1 We love it!
We recently took our four year old son off of gluten and dairy. I initially got Roben Ryberg's book, "The Gluten Free Kitchen." It was disappointing. Couldn't get the ingredients to blend properly and the bread never came out. A friend of mine knew someone who was using, "Special Diet Solutions." After reading the reviews on Amazon I ordered it. It has become my baking bible! With four children, it was important to me to make yummy tasting treats that would help the entire family support our son on his new diet. We don't feel deprived one bit! The Sandwich Bread is a favorite. It tastes very good and is very easy to make. The Brownies and Chocolate Chip cookies are delicious. The kids love the waffles. I recently made the Corn Bread to go with chili and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the gluten free recipe and the old one I used containing wheat flour. It is slightly on the sweet side, but I adjusted the sugar the next time I made it and it was perfect. Living overseas in the UK, I have had some difficulty obtaining some ingredients. I've been able to substitute soy margarine for the Spectrum Brand margarine/shortening with success. Family members from the States are happy to mail dry milk powder and gluten free chocolate. The author provides alternatives to sweetners, eggs, dairy, and yeast which could be valuable for some, but if you're allergic to corn, corn starch is contained in some, but not all recipes. I've tried about three gluten free cookbooks and overall, this one is the one I use the most.
2 Don't waste your time
The cover page of this book says, "Healthy cooking without wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, yeast or refined sugar," but it doesn't really deliver on that promise. If you have intolernaces to multiple ingredients, your options in this book are going to be extremely limited. And it should be titled "baking, breads and desserts", not "cooking". My expectation was to find some recipes for entrees I could prepare, as well as desserts. There weren't any.
Overall, this book is not worth it. I'll sell you mine used (new condition)...
3 best allergy cookbook
I am avoiding wheat, eggs, dairy, peanuts, and half a dozen more foods because of my daughter's eczema, and I've had to learn a new way to cook and eat. I have purchased several allergy cookbooks and this is the one I've used the most successfully.
4 This book has helped me to eat again!!!
I have celiac, many allergies and sensitivities. When first diagnosed I went looking for some cookbooks to help me figure all this out and came home with an arm load. This one has been my mainstay, my good friend, my right arm!!! I don't know what I would do without it. When I could not eat yeast it gave me delicious non yeast gluten free recipes. When I could eat yeast again it gave me delicious gluten free recipes with yeast. It has breads, cakes, snacks, dressings you name it its in there. You just have to taste the brownies! My son-in-law thought they were the best he had ever tasted and he does not eat gluten free! It even has substitutes, resource lists and everything you need. It is beautifully laid out, easy to follow and everything is very, very delicious! Ask my family! No one even knows these are gluten free they are soooo good! If you are on a gluten free diet or have allergies or sensitivities this is a "must buy" book for you!
5 Surpasses all expections of a specialty cookbook!
Carol Fenster has created specialty cookbooks which contain recipes that have surpassed all our expections of wheat,gluten, dairy,and egg free cookbooks. (The recipes can be yeast and refined sugar free, as well.) The design of each recipe makes it easy to customize to your individual needs based on the substitutions she has provided in each recipe. Until I found "Special Diet Solutions" and "Special Diet Celebrations" for my child with multiple food allergies, I was very discouraged by the quality of the end product. These cookbooks have never failed to please us! The chocolate wheat free, dairy free, egg free birthday cake has been served to non-allergic guests who proclaim it to be every bit as good as a non-specialty cake. The pizza crust recipe is the best we have found. All of the recipes have great taste, texture and visual appeal. We are ever grateful to Carol Fenster for creating recipes that allow our child to have food that looks and tastes as appealing as every other child's. As a pediatric allergy nurse I also recommend these cookbooks as a must have for all families with a wheat allergic child. Delicious, nutritionally sound, easy to prepare recipes with out conventional ingredients. She has made the impossible not only possible, but delicious!
6 Disappointed
I ordered this book hoping to make some recipes for my husband, who has many allergies. The title is misleading. Most of the recipes use brown sugar, which IS refined sugar and not healthy. Many recipes use dairy and eggs. This book is also not good for someone with allergies to corn or potato either as many contain these ingredients. I was disappointed and am sending it back.
7 Let him eat cake -- after 20 years!
I am delighted to be able to bake such remarkable desserts for my husband who, because of allergies to gluten and dairy, has not had cake or cookies for 20 years! You can imagine the pleasure he got from eating rich, moist, really decadent chocolate cake for his birthday this year. I have also baked the carrot cake and served both to guests. Each time, our friends were so impressed, they asked for the recipes. That is powerful testimony to how truly delicious these baked goods taste.
8 Excellent - Beyond Expectations
This book is excellent for both my wife who has to have a gluten free diet and myself as a diabetic. The flavors of the foods are so good, I wonder why I did not start enjoying this style of cooking many years ago. We would not have the problems we have today if we had started earlier. The recipies are very flexible. We add blueberries to the pancakes and the taste is exceptional.
9 Gratitude to the author
I wanted to take the time to write this review becuase I am so grateful to the author. I have baked virtually everything in this book. For the first time, I was able to bake a birthday cake for my 5 year old daughter. It was so good, that people at her party did not even realize it was her "special cake". They ate it, tofu icing and all! I cannot speak to the other recipes at the present time, however, I look forward to trying those as well. If you or your family are confronted with food sensitivities, you must try these recipies. You may just discover the same success and optimism that I did. The greatest reward is looking at my daughter's smile when she brings her snacks to school and blows out the birthday candles.
10 Superb - excellent for anyone with multiple allergies
The recipes in this book avoid all common allergens. It is practical, common sense cooking. The ingredients are easily available and appetizing. Since all of the recipes are allergy sensitive, I am not stuck with a book than I can only use part of. I think this is one of my best purchases yet, and I am delighted with it!
11 A great cookbook, even if you don't have dietary restriction
This book really makes it easy to eat ALMOST anything you can imagine, even if you have to avoid wheat, gluten, eggs, and dairy, like I do. The cornbread recipe is as good as our family recipe, and everything I've tried works. My family doesn't know they're on my diet!
