Saturday, January 31, 2009

Dana Carpender Cookbooks - Win one!

Everyone loves good food. I think we are all foodies at heart. With low-carb cooking you can seriously enjoy your food without guilt or worry. Does it get any better than that??? (OK, yeah.. winning the lottery might top it, but I'm talking things that actually can apply to us all.)

If you like good food, easy recipes and great health - look no further than cookbooks from my friend Dana Carpender. You will find everything you need to keep your meal plans interesting and enjoyable. Over the years Dana has given us a great collection of cookbooks to cover just about every cooking style and preference. From smoothies to barbecue to slow cookers, she has helped us with it all!

Dana has generously donated three of her cookbooks to our Great Start Giveaway and I want to tell you about them now.

First, the mother of all lc cookbooks... 500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Recipes from Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love.




When I first started low-carbing back in 2001, I knew very little about cooking anything other than low-fat meals. I had a lot to learn! I quickly picked up the basics and spent lots of time searching the Internet for recipes. In 2002 a good friend of mine bought a copy of Dana's 500 Low-Carb Recipes for me as a gift. It is one of the most used cookbooks I own! I enjoy this particular cookbook so much that I bought several and gave them out to family and friends.

The first several pages of this cookbook are dedicated to helping low-carbers understand the use of various ingredients, as well as how the carb counts are calculated in each recipe. Dana also give us helpful tips for enjoying and succeeding in our low-carb lifestyles. And then there are the recipes!


Just a few of my favorites from 500 Low-Carb recipes include:

* Heroin Wings (The name suits.. they are addicting!)
* Taco Omelet
* Country Scramble
* Turnips Au Gratin
* Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
* Shrimp Scampi
* Skillet Stroganoff
* Mexican Meatballs
* Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies
* Kathy's Peanut Butter Protein Bars
* Cocoa

Not to mention all the sauces, dressings and even condiments she teaches us how to prepare in this amazing cookbook!

If you are looking for great low-carb recipes that will satisfy the whole family, then look no further! This is the cookbook for you. No low-carb library should be without it!

Next we have her cookbook titled Dana Carpender's Every Calorie Counts Cookbook: 500 Great-Tasting, Sugar-Free, Low-Calorie Recipes that the Whole Family Will Love.




Dana caught a little heat over this title, but I can assure you this cookbook is every bit pure low-carb cooking. So how did she cut calories in this cookbook? By cutting the carbs of course! :)

From Dana's Website:

Are you counting carbs? Are you counting calories? Or are you just plain trying to eat healthy? This is the cookbook for you!

...we all need to eat food that's both healthy and delicious, that keeps us full, and makes us feel and look fabulous. And since we're all seriously busy, it sure would help if it wasn't a pain to cook!

Here you go! Five hundred recipes, from family suppers to party fare. Plenty of protein, a harvest of fruits and vegetables, the good fats you need for vibrant health. Great whole grain flavor without the high blood sugar impact. And every recipe has the carbs, calories, fiber, fat and protein counts worked out - plus a vitamin and mineral breakdown! You'll know you're getting what you need.

Try:
Chile Verde Cheese Burgers * Crab Fritters with Lemon Aioli * Skillet Buttermilk Cornbread * Grilled Asparagus with Wasabi Mayonnaise * Apple and Wild Rice Salad * Blinky's Texas Red * Tequila-Lime Chicken Skillet * Sizzling Moroccan Shrimp * Ginger-Melon Frappe * Plum Sorbet * Chocolate Velvet * Better-Than-Whole-Grain Pancakes


If those recipes don't tempt you, your dead. Wait.. even a dead person might rise from the grave for some Tequila-Lime Chicken Skillet. I would!

Last but not least, we have Dana's newest masterpiece, co-written with Dr. Rob Thompson, The Glycemic-Load Diet Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Help You Lose Weight and Reverse Insulin Resistance





While specifically written to help those following Dr. Thompsons low-carb plan, naturally this will work for any low-carber. I personally follow Atkins, but found Dr. Thompson's suggestions in this book helpful and accurate. I found myself liking Rob Thompson more and more with every word I read. I believe this is a fantastic and simple plan should anyone want to try it. Dana agrees and delivers once again with amazing recipes that are easy, delicious and healthy.

The back cover entices you with recipes such as:

Spinach Mushroom Frittata
Apple Walnut Pancakes
Oriental Chicken Salad
Oyster Bisque
Ham and Pineapple Slaw
Sesame Short Ribs
Lemon Mustard Pork Chops
Indian Lamb Skillet
Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lemon Vanilla Cheesecake

I could probably live off of those 10 recipes for the rest of my life and be happy. Thanks to the genius of people like Dana, we have a huge variety of ways to keep our low-carb lifestyle from becoming ho-hum. If it were up to my creativity, we'd probably all be eating bunless hamburgers and salads for the rest of our lives. (I'm simple minded and lazy.. what can I say?)

Three of you wonderful, gorgeous, fantastic, amazing, adorable readers are going to win a copy of one of these books. Are you excited yet? Do I need to tell you once again how wonderful you are? :)

Make sure you have entered by midnight tomorrow night, Jan. 1st, for your chance to win these must-have cookbooks, or any of the other amazing prizes we have up for grabs!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you did a followup to this contest. I had started my entry form, gotten stumped and thought rather than rush to do it I'd give it some thought. Glad I subscribe to your much, much loved blog. Dana Carpender's Cookbook Carb Wars has been on my Christmas list for the past 2 years, and no one has gotten it for me. I also now after reading more want to get that calorie counting cookbook of hers. It sounds awesome as well. Thanks again for a great blog.

Shari