of 139 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been better..., August 11, 2002
This review is from: The What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook (Spiral-bound)
After reading "What Would Jesus Eat?", I expected good things from the "What Would Jesus Eat Cook Book." Alas, I was disappointed.
To begin with, I agree completely with the premise of "What Would Jesus Eat?"--that the Levitical dietary laws were provided for health reasons and that they are completely relevant for today (they do not return the Christian to a 'yoke of bondage' as some reviewers have charged). In that book (if you have not yet read it), Dr. Colbert discusses what the Bible says, or indicates, about various foods of Bible times and supplements it with some modern medical knowledge about the dietary scene of today; specifically he addresses the hazards of the typical American diet and offers alternatives to notoriously "bad" foods as well as practical advice on how to change poor eating and health habits. Although I had a dissatisfied sense that his book could have gone into much more detail than it did, it was generally informative.
However, when I opened up the companion Cook Book, I immediately began to have questions. Now, if you have never used a "health food" or "natural food" cook book, and you have spent your life up until now eating Doritos & TV Dinners, this book could serve as a good start. But if you're a "veteran" of any stripe of the health food scene, you're going to gasp at some of the items that go into these recipes--for example: butter (4 sticks for the Baklava!), sour & heavy cream, low sodium "boullion granules", canned tomatoes, canned fruit, canned broth, canned tomato sauce and genetically modified ("seedless") grapes. Granted, there are good things, too--lots of whole grain pasta, fresh vegetables & fruits, lowfat yogurt and extra virgin olive oil--but why the compromise?
I suppose it is easy enough to modify the recipes to make them more healthy (e.g., substituting fresh fruits & vegetables for canned, using home-made sauces & broths and choosing organically grown produce)--and to follow Dr. Colbert's good advice to eat things made with butter and dairy fats in moderation... But then why did I need a new cookbook? (I could have used my grandmother's recipe for Baklava and done the same thing.)
That being said, the dishes look tasty and there is a good variety of recipes (as well as occasional little "trivia" notes containing information on nutrition, purchasing ingredients and sanitary food-handling). If you think the above criticisms are too picky, or if you don't mind making the "health veteran's" modifications, then it's not a bad book of simple, reasonably healthy recipes. It beats TV Dinners.
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42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This Book is a Contradiction, January 16, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: The What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook (Spiral-bound)
Having previously read What Would Jesus Eat?, promoting only whole foods and whole grains only, avoiding sugar and processed foods, this cookbook is a disappointing contradiction.
The editorial reads: "These easy-to-follow recipes are designed to help the reader prepare foods commonly eaten during the time of Christ in a way that will satisfy modern-day palates. Dishes feature fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish, olive oil and more..."
Many of the ingredients listed in the recipes that were not recommended in the What Would Jesus Eat? book would not have been consumed by Christ, such as:
- Italian bread
- French bread
- Phyllo pastry
- Stuffing mix
- Baking mix
- Pasta (not listed as whole grain)
- Bread crumbs (not listed as whole grain)
- White sugar
- Confectioners sugar
- Brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Soy sauce
- Peanut butter
- Tabasco
- Heavy cream
- Canned fruit, vegetables and beans
- Canned broth
Save your money and stick to the basics...eat healthier, more fruits and veggies, whole grain breads and cereals, and use olive oil in cooking all the time! Skip the junk food and choose healthy fast food items and you'll do just fine!
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55 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Forget the cookbook, October 23, 2002
This review is from: The What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook (Spiral-bound)
Read the book, What Would Jesus Eat, but don't waste your time or money on the cookbook. The book contains great common sense and Biblical reasoning for correcting the way we as Americans eat, and it includes plenty of recipes and instructions for changing your eating habits. The cookbook was very disappointing and isn't in the same league as the book.
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