Review by Alexis Harrison:

I was looking for something to cook at home that would also enable me to keep losing weight. This book did just the trick. It is full of some really yummy recipes that are easy to do. I liked the fact that most can be cooked and prepared in a little time and you don’t have to worry about running around town to find ingrediants. But mostly, I loved the fact that the food doesn’t taste like cardboard! That was an added bonus and one reason this will be a book I will keep around forever. Another good one that’s helped me lose weight–Goodbye, Fatty! Hello, Skinny! How I Lost Weight And Still Ate The Foods I Loved-Without Dieting.

Review by Danno:

The diet works and seems to target the belly. My wife and I both have lost over 10 lbs. in less than 4 weeks. I’ve lost enough to have to tighten my belt a notch. I can tell she has lost weight too.

The down side is the recipes for the most part are not that simple, and not your everyday ingredients. (Pine nuts at for a half pound? Come on.) You should be able to find a dozen or so recipes that you like and can afford to make. That will do to get you through a couple weeks to lose some weight, and inches. It would be tough to make this a life style diet though.

If you don’t like olives or avocados, can’t eat nuts, or just don’t have time to prepare meals, this may not be for you. As always, save some money and look for a used book.

Review by Edwin Rhoden:

One would not know that these recipes were designed for a diabetic, until they looked at some of the ingredients. These are tasty, flavorful, and creative recipes for the whole family, designed to lower the sugar/carbohydrate intake grams for diabetics. The recipes are simple, and made with the ‘usual’ ingredients with the exception of the sugar substitutes. And, there are handy conversion charts that show how to convert ‘sugars’ to sugar substitutes. Anyone will enjoy the foods that they make from these recipe’s. This is truly a ‘gourmet’ cookbook, with literally thousands of recipes for everyday living. There are entree and side dish recipe’s, but my favorite section are the hundreds of ‘dessert’ recipes. You have to try those Cream Puffs!

Review by :

By Finsand, Caldwell, and White – This book has thousands of recipes and they are good. I don’t think I will ever grow tired of using it. However, if you or someone you are cooking for has just recently been diagnosed with diabetes, this is not the book to get you started. It does have useful charts, but it has very little educational material about the disease. I would recommend this book as a companion to a book with comprehensive information about diabetes. I think the most prominent chart in the book deals with sugar substitutes. (The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook by Mary Donkersloot is a great place to get started. With this book and the book you are reading about, youu will never lack in information and choices.)Personally, I would prefer less recipes about desserts. There are hundreds and hundreds of these recipes. I’ve never really craved daily deserts or sweetened foods. After spending time in the hospital, and meeting other diabetics, this may be exactly what you need, though. Some people do eat sweet dishes frequently. I plan to use these recipies in cooking for my aging parents and myself, in order to provide things that we can all eat. I doubt I will use more than a portion of this book in my own home.

Review by Shashank Tripathi:

If you’ve read the South Beach Diet, it did include some preliminary recipe ideas, but they were few and far between. This follow-up cookbook is being marketed as if it were looking to dovetail on the popularity of its predecessor, but I believe if you have this, you don’t even need the original. The variety of recipes is fascinating, and the diet phase they correspond to in the original diet (which you can easily comprehend from this book alone) is clearly marked. Mind you, this is not a “low carb” book. It is about lowering “bad” carbs while allowing “good” carbs. The South Beach idea veers around keeping the Glycemic Index low and Agatston does a pretty good job of explaining the nutritional logic for doing so. The recipes that I have tried so far are quite good in terms of taste. The best thing for me is that none of the recipes includes any fancy condiments that you’d only find in some super-elite department stores on the other side of town. Very handy for a health-conscious bachelor. Give it a try. Healthy *and* tasty recipes can’t be a bad investment anyway!

Review by Ron Atkins:

Okay, having read the basic bible to the South Beach Diet (ISBN: 1579546463), which I would recommend to you if you are interested in this cookbook, I wanted to try some of the meals Agatston referred to in his book.The author divides the cookbook into the following sections: breakfast, snacks, soups, salads, side dishes, fish and poultry, meats, vegetarian, and desserts. Each section has approximately 20 recipes, that appear easy enough to prepare and follow the 40% protein, 30% carb, and 30% fat you would expect on a diet plan like this. Also, most of the recipes included carb counts, protein grams, etc. I noticed in the dessert section (my personal favorite of any cookbook) that the recipes employ yogurt, almonds, and fresh fruit extensively. Some sugar substitutes were noted, but not a lot.The author also dedicates 8 pages of the book to summarizing the diet plan, a long chapter on shopping in accordance with the diet plan, and 5 pages of question and answer type stuff that addresses general questions relevant to the diet. Color photos were available for about 50% of the recipes, which is why I titled this review “Pretty Pictures.” I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoyed and plans to use the SouthBeach Diet.

Review by Midwest Book Review:

Showcasing more than 150 superb recipes, the “Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide And Cookbook” is the collaborative effort of experienced cookbook authors Bonnie Sanders Polin and Francis Towner Giedt, and the medical experts at the Cleveland Clinic’s highly respected Heart & Vascular Institute. More than just another cookbook designed for ‘heart healthy’ dining, the “Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide And Cookbook” is also a compendium of sound, practical, professional advice on reshaping the modern American lifestyle so as to enhance cardiovascular health and physical well-being. From Salmon Mousse; Warm Arugula with Polenta Croutons and Mozzarella Cheese; and Linguine with Spicy Broccoli and Portobello Mushrooms; to Grilled Black Sea Bass over Summer Vegetables with Japanese Dressing; Asian Chicken Wraps; Curried Lentils and Cauliflower with Cucumber Raita; and Orange Upside-Down Cake, the “Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide And Cookbook” offers a culinary wealth of savory, ‘kitchen cook friendly’ recipes that would grace any family meal or celebratory dining event.

Review by G. Hasiotis:

Following our recent stay at the Cleveland Clinic I was impressed by all communications and printed matter coming out of the Clinic. The Cleveland Clinic Cookbook certainly promised to offer a concise roadmap of how to cook heart healthy fare,however, once I began reading and leafing through its contents I was surprised to see that it was not all it was cracked up to be. The first recipe I selected turned out alright, however, the directions were not concise and oddly enough the very pages on which the book is printed are not of good quality so that if you happen to spill something while cooking or even just dampen the page it seeps through (they must have used a light weight paper stock in a move toward economy?) so, to my utter surprise, this book is less than expected. Perhaps it might be wise to skip this volume and search the many other options available for good heart healthy fare….

Review by A. Ryan:

Easy-read, simple recipes. Short ingredient lists. A cookbook that’s clearly organized into short chapters according to meat type. This is what I should have had when I started the Atkins’ Diet last year.

Unlike its predecessor, Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Cookbook, this Quick & Easy Diet Cookbook is very handy. It’s just the thing after a long day when you don’t want to get into an elaborate cooking session. I can pull some meat out of the fridge and look up a recipe; chances are, I will have everything I need stocked in my low-carb pantry and fridge. Most of the main dish recipes take under one half hour to prep and finish, and the ones I’ve tried are all taste-satisfying winners.

There is a beginning chapter that explains how to trim the carb content down if you’re in the early Induction phase of the diet. Mostly, though, the meals are all low-carb enough for the Ongoing Weight Loss and Maintenance phases. I think dieters who are into other low carb diets will find it useful, too. There is no guesswork about how many carbs per serving when you measure your ingredients correctly and consult the carb, calorie, etc. counts at the bottom of the page.

Finally, I want to thank the team that finished this book after the Doctor’s tragic accident last year. It’s great that his “estate” is carrying on his good work to help this country and many more around the world learn how to get healthy and stay that way. Thank you all, and may God bless.

-Andrea, aka Merribelle

Review by :

I’ve been following the Atkins diet for a short time and decided to buy this to save time preparing meals. This is just a great help in following the Atkins way of eating. The recipes truly are “quick and easy” and delicious. Another plus is that the book isn’t overmelmingly long (not one of those “1,000 mouth watering recipes”)! There are several recipes for each section (ie; beef, poultry, appetizers, seafood, desserts, etc.) – just enough to give you varied menu ideas but not overwelm you with decisions.
This is good eating even for those who are not dieting.

Review by Peggy A. West:

I have tried many of the recipes in this book, and they are fantastic. They are not only delicous, but make a beautiful presentation when served. Since adopting this dietary concept, I have changed my health status from pre-diabetic back to normal. I heartily recommend this way of eating.

Review by D. S. Hemmer:

A cookbook with quick-and-easy vegetarian meals that really satisfy and keep me healthy!

Spectacular, delicious recipes with easy to follow instructions. So well-written, it’s as if it was made just for me.

Also try

The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle: Lifestyle Center of America’s Complete Program to Stop Diabetes, Restore Health,and Build Natural Vitality

Review by Julie Neal:

Best-life advocate Bob Greene positions the ideas in this cookbook as a “gift that you give to yourself and your loved ones.” Home-cooked meals made from fresh, natural ingredients will make you feel better, live longer and bond with your family and friends. Makes sense to me. And if you just want to cook yummy foods, these dishes are delicious.

They are also nutritious, and all the details for each serving are at the end of each recipe: calories, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugar, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, calcium and sodium.

Easy-to-follow meal plans are broken down into three sections. Quick and Easy meals take no more than 20 minutes to prepare, Kitchen Connoisseur choices are a little more adventurous, and Family-Friendly meals offer healthy versions of family favorites. Each meal plan has six calorie levels: 1,500, 1,600, 1,700, 1,800, 2,000 and 2,500 calories a day.

Although most of the recipes are geared to busy families with little time to spend in the kitchen, there is a whole chapter of wonderful, healthy dishes from accomplished chefs. These recipes may take a little longer than the 30 minutes or so the other recipes require to prepare. Some of the chefs participating include Mollie Ahlstrand of Trattoria Mollie, Dan Barber of Blue Hill, Sarma Melngailis of Pure Food and Wine, Charlie Trotter of Charlie Trotter’s and Roy Yamaguchi of the 35 Roy’s Restaurants around the world. Ahlstrand’s Zuppa di Pomodoro is a flavorful take on tomato soup that uses garlic, brandy, rosemary and orange juice.

In the back is a handy Techniques tutorial showing how to roast garlic, toast nuts, section citrus, clarify butter and the like.

Other good choices for healthy cookbooks include Deceptively Delicious, Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World and The Most Decadent Diet Ever.

The Eat This Not That! series is also excellent.

Here’s the chapter list:

1. Introduction

2. Recipes

3. Breakfast

4. Soups

5. Salads

6. Sandwiches, Wraps and Crispbreads

7. Entrees: Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Vegetarian

8. Side Dishes: Grains, Vegetables

9. Calcium-Rich Snacks

10. Desserts

11. Best-Life Recipes from World-Class Chefs

12. Meal Plans

13. Basic Recipes

14. Techniques

Review by Sacramento Book Review:

Buffalo with Blackberries, anyone? Quinoa Granola? How about Salad of Riesling-Poached Tokyo Turnips with Brussels Sprouts, Pickled French Laundry Garden Onion, and Toasted Mustard Seed Emulsion? Bob Greene’s “The Best Life Diet Cookbook”, designed to be used in tandem with his wildly popular “The Best Life Diet” has the best and healthiest of intentions, but isn’t a terribly great resource for anyone short on time or money or with a family of potentially picky little ones–in other words, a good portion of the population. Greene’s philosophy of cooking and eating is a solid one; he firmly believes that “eating is meant to be one of life’s great pleasures,” and that “many of us have lost that special connection with the experience of eating….” The purpose of this books is to help readers “reclaim the experience of eating as a celebration by sitting down to enjoy these high-quality, delicious dishes without overdoing it.” So far, so good.

The recipes, however, split into ten different categories that include Breakfast, Entrees, Side Dishes, and Desserts, overwhelmingly seem geared towards the young, the hip, and the unencumbered, not the average workaday American with 2.5 kids. While there may be a silent majority of working families who are beside themselves with joy to come home from a hard day at work to partake of Tofu Mushroom Scramble on a Whole Wheat Tortilla or Baked Eggplant with Ground Beef, they certainly keep themselves well hidden. And, even if Duck with Plums or Broiled Mahimahi with Grapes and Leeks seems like a winner, the price of the ingredients can often prove prohibitive in these days of the not-so-great economy.

Greene does acknowledge that different Best Life Dieters have different needs, and two of the three two-week full meal plans he includes in the back of the book, the Quick and Easy Meal Plan and the Family-Friendly Plan (the third is the Kitchen Connoisseur plan), are geared for the busy and the child-overwhelmed. The Family-Friendly Plan incorporates favorites like Sloppy Joes and Shepherd’s Pie, but leaves the reader wondering why a person would purchase a book containing chiefly recipes of the Cauliflower Curry with Red Lentils variety if they are planning on cooking the Chicken Noodle soup.

That said, there is no doubt that Greene’s recipes are nutritious, low-calorie, palate-expanding, and a real find for devoted food enthusiasts looking to expand their kitchen repertoire.

Review by Shashank Tripathi:

If you’ve read the South Beach Diet, it did include some preliminary recipe ideas, but they were few and far between. This follow-up cookbook is being marketed as if it were looking to dovetail on the popularity of its predecessor, but I believe if you have this, you don’t even need the original. The variety of recipes is fascinating, and the diet phase they correspond to in the original diet (which you can easily comprehend from this book alone) is clearly marked. Mind you, this is not a “low carb” book. It is about lowering “bad” carbs while allowing “good” carbs. The South Beach idea veers around keeping the Glycemic Index low and Agatston does a pretty good job of explaining the nutritional logic for doing so. The recipes that I have tried so far are quite good in terms of taste. The best thing for me is that none of the recipes includes any fancy condiments that you’d only find in some super-elite department stores on the other side of town. Very handy for a health-conscious bachelor. Give it a try. Healthy *and* tasty recipes can’t be a bad investment anyway!

Review by Ron Atkins:

Okay, having read the basic bible to the South Beach Diet (ISBN: 1579546463), which I would recommend to you if you are interested in this cookbook, I wanted to try some of the meals Agatston referred to in his book.The author divides the cookbook into the following sections: breakfast, snacks, soups, salads, side dishes, fish and poultry, meats, vegetarian, and desserts. Each section has approximately 20 recipes, that appear easy enough to prepare and follow the 40% protein, 30% carb, and 30% fat you would expect on a diet plan like this. Also, most of the recipes included carb counts, protein grams, etc. I noticed in the dessert section (my personal favorite of any cookbook) that the recipes employ yogurt, almonds, and fresh fruit extensively. Some sugar substitutes were noted, but not a lot.The author also dedicates 8 pages of the book to summarizing the diet plan, a long chapter on shopping in accordance with the diet plan, and 5 pages of question and answer type stuff that addresses general questions relevant to the diet. Color photos were available for about 50% of the recipes, which is why I titled this review “Pretty Pictures.” I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoyed and plans to use the SouthBeach Diet.

Review by Sally:

A straight forward and immensely useful review of the Glycemic Load Diet plus lots of really delicious recipes. Dana’s work is in my experience always well researched, entertaining, educational and makes for fabulous food that contributes to your health. If you’re thinking of returning to health this New Year this should be your first buy and if you have Dana’s other cookbooks you won’t find this redundant, but fresh and inspiring.

Review by Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Man:

We’ve heard a lot about the glycemic index in recent years, but not many people know exactly what that means and why they should care. The problem with GI is it is an incomplete equation when it comes to figuring out what impact a particular food will have on the body. A better tool is to determine the glycemic load of what you eat and that’s something Dr. Rob Thompson has devoted himself to with his diet plan. In this book of recipes that serves as a companion to The Glycemic-Load Diet, Dr. Thompson teams up with world-famous low-carb cookbook author Dana Carpender to whip up some yummy recipes that are designed to control insulin spikes which lead to weight gain, hunger, and disease. One thing you can always count on when Dana Carpender contributes recipes to a cookbook is variety, mouthwatering dishes, and a commitment to keeping them low-carb. You get 150 outstanding recipes to enjoy for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and everything in between with this book!