Categories
Cookbook Reviews Healthy Living

Cookbook Review: “The Healthy Teen Cookbook” by Remmi Smith

Cookbook Review: "The Healthy Teen Cookbook" by Remmi Smith

Teens are notorious for eating badly. Teen chef Remmi Smith is on a mission to change that. In her book The Healthy Teen Cookbook, she shares tips and recipes from around the world that are easy for teen cooks to make and share.

Cookbook Review: "The Healthy Teen Cookbook" by Remmi Smith

Summary of The Healthy Teen Cookbook

The Healthy Teen Cookbook is written for teens by a teen, which sets it apart from typical teen cookbooks. When writing the book, Chef Remmi Smith, a 16-year-old chef and entrepreneur who hosts two cooking shows and serves as a national Student Ambassador for a leading food services company providing education solutions to nearly 500 school districts, had three goals in mind:

  1. Make cooking and eating as healthy and fun as possible
  2. Ensure that teens will be able to do it
  3. Take the reader on a global adventure

In developing the recipes, she favored vegetables and used fruit as a natural sweetener. The book is divided into seven main sections, containing recipes from:

  1. North America
  2. South America
  3. Europe
  4. Africa
  5. Asia
  6. Australia
  7. Antarctica

Surprisingly, Antarctica has more recipes than Australia!

With her passion for food and her growing platform, Smith is on a mission to bring healthy food options and easy-to-cook delicious recipes to a busy and heavily-scheduled generation of teens. She has appeared on Chopped, The Harry Connick Show and the Food Network.

What Worked for Me

The photography is beautiful and the selection of recipes is diverse. I think any teen would be able to find something they’d like to try their hand at in this cookbook.

Each section begins with a quick summary of the region the recipes come from. This is not a dull, practical cookbook. It engages the reader both intellectually and visually in addition to providing easy=-to-follow recipes.

What Didn’t Work for Me

My personal preference for cookbooks is easy of use and a focus on the recipes. However, I understand I’m not the target market for this cookbook. The Healthy Teen Cookbook is visually stimulating, which I believe is important for young cooks. I know I preferred those types of cookbooks when I was younger.

What I’d Love to See in the Second Edition

Given the computer savvy nature of the generation, this book is aimed at, I would think that it would include some enhanced book features, such as an app or at least downloadable PDFs. I think that “Remmi’s 10 Tips to Becoming a Great Cook” would make a great downloadable poster that teens can print out and hang on their wall for inspiration.

Recommendation

If you are or know a teen who is interested in learning to cook, this is an excellent option. As mentioned earlier, the diversity of recipes assures that there will be one or more that he or she may want to try. In addition, the book is pretty and fun to flip through.

Rating for The Healthy Teen Cookbook

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Specs

Full Title: The Healthy Teen Cookbook: Around the World In 80 Fantastic Recipes
Author: Remmi Smith
Format: Hardcover or paperback, 180 pages
Publisher: Mango
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1633536653 (hardcover), 1642500690 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1633536654 (hardcover), 978-1642500691 (paperback) [/one_half]
[one_half_last] The Healthy Teen Cookbook by Remmi Smith [/one_half_last]

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.

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[one_third] Healthy Eating Worksheet [/one_third]
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Take Charge of Your Health!

Changing your eating habits can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be if you take a little time to think it out and create a plan.

This Healthy Eating Worksheet will walk you through the process of creating a healthy eating plan. All you need to do is print it out, set aside some time to complete it, and then fill it out. Then you can create your plan, knowing that you have addressed potential obstacles and came up with some creative ways to handle them.

Download Now [/two_third_last]

Categories
Recipes

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Chocolate Bundt Cake

There are many ways to achieve a moist, intensely chocolate Bundt cake. This recipe uses a cake mix as the basis, so it can be prepared quickly and easily.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix (preferably the kind with the pudding in the mix)
  • 1 4-serving box of instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup chocolate flavored yogurt (plain is fine as a substitute)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease and lightly dust the Bundt pan with flour.
  3. In a large bowl, combine ingredients in the following order: cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, yogurt, oil, water and vanilla.
  4. Using an electric mixer, beat ingredients together for two minutes at medium speed.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  6. Bake in preheated oven for 70 minutes or until it springs back after being touched lightly in the center.

For an even more chocolate-y experience, drizzle with a chocolate glaze. There are plenty of recipes for this kind of glaze online. This one works fairly well.

Bitter Sweet Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

The Bundt cake should already be cooled and sitting on the serving platter before glazing.

  1. In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter, cream, and light corn syrup. Stir until the chips are melted and the mixture is satiny smooth.
  2. Add vanilla.
  3. Remove from heat and immediately drizzle the glaze over the top of the Bundt cake, allowing the glaze to drip down the sides.

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[one_fourth] Bonkers for Bundt Cakes [/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last] Looking for a few more Bundt cake recipes to try? Don’t have a lot of time, but want a tasty Bundt cake? Bonkers for Bundt Cakes just may be the cookbook for you. Filled with “made from cake mix” recipes, as well as a couple from scratch, this simple cookbook is sure to please. Learn more and grab your copy at www.carmascookery.com/bundtcakes.
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Categories
Cookbook Reviews Healthy Living

Book Review: “Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy” by Hope Warshaw

Book Review: "Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy" by Hope Warshaw

More than a third of American adults have prediabetes (I’ve been flirting with it off and on for over a year now) and more than 20 million Americans live with Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes (including my husband). I know several people who have diabetes, a condition in which one’s body doesn’t manage blood sugar very well. Having too much sugar in your blood has some pretty nasty consequences, so managing your blood sugar is pretty darn important. The first line of defense is what you eat. However, planning out your meals so that you remain healthy, manage your weight and blood sugar and enjoy your food all at the same time is a common challenge for folks with diabetes. Therefore, when I saw Hope Warshaw’s book Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy I was intrigued.

Book Review: "Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy" by Hope Warshaw

Summary of Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy

This is the 5th edition of this resource book for people who need to either reverse prediabetes or manage Type 2 diabetes. This edition came out in 2016 and was updated with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the American Diabetes Association (ADA). It provides a step-by-step guide to slowly and surely make the changes one needs to make in their food choices and eating habits to align with these guidelines.

Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy is broken down into three major sections:

  1. Nutrition and Healthy Eating Basics
    This section gives an overview of Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, the basics of nutrition, and some tips on creating your own meal plan and weight loss and management.
  2. Foods by Group
    This section discusses the various food groups — starches, vegetables, fruits, dairy, protein, fats, sweets, beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and even “free” foods.
  3. Putting Healthy Eating for Diabetes Control Into Action
    This section brings it all together and helps the reader apply the information from the first two chapters. It discusses eating behavior, planning, portion control, eating out, and more.

What Worked for Me

As with so many books published by the ADA, Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy is designed to be easy to read. The font is a good size, the layout has plenty of white space, and the charts are organized well.

Because of how the book is organized, it is easy to find the specific information you’re looking for and go straight to the content you want to learn. It is user-friendly and practical. Also, at 6″x9″ in size, it is small enough that you could conceivably take it with you on the road and use it as a reference while out and about.

The writing is straightforward and easy to understand.

What Didn’t Work for Me

I’m sorry, but I got nothing here. This book is a reference and doesn’t make airs about being anything else.

What I’d Love to See in the Sixth Edition
of Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy

Well, now that it is 2020, I’d like to see a new edition with the new guidelines for 2021 and beyond. I’d also like to see the book use modern technology and provide downloadable versions of all the charts. Perhaps even an app that you could install on your phone with them.

Diabetes meal planning is important and making this book more interactive and available on-the-go would be a wonderful way to engage the readership and achieve successful results for the millions of Americans who are affected by diabetes.

Recommendation

Have you just been diagnosed with prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes? Have you been struggling with Type 2 diabetes for a while now and still challenged with meal planning? Then get this resource! It is an easy read and filled with valuable, practical and easy-to-access information.

Rating for Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy

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Specs

Full Title: Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy
Author: Hope S. Warshaw, RD
Format: Paperback, 176 pages
Publisher: American Diabetes Association
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580405436
ISBN-13: 978-1580405430 [/one_half]
[one_half_last] Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy cover [/one_half_last]

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.

[divider]

[one_third] Healthy Eating Worksheet [/one_third]
[two_third_last]

Take Charge of Your Health!

Changing your eating habits can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be if you take a little time to think it out and create a plan.

This Healthy Eating Worksheet will walk you through the process of creating a healthy eating plan. All you need to do is print it out, set aside some time to complete it, and then fill it out. Then you can create your plan, knowing that you have addressed potential obstacles and came up with some creative ways to handle them.

Download Now [/two_third_last]

Categories
Recipes

Quick & Easy Frozen Coconut Cream Pie

Quick & Easy Frozen Coconut Cream Pie

I’ve often been disappointed with coconut cream pies I’ve had at restaurants or purchased from a store. They just weren’t coconutty enough for me. That’s why I developed this Quick & Easy Frozen Coconut Cream Pie. If you are looking for a strong coconut flavor in your coconut cream pie, I discovered that adding coconut milk powder to the recipe does the trick without adding too much moisture. You can find it at any Asian market, as well as online. I’ve linked to some options below the recipe.

Quick & Easy Frozen Coconut Cream Pie

NOTE: Although you can keep this pie in the refrigerator, it loses its shape quickly. So store it in the freezer, but defrost for about 15 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

  • 1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons coconut milk powder
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 1-1/3 cups coconut flakes
  • 1 (8 oz.) container frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed*
  • 1 fully cooked pie crust

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft.
  2. Beat in sugar and coconut powder.
  3. Gradually add milk, beating until smooth.
  4. Fold in coconut and whipped topping.
  5. Spoon into crust and freeze until firm — at least four hours.
  6. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
  7. Store any leftovers in the freezer.

* If you’d rather not used whipped topping, you can use real whipped cream. Simply beat some heavy whipping cream in a cold bowl until stiff peaks form, and use that instead.

This recipe was excerpted from Your Perfect Pie.

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Looking for a few more pie recipes to try?

Do you want to create your perfect, signature pie, but just can’t find the right recipe? Your Perfect Pie may just be the cookbook for you!

Breaking down the mystique of homemade pie into modules you can mix and match, this simple cookbook is sure to please. Learn more and grab your copy at:

CarmasCookery.com/yourperfectpie

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Categories
Cookbook Reviews

Cookbook Review: “Diabetes Superfoods Cookbook and Meal Planner” by Cassandra Verdi and Stephanie Dunbar

Cookbook Review: "Diabetes Superfoods Cookbook and Meal Planner" by Cassandra Verdi and Stephanie Dunbar

The growing trend of “superfoods” touches every area of cuisine — including diabetes management. A superfood is a food assumed to confer health benefits resulting from an exceptional nutrient density. In Diabetes Superfoods, Cassandra L. Verdi, MPH, RD, and Stephanie A. Dunbar, MPH, RD, provide an overview of superfoods and how they can be used to improve health and manage diabetes.

Cookbook Review: "Diabetes Superfoods Cookbook and Meal Planner" by Cassandra Verdi and Stephanie Dunbar

Summary of Diabetes Superfoods Cookbook and Meal Planner

The authors define the term “diabetes superfood” as food that is “rich in nutrients that benefit diabetes management or nutrients that are typically lacking in the American diet.” Using this definition as their base point, they provide a primer using a superfoods approach to cooking and meal planning.

What Worked for Me

The book is very easy to read and the recipes are laid out in a way that makes them easy to follow. The book is a soft and floppy trade paperback, which means when you open to a recipe you want to make, the book stays open. I love that.

The photographs are well taken but don’t overpower the book. As a cookbook should be, the recipes are the focus. And, whether you have diabetes or not, a lot of the recipes look really tasty. I’m especially looking forward to trying out the Avocado Cilantro Dressing, Lemonly Pesto Hummus, and Pecan-Crusted Port Tenderloin with Apples and Onions.

What Didn’t Work for Me

I’m not crazy about the color choice for the interior. They are printed in black and orange, which is an odd choice since there is no orange on the cover. I would have brought in the blue or red from the cover inter the interior.

I also would have preferred a listing of the recipes in the Table of Contents. As it is now, you either have to look in the index or go to each section to find a listing of the recipes. It makes it a bit more challenging to find what you’re looking for.

What I’d Love to See in the Second Edition

Frankly, the book is pretty good as it. The only change I’d really recommend is losing the orange in the interior and either keeping everything black or bringing in the blue from the cover to replace the orange.

Recommendation

If you are curious about superfoods and how they can help you manage your diabetes or even pre-diabetes, Diabetes Superfoods Cookbook and Meal Planner is an excellent starter cookbook.

Rating for Diabetes Superfoods Cookbook and Meal Planner

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Specs

Full Title: Diabetes Superfoods Cookbook and Meal Planner: Power-Packed Recipes and Meal Plans Designed to Help You Lose Weight and Control Your Blood Glucose
Author: by Cassandra Verdi, MPH, RD and Stephanie Dunbar, MPH, RD
Format: Trade paperback, 176 pages
Publisher: American Diabetes Association
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580406793
ISBN-13: 978-1580406796 [/one_half]
[one_half_last] Diabetes Superfoods Cookbook and Meal Planner cover image [/one_half_last]

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.

Categories
Creative Cookery

How To Decide What Apple Pie to Make

How To Decide What Apple Pie to Make

There are dozens of ways to make an apple pie. Of course, this isn’t much help if you’re looking for a recipe to use right now. So what I’m going to offer in this post are some questions you should ask yourself before you go searching for that recipe. That way, you’ll be able to find the one that is just right for your needs.

How To Decide What Apple Pie to Make

Do you want a shallow or deep-dish apple pie?

The answer to this question will help you determine not only the style of pie that will work best but also how many apples you’ll need.

What kind of crust are you hankering for?

Do you want a traditional pastry crust? What about a crumb crust made out of shortbread or gingerbread cookies?

Do you want a covered or open-faced pie?

Because the apples in your pie can get dried out if you don’t put a cover on them, you may need to make a wetter sauce for an open-faced pie.

If you choose covered, what kind of cover do you want? Full pastry? Latticed pastry? Or something more akin to a cobbler, made with crumbs, brown sugar and butter?

What type of filling do you prefer?

Do you want the purest filling that is nothing but apples and sauce? Or do you want to get adventurous with flavor? Maybe you’d like to try a pumpkin-apple pie? What about a pear and apple pie? Custard and apple pie? Caramel apple pie? There is no limit to the combinations you can create… except that of your imagination.

How will you garnish your pie?

Depending on the flavors you’ve blended, you should select a garnish that not only looks nice but compliments the pie’s flavor mix. Garnishes can range from whipped topping or ice cream to toasted nuts or even mint leaves.

Once you’ve made all these decisions, finding the apple pie recipe you crave should be a whole lot easier.

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[one_fourth] [/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last] Looking for a few more pie recipes to try? Want to create your perfect, signature pie, but just can’t find the right recipe? Your Perfect Pie just may be the cookbook for you. Breaking down the mystique of homemade pie, this simple cookbook is sure to please. Learn more and grab your copy at CarmasCookery.com/yourperfectpie [/three_fourth_last].

Categories
Cookbook Reviews

Book Review: “The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution” by Jill Hillhouse

Book Review: “The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution” by Jill Hillhouse

I have a friend with diabetes who swears by the Paleo diet in managing her blood sugar and losing weight. And, given its emphasis on avoiding processed food and focusing on whole foods, it stands to reason that it would be good for managing blood sugar. Jill Hillhouse’s The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution provides a good primer on the Paleo diet and how it can help you manage your diabetes.

Book Review: “The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution” by Jill Hillhouse

Summary of The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution

The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution is a multi-purpose guide. It provides basic information on the Paleo diet, as well as diabetes. It gives you guidance on making the transition to Paleo, including a 30-day meal plan, and some starter recipes (take up a little more than half the book).

What Worked for Me

I love that it provides an overview of both diabetes and the Paleo diet. This makes it a good resource for newbies to these topics. The chapter on “Getting Ready to Start the Paleo Diet” provides an excellent guide transitioning to this new lifestyle. And, of course, having a 30-day meal plan is also good.

Each recipe comes with a “Nutrition Tip” which educates you on the benefits of that recipe’s key ingredient. The recipes are formatted well, so they should be easy to follow.

Like all good cookbooks, it has an index!

What Didn’t Work for Me

If you’ve read my previous cookbook reviews, you know how I feel about trade paperback cookbooks. Keeping the book open so that you can follow a recipe is a challenge with this book because of this binding method.

The pages of the informative portion of the book are riddled with pull quotes, “Did you know?” tips and other formatting bells and whistles. This makes the pages distracting and can reduce comprehension of what you’re reading unless you are disciplined enough to ignore them (something I often struggle with, having ADD.)

What I’d Love to See in the Second Edition

I would love to see more white space so that the pages feel less claustrophobic. This could easily be accomplished by switching to a binder format and increasing the size of the book. The book is currently 7″ x 10″ and could benefit from moving to either 8 1/2″ x 11″ using the current font size, or by decreasing the font size and keeping with its current size. It could also switch to an 8″ x 9.5″ binder format.

I’d also like to see the formatting for the chapters in Part One simplified. This would make it easier to read and, more than likely, increase comprehension.

Recommendation

This is a great book for someone who has just been diagnosed with diabetes and wants to transition to the Paleo diet. It is also good for anyone who wants to learn the basics of Paleo, with or without a diabetes diagnosis. There is a variety of recipes that will appeal to a diverse pallet.

Rating for The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution: 4 out of 5 Chefs

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Specs

Full Title: The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution: Manage Your Blood Sugar with 125 Recipes Plus a 30-Day Meal Plan
Author: Jill Hillhouse, CNP, with Lisa Cantkier, CHN
Paperback:: 288 pages
Publisher: Robert Rose
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778805484
ISBN-13: 978-0778805489

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

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[one_third_last] The Paleo Diabetes Diet Solution cover [/one_third_last]

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.

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