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The Low Carb Comfort Food Cookbook
One of the best books on the subject.
312 pages, Paperback
First published November 18, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 8, 2007
I am a devoted low-carber, but one of my pet peeves about the low-carb craze a few years ago was the proliferation of substitute recipes. Puried cauliflower tastes just like mashed potatoes! You can make pie crust with soy flower and smoothie mix! Make pudding by mixing ricotta cheese with Splenda and almond extract! Substitute ground almonds mixed with gluten for the flour in your favorite recipe! And of course the manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon too, with everything from low-carb candy to low-carb bread to low-carb chips.
Me, I hate ersatz anything, with the exception of an occasional diet soda. I would much rather focus on the wonderful foods I can have, and on a low-carb diet they are legion - eggs, bacon, beef, lamb, pork chops, sausage, ham, fish, chicken, duck, turkey, fresh cream, sour cream, thousands of different kinds of cheeses, lettuce, spinach, watercress, arugula, mizuna, dandelion greens, mushrooms, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, turnip greens, radishes, zucchini, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkin, red peppers, green peppers, yellow peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, turnips, carrots, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, caviar, anchovies, olives, avocados, full fat yogurt, smoked salmon, oysters, lobster, mussels, scallops, clams, crab, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, canteloupe, honeydew, crenshaw melons, casaba melons, small quantities of apples, pears, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, peaches, nectarines, and plums, chicken livers, calves' liver, olive oil, peanut oil, butter, coconut oil, 85% dark chocolate, coconut milk, lemons, limes, chile peppers, garlic, onions, and every herb and spice imaginable.
With a list like that, why would I want a book that teaches me how to make lousy fake bread, unconvincing fake rice, and just plain bad fake cookies?
Needless to say, I was disappointed in this book. I was hoping for a book that would teach me to take comfort in new foods, instead of reaching for a plate of low-carb mac-n-cheese.
Me, I hate ersatz anything, with the exception of an occasional diet soda. I would much rather focus on the wonderful foods I can have, and on a low-carb diet they are legion - eggs, bacon, beef, lamb, pork chops, sausage, ham, fish, chicken, duck, turkey, fresh cream, sour cream, thousands of different kinds of cheeses, lettuce, spinach, watercress, arugula, mizuna, dandelion greens, mushrooms, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, turnip greens, radishes, zucchini, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkin, red peppers, green peppers, yellow peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, turnips, carrots, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, caviar, anchovies, olives, avocados, full fat yogurt, smoked salmon, oysters, lobster, mussels, scallops, clams, crab, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, canteloupe, honeydew, crenshaw melons, casaba melons, small quantities of apples, pears, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, peaches, nectarines, and plums, chicken livers, calves' liver, olive oil, peanut oil, butter, coconut oil, 85% dark chocolate, coconut milk, lemons, limes, chile peppers, garlic, onions, and every herb and spice imaginable.
With a list like that, why would I want a book that teaches me how to make lousy fake bread, unconvincing fake rice, and just plain bad fake cookies?
Needless to say, I was disappointed in this book. I was hoping for a book that would teach me to take comfort in new foods, instead of reaching for a plate of low-carb mac-n-cheese.
April 7, 2014
Unlike another reviewer, I read this book because I wanted low carb substitutions for traditional foods, or "comfort" foods. I am looking at ways to give my kids lower carb versions of foods they love. Substituting egg and cream cheese pancakes for flour ones was a huge success...and removing pancakes and replacing them with a naturally low carb food would have made for unhappy kids. I like the carb counts, they like the foods, everyone is happy.
My issue with the book was the overwhelming use of soy. I'm just not on the soy bandwagon. There are many recipes I'd like to try but they go beyond almond flour/meal and coconut flour and cream cheese to a kitchen stocked with various soy items, whey protein, vital wheat gluten. Not to say that I won't use those...just that they are harder to find locally so I will need to do some online price checking and ordering before I can test most of the recipes in the book. I do intend to do this, but wish the book had other options instead of just subbing out flours. My other issue was the use of Splenda packets. It felt like a Splenda-sponsored book at some points.
My issue with the book was the overwhelming use of soy. I'm just not on the soy bandwagon. There are many recipes I'd like to try but they go beyond almond flour/meal and coconut flour and cream cheese to a kitchen stocked with various soy items, whey protein, vital wheat gluten. Not to say that I won't use those...just that they are harder to find locally so I will need to do some online price checking and ordering before I can test most of the recipes in the book. I do intend to do this, but wish the book had other options instead of just subbing out flours. My other issue was the use of Splenda packets. It felt like a Splenda-sponsored book at some points.
August 11, 2012
A must-have in the low-carb kitchen. These recipes often use ingredients that are more challenging to find, but that is the life of low-carb. If you don't want to do the work, just go to Wal-Mart and buy processed sugar and bleached, enriched white flour. It's not too challenging to locate Vital Wheat Gluten, Stone-Ground Flour, or Soy Protein Powder (but soy can do a number on your body, so I would go with Whey Protein Powder). That said, I have made a number of these recipes, and all have been really good - the low-carb pizza crust was the best I have had!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews