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Healthy home-cooked meals are the order of the day, but if that sounds a little boring to you, check out this new cookbook that has just hit the bookstore shelves. Prepare to be inspired by beautifully fresh, vivid photographs, simple ideas and interesting flavour combinations.
Carns introduces us to the concept of a low-glycaemic index (GI) life with some stories from her own personal experience. Having followed this for eight years, she raves about how good she has felt since reducing carbohydrates and focusing on low-GI foods.
Feeling more motivated and staying at a consistent weight is worth the small effort, she says, assuring us that this lifestyle – combined with regular exercise – really does work. She then goes on to give us snapshots of information about carbohydrates, glycaemic indexes, protein and fats – information that is useful and practical, without preaching.
Combined with tips on stocking the pantry for people beginning this lifestyle and ideas for child-friendly snacks and maintaining such a cooking style with a family (my favourite line: “You can lead your children to the dinner plate but you can’t make them eat; however, by setting an example from an early age, you can help form a healthy approach to eating.”), this book is a really useful tool for singles and families alike.
The recipes in Low GI High Flavour are simple to follow, with inspiring ideas and realistic meal options for busy people, which is especially ideal for resisting takeaway on those nights we all have from time to time, where we just can’t be bothered slaving over a hot stove for hours. There are also tips provided with most of the recipes for serving suggestions, ingredient replacement options and ideas to change the recipe around a little. It’s always great to have a number of recipes on hand that can be played with when one is out of a specific ingredient or even just looking for more variety.
Now to the business end of the book: desserts. Being someone with a strong sweet-tooth and a penchant for serving desserts a little too often (yes, I turn to this section of a recipe book first!), I was a tad concerned that a book like this wouldn’t provide any real options for my favourite course. It was a relief, then, to find that although the desserts section is small, it does have recipes that are delicious and appetising, without being too devilish.
Low GI High Flavour makes a great addition to any cookbook collection, and will soon be a tattered and well-used point of reference.