Dana Carpender's Every Calorie Counts Cookbook: 500 Great-Tasting, Sugar-Free, Low-Calorie Recipes that the Whole Family Will Love - Softcover

let's get one thing straight about the "Every Calorie Counts Cookbook" right away: THIS IS DEFINITELY A LOW-CARB COOKBOOK! Carpender makes no bones about it from page one that she is still a rebel on a mission to help educate people on making healthier choices regarding what they are eating and making sure every calorie and carb counts when they do it. She believes there are merits to the low-carb approach to eating (foods that satisfy your hunger and that help you stay away from those "nasty blood-sugar" crashes) and to the low-calorie approach to eating (preventing the body from eating more calories than it needs) that really need to merge for a consensus on a wiser approach to healthy eating. I can certainly understand where Carpender is coming from and it is good that she is articulating this in a book so that others can see that livin' la vida low-carb really can make a lot of sense if you stop buying into the negative anti-low-carb propaganda that so viciously points people away from this healthy lifestyle change. Carpender hopes to change that. Looking at the contents of the "Every Calorie Counts Cookbook" itself, my first impression was, "DANG, THIS IS A BIG BOOK!" WOW, you definitely get your money's worth when you buy a Dana Carpender book because she literally LOADS it with 500 recipes for literally every occasion. For all those people who think low-carb is too boring because you are limited in your food choices, may I encourage you to pick up one of Carpender's books and shut your mouth?! Just like her previous low-carb cookbooks, which have sold over a milion copies by the way, Carpender gives helpful tips for people who want to lose weight and she provides those people with information they can use. I LOVED the fact that she repeated one phrase many times that I myself have said to people who desire weight loss: "Anything you do to lose weight is what you must do for the rest of your life to keep it off." If you choose a plan that makes you hungry all the time, then you're just not gonna stick with it. Likewise, if all you eat is meat, cheese and eggs all the time, you won't stay on that plan either. The consensus between these two nutritional approaches is more about thinking for yourself about what is good for your body rather than relying on the "heavy-duty low-fat propaganda" from our government and people who are supposed to be entrusted with our health. When Carpender finally took control of her own health over a decade ago when she started livin' la vida low-carb, she started making better food choices because she was eating "real food" at last and stayed away from the "processed, packaged junk." Carpender explains why you need to eat certain kinds of foods for specific vitamins and nutrients, brings clarity to why you need to know about the glycemic index and glycemic load, and helps you learn how to recognize the good carbs and fats from the not-so-good carbs and fats. And don't be shocked when she says cholesterol "is not the dietary poison it has been made out to be." She tells you why in the "Every Calorie Counts Cookbook". Like every good cookbook author, Carpender provides you with some guidance about the mainstay ingredients you will want to keep on hand to help you create these masterpieces for your family. She chides you to "please, please, please read the ingredients lists" which is a good idea to be doing anyway so you don't run into the shock of buying something you could never use because it contains an overabundance of carbs or any other ingredient that would be detrimental to your health and weight. If you have trouble finding some of these foods she recommends, don't worry. She also tells you where you can get them. --Livin La Vida low-carb man

I love all of Dana's books, but by far this is my favorite. I wasn't sure what to think because of the title saying every calorie counts instead of "low carb" but it is a low carb cookbook, just better for OWL and maintenance, BUT, most everything in this book is 13g carb per serving and less (a lot between 4-8), even dishes with rice and whole wheat flour. She mixes cauli-rice with wild rice and almond flour (meal) with whole wheat flour to keep carb counts low while giving us those grains we can add back once off induction. This is a book perfrect for low carbers and for those watching carbs and calories alike. But its the recipes that earn it 5 stars. Peachy rice (8g per serving) and tandoor chicken is what I made last night and they were delicious (and everything on my plate was 12g carb total). 3 meals like that keep me under my 40 grams daily cab allowance, and yet I enjoyed real rice last night. I'm so happy to have this book. I know it is about to become the most used cookbook because everything appeals to my taste buds. Dana never disappoints us and this one is no exception. Low carbers, don't be fooled by the title, it is low carb. Maybe not low enough carb for induction, but perfect for the later stages of weight loss. Thank you Dana!!!! And thank you for thinking of all of us who watch what we eat. Its so nice to have all these options for OWL. More recipes for those of us past induction, almost to goal weight or maintaining is always appreciated, especially for those of us who have had to count calories too. This is something not many low carb cookbook authors address and I'm so glad she did. Keep the cookbooks coming Dana! Oops, it says 4 stars but I gave it 5! I would give it 10 if I could! --lovestoread

I love Dana's previous cookbooks, so I had to buy this as soon as I saw it. I've never posted a review on amazon, but I love this book so much I had to. I spend evenings paging through it trying to decide which recipe to make next, out of all the delicious recipes. They are easy too. Some recipes even have a wide variety of ingredients, which I love. I am part of a CSA (community supported agriculture) and I get some of those ingredients in my weekly boxes (fennel, leeks, radicchio, etc). I've made the Bran muffins, gyros, lime ginger yogurt fruit dip and they were all delicious. Next is Tequila-Lime Chicken Skillet. Like another reviewer said, she also has great nutrional information in the beginning of the book.-SHubner I'd recommend this book to I just bought the "Every Calorie Counts Cookbook", I was torn between the Low Carb Cookbook and this one, I am VERY pleased with this book. It is low carb--GOOD CARB and low fat. Dana starts the book with discussions on good fats, saturated vs unsatured, sweeteners, thickeners.. I have a Master's Degree in medicine and thought I was very knowlegable when it came to nutrition, but she really gave me a entirely new perspective when it comes to healthy fats, and I never knew of xanthan gum to thicken sauces as an alternate to the old corn starch. I have made several dishes out of her book and I must say DELICIOUS!! My boyfriend was quite impressed. The meals are surpisingly easy and quick to make, and the taste is superb. I've been blessed with a thin frame, but I am very concerned with eating healthy and low carb (most of the highly processed junk out there is why America is so obese). This cookbook is a great addition to every home. Thank you so much for this fabulous book!! I hope your book inspires more American's to eat healthy and to realize that it IS NOT difficult to eat healthy and fill your home with fruits and vegatables versus the packaged, processed junk out there. It saddens me to see so many obese children whose future will be one of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease if the parents don't change what they provide for their family to eat. I think people don't know how to eat healthy, or they have the misconception that healthy food doesn't taste good. Your book will enlighten and inspire families to get healthy. Thank you!! everyone!-CherylL-Every cookbook author should read her books. She has a down to earth, easy to understand style that makes it seem as if she is just your friend or neighbor sharing her recipes with you. I own nearly every book she has written already and plan to buy the rest as soon as my social security check arrives. I have also purchased them all for my daugher and her husband, avid low carbers as well. --Lowcarberfor life

Dieters everywhere are realizing that weight loss is a simple equation: You have to burn more calories than you take in. Pretty simple, right? You just eat fewer calories. The problem is, most low-calorie cookbooks cut calories by cutting fat, which also means they cut nutrients and flavor! They also fill you up with unhealthy carbohydrates like sugar and white flour. No more! Dana Carpender comes to the rescue with 500 delicious and healthy low-calorie recipes that include healthy fats like olive oil and nuts and healthy carbs like brown rice and whole-wheat bread. It's the best of both worlds, and the healthiest diet imaginable, because every calorie counts in terms of nutrition. There are no empty calories from fillers with no nutritional value. These recipes are delicious and healthy and will help you lose weight for good.