The What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook :

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Really????
Review: Don't "Christians" even bother to read the Bible anymore? For crying out loud folks, read Acts 10.

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!!
Review: Finally, a healthy cookbook with simple easy recipes. I've collected several healthy cookbooks that I like a lot, but they always have a ton of really expensive hard to find ingredients. It was nice to finally read a cookbook with great recipes that a busy mom of 4 can make with only a trip to a total of one or two different markets. If you don't have time to hunt for hard to find ingredients,but you still want to feed your family the healthy way, then this may be just what you're looking for.

Rating:
Summary: This Book is a Contradiction
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: This Book is a Contradiction
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Forget the cookbook
Review: 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.