The "best" Books And Cookbooks

[sixdogssixcats]

I've done a lot of reading of book reviews on Lame Advertisement and all books have both glowing and negative reviews. Which books about celiac and which gluten-free cookbooks truly are the best, based on personal experiences? Thanks.

Lesley

Catherine's mom

[Blueyedtiger]

When I first was diagnosed, I ran to Barns & Nobles to pick up cookbooks. They had two so I bought them.

I loved "The Wheat-Free Cook" by Jacqueline Mallorca and would recommend it to everyone. I would say her recipes are more elegant, not your downhome or southern kind of cooking. I especially loved her rice flour tart shell which I used for pumpkin pie and pecan pie for the holidays. So many people commented that it was the best crust they have ever tasted and I enjoyed it much more than the non-gluten pie crusts. I also loved the quick white rice flour flatbread which makes a wonderful focaccia bread and a great pizza crust (which she gives you recipes for). She loves to use a large food processor instead of a mixer but I'm sure you could use a mixer for her recipes. She also likes chestnut flour which I have not been able to find so I haven't tried those recipes yet. There is also a section on living gluten-free in this book.

I was not all that impressed with "Living Gluten-Free for Dummies" by Danna Korn. It was mostly information you could find online and very few recipes, none that stand out as exceptional.

I have also had exceptional luck just printing recipes off from this forum. Also Lorka150 from this forum has a recipe book out that I'm sure is great. I have tried her amazing bread as well as her carrot cake and brownies that are on Recipezaar.com and all were amazingly easy to make and they taste great. If you go to Open Original Shared Link you can see her recipes and there is also a link to buy her book.

Hope that helps.

-Laura

[GlutenGalAZ]

I have about 7 gluten free cookbooks. The one that I like the most right now is The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. You don't use any flours all recipies call for potato starch and cornstarch and most also include baking soda/powder. I just started to use it very recent and made the pizza crust -- turned out really good and the left overs were good as well. This book is nice b/c you don't have to mix a lot of flours together to make a flour mix. There are a lot of recipies in this book that I have marked to try.

Recently I got Incredible Edible Gluten-Free Food for Kids by Sheri L. Sanderson. I have not had time yet to try this book but the way the book is laid out and from looking at the recipies it looks really baking/cooking friendly. I have another kids type cook book (I figured the kids cookbooks would be easy/quick and not all gourmet type) but this one looks a lot easier and better options than my other one.

I have read how some people still like to use their old cookbooks and just change all gluten ingredients over to gluten free.

Hope you can find some that work for you... Good Luck

[dandelionmom]

Our favorites:

Kids with Celiac Disease : A Family Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy, Gluten-Free Children by Danna Korn

Living Gluten-free for Dummies by Danna Korn

(children's book) Eating Gluten-Free With Emily: A Story For Children With Celiac Disease by Bonnie J. Kruszka and Richard S. Cihlar

[Amyleigh0007]

I will have to respectfully disagree with blueyedtiger about Danna Korn's book Living Gluten Free for Dummies. I loved it and thought it was extremely helpful in those first few weeks. It is written in simple language that anyone can understand. True, you can find most of the info online but having it all in book form is much easier and less time consuming then searching on the web. Ms. Korn is funny and I definitely needed a laugh in those first few weeks after my son's dx. After reading her book I felt hopeful about my son's future with Celiac Disease.

[jerseyangel]

"Celiac Disease--A Hidden Epidemic" by Dr. Peter Green is an excellent book, in my opinion. "Wheat Free Worry Free" by Dana Korn is also very good for those very new to the gluten-free lifestyle.

I second "The Gluten Free Kitchen" by Roben Ryberg. (that pizza crust is delicious and so easy!)

[purple]

So far I like Gluten Free Quick and Easy by Carol Fenster. Bette Hagman's recipes are very good. Try to go with a flour mix that has fiber and protein. Carol uses sorghum which has lots of both. Alot of Hagman's recipes use rice, which tend to be lower in fiber and protein and gritty but her recipes are still good. I also have Cooking Free by Carol Fenster but haven't used it yet. Its a good book if you are allergic to dairy or eggs and gluten. The coconut flour book...don't know the title, uses lots of eggs which I don't care for. However, coconut flour is packed with protein and fiber.

[Guest AutumnE]

hah I just started a thread in the baking section regarding cookbooks then found this here

My most used cookbook isnt a gluten free cookbook, I like the cake mix doctor cookbook for my cakes and desserts as I can just substitute a regular cake mix for a gluten-free cake mix since they all use cake mixes for the base of the recipe so they are very easy to alter.

[Blueyedtiger]

The coconut flour book...don't know the title, uses lots of eggs which I don't care for. However, coconut flour is packed with protein and fiber.

I know which one you are talking about. Its something like "Coconut Lover's Cookbook" by Dr. Bruce Fife. I tried the yellow cake and it had like 9 eggs for a 8 x 8 square sized cake. I used butter to grease the pan and it came out tasting like a donut (fried on the outside) and then in the center it tasted like eggs. I think I didn't mix it well enough. So if you would like to try the recipe, my advise is to learn from my mistakes and mix it well and don't grease the pan with butter unless you flour it as well.

[dbmamaz]

I have about 7 gluten free cookbooks. The one that I like the most right now is The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. You don't use any flours all recipies call for potato starch and cornstarch and most also include baking soda/powder.

Wow, i just marked that on my amaz. wishlist - i am currently not eating anything which didnt test clean on my tests, and the only things I can bake with are corn, potato and millet - but the last time i made something with millet flour (cookies) the batter tasted great and the cookies tasted dreadfuly bitter. I see that the baked goods arent as nutritious, but at least I could make treats I can eat!

I actually managed to manipulate a favorite recipe of mine for peach cobbler by comparing the topping to a cookie recipe, calculating the ratios, then applying that to a gluten-free cookie recipe which used only starches (tho it did call for tapioca, which i react badly to) . . . and it worked. But i wouldnt try just subbing regular gluten free flours - tho with quick breads and desserts, several of the all-purpose flour mixes seem to work for people who can tolerate them.

[purple]

I know which one you are talking about. Its something like "Coconut Lover's Cookbook" by Dr. Bruce Fife. I tried the yellow cake and it had like 9 eggs for a 8 x 8 square sized cake. I used butter to grease the pan and it came out tasting like a donut (fried on the outside) and then in the center it tasted like eggs. I think I didn't mix it well enough. So if you would like to try the recipe, my advise is to learn from my mistakes and mix it well and don't grease the pan with butter unless you flour it as well.

Not me, thanks. I was interested in that cook book until I found out it was "eggy". But I did learn how healthy coconut flour is so I have been putting 1T. up to 1/4 cup in my recipes.