The Crohn's Disease Cookbook is a tutorial guide with recipes by dietician Amanda Foote. Released 11th Aug 2020 by Callisto on their Rockridge Press imprint, it's 198 pages (for the print version) in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
I really liked the author's reassuring and accessible style of writing. From the beginning, she assumes no prior knowledge (she starts with a tutorial for using and making notes on e-reader platforms). A short easy to understand chapter on Crohn's and IBD contains a good capsule survey of symptoms, stress management issues, food, and interrelationships of these and other factors to (hopefully) help in controlling flareups and give a better quality of life.
The author has included full meal plans for both flare-up weeks and asymptomatic (remission) weeks. They're general and can be varied somewhat to the reader's specific situation, wishes, and also cornform to special dietary restrictions. Meal prep + planning are helpful (and money saving) even without special dietary needs, but in the middle of flare-ups they can be life savers, sparing readers from the stress of figuring out what to eat and when to eat to avoid making a bad situation worse.
The recipes are grouped roughly thematically: breakfasts & smoothies, soups, salads, vegetarian, meat & poultry, fish & seafood, pasta & rice, and desserts. They have their ingredients listed bullet style in the sidebar. Measurements are given in US standard only. The nutritional info provided is arranged with most major info given (calories, fats, saturated, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, etc).Special tools and ingredients are also listed, along with yields and cooking directions.
The ingredients are mostly easily sourced at any moderately well stocked grocery store. The included recipes cover a number of world cuisines including Indian, Asian, European, North & South American; a blended selection. The are very few photos included in the book. The photographs which are included are clear and appealing and serving suggestions are appropriate.
The book also has a resource list with links for further reading, metric conversion chart, flare-up/reaction tracker, and short author bio.
This book would make a great gift/housewarming for someone cooking for themselves or family members with IBS/Crohn's with appealing recipes, and fans of food-prep planning / batch cooking.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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