Here we are again and it's October already! With the changing colors of the
landscape, the return to standard time, football games and tail?gating parties,
Jack O' Lanterns and pumpkin pies in abundance, can winter be far behind?
October kicks off the holiday season, and signals the beginning of food celebrations from now until January 1st.. With shorter days and colder nights, we tend to move indoors where our activities center in the kitchen.
In the spirit of autumn, I've selected a number of really good, healthy-eating cookbooks for my October reviews. You may be surprised to find that many cookbooks without “diabetes” in the title are great resources for both diabetics and the caregivers who cook for them.
Two recent releases in this category are Holly Clegg's MEALS on the MOVE: RUSH
HOUR RECIPES, and Evelyn Tribole's newest book, MORE HEALTHY HOMESTYLE COOKING.
MEALS on the MOVE: RUSH HOUR RECIPES, the newest addition to Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific series, is yet another gold mine of delicious taste with corresponding nutritional value. In collaboration with the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), Holly has designed this new cookbook to fit today's hectic lifestyle while significantly lowering a family's risk of cancer.
How does this cookbook apply to a person who has diabetes? It's been this reviewer's experience through letters, cards and e-mails from newly diagnosed diabetics or their caregivers, that the recurrent theme is something like, “What can I eat now that I can't eat anything anymore?” Or, “What can I cook for my spouse, child, grandchild, etc., now that I have to consider diabetes?” And, “What is a diabetic diet?” (News Flash: There is no such thing as a diabetic diet!)
MEALS on the MOVE dispels the myth that a diagnosis of diabetes is a culinary death sentence. It contains over 200 quick and easy recipes that reflect two of AICR's guidelines for cancer-prevention—a diet rich in a variety of plant-based foods, especially vegetables and fruit, and an emphasis on foods low in fat and salt. These are common objectives in a diabetic eating plan, as well. According to author Holly Clegg: “MEALS on the MOVE can be the first step in transforming your family's eating habits so they can live healthier, longer lives.”
One area which is commonly overlooked in “healthy” cookbooks is the realization of how important a parent's role is in creating healthy eating habits in their children, and teaching them their food choices will affect their health for the rest of their lives. Holly Clegg is the mother of three and very aware of the type food children will and won't eat. She has made a point of designing MEALS on the MOVE with the whole family in mind. My own 5-year-old granddaughter is a very picky eater and I value Holly's emphasis on finding ways to make healthy foods “. . . taste like the good stuff.”
MEALS ON THE MOVE is packed with recipes using Healthier Approach recommendations and Food Facts from the American Institute for Cancer Research. Recipes are simple to prepare and, as in her other cookbooks, high on taste. Chapters include Rush Hour Dinners, Lunches On The Run, and Easy Entertaining. I have personally sampled several of the recipes from this book and each has been a “keeper.”
MEALS ON THE MOVE, ©February 2001 by Holly Clegg and printed by The Wimmer
Companies, is published in a user-friendly, spiral-bound format, contains nutritional
analyses and diabetic exchanges. If you want more bang for your bite, this is
a good book with great taste! Highly recommended. Reviewer's note: For more
information on Holly Clegg or to order her cookbooks directly, you can visit
her website: www.hollyclegg.com
MORE HEALTHY HOMESTYLE COOKING, by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD, invites us to “Enjoy the full flavor of Real Food again.” According to Tribole, “Who cares how 'good for you' a meal is if it doesn't taste good?”
An award-winning dietitian, Tribole reviews the basics of nutrition and clears up confusing press surrounding carbohydrates, sodium, fatty acids, and phytochemicals. The reader learns insider secrets to recipe makeovers (worth the cost of the book, in my opinion), and here's a hint in that area: Straight substitutions don't always work!
The best thing about this book, though, are the recipes. You'll
absolutely forget they're healthy once you sink your teeth into them. How about
a sweet slice of Peanut Butter Pie or Apple Carrot Cake with Light Cream Cheese
Frosting? Chocolate TIRAMISU sounds pretty good to me. Carry on with Sausage
and Hash Brown Casserole, Tex-Mex Skillet, Potato-Bacon Clam Chowder or Easy
Cheesy No-Knead Batter Bread. Would you believe there's even a recipe for Chocolate
Chip Pecan Loaf with real butter and chocolate? They're all here in More Hearty
Homestyle Meals, many beautifully reproduced in living color.
In each recipe, Tribole explains exactly how she reduced the fat, calories,
cholesterol, and sodium or increased the fiber. Plus, she provides a complete
nutritional analysis and a Nutrition Scorecard that takes a before-and-after
look at calories and fat. The only thing missing are the dietary exchanges;
but if you can read a nutritional label and apply it to your individual diabetes
meal plan, you can use this cookbook!
MORE HEALTHY HOMESTYLE COOKING, by Evelyn Tribole, ©2000, published by Rodale, $29.95 (U.S.) Highly recommended.
If the title of this next book doesn't make you want to pick
it up, you've probably never been on a diet. FORBIDDEN FOODS—DIABETIC COOKING,
by Maggie Powers, MS, RD, CDE, and Joyce Hendley, MS, dares us to look beyond
the cover!
According to the authors, foods help to identify us—who we are, where we
come from, and what customs we observe. Special foods are part of our traditions,
life experiences and family histories. They influence what we eat at holidays,
birthdays and other celebrations, all part of the traditions we want to maintain
and pass on to others. Unfortunately, when we have to consider calories, fats,
exchanges or carbohydrates, some of the very foods that meant so much to us
suddenly become “forbidden.” Powers and Hendley underscore that “Just
because you have diabetes, you don't have to give up this part of who you are!”
FORBIDDEN FOODS—DIABETIC COOKING features 150 recipes for the foods we used to love. Delectable recipes for Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Boston Cream Pie, Devil's Food Cake, Chicken Pot Pie, Fettuccine Alfredo . . . I could go on all day! Authors Powers and Hendley have found inventive ways to prepare these foods and more. Best of all, instructions on how to modify your own family favorites without sacrificing flavor, are included in the Introduction.
Divided into 12 chapters of mouth?watering recipes, the dessert and bread fans will not be disappointed. Quick Breads & Muffins, Cookies & Bars, Classic Cakes, Pies, Crumbles, & Cobblers, Puddings & Creamy Desserts and Chocolate Magic are there to sate your appetite for something sweet. The other half of the book includes healthy chapters on Better Beverages, Starters & Snacks, Sauces, Gravies & Dressings, Faux Fried Foods, Mom's Favorites and Pizza & Pasta.
Folks, you can't lose with this book! Published by the American Diabetes Association; ©2000; $16.95.
Until we meet again in January, take time to enjoy the blessings of the season and remember: Love comes from the small things of the heart.
Marilyn Helton, type 2 diabetic since 1993, is the publisher
of CINNAMON HEARTS—THE ART OF LIVING A WINNING DIABETIC LIFESTYLE, a positive-power
online e-zine for diabetics and their families. You can find more of Marilyn's
book reviews, articles and recipes online at: http://diabeticgourmet.com,
www.fabulousfoods.com, www.practicalkitchen.com,
or Cinnamon Hearts website: www.cinnamonhearts.com