What Kinds of Recipes Do You Want?

Hi Dana,

Your 15 Minute Low Carb Recipes cookbook was part of a huge paradigm shift for me in January 2004. I bought it at Costco after a frustrating number of months working out at the gym, "watching what I was eating", and while getting fitter, I was not losing any fat weight (that I gained *after* my pregnancy from eating pasta and bread). The features in the book that caught my eye were the appetizing ingredients and the ease of preparation.

I was a new mother and I'd always loved preparing food for my family, but I had become tired and bored with cooking and relied too much on homemade bread (from my bread machine), homemade "gourmet" pizza (with dough from the bread machine), and prepared foods from Trader Joe's (I was seduced into thinking TJ's heat & serve foods were somehow "less bad" than supermarket boxed heat & serve food products - shame on me). I thought, I like nearly all these 15 minute recipe ingredients - like avocado, bacon, mayo, tuna, hard boiled eggs, and so on, and I tossed the book in the cart. The Low Carb aspect was a minor attraction, as I was familiar with counting carbs due to gestational diabetes 5 years before. I used the recipes a lot the first few weeks and loved the way it took care of the carb counting for me (when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes I was on my own with the calculations and it was a major cramp in my cooking and eating style). This book and the other low carb books I later read renewed my interest in cooking, reminded me of the nutrition science I already knew (specifically biochemistry and glucose regulation), and eventually guided me back to Real Food prepared at home.

Fast forward 6 years.

I'm still cooking low carb (turns out I was also very glucose intolerant as well as gluten intolerant, despite easily LC eating my way back to a 22 BMI and maintaining it), and I'm more into food and nutrition than ever, especially recipes that are inspired by traditional cuisines from around the world with foods that have supported healthy humans well for eons ( "machine cuisine" can't claim that). Now I'm not just preparing meals, I'm preparing nourishing meals I can feel confident are healthy for my son's growth and development as well as delicious and enjoyable to eat.

So clearly, I'm one of your "foodie readers" and I source less and less of my ingredients from conventional supermarkets. I haven't bought mayo in years. If the recipe calls for mayo, I whip up a quick batch from "backyard" eggs I buy from a neighbor's coworker. So I would say at this point, I tend to use your recipes (I have most of your books) as inspiration more often than verbatum, and I readily make my own substitutions and variations (raw lacto-fermented sauerkraut & pickles instead of pasteurized vinegar-pickled supermarket kraut, CSA farm veggies instead of bagged lettuce and pre-prepped veggies, pastured meats like bison instead of CAFO beef, and so on). I've been pleased to note some of your own changes in this direction (though I completely get that you have diverse readers to please and your own budget constraints - so I won't complain about the "junk" - I just make adjust for my own preferences).

What I would really, really like is probably not feasible - a master index of all the recipes in all your books so I can find (or browse) for the recipe I want without pulling out all the books and searching all the indexes! I realize this is off-topic a bit and perhaps not possible due to publisher issues, but it would be a huge time and effort saver for me and probably other cooks. Also, the index in 500 More Low Carb Recipes drives me nuts because the recipes are listed by the name of the person who sent you the recipe. I tend to use indexes more than Tables of Contents. So when I'm looking for Crema di Mascarpone, I don't want to have to remember which Tom, Dick or Harry submitted the recipe. By the way, I make that one with real mascarpone, which is naturally sweet, not cream cheese, which is much too salty, IMO. ;-)

E-books are also something that are more and more appealing to me, as we now have an iPad, which is very useful in the kitchen - either to look up my own computer recipe files on our iDisk or to follow online recipes. I'd buy e-book copies of your books, even though hardcopies sit on my cookbook case already.

Hi Dana,
My biggest problem is breakfast. I don't know what recipe you could add, but something so that I don't have to eat eggs all the time. I'd like some kind of breakfast bar without too many odd ingredients. I'd love something simple.

Dana, some, such as myself, have higher cholesterol numbers due to the high sat fat content of some recipes. I would love to see some recipes that are lower in sat fat and higher in good fats.

As a flight attendant, I have to pack 3 days worth of meals in a cooler. I do not usually have access to heat, so grab & go "sandwiches", roll ups or salads seem to be the option. I'd love to see some quick, nutritious, low carb lunch/picnic options that avoid mayo, work with minimal refrigeration and can be made ahead......wow, what a wish list! Oh, and of course, taste great!

More main dish salads incorporating a variety of fresh veggies would be great.

An item for consideration is the cookbook format. I read cookbooks like regular books (my version of entertainment) but when I actually use them, I put them on 4 x 6 cards so that I can pull together a weekly menu and the associated recipes.

I would be willing to pay more to get the recipes in a card format on line (eBook or even just pdf) to access them in this manner. Plus, they would already have the copyright in place. I really have to work to remember to add that.

Just a thought!

Hi Dana,

I would love to have more recipes, 15 minutes or not, that don't rely so much on dairy products. I need low carb but I'm also allergic to casein, which, as you probably already know, is the protein in milk. So, even with all the great recipes, I still have to find substitutes for all the cheese and the whey protein powders and such. It's a real bummer, because I LOVE dairy products!

Best regards,
Connie - Boise, ID

looking for more dessert and bread recipes with easily obtained ingredients WITHOUT soy flour...prefer nut flours and whey or egg protein. there are a lot of us out here who avoid soy for one reason or another...for me it's taste and texture. also, perhaps more recipes using coconut flour, coconut oil and unsweetened coconut milk/water? also interested in more 'ethnic' flavor profile dishes...indian curries, vietnamese, thai, latin, cuban, etc....more creative uses of exotic spices for those of us who like to mix it up from the standard meat and 'fauxtatoes'... ;-) after all, variety is the spice of life!

Maybe a small chapter on ingredient substitutions due to allergies etc For example, I have to pass on many recipies as I hate capsicums and am allergic to mushrooms and these items can be a major part of a recipe. Really looking forward to the new book :-) Cheers

I am a snacker, so would like to see a category for appetizers and snacks.

One dish meals, either a skillet supper or something I can toss together & pop into the oven. I tend to get into ruts due to lack of time after work, but I have 4 of your books (5 if you count the autobiography) and love them all!
Hugs,
G

I would love to see more casserole type recipes using simple ingredients.

Thanks !

I tried to edit my last comment and it disappeared! So I hope it doesn't come back or then we will have 2!

Recipes - definitely leftovers, chicken and ground beef, and soup!
How about traditional Holiday recipes?

Also, please include CALORIES! It's hard to enter a recipe in my FatSecret diary if I have to re-calculate the whole recipe just to get the calories. Thanks!

I have all your cookbooks; keep them on the counter in my kitchen. I think you are solely responsible for me being able to stay on the low carb way of life! I like the chops and steak recipes in the 15 minute book. There's a lamb one and a pork one...with glazes that you cook right on the meat. I would love lots more of those -- with beef ones, too. I love taking meat out of the freezer in the morning and getting home from work and eating great meat within a half an hour!

I also like the idea above about pantry ready seasonings and mixes. And more skillet suppers, too.

You go, girl, you're great!

Skillet recipes would top my list. What good is a 15 min. recipe if you have to spend a lot of time cleaning up? Also anything main dish, including soups filling enough to be one. Most of the side dishes, salads, etc. don't take that long anyway. One of the things I love about your recipes is that they use ingredients that I usually have on hand. Might be nice to throw in a few more recipes that involve precooked things like leftover turkey, chicken, roasts, deli meats, etc.
Keep up the good work, and thanks for writing all your great cookbooks!

Dana,

My off-the-wall suggestion: do your new book in a digital version like Epicurious has done for iPad. This is the wave of the future. Many of us will never buy a paper book again. Earthling: Join Us!

I can't eat eggs so it's nice when recipes are marked egg-free. I imagine others might appreciate something similar as far as dairy and wheat.

I have all your cookbooks (love um) and I would like to see more
Pork recipes
Skillet recipes (always faster and easier cleanup)
Main dish salads are also needed I think (lunches and dinner)
and sides

that would be my wish ;-)

More seafood and fish ideas would be great.

Definitely put in there more to do with leftovers.
I find that I prefer the recipes in the first 500 low carb recipes. I say *gasp* up the time frame to thirty minutes- I would totally love a thirty minute cookbook and use it I bought the fifteen minute book, but we do not use it as much. I would like to see more along the lines of things to do with veggies as side dishes. Also some more slow cooker recipes. Don't put to many desserts the mousse made with pudding and tofu and mocklua are more than sufficient- besides we are on a low carb diet. Maybe more to do with berries I like soups but maybe some soup recipes could be more pantry oriented so i dont have to run to get more whatever just to make a recipe in fifteen minute recipe book which seems to be my whole problem any way most of the time.

I trend to cook a lot on the weekend, so that I don't have to cook after a long drive home from work during the week. So, a planned leftover section would be good. For Example - I threw a chuck roast into my crockpot the other day and ended up with a tasty onion soup in the bottom of the crock- not exactly what I started out to make, but I had the meat from the chuck roast left over and I stood in front of the refrigerator yesterday - eating it cold - trying to figure out what else I could do with it.

One of the things that are a little hard to find are premade low carb versions of the staples of my old way of cooking quick meals - Cream of Mushroom soup, onion soup mix, Italian dressing mix, taco seasoning, etc. These were the things that we kept on hand to throw together a quick sauce or meal. One of the things I keep in my refrigerator now, is your Heroin Wing Parmesan Cheese Mixture. This is really easy to come home from the grocery store - toss onto some chicken thighs or breasts and place into the oven to bake. Quick rewards!

So - I think a 'Create your own quick fix pantry' section of make ahead seasoning mixes or dressing mixes would be great. Maybe some ground nut coatings that could be kept in the freezer?

Thank you for sharing your creativity!! Your cookbooks are the ones that I look to first when I am looking for something different to make!

I have all your cookbooks, and I regularly use the main dishes section. I mostly look for chicken and ground beef recipes. But I also love soup and would like to see more soup recipes.

I would also like to see CALORIES included in the nutritional values. Everything is there except calories. Makes it difficult to enter into my FatSecret diary - I have to do all the calculations myself to get the calories.

I make sandwiches in burrito wraps, as it seems the best way to get the least carbs. Not everything wraps nicely though. I would love to get more ideas for low-carb foods to stuff in the lunch bag.

Clyde

I make broth any time I have a bird carcass left over. I'd love for part of the soup section to give me more ideas of what to do with that broth, or at least an index item for recipes that use it.

I'm a big fan of Skillet Suppers as well as meaty casseroles. I like to call it Manly Man Meals in a Pan! Easy and lots of flavor. But that's just me. Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie.