Cooking the Fat-Free, Salt-Free, Sugar-Free Flavor-Full Way

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Summary: Review of Salt,Fat,& Sugar-Free Cookbook
Review: I first saw this book in the new-book section of the local library. I took it home and tried several of the recipes. I found the book to be easy to read and the recipes, in general, good and easy to prepare. There is an emphasis on red-pepper and hot sauce in many of the recipes (the author is from Louisiana)and I would suggest going lightly on those ingredients if, you have children, like I do - they refused to eat the dishes they found too hot and spicy. I was unable to find the cheese often listed as an ingredient, but the author did list a source for ordering it if it was unavailable in your local grocery stores. Many of the recipes used baked bananas or un-cooked, mashed bananas as sweeteners. This is fine if you can eat the dish in one or two sittings, but bananas do not keep well and turn dark upon refrigeration, making the dishes unappealing to look at. The author also recommends using apple juice concentrate as a sweetener in many of the dishes and this worked well. The author included a wide variety of dishes and many that were vegetarian for those interested in meat-free recipes. I particularily enjoyed the chicken salad and some of the pasta salads. Over all I found the book interesting and informative enough to purchase and add to my collection of favorite low-cal cookbooks.

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Summary: Cooking the Fat-Free, Salt-Free, Sugar-Free, Flavor-Full Way
Review: When her husband developed significant health problems and was placed on a restrictive diet, Marcia Sabate' Williams had to give up her traditional way of cooking. In Cooking the Fat-Free, Salt-Free, Sugar-Free, Flavor-Full Way, she shares her new, healthy recipes--the ones that brought her husband's cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and weight down to normal levels. Williams says that modifying her cooking habits was hard at first, but it got easier with practice. "It really isn't that difficult, and it's good, regular food--not weird food. I still cook the dishes I made when I was first married, except I just prepare them differently." The Pritikin no-salt, no-sugar, no-fat diet is the foundation of most of her recipes. A native of New Orleans, Williams "cajunized" many of the recipes. She begins her book with a general discussion of how healthy foods can still be flavorful. Then she gives an overview of sodium, fat, and sugar, and how to use herbs and spices in cooking. She provides a list of suggested basics to keep on hand, with explanations of why some ingredients are preferable to others. An extensive list of food exchanges, helpful to diabetics and others following the ADA Exchange System, is also included. The recipes start with the basics, like stocks and gravies, then move to breakfast specialities. Entrees' are divided by meat, poultry, and fish. Vegetables have a chapter to themselves, as do grains and beans. There is also a chapter for salads and salad dressings and one for snacks and dips. As does most cookbooks, this one ends with desserts. All recipes have a complete listing of nutrition information. Each starts with Williams's comments about how she developed it. The ingredients list is printed in bold type, followed by the preparation instructions in regular type. There is one recipe per page. Readers already cooking restrictive diets, as well as those interested in following a healthy diet as a preventative measure, will find lots of useful recipes in Cooking the Fat-Free, Salt-Free, Sugar-Free, Flavor-Full Way.