Rating: 
Summary: A Prescription for Flavor and Health
Review: Over the past six months, strong scientific evidence has emerged in support of lower carbohydrate eating for weight control and cardiovascular health. By "lower carbohydrate eating", I mean consuming fewer carbohydrates overall and relying on lower glycemic ones (those with less blood sugar impact). The March issue of Pediatrics featured a study from Boston's Children's Hospital in which high glycemic foods (those causing a sharp rise in blood sugar) led to overeating. More recently, a report from the Nurses' Health Study at Harvard in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated that substituting protein for dietary carbohydrate appears to reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease in women. Both findings implicate insulin in our current epidemics of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Readers of The Zone, Protein Power, Sugar Busters!, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, and Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food already know that high insulin levels make people fat, tired, and--eventually-- sick. As new information penetrates the media, everyone will learn about the fat-storing, hunger-causing, energy-depleting, triglyceride-raising, and blood vessel-damaging effects of this complicated hormone. Meanwhile, here comes The Gourmet Prescription to transport you to a world of exuberant flavors, colors, textures, and health! Savory protein dishes such as Lobster Salad with Avocado-Horseradish Dressing, Smoked Turkey Tenderloins with Raspberry-Chipotle Sauce, and Loin Pork Roast with Black Bean Infusion offer a delicious recovery from the carbohydrate excess of the past decade. Fresh, perky carbohydrate dishes such as Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Radishes and Cucumbers, Lemon-Ginger Broccoli, Fresh Bean Salad with Parsley-Buttermilk Dressing, and Roasted Garlic Asparagus add personality to meals without causing blood sugar and insulin spikes. If you are on a lower carbohydrate diet, no doubt you have already shed fat, lowered your triglycerides, increased your HDL, regained your energy and mental focus, and enhanced your athletic performance. The Gourmet Prescription will rescue you from food boredom and keep you on track. If you are not on a specific regimen, but wish to eat flavorfully for sparkling health and better insulin control, open The Gourmet Prescription. A cache of radiant benefits awaits you.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the low-carb cookbooks
Review: First - I love this book. The recipies and advice are definitely very good. I've prepared many of the dishes in here, and have always been pleased. I just wanted to point out one thing about this book though... I recommended it to a friend who wasn't nearly as happy as I was because they dislike smoked foods. The majority of recipies in this book call for some sort of smoked ingredient. In fact, you'll need to get a stovetop smoker to really utilize this cookbook. I personally think that the smoked foods are great, and a stovetop smoker is quite inexpensive (and one of the best additions to my kitchen in a long time) - but I do realize they are not for everyone. So - if you like the smoked food flavor, and you cook low-carb - this is a great book. If you're not a fan of that smoky taste, keep on looking.
Rating: 
Summary: Forget low carb or not...dig in to these recipes
Review: This is hands down my favorite cookbook of all time. I can't recommend it highly enough. I don't follow a strict low-carb diet, but I do try to limit how much bread/pasta/rice I eat, and this book is something I refer to again and again. Even if I wasn't watching my carbs, the recipes are tasty and interesting and I wouldn't hesitate to serve them at dinner parties to folks who were not watching their diets (in fact, I have done so with raves from my guests). My beef with most low-carb cookbooks is that the recipes are often loaded with fat and dairy products (cottage cheese makes me want to hurl), but not this one. It's not entirely free of dairy products, but they are used appropriately (e.g. buttermilk in ranch dressing) without going overboard. While certainly not fat-phobic, the recipes do use trimmed lean cuts of meat (beef or pork tenderloin, chicken breast, turkey, etc...) and encourage the use of lower-fat condiments when appropriate. The pictures will make you drool--they are gorgeous. The recipes here range in difficulty from quick and easy to sophisticaed gourmet cuisine of the caliber that you would find in the finest restaurants--but they are all innovative--no run-of-the-mill food here. Personally, I think there's a good balance of easy and difficult recipes here. It's fairly easy to cook some of these ahead; for example: the recipe for plum sauce freezes well, so it's easy to make up a batch, portion it out and freeze it, so when dinner comes all you have to do it pop a pork tenderloin in the oven and defrost the sauce while you assemble one or two of the carbohydrate side dishes. The author gives storage recommendations for such recipes (length of time the sauce/dressing will keep if refrigerated or frozen), which is handy (most cookbooks I own don't give such information). The book is divided into protein and carbohydrate sections, making it easy to create balanced meals. My favorite protein dishes are the Moroccan Chicken Thighs, roast chicken with rosemary-garlic rub, Pork Tenderloin with Plum sauce, chicken skewers with almond dipping sauce (like Malaysian satay but even tastier) and turkey patties with apples and smoked leeks, although every other one I've made has been excellent as well. The carbohydrate dishes include lots of interesting salads (the black bean salad w/ avocado is fantastic), vegetable sautes and roasted vegetables (I made the roasted asparagus with garlic oil the other night and it was amazing!). Desserts are fruit-based and hit the spot when you want something sweet after a good meal without blowing your healthy eating plan (figs with "virtual" marscapone cheese... YUM!). Some of the recipes call for smoked vegetables, but not having a stovetop smoker I use roasted vegetables instead with great results. With the focus being on gourmet cuisine there are also a few recipes that call for ingredients that might seem exotic, however any moderately experienced cook can make substitutions with no problem, and your run-of-the-mill grocery store/supermarket will have enough to make probably 80-90% of the recipes as-is. (although I do admit, it's difficult to find ostrich, but I've substituted sirloin or beef tenderloin and the recipes come out great). The Internet can also be a good resource for hard-to-find spices or condiments as well. I am an avid cook, and what I like most about this book is that it inspires me to be creative in cooking lower carbohydrate cuisine even when I'm not using it directly. I've modified some of the recipes and created several of my own after studying the techniques and flavor combinations presented here. It's made me a better cook. My only problem with the book is that the recipes are so good it's difficult to stick with a sensible portion size :-) I hope Dr. Chud comes out with another book!!!
Rating:
Summary: A specialized cookbook
Review: The recipes are excellent, although can be time consuming if you do not have the items you need smoked at the very beginning. I have tried many, many recipes from this book and have not had a bad one yet. The only reason why I did not give this book 5 stars is because I live overseas and the grocery stores in the area that I live in, do not carry some of the more exotic ingredients. If you like cooking, enjoy experimenting, and want to eat smart and healthy, this book can fulfill those needs.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of recipies
Review: It's so hard to find any low-carb recipe books with much to them. This one is better than most, both in quantity and variety of dishes. If you're a diabetic, or want to avoid becoming one, this book would be a good meal-time resource.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This cookbook rocks! The bean recipes are outstanding, and the chicken skewers with almond dipping sauce is one of my favorites. Contrary to what some of the other reviewers have said, most of the recipes do not require esoteric ingredients (only a few do). Any reasonable grocery store should be able to supply you with enough to make 90% of the recipes here--I used to live in a small town in Florida and had no problem with the limited supermarkets there. I regularly substitute roasted vegetables when she calls for smoked ones with great results, so not having a stovetop smoker is not an issue. Some of the recipes take minimal time to cook, while others are more involved... this cookbook is not meant exclusively for quick cooking, which some people apparently don't realize. (...) Deborah Chud is an excellent chef, and I am thrilled to have found this cookbook! I hope she writes more!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I bought this book because it was rated five stars. However, I was very disappointed with it because of the vast array of expensive and/or uncommon ingredients for the different recipes, such as: White truffle oil, Shaoxing rice wine, tahini, Muscovy duck breasts, verjus, Thai chili paste, ume plum vinegar, cornichons, and ostrich fillets. Also, many of the recipes call for you to add smoked ingredients using a special smoker that you would have to purchase. There is extensive preparation for many of these recipes. I consider myself a good cook, but these recipes are too much work for me. In the last section of the book, the author notes that her son "lived on 'take-out' for 6 months" and said, "Mom, I know your food is good. I just don't like it." Therefore, for those reasons, (...) I am donating this book to my local library.
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