Review: On the right track, but needs polish.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 21, 2012
According to the 'About the Author' at the end of the book Ms. Tudose is a certified Fitness and Nutrition Coach.  I think this shows in her approach to her recipes.  Unlike another 'healthy snacks' e-cookbook I recently reviewed, these snacks are very healthy.  Most of them are quite easy to make with ingredients that are easily obtainable.  With a total of 28 recipes, there should be at least a few to please every palate.Several of her ideas are novel and sound very appealing.  The Kiwi and Cucumber Smoothie sounds delicious.  The Quick and Healthy Eggs in Tomato Sauce Sounds good, too, although I'd probably need to add some crushed red pepper since I love spicy food!  I like her recipe for Light & Refreshing Coleslaw.  With the addition of some shredded chicken to ramp up the protein it would make a lovely main course.  The Baked Jalapenos with Double Cheese Filling sound amazing.  Did I mention I like spicy food?The formatting is reasonably consistent.  There is a hyper-linked table of contents, and each recipe begins on its own page.  The nutritional information is included, which is very helpful when deciding which recipes most suit a person's particular dietary needs.So why did I give the book three stars?  Here are a few examples:This book really needs a good editor, not to mention proofreading. There is a consistent issue with the word 'tablespoon' printing as 'tablespoo n'.  One of the recipes that sounds good is titled, "Quick and Easy Ying-Yang Banana."  That should read 'Yin-Yang'.  In the preface, the author states, "A balanced diet stabilizes the insulin in your blood sugar..."  That is a nonsensical statement.I have concerns about the accuracy of nutritional information of some of the recipes because of the vague descriptions of the ingredients.  For example, "Superhero Yogurt Boost" lists 'plain or sugar-free vanilla yogurt.'  Does she mean non-fat, 1% fat, whole milk, or Greek-style?Some recipes just need a bit of a re-write.  In "Easy-Peasy Asian Carrots Snack," the author states, "Steam the baby carrots until they are tender, but not too soft.  Do let let them get mushy."  It would have been appropriate to give an approximate time to steam them.  (I'm not sure why adding sesame seeds, dried thyme and kosher salt makes these carrots 'Asian.')Ultimately, I think Ms. Tudose's heart is in the right place and she has some very interesting recipes.  With a bit of editing and the addition of clarity in directions and ingredients, this could be a five-star e-cookbook.  She mentions in "How You Are Making a Difference" that "5% of all the proceeds from this cookbook will be given to support Oprah Whinfrey's Angel Network Chairties [SIC]."  I think that's very thoughtful of her!