Review: Great Variety, Easy Recipes
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 17, 2013
This is one of those e-books that is a decent pleasure to read and refer to. First, it has few typing or layout distractions, fonts are readable, and it switches easily between portrait and landscape with pinchable features that work. Second, it's organized well, has a clickable link Table of Contents, some photos, and a brief informative introduction. Third, the recipes are basic, varied, doable, and appealing.Sections include Paleo Pie Crusts and Fillings (7), Paleo Cakes and Cupcakes (8), Paleo Cookies, Brownies and Muffins (15), Paleo Desserts (10), and Bite-Sized Treats (11). Recipe sections (not all individual recipes) are accompanied by photos. For example, one photo of a completed pie takes care of three crusts and four fillings; one cupcake photo serves four recipes; but separate photos exist for one-of-a-kinds like coffee cake, bon bons, and ice cream. Prep times and serving sizes are included but there are no nutritional breakdowns so you're on your own to figure out total calories, fats, carbs, sugars, proteins and then divide by portion size if you need to keep tabs on something. Ingredients are listed, instructions are in paragraphs.Four consistent areas caught my attention, exactly what I was looking for: almond and coconut products for flour and fats; honey, fruits, some maple syrup and raisins for sweetening; recipes are not filled with substitution products (only the Tapioca Pie Crust calls for xanthan gum); and none of the recipes require a million eggs to compensate for binding challenges of non-wheat flours. You do, however, need a few beehives. Most of the recipes rely on raw honey for sweetener; to that end, this is not a "without sugar" or "sugar-free" cookbook as the title states. This is a cookbook that does not use refined white and brown sugar. It uses natural sugars. I think that's an important distinction. The sugar content of even raw honey--and certainly of maple syrup--does count in the overall metabolic picture, even with raw honey's great health benefits and other natural unprocessed sweeteners that were around in the Paleolithic period. The author, however, does not claim that this is a diabetic or specifically low-carb (in terms of sugars) cookbook, so I think that's important to remember, too. And, let's face it, this is about dessert.In the final analysis, Harper has put together one fine collection of variety without overwhelming or needing non-conventional ingredients, packaged it in an easy-to-navigate downloadable, and offered Paleo tradition that lets you have your brownie and eat it too.