As you must know, gluten-free is all the rage now. While only a small percentage of the population have Celiac disease, or even a gluten sensitivity, it seems everyone is jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon because they think its going to help them lose weight, gain energy, cure their bloating/rashes/brain fog/infertility/headaches/stupidity...
Despite the ridiculous gluten-free trend, avoiding gluten is no joke for people who ACTUALLY need to avoid it. One thing that makes those folks despair, is the idea of having to give up their favorite comfort foods. If you are looking for gluten-free versions of your favorite recipes, 100 Classic Gluten-Free Comfort Food Recipes might be of interest.
Written by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt, both home economists and experienced bakers, the book provides gluten-free recipes for classics such as oven-fried chicken, stuffing, gravy, lasagna, mac & cheese, waffles, various types of breads and buns, muffins, cookies, brownies and donuts.
What I like best about the book is the introductory chapter that explains what whole grains are. As you know, one of my biggest beefs (or tofus, if you're vegan), is that people often think things are inherently healthy if they are gluten-free, and this is definitely not true. Especially if grains containing gluten are replaced with refined gluten-free flours like white rice flour. They include a list of gluten-free grains and starches that can be used for cooking and baking. But they forget to mention konjac!
There are chapters for:
- Soups and salads
- Entrees and sides
- Yeast breads
- Yeast-free muffins and biscuits
- Cakes
- Pies and pastry
- Puddings and other sweets
There are a lot of lovely, colour photos of the recipes and many helpful tips and variations to suit your taste.
I love that the recipes use whole grains, but there is a lot of sugar in the sweets, though that can easily be replaced by a healthier sweetener.
My one criticism is that for anyone who knows how to cook, a lot of the recipes are kind of superfluous given the vast availability of gluten-free foods. Like, it shouldn't take a rocket scientist (or home economist) to figure out that you can replace regular noodles with gluten-free noodles in lasagna, or you can use a gluten-free flour to thicken your gravy, instead of regular flour. But it does provide a good reference for what type of gluten-free flours work best for each recipe. I would say this is a perfect book for someone who is a relative newbie cook, and is looking for gluten-free recipes.
Do I recommend this book? For those with limited cooking and baking experience who want to learn how to cook and bake gluten-free, yes, this will be just what you're looking for!
Disclosure: I was sent this book to review but all opinions on this blog are my own.
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