Gluten Free Dairy Free Book Store

Review by Patricia Smith:

I thumbed through this book and knew that it would be a dust collector on the shelf for me. The recipes used what I am guessing to be European measurements and ingredients that I have never even heard of. I quickly packaged it back up and returned it. It was a big disappointment for me. If you are looking for excellent gluten free recipe books I would highly suggest purchasing any of Bette Hagmans cookbooks.

Review by BookReview.com:

“Let’s Eat Out!” will make you hungry and give you the power to protect yourself from food allergies at the same time. This series is an amazingly comprehensive guide that is sure to help thousands of people to feel more in control of their lives.

Addressing ten food allergens in seven international cuisines was a project that took years of research. The result is an allergy free passport, 496 page, full color book that includes 175+ menu items with descriptions, and preparation questions for you to ask to restaurant staff, and so much more that will give you the inspiration to once again go out to eat. There are snack ideas, beverage categories, quick reference guides and extensive detailed menus to learn about. Knowledge is power and so is asking the right questions. The authors give you the knowledge as well as the right questions to ask in order to protect yourself and/or your loved ones who have food allergies. The book even includes information on 50+ global airlines that offer special meals.

The main book is so easy to use with color coded tabs on the chapter pages, making it simple to open up to Indian Cuisine or American Steak and Seafood, among others. Each chapter offers an interesting overview of that culture’s cooking habits, which I promise you will make your mouth water. The introduction and first couple of chapters are a step by step guide that will help those who are new to dealing with allergies as well as those who have lived with them for years. Written in layman’s terms, you will not need your doctor sitting beside you in the restaurant in order to order!

In addition to the main book there are small passports available that are meant to be carried along in the pocket as you explore the world of dining out. Whether you are a world traveler or simply heading into town to sample some various cuisines, these smaller guides are for quick reference. Three of them focus on certain cuisines, while a fourth offers a multi-lingual phrase guide that is dedicated to communicating special dietary needs. This passport provides translations from English to French, German, Italian and Spanish.

The series is the first of its kind and promises to enrich the lives of many people. A well-written, professionally researched, gorgeous and sturdy book that is likely to become a common sight in many a restaurant and home.

Review by Heather Froeschl.

Review by Sandra MacLean:

Eating when you’re away from your own home is always a challenge when you are on a special diet.

In “Let’s Eat Out!” Koeller and La France have put together an impressive amount of information to make life easier for travelers and people who just want to eat out with family and friends.

I found the book a bit difficult at first because there is just so much content to sort out. It’s definitely not a book to digest in one sitting!

I soon realized it really is a combination of broad reference guide and quick reference “cheat sheets.” Once that became clear, it was much easier to scan and use the table of contents and index to find specific information. You can choose to just use the quick guides or go to the more detailed explanations.

All in all, the authors cover a very broad topic in an orderly fashion that makes it easy to locate information for a variety of situations. They use 7 common cuisine types, from American Steak and Seafood to Thai, to analyze the issues a diner can expect to face. They offer comments on the ingredients, the way food is prepared and on likely sources of hidden cross contamination.

After you read a couple of these, you begin to see the patterns and it would not be so difficult to apply the same process to another type of food. As they point out, it’s all about educating yourself and learning what questions to ask.

Poring through their food/menu analysis, I discovered to my dismay that the item I had been selecting from a fast food restaurant most likely contains hidden gluten that I would not have thought to question. I did wonder why I didn’t feel good every time I ate there!

Not only does the book cover information about individual foods, styles of cuisine, and 10 common food allergens, it also provides specific information about travel including contact information for individual airlines and the special diets they provide, contact information for associations and organizations in many parts of the world and even some translation phrases.

I’d recommend “Let’s Eat Out!” as a valuable reference book. It’s especially useful for those who frequently eat out or travel and even better, those who’d like to eat out more but have hesitated to take the risk. It could open up a whole new world.

The authors deserve the recognition that their book received as a Benjamin Franklin award finalist for 2006 in the Health (Wellness/Nutrition) category.

Review by Book Lover:

My Book just arrived, and I was SO tired of seeing my friends devour sugar over the holidays…I couldn’t wait to try something that would not trigger all of my allergies…yet be delicious.

I’d tried some of the author’s allergen free cookies, found them far superior to similar products on the market…so why not try to learn to make such desserts myself?

Too many dinner parties of making a scrumptious dessert, only to watch in envy as it was devoured by friends…while I suffered in silence, unable to consume the dreaded egg, sugar, wheat trifecta of doom.

First of all, the book looks great…wonderful photos of mouth watering, allergen free cakes, cookies, and other treats. For my first experiment, I zeroed in on a long time favorite…vanilla cake. Directions were clear, recipe simple to follow…and it wasn’t long before I stared at my reward for a holiday of dairy abstinence. I’m embarrassed to say that I devoured most of the cake before I could share it with my egg and wheat eating brethren. Unlike many of these ‘healthy’ desserts, it was delicious…moist, and a rich and creamy frosting. None of that disappointing aftertaste. (like you get with carob…I hate carob. I loathe carob)

I’m really happy with the book, and what I’ve sampled so far. Looking forward to dinner parties at which I don’t have to sip green tea, clutching the saucer in resentment as I watch others down their sweet treats. The book is really wonderful, and I highly recommend it for its layout, photos, and most of all…delicious, easy to follow, recipes.

Review by cookie box:

tastiest allergy free recipes I have ever tried. Great instructions and relatively easy to make. Also ingredients are readily available.

Review by Renee L Paolino:

After you are finished giggling about the authors’ last names, you might speculate that this cookbook has the potential to be, well boring. Just the phrase “eat well” conjures up an image of a block of tofu and maybe a big, empty hole where we would find foods we love to eat.

Get beyond all that negativity, my friends! The recipes from “The Eat Well Cookbook” are delicious; you won’t feel as if you’re substituting healthy for delicious. Case in point: “Butterfly lamb with roasted red vegetables & warm mint sauce”. How about “Greek-style roast chicken with avgolemono sauce”? These recipes are very elegant and full of flavor. You can choose to make healthy dinners with meat — not always present in “healthy” cookbooks. Trying to incorporate more meatless meals to your culinary repertoire? Try my favorite in this collection, “Moroccan lentil soup”. This soup ends my search for the delicious spicy lentil soup that I enjoy at a local Moroccan restaurant (since the owner resolutely refuses to part with the recipe).

Though the front cover proclaims “lose weight and feel fabulous”, this cookbook addresses other important health issues such as food sensitivities and allergies, how to live well and feel great, and of course, ways to reduce weight. To me, it all comes down to the question: Are the recipes in “The Eat Well Cookbook ” delicious? Though I have not tried all the recipes, out of the two dozen or so I’ve tried, I am impressed with the up-front, well melded flavors of the recipes. You will not feel as if you’re eating just to get healthy.

There are two more reasons I have made room for this cookbook on my shelf. The recipes are dairy-free and gluten-free. Now keep reading, please! First of all, I have no allergies or sensitivities to either dairy or gluten products, and I am not on a dairy-free/gluten-free diet. But like many other health-conscious people, lately I have heard about the positive effects of reducing (if not completely removing) gluten and/or dairy products from our everyday diet. There is some scientific evidence indicating that removing dairy and gluten products is beneficial for people with autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis. A friend of mine who has multiple sclerosis has experienced increases in strength and dexterity of her extremities, which is what got me thinking that possibly the general population can benefit from cutting down on dairy and gluten products. I have not eliminated these products completely from my diet, but I am enjoying the delicious recipes from this cookbook and reducing the overall amount of dairy and gluten in my family’s diet. I’m betting that further scientific studies in the coming years will bear out the wisdom of reducing these products, at least to some degree, in our daily diet. “The Eat Well Cookbook” is such a great place to begin this journey.

Review by Stephanie:

This is a terrific addition to my collection of over 100 cookbooks. The book is authored and published in Australia, so naturally features local (Asian) and immigrant (Mediterranean) influences/ingredients. I’ve only made a few recipes so far, all of which were excellent, and I’m tempted by many more. I highly recommend the Aromatic Beef Soup with Star Anise (pg 48), Chicken Laksa with Rice Noodles (pg 90) and, most recently attempted, Sweet Potato Frittata with Walnut and Herb Salsa (pg 124). I substituted pistachios for walnuts, and this salsa is absolutely sensational – intensely flavoured and a beautiful complement to the frittata, which doesn’t actually ‘need’ the salsa – it tastes great as it is. The recipes are dairy and gluten free. I’m not – I bought the book on the basis of a great review in a NZ/Aus. food magazine, and after a good browse (pages are available online). I thought it might make catering for friends with food intolerances easier – but I’ll be using this book a lot regardless of who I have over to dinner and highly recommend it. Bravo to the authors.

Review by Gomez Shopper:

The cover of this cookbook says it contains recipes that are “Wheat Free , Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free , Egg Free and Low in sugar.” To me that means that the recipes would not contain these indredients. The only promised ingredient I can’t find in the recipes so far is wheat. Most of the recipes contain diary or egg products and then offer suggested substitutions but these doesn’t help much, particularly when the substitutions simply mean omit or replace with soy – another allergen. It should be marketed as a Wheat-free cookbook with suggested substitutions. I feel as if I’ve been decieved and am more frustrated than I was before purchasing it.

Review by J. Williamson:

I was pleased to see at least two other people mentioned this, but thought I’d throw in my two cents.

With a non-allergic 4 year old and a 2 year old allergic to wheat,dairy, eggs, fish and nuts, I was hoping to find some recipes that would please both kids. Almost all the recipes have dairy or eggs in them. The dairy-free and egg-free options are just to omit them. Great! Pick up any cookbook for that.

I made one recipe from this book and it was awful. (A cake recipe that I had to use 3 substitutions for). There are much better cake recipes out there.

This book is on its way to the used bookstore . . .

Review by Diane:

I bought this book looking for recipes for my very picky son who is allergic to dairy, eggs, and nuts. I was very disappointed, because most of the recipes contained some or all of these ingredients (in spite of the misleading title), then included a note at the bottom to omit or substitute these ingredients. The author would have been better off making it clear upfront that this is a book for individuals with wheat allergies, rather than misleadingly trying to market it to such a broad group of people. One other thing…the book offers no pictures of the dishes it contains. Altogether it was a huge disappointment, and I returned it. I have found that, for my son’s allergies, “What’s to Eat the Milk-free, Egg-free, Nut-free Food Allergy Cookbook” by Linda marienhoff Coss, was a much better purchase.

Review by sunny:

I find this book truly amazing given that this is the first book from this author. This is really a simple to follow home cooking and most of the ingredients are available in stores.