15 Minute Low Carb Recipes: Instant Recipes for Dinners, Desserts, and More!

I live in the boonies so this might be why I had issues with this book. I couldn't find many of the ingredients called for. However it was written well and might work better for someone living in a more city setting .

Dana is awesome. I actually bought 5 of her books. The low carb crockpot and the low carb smoothie ones being my favorites. YUM. (O.k. now, if you don't want any artificial ingredients, you're pretty much down to fruit smoothies with rice milk and honey, stevia, or agave nectar... but I don't mind some artificial stuff here and there for variety) Dana is great, down home, and good. The recipes do turn out. You will need some different ingredients, but they quickly become staples. Protein powder to add to whole wheat pancakes to make them real good for you food instead of junk food. This helps if you are diabetic too. Most diabetic cookbooks seem to add too much sweetness and flour, this doesn't. She's a GEM! If you don't buy them, at least check them out at the library. Then, you'll wind up buying them. Smoothies are like dessert, and these you are food you are allowed to eat! (her smoothie book) WOOO HOOO!

A collection of easy to follow quick recipes from this popular low carb author.

Hooray once again for Dana Carpender! These are really delicious and fast to prepare, as advertised. You won't need a lot of crazy ingredients. There's usually something I can make from my pantry and freezer, and my husband has been enthusiastic about each recipe we've tried. For each recipe, she gives you the counts on total carbs, fiber, and net carbs, as well as grams of protein. She doesn't give you the fat grams, but most of the recipes seem to use moderation in the use of oils and fats. There also aren't a lot of artificial sweetners in her recipes; just a tsp of Splenda here and there as needed. You get 13 chapters of 15-minute recipes: Eggs, Tortilla Tricks (low-carb tortillas, of course), Burgers (no buns of course), Poultry, Fish and Seafood, Steaks and Chops, Main Dish Salads, Skillet Suppers, Slow Cooker Meals, Side Dishes, Soups; Condiments, Sauces, Dressings, and Seasonings, and Desserts. Her burger recipes are really juicy and awesome. They always make my husband happy. Her Main Dish Salads are really creative and range from things you would serve to company, like Italian Roast Beef Salad, Satay Salad, and a lovely crab and avocado number, to things people will be happy about in packed lunches, like Egg Salad Francaise, Curried Tuna Salad, and a cottage cheese/tuna concoction that is actually very tasty and can be whipped up in 5 minutes flat! I also like the Skillet Suppers, which include a ground beef skillet with the flavor of stuffed cabbage, a couple of asian-flavored creations, chicken alfredo, farm fry, Spanish "Rice" and Fried "Rice" (where "Rice" equals cauliflower). The meat, poultry, and seafood sections are pretty much what you'd expect, but the flavors are awesome, and she really does keep it under 15 minutes. In the dessert section, she has some sumptuous creamy coffee drinks and some things to do with fruit, along with carb counts for servings of various fruits. I need to explore the condiments section further, because it looks like there's some gold in those hills, too. I love how many vegetables we're eating with this cookbook! In fact, these recipes could get your kids eating more veggies, too. She gives you hints about serving the recipes to your carb-loving family, too, such as noting where brown rice (or her delicious Cauli-rice) would be a good addition.

Well now she's gone and done it: I'm in love with cooking again. At least this time, it won't result in the extra poundageJ. Dana Carpender is the straight talking diva of the modern Low-Carb movement and in her latest cookbook, 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes, she really delivers on her promise. Thank goodness that some authors do realize that just because people want to lose weight and be healthier doesn't necessarily mean that they suddenly have an hour to spend in the kitchen getting dinner ready every night! If a low-carb convert only bought this book and The Everyday Low Carb Slow Cooker cookbook by Broihier and Mayone, he/she would do very well and have every base covered cooking for themselves and their families, for *all* three meals plus desserts. Here's a sampling of my (so far) favorites from Dana's cookbook: · Egg Foo Yong (like what it sounds, really more of an omelet but very sophisticated) · Jalapeno Lime Scallops · Salmon in Ginger Cream (fresh, simple and tastes gourmet) · Asian Pork and Cabbage (I always used to hate cabbage, but now I look forward to it) · Chicken Chili Verde (my carb-eatin' family spoons it into tortillas, I just devour it straight - a family-praised dish) · Italian Sausage w/ Onions and Peppers · Brewery Chicken with Vegetables Here's a weird fact: although these recipes make liberal use of prepackaged foods (such as frozen and canned veggies, jarred minced garlic, bagged salad greens, seasoning blends, baking mix, etc) and spices for time-cutting, most of them also make liberal use of fresh veggies along with the omnipresent meat and eggs. Really, I eat more fresh-cooked veggies now that I have this cookbook than ever before. She's even gotten me to try "new" vegetables, like turnips, which I never would have used in my high-carb days. Yup, I am now a culinary swank, my friend. The author has a no-nonsense, conversational style that let me know right away that not only has she "been there, done that" but that she isn't the type to waste her own time much less mine. There's an introductory section in which Dana preps the cook on her timesaving cooking techniques and tips on what and how to stock a low-carb pantry to make it even more convenient. I strongly suggest that you read this section first, as it will really help you streamline your speed-cooking sessions. The next most important section is the Omelet section, in which the secrets to a foolproof omelet are revealed. Really and truly, if you follow her method (well it's not actually Dana Carpender's method but one I've seen chefs on food network demonstrate before) you will be able to make perfect omelets for breakfast every time, which of course is indispensable in the low carb diet. The cookbook is then divided into sections based on the main meat being cooked, plus all-in-one skillet recipes, and side dishes that sub for the more traditional (read: carby) options like mashed potatoes and rice. Okay that's enough babble for one review.