Cooking with the Diabetic Chef

I saw Chis do a demonstration for a group of diabetics a few years back. Everything he cooked was so good and quick to make. I bought his book and love it. I am going to buy his second book too.

Still hot off the press, "Cooking with the Diabetic Chef" is the first diabetic cookbook actually written by a chef who suffers from diabetes. As someone who has recently read a lot of diabetic cookbooks (blech!), I am quite impressed.Several months ago, when I first learned that I was a Type 1 diabetic (I have to inject insulin several times a day), I ran around to the library and several bookstores looking for some cookbooks that might allow me to return to normalcy. I was pretty horrified by what I found. While there were a lot of books to choose from, they really didn't contain the sort of food that you might want to eat every day, or that someone else (a non-diabetic) might want to share with you. Cooking With the Diabetic Chef puts all those other books to shame. I've read the whole book and made several of the recipes and it seems to contain nary a clunker. What makes the difference is that it was written by someone who actually eats the food and is a chef to boot.Chris Smith, the author, begins with a forward that explains how devastated he was as a student at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) when he discovered he was a diabetic. Apprenticed at one of New York's most prestigious restaurants, Le Cirque he was unable to keep up with the fast paced environment, feeling tired and run down. When he learned what was wrong he was quite plainly horrified but soon discovered that with proper management he would be able to pursue his dreams. His new book, published by the American Diabetic Association, proves that healthy food doesn't have to be flavorless and bland. One of my favorite recipes so far is the Cajun Sweet Potato (very spicy and to die for). I have also made several of the more normal (which is what I had been looking for) recipes such as blueberry muffins, banana pancakes and crab cakes. All of them were excellent (the lunch crowd at work begged for tastes of the leftovers), not a bit bland or blah, something you would be proud to serve or share with non-diabetics. It's an attractive paperback with photographs that will make you want to try all the recipes. If you know someone who is diabetic, this book would make an excellent gift. It has a good mix of fancy recipes (something you might feed company) and recipes for simple comfort food. It is one of the best cookbooks I have ever read or used and it is THE BEST diabetic cookbook I have ever seen.

ATLANTA (CNN) -- When Chef Chris Smith was diagnosed with diabetes seven years ago, his physician advised him to drop out of culinary school and find a new vocation altogether. "My doctor said it would be just too hard to work around all that food," he says. Instead, Smith decided to put his professional experience to use. He began conducting diabetic cooking seminars and is set to release his first cookbook in June. "Cooking with the Diabetic Chef" is a guide to eating that strives to add intense flavors to food without adding fat, salt and sugar. "I want to break barriers," Smith says. "Most people might have two or three chicken recipes that they know how to make. I want to give them a whole library of ways to prepare chicken. I want to show diabetics that there is variety." "We don't want the diabetic diet to be a sentence," agrees registered dietician Margaret Fowke. "That is probably the biggest concern diabetics have when they are first diagnosed. They say, 'Oh my gosh, I can't have my fried chicken and my chocolate chip cookies.' We feel they must have some flexibility in their diet plans."

Connie Martinson Talks Books - "Quote" "...a must for any family with someone who is a diabetic; plus, the recipes are very good."

Cooking with the Diabetic Chef shares a chef's secrets for creating over a hundred meals, focussing on meals which can be produced quickly and including color photos of finished results. Calories, fat, and exchange details are included in sidebars of information to accompany dishes of appeal to the entire family.