Active Low-Carber Forums - Review of Low-Carb Cookbooks

I found this overview of low carb cookbooks from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. It's from a pro LC article and includes a few good looking recipes.

"Low-Carb Meals in Minutes" by Linda Gassenheimer (Bay Books, 2000, $18.95)

If there's room on the shelf for only one low-carb cookbook, make it this one. It's easy to read. It provides recipes for both the beginner (who's restricting carbohydrates considerably) and the lifer (who's able to enjoy fruit and whole grains). It focuses on food that is easy to prepare, such as the salmon pinwheels (smear cream cheese on thin fillets of smoked salmon, roll and slice). But there are also some elegant offerings, such as rosemary roasted pork with fennel gratin. And there are ample recipes and suggestions for all three meals, plus a few desserts (the mocha fudge cake is sure to fix any chocolate craving, and it will set you back only 9 grams of carbs). Best of all, the recipes work, and most can be prepared on even the busiest of workdays.

Linda Gassenheimer is a syndicated food columnist with a great deal of experience writing for general audiences, which makes the book highly approachable and therefore useful. She takes a very balanced and sensible approach to overall nutrition, stressing lean proteins over higher-fat options, for instance, and she offers menu plans. Full nutritional information is provided, making it easy to keep tabs on such things as calories, fiber and saturated fat as well as carbohydrates.

"The Low-Carb Cookbook" (Hyperion, 1997, $23.95) and "Living Low-Carb" (Little, Brown, 2000, $25.95) by Fran McCullough
Like Gassenheimer, Fran McCullough has lived a low-carb lifestyle for several years, therefore she knows -- a lot. Her two books are packed full of information, from scientific theories as to why low-carb diets work to inventive alternatives to favorites most likely to be missed (zucchini shreds as "pasta"). The foreword to the first book was written by Michael and Mary Dan Eades, authors of the Protein Power diet plan.

The books are great for those on strict low-carbohydrate regimes, such as Atkins or Protein Power, who need to keep total daily intake below 40 grams. I found the first book to be of more use for lunch, dinner and (especially) dessert than for breakfast. One Pot Chicken With Red Peppers was delicious enough for company. The mushroom, cheese and prosciutto salad is a new favorite for lunch, and the cheesecake is a real treat, if you're willing to use artificial sweeteners.

The second book offers a lot of ethnic flavors but also begins with 112 pages of explanatory material before getting to the recipes, which may be a bit much for those who just want to get cooking. Those really committed to the lifestyle, though, will find it food for thought. In both books, McCullough provides only carbohydrate, protein and overall fat counts. And the carbohydrate counts are adjusted to subtract fiber, an accepted practice in some plans. So those tracking calories or concerned about saturated fat are left to calculate on their own.

"The Gourmet Prescription for Low-Carb Cooking" by Deborah Friedson Chud (Bay Books, 1999, $19.95)

Zone dieters, take note. This book is for you. That is, if you like gourmet cooking. In addition to full nutritional information, Deborah Friedson Chud provides the Zone "blocks" for each recipe for those following Barry Sears' regime. But for those on more restrictive regimes or in the early phases of low-carb dieting, many recipes in these books will blow your carbohydrate count for the day. Best wait until you reach a maintenance phase.

The book is a real testament that one can eat healthy and eat well. But to use the book on a daily basis, prepare to plan ahead and set aside some weekend time for preparing "flavor enhancers" such as smoked allium paste and roasted garlic paste. Many recipes rely on these condiments as well as a stovetop smoker. Foodies who love to cook will probably love this book; others may want to start elsewhere until they're grounded in planning and cooking the low-carb way.

"The Ultimate Low-Carb Diet Cookbook" by Donna Pliner Rodnitzky (Prima Publishing, 2001, $18.95)

This cookbook begins with a brief rundown of some of the more popular low-carbohydrate diets, including Atkins, the Carbohydrate Addict's Life-Span program, Protein Power, the Zone and Sugar Busters. Rodnitzky also offers a couple of glossaries on ingredients and terms that help steer the newcomer through the low-carb world.

There are a number of appetizer recipes, such as hot crab dip and Maytag blue cheese dip, to get folks through the holiday season. (You'll dip celery, pepper strips and endive, mind you, not crackers or chips.) There are also more than two dozen salad recipes. Take the spinach salad with steak and blue cheese to the lunch table and watch your co-workers turn green with envy. Most of the entree recipes can be prepared fairly quickly, such as the Asian Rubbed Salmon.

Dessert recipes rely on artificial sweeteners and some special ingredients such as vanilla whey protein powder and sugar-free chocolate. But Rodnitzky offers something the other five books do not: recipes for baked goods, including pumpkin gingerbread and chocolate chip and almond streusel coffeecake. Might be worth stocking the pantry with some almond flour and giving low-carb baking a try (territory I have not yet forged).

"Lauri's Low-Carb Cookbook" by Lauri Ann Randolph (Avalon Enterprises, 1999, $19.95)

This is a self-published book by Lauri Ann Randolph, a follower of the Atkins plan. What Randolph offers are the everyday recipes that helped her lose 45 pounds and keep them off. She provides her weekly shopping list, which includes a long list of fresh vegetables, jars of prepared pasta sauces and salsas and three to four pints of whipping cream.

Many of her recipes require six ingredients or fewer; most rely on some convenience items to allow for quick preparation. Best of all, the food just seems real. Her spaghetti squash casserole, with ricotta and mushrooms, would satisfy any urge for a big hunk of lasagna. The hot and spicy asparagus adds flair to what will likely become a frequent vegetable on the plate.

Because Randolph is not a professional, some of her recipes are a bit cryptic. But if you're good at reading hand-written recipes from friends and relatives and figuring out any missing steps, then you'll do fine with this book. Nutritional information is limited to carbohydrates, calories, protein and fat (overall only) and seems to have been calculated on a fairly simple program. Some recipes that call for oil for frying appear to have included the total amount of oil in the nutritional counts rather than the amount absorbed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~