The Bottom Line
Pros
- 120 gluten-free recipes - most recipes are dairy-free as well
- Almost 100 "low calorie" recipes under 400 calories
- Easy-to-find gluten-free ingredients
- Kid-friendly, family-oriented recipes
- Each recipe includes nutritional analysis per serving
Cons
- Recipes do not include photographs
- No yeast bread or bun recipes
Description
- Gluten-Free Love by Tricia Fecteau, 2009, published by Love Haven. 153 pages including index.
- Family-oriented recipes that are easy to prepare and call for easy to find ingredients. There are 10 basic recipe categories.
- "Quick recipes" can be prepared in under 1 hour and "Low calorie" recipes contain 400 or fewer calories per serving.
- Poultry proteins are used in place of red meats and pork in most recipes.
- Recipes do not include products that contain MSG - monosodium glutamate.
- Bread and muffin recipes include quick and low calorie Applesauce Raisin Bread and Crispy Sweet Corn Raisin Muffins.
- Dessert recipes include Santa Barbara Fruit Melba and quick and low calorie Mock Graham Pie Crust.
- Dinner recipes include quick Corn Tortilla Pizza and low calorie Oven-Baked Bourguignon.
- Salads and dressing recipes include quick and low calorie Greek Chicken Salad and Simplicity Dressing.
- Soup recipes include quick and low calorie Cilantro Chicken Taco Soup and low calorie Chicken Gumbo.
Guide Review - Review of Gluten-Free Love by Tricia Fecteau
Gluten-Free Love by Tricia Fecteau is a no-frills, family-oriented cookbook that focuses on simple gluten-free recipes. The majority of the 120 recipes in Gluten-Free Love are dairy-free as well.
The book features 10 categories:
- Appetizers - 6 recipes
- Breads and Muffins - 9 recipes
- Breakfast Recipes - 6 recipes
- Desserts - 21 recipes
- Dinner Entrees - 21 recipes
- Drinks - 6 recipes
- Salads and Dressings - 10 recipes
- Sauces and Gravies - 9 recipes
- Sides - 14 recipes
- Soups - 18 recipes
Most bread, muffin and dessert recipes call for a simple combination of tapioca, white rice, potato starch and xanthan gum. Several recipes call for garbanzo bean flour and soy flour. There are no yeast bread recipes in Gluten-Free Love.
Chicken and turkey protein is used in place of red meats and pork. Stevia, honey and agave nectar are used in place of refined sugars. Recipes do not include ingredients that contain MSG.
If you are lactose or casein intolerant or allergic you may choose to avoid recipes calling for cheese, butter or plain yogurt. The author notes that her family seems to tolerate small amounts of some types of cheese, plain yogurt and butter but this may not be the case for you or your child.
The recipes in Gluten-Free Love are easy to follow, contain basic ingredients and offer a new selection of kid-friendly, gluten-free and dairy-free recipes. Most recipes focus on lower calorie ingredients that can be prepared in less than 1 hour.
The main shortcoming of this new gluten-free cookbook is the lack of nutritious gluten-free grains like amaranth, buckwheat, sorghum and brown rice. However, Tricia Fecteau has done an admirable job in creating recipes that reduce our exposure to refined sugar, red meat and MSG. I think gluten-free cooks will appreciate the simplicity and low calorie nature of this collection of family-oriented recipes.
