I was thrilled when I found The Ultimate Diabetic Desserts Cookbook - Tested and Trusted Sweets for Diabetics from Real Life Experience by Nela Vaštag on Reedsy because I am a diabetic, I enjoy some cooking, and I'm continually looking for delicious sugar-free sweets to add to my diet to amp it up. Quite naturally then, I grabbed it for review without a moment’s hesitation!
Turning a diabetic is truly a saddening experience in life. When it comes to food, sugar is suddenly banned forever. This, and other restrictions, results in dull, bland food. Worse, there are only a few choices among the items allowed, so if you love food, the quality of life plummets to near zero! Sad, but you don’t have to live that way: managing the items on your menu is still up to you, so if you creatively introduce low-calorie choices replacing the high-calorie ones you used earlier (yet taking care to keep the caloric intake the same as your diet chart allows), your food can be as enjoyable as before! Common sugar contributes the lion’s share of our calorie intake, so if you are making innovations to your diet, why not try promising natural, sugar-substitutes now available like xylitol, erythritol, and stevia instead of sugar? This book shares the author’s journey on that frontier: a quest for natural, non-sugar-sweetened dessert preparations as lovely as their sugar-sweetened counterparts. So, diabetics everywhere, welcome to a new world of desserts that you can enjoy guilt-free. “Naturally” sugar-free, but safely without sugar!
This cookbook contains 50 recipes that comprise cakes, cookies, pies, doughnuts, and other desserts. Each recipe begins with a mouth-watering, color photo of the prepared item and a brief note on its likely impact on blood glucose levels. The ingredients and instructions then follow. Finally, there are photos that help clearly explain the step(s) you are doing. Consequently, following a recipe is very simple and clear.
The book inspires confidence. The author’s medical background, caring experience as a mom, and being a passionate chef all add up. Its excellent page styling and formatting make it easy to read. However, the info on blood glucose levels comes from limited home testing. Hence, hitherto unknown risks may surface when used widely and/or on a large scale. Therefore, for abundant caution, I advise eating in small portions initially—you can increase it in steps until proven safe for you! Another point causing a little concern is using agave sugar in a few recipes, e.g., Pistachio Chocolate Surprise Cake (p.12) and Pistachio Raspberry Delight (p.39). Agave sugar, while considered a healthier alternative, can negatively impact liver health over time and may be worse than common sugar.
Overall, this appears to be a great cookbook for diabetics, their caregivers, dietitians, nutritionists, etc., and I wholeheartedly recommend it to these groups. You will also be delighted that it comes with a free bonus recipe book (inside) titled Simply Satisfying Guilt-Free Bakes, Sides & Snacks (15 recipes).
Special Note for People on Insulin: If you try any recipes from this book, be extra careful about your meal timings and carbohydrate portion control.
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