Vegetarian Cooking for People with Diabetes

I am not diabetic but was looking for a cook book that had recipes that were low on the glycemic index. This is an awesome book for beginning vegetarians (like me) who want healthy recipes without a lot of ingredients. I also like this book because it has recipes for a lot of foods I want to keep eating like french toast. I highly recommend this book. It is also a great way to eat if you want to lose weight. In the first two weeks of eating whole vegetarian foods I lost 5 lbs and my partner lost 8 lbs.

Controlling diabetes goes beyond reducing sugar intake: it also involves staying healthy by reducing fat and increasing exercise. Whole Foods Diabetic Cookbook promotes a vegetarian diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans and is especially valuable for its tips on how to juggle diabetic needs with vegetarian perspectives. Recipes are simple and easy to follow.

Enhanced with information on diabetes and nutrition by Patricia Berton, The Whole Foods Diabetic Cookbook by Patricia Stevenson and Michael Cook offers an imaginative and diabetically sound approach to using whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruit in a culinary wealthy of meat-free recipes, each designed to help control diabetes naturally. The reader is provided with an informative overview of diabetes and how to control diabetes through diet and exercise, along with an invaluable section on meeting the nutrient needs of the diabetic including fiber in the diet, counting calories, carbs, protein and fat, as the vegetarian diet with respect to minerals and vitamins. Of special interest is the information provided on exchange lists for meal planning, as well as cooking and shopping tips. The delicious, palate pleasing, appetite satisfying recipes range from Strawberry Muffins; Tofu Potato Salad; and Vegetable Fried Rice; to Falafel; Broccoli-Mushroom Casserole; and Apple-Oat Drop Cookies. The Whole Foods Diabetic Cookbook is a strongly recommended addition to the cookbook collection for diabetics.

I turn to this cookbook regularly. Whether I'm cooking for myself, for company, or for a potluck dinner, I can always find something good *and* easy in its pages. The Far East Fried Rice recipe is now my standard (and much-complimented) potluck dish, and several others, including the Easy Lentil Stew, are regulars in my kitchen. Although I was a meat eater and therefore not used to vegetarian cooking when I bought this book, I never found the recipes to call for ingredients I couldn't find at my regular grocery store, or thought that the end products were anything less than delicious. This is more than just a cookbook -- the helpful discussion of nutrition and diabetes at the beginning of the book makes it a good reference, too -- but the recipes are really what makes it special. The cooking directions are brief but thorough and easy to follow. Also, because I am now a vegan, I greatly appreciate the simple and tasty recipes for making alternatives to standard cheese dishes. Whether you are a vegetarian/vegan or not, whether you need to follow a diabetic diet or not, I recommend this cookbook highly.