Expresslane Diabetic cookbook is a simple, no-frills
guide to cooking for diabetics and health conscience people. It has a
convenient layout designed to coordinate with shopping in the grocery
store. It is definitely written for home cooks who are pressed for time
and alternative meal ideas. Growing up with a diabetic sibling and parents
who worked full time I can appreciate the kind of convenience this book
offers. The recipes I tried were all simple and easy to execute. I had
no trouble locating items in the grocery store either. This book wasn’t
written to challenge the home chef but to provide a basic service for
time pressed cooks with serious dietary restrictions. I feel that it really
succeeds with its goals. The book is divided into chapters that match
grocery store sections plus an introduction chapter that explains food
labels, food definitions and basic nutritional guides. It is standard
“intro” information you can find in any basic cookbook. It also has a
snazzy little section called “Quick meal ideas”. It is filled with tips
on how to jazz up pre-prepared food. Most of the ideas actually sound
pretty good! The grocery store chapters are: salad bar, deli, frozen foods
and shelf-stable foods. I chose three recipes to try. For the salad bar
section I picked the Chicken, melon and mango chutney salad. It was good.
I would make this again anytime. The sour cream was a really nice touch.
The tuna and chickpea salad is next on my list for this section. For the
deli section I picked the Mexican dinner rice. It was good. It tasted
like regular Spanish rice. I would probably make it again. For the shelf
stable section I picked the no-cook peanut pasta. Very weird. I love peanut
noodles but this wasn’t good. I think peanut noodles should be served
chilled. If I had to make it again it would be cold.
Overall, I thought this book was really cool. I didn’t feel like I was
reading a “healthy” cookbook. It gave me a lot of really good food ideas.
It covered a broad range of food ideas. There is something for everyone
here. I liked cooking out of it and will continue to do so. For a professional
Chef I feel that it would serve as a good reference tool when cooking
alternative food in a restaurant setting. I definitely recommend this
book for anyone interested in cooking food for dietary compromised individuals.
A.F
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