Review: Mixed feelings, tasty tidbits
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 11, 2013
I have very mixed feelings about this book. It is well written and provides an excellent description of how to switch back and forth between sugar, Splenda, and Stevia. That's information that you don't see just everywhere, and regardless of what the manufacturers say, there is a difference in the way the products bake up. However, I think that's the source of my discomfort with this book.The recipes are 100 calories or less, sweet and tasty. Sometimes the portion sizes are too small (an 8x8 pan doesn't make 16 servings in most people's minds). In other words, by the time you eat what you normally eat, the serving sizes are really 200-300 calories. This is one of the problems that people have with the manufacturing industry -- deceptive serving sizes.On the other hand, we shouldn't be eating a giant sized portion anyway. A 'better for you' portion probably would be the size that Ms. Samuels lists. My other concern is that this is definitely not 'real' food. The ingredients have been defatted, the eggs come from a carton, and there's a liberal use of products like fat-free, sugar-free Cool Whip.Still....my conscience reminds me that if I hadn't gotten this chunky I wouldn't be looking at 100 calorie desserts, and that the sugar-free fat-free Cool Whip is undoubtedly better for me than being overweight. In the end, only you can decide what is right for you and your family. This book does offer a variety of goodies that could easily contain twice as many calories without Ms. Samuels' intervention, so if you can't ditch the sweets, this book provides a good alternative.