Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was offered an advanced review copy of this cookbook, and decided to give it a look. Although I don't have diabetes, my mother died of complications from it, and I'm cautious about following in her footsteps. So, I do my best to eat a balanced healthy diet. That means a combination of protein, fat, and yes, carbs. I also love to cook, and have amassed a collection of cookbooks from around the world. Given my background, a good number of them would be categorized as "healthy eating"-type books. My primary beef with most low-carb diets is an over-reliance on individual glycemic index "scores." This book does NOT take that approach. It recognizes that these individual scores can be mitigated by what else one consumes at the same time, and that "glycemic load" is more realistic than "glycemic index" in determining the impact on blood sugar. In other words, some carbs are OK, in moderation, and combined with other foods. From page 36, "Adding fiber, protein, or fat to any carbohydrate will also lower the glycemic load of the meal." And the recipes reflect this sensible approach. So what about the recipes? They're divided into two groups: "basic," and "advanced." The "advanced" group is much more restrictive, and is for people who are seriously obese, who already have diabetes, or who have other conditions that necessitate a more restrictive approach. There is a self-quiz in the introductory chapters that tells you which set of recipes to use as a start. The advanced recipes eliminate grains and starchy vegetables and limit fruits to 1/2 C per day. Even with these restrictions, there are some excellent recipes in this section. The "Weekday Veggie Scramble," for example, is full of high-flavor ingredients (red bell pepper, onion, kale, garlic) and eggs. Filling, tasty, excellent! There are a couple of other egg/veggie breakfast recipes that are equally good (Vegetable Egg Scramble and Garden Omelet), and these have become some of my "go to" breakfast choices. For lunch, I've made the Brazilian Black Bean Soup -- black beans, celery, onion, spices -- plus just enough heat (1/2 of a small poblano pepper) to make it interesting. The Chile Verde Chicken is right up my alley: a spicy tomatillo sauce over nicely seasoned chicken breasts. Yummy! And that's just the "Advanced" section of the book. In the "Basic" section, you get more options, more fruit (Tarragon Chicken Salad is nice this time of year, with chicken, watercress, and a diced medium pear, with a dressing containing cardamom, tarragon, and walnut oil), and some grains). Most of the recipes use easy-to-find ingredients, and so are accessible to most home cooks. I ended up liking this book far more than I thought I would. And I've included it in my "kitchen shelf" where I keep the cookbooks I use most often. It's really that good.