Low Sugar, So Simple

Since I've gotten my family on a Low Sugar lifestyle for almost 2 years now (helping my dad get off his diabetic meds), I'm always looking for recipes that replaces our favorites or every day items, without sacrificing the flavor. When I saw this I knew I had to give it a try it. I'm so excited because I already have majority of the items listed so only having to go to my natural grocery store for maybe less then 10 items is a plus. 

I want to try every recipe and they seem relatively easy. I love the helpful tips, the layout/directions of the recipes and even the nutrition content. For instance there's a granola recipe that facts the recipe as a "in total" then breaks it down to 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons. Or there will be facts with or with out a glaze. Not too many cookbooks I've seen does that.

Who says you cannot have macaroni and cheese or chocolate mousse on a low sugar diet?
Low Sugar, So Simple by Elvira Krebber is a cook book for people who want to get started on a low-carb diet or who already are on a low-carb diet and are looking for easy and tasty recipes. I like this book very much because Elvira Krebber offers a lot of recipes as stand-ins for feel-good foods that would be hard to part with. Many people do not realize that changing their diet from high-carb/sugar to low-carb/sugar does not automatically mean they cannot have french toast for breakfast or macaroni and cheese for dinner. Yes, the ingredients are a little bit different, but the recipes taste great without the sugar. When I started out on my low-carb adventure over 6 months ago, I was a little sad that, in the fall, I would not be able to buy a Pumpkin Spice Latte at my local coffee shop anymore. Elvira even has a recipe for that! Especially when I found that Elvira offers an alternative for my favorite chocolate hazelnut spread, I told myself that this book is a keeper. There are a lot of quick to make recipes, like bread in a mug, quick wraps, and salads, that I can use when I do not have much time to cook.  At the beginning of the book, Elvira really takes her time to explain the different types of sugars in our diet, how they break down in our bodies, and what consequences their ingestion has on our health.  Her chart of all the different types of sweeteners we can find in food is very enlightening, because  ultimately they all boil down to being just another form of sugar and she recommends to take them out of our diets.

This book has a lot of great background and scientific information presented at the beginning to back up the recipes created and the diet suggestions the author makes...and I like that.  The recipes aren't crazy, and for the most part they use ingredients you'll be able to find easily, though there are a few things I'll have to scour for on Amazon.  That said, it was good enough that we've ordered a hard copy to keep in our kitchen here at home!

Krebber had me once I found a recipe for english muffins in a mug. Not only are the ingredients healthier than what I can find at my market but my kids will think I am a magician earning me points which most parents will appreciate. The ingredient lists for recipes are short and brief and the steps are simple and uncomplicated for busy households.

This will be a very helpful dieting book. The recipes look good too.

Good resource for anyone who wants to cook simple dishes with low sugar.

I received an ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review

This is a really handy book to have around! I have several family members who are watching their sugar intake and this book has all sorts of tips and recipes that I think will be great to have. There are lots of low-sugar dessert books out there but this one has lots of appetizers, salads and mains too. And not terribly outlandish ingredients either! YAY

Definitely worth a look if you are watching your sugar!

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

Easy to follow simple recipes, full of useful scientific information. Mainly normal everyday ingredients.

For a person with a ton of food intolerances like me, you have to be creative when you adapt recipes. I haven't had the chance yet to find alternatives to sugar, so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. 

Some recipes have vegan or dairy-free options. I wish that the author would have done it for the majority of them. Or, at least, that she would have explained, in her intro, how to adapt her recipes dairy-free or vegan. 

I am a visual person too. I like to see what the recipes would look like. Not all the recipes have their picture in the book.

These are minor points, because I loved the book so much that I bought it after reading the e-copy sent to me by the publisher, through NetGalley.

Low Sugar So Simple is a compilation of food recipes that include healthy sugars (or none at all).

WHO WOULD ENJOY READING IT?
Foodies or non-foodies looking to eat healthy, yet delicious meals.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT
The recipes look simple to prepare and the health benefits are listed. From sauces to bread to pizza, there is enough variety to experiment with. Also, the food looks great.

Low Sugar So Simple: 100 Delicious Low-Sugar, Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Recipes for Eating Clean and Living Healthy by Elviira Krebber is available to buy from on all major online bookstores. Many thanks to Fair Wind Press - Quarto Publishing Group for review copy.

This book contains a lot of delicious sounding recipes but unfortunately very few are written to be vegan.  As I am following the plant based diet credo currently, I probably will not be utilizing this book very often for recipes in the near future.  However, it does have a lot of good information at the beginning regarding hidden sugar and how to move toward a less sugared up diet.  I can envision as my vegan journey progresses being able to make confident substitutions to modify the recipes to be vegan.  It would definitely be a good cookbook for someone looking just to lower their sugar dependency.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I never knew there was so much detail to know about sugar! There's lots of alternatives here for your cooking.

The majority of the book though is made up of recipes. Great to kick start a weight loss or if you are having a lifestyle change. Many of the recipes have photos which is always good. I like to see what the finished meal is meant to look like.

It's not so good for vegans. There is a lot of dairy in these recipes but overall it's a really good book and recommended for those looking to decrease their sugar intake

Free arc from netgalley

Very good cookbook with recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. The few recipes I did try were easy to follow,and I actually had most of the ingredients in my cupboard. The author provided tips, and the cookbook is set up in a way that makes it easy to follow the recipe. I loved the mug recipes and the wraps. I will be using this book to try more recipes presented. Very nice book and yummy recipes!!! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Elviira begins her book by discussing the facts about high sugar consumption, obesity, eating too much sugar, and how that contributes to sickness and disease.
She also describes how the food industry has put sugar in almost everything we eat, so that you need to consciously read labels to find out the amount of sugar in the food you eat. You will discover that eating foods with sugar is an addiction, it has the same symptoms as being addicted to drugs and the same withdrawal symptoms! You will find out that sugar consumption causes gut problems, intestinal problems, heart disease and diabetes, along with a host of other diseases.
But do not lose heart, there is hope - the author gives you a list of sugars that you must stop eating - and a list of substitutes that you can use in place of sugar!
There are recipes for condiments such as : ketchup, mayonnaise, teriyaki sauce and even maple syrup!
There are key lime pie, and chocolate almond smoothie recipes, that use almond milk and dark cocoa powder, along with fresh fruits.you will even be able to have pizza omelets with eggs and cheese!
There is even a recipe for tortillas that will enable you to have cheeseburger wraps and a BLT lettuce wrap.
Shirataki noodles are used in some recipes, as is almond flour and psyllium husk flour, so you may need to order some ingredients online or at a specialty store, but a lot of the recipes use ingredients that you can find at your hometown supermarket!
Enjoy cooking food that will make you feel good and heal your body!

Low Sugar, So Simple- Elvira Krebber

This is a recipe book I chose to read and review from Netgalley. 

I have had to reconsider my diet recently and this book looked to be ideal for my food requirements. I was keen to find some new recipes I could use.

The book opens with information concerning the danger of retaining refined sugar in our diet. It also usefully explains where and how to spot the hidden sugars, such as maltodextrin and corn syrup. 

The information is straightforward and clear. Considering it is primarily a recipe book, I was pleased to see there was not too much preamble before the recipes began.

There are sections for all the meals, breakfast, lunch, main meal, desserts, baking and drinks. Also a great extra is the section on basics, where she includes recipes for tomato sauce, mayo and jam, very useful.

I was not able to just leap into cooking, as all recipes required at least one item not common to our kitchens, so I will have to acquire some of these and then give the recipes a try.

All the recipes seem straightforward and only contain a few ingredients.

The unusual ingredients required are explained in the preamble, so I feel confident buying these different goods. 

I would recommend the book and the blog it accompanies, which I now follow. Everyone should reconsider their consumption of non organic meat, refined sugar and gm products if they wish to have good health and a long life. 

After having read many books on the subject and learning personally the consequences of eating without thought, I would strongly advise all to reconsider their diet, and this book is a good place to start.

Great book full of excellent information on sugar and why it is so bad for us. Gives great substitutes and reasons why they are better. Includes information on what pantry staples you should have to use the book. Recipes are clearly laid out on the page, most with pictures (I would have liked to see pictures on every page), and detailed nutritional information. The recipes are easy to follow and great for the trim healthy mama lifestyle. There is tons of variety and recipes are divided by meal type. I look forward to making more of the recipes in this book. 
I received a digital copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher. and the author for allowing me to read and review a digital copy of this book. The information is straightforward and clear. Considering it is primarily a recipe book, I was pleased to see there was not too much preamble before the recipes began.

A creative list of recipes with low sugar or no refined sugar. I loved the nutrition info attached to each recipe, this is very helpful when we need to count the calories.

This provides an indepth look at the process of how sugar works and breaks down in the body. For anyone interested in learning more about the subject, this provides an easy to understand description. I had no idea about some of the side effects that sugar can have on a body. The recipes included though fall a bit short of helping with common substitutions. I would probably have to substitute for the substitutions considering the difficulties of getting some of the ingredients. It's an interesting read about sugar, but the recipes fall a bit short for me. For a more dedicated, or experienced person they could easy work well though.

There are two approaches to dealing with the sugar problem right now:  find substitutions like Stevia (as with this cookbook) or detox and go clean without any kind of sugar substitutes.  Right now, research seems to be indicating that even sugar substitutes can raise glucose or increase sugar cravings without actually being sugar; hence the reason diet sodas contribute so highly to being overweight. I had to keep this in mind, unfortunately, since it seems that keeping sweets (sugar or otherwise) in your diet just makes you crave sweets all the time and most doctors are telling people to go off sweet things completely rather than substituting.

That said, this is a nicely laid out book with a lot of good and friendly advice about cutting out the various sugars that are so harmful to health. It's not intended for vegans, diabetics, etc. - its focus is on substituting sugars so that you can enjoy sweets without the adverse physical side effects.  As a result, Stevia is one of the more recommended sweeteners in place of sugar.  Grains are also eliminated to reduce gluten issues.  I can't say that the recipes in any way taste nearly as good as the bad stuff for you, though, so manage expectations accordingly.

The ingredients can be fairly exotic and have limited use: erythritol, ceylon cinnamon, xanthan gum, glucomannan, grass fed why protein powder, psyllium husk powder, cashew butter, etc.  Others, like Tamari, are easier to find but also fairly expensive.  

The recipes tend to be the tried and true sweet items we love but with different ingredients - there's nothing exotic here and it is our staples - easy fluffy bread, tortillas, salads with healthier dressings, roasted mackerel, macaroni and cheese, chicken wings, fudge brownies, cookies, etc.

The recipes are nicely presented without roughly half having accompanying photographs.  There is a clear main title, small introduction, ingredients listed in right justified format (hard to read, to be honest, that way), and then numbered steps that are rather chunky and often have several things to do within those steps (I know recipe publishers keep the numbers low so that the recipes appear 'easier' but it is also much harder to follow them that way).  Nutrition information is given for each in a separate callout.  The recipes with images are single page while the others are grouped together, 2 or so per page.

The introduction is excellent and the author does a good job of telling why sugar is so bad for us now and where all the hidden sugars can be found.  The breakdown of the various industrial sugars and all their different names was also useful.

I did try several recipes and didn't love any of them but appreciated their health benefit.  I'm cutting sugar out completely so they did feel a bit sweet to a changed palette and I adjusted the amount of Stevia or sweetener accordingly.  But honestly, at this point, I'd rather just detox from the sugar and bring my system out of the sugar cravings completely.  Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Low-Sugar, So Simple was a nice book. I am considering really cutting back my sugar intake so I wanted to see what sort of options would be available to me. I liked the look of a lot of the recipes and I know that when I start cutting back, these will be the ones I turn to.

For people on a strict diet, this is an amazing cookbook.  Recipes that are appealing to the eye and palate.  Some of the ingredients will require a trip to a specialty store here in the Midwest and some I have never heard of.  Lemon and vanilla flavored stevia is something I have never seen on a grocery store shelf neither is psyllium husk powder.  
While the recipes may require hunting down the proper ingredients the book will be a god send to those on a sugar or gluten restricted diet.  Wonderful ideas and tips for every meal of the day.

I eat a Ketogenic diet and have been for a year. I also collect cookbooks. I see so many cookbooks that seem to have the same recipes as all the others. I was pleasantly surprised that there were several recipes I haven’t seen before. The recipes that I read seem fairly easy to create. The ingredients are sold at most grocery stores. I have noticed that some editors seem to think that pictures in cookbooks aren’t necessary or don’t need to be “appetizing”. They are wrong. The picture in this book are bright and fresh. The food looks edible. One wants to try the dishes due to the pictures.

I would suggest our store carry this and would most likely purchase it myself.

Recently someone in my family had a doctor warning. Reduce your sugar intake or face a possible sickness because of it. So of course, being the caring and tender family we are, we all decided to cut sugar from our lifes as much as possible. And let me tell you it's hard. 

Most things have sugar in them, and sometimes changing sugar for a sweetener just doesn't work. So what do we do? We find alternatives that will let us enjoy the things we love without the use of sugar.

This book does this in a perfect way. It begins with data and the history of sugar as well as an explanation on why you might want to (or have to) take it out of your diet. Then it gives you recipes that go from things as simple as condiments and as complicated as it can get. 

This book was a treat —pun intended!— and I will most definitely go and puchase it once it's out. I'm sure you'll like it very much too.

This book could not have come at a better time. As newly diagnosed with diabetes II, my doctor told me that I needed to closely follow a low sugar and low carb diet. Who knew that a combo like this would not only help me to start shedding pounds, but also improve my health (my energy level has increased) and well-being. Elviira’s book has helped me to look at the foods that I have been eating and find healthier more satisfying alternatives. I like that the recipes are easy to follow and mostly uses items that I can find at the local grocer. This is not a diet, but a lifestyle change that is good for you! 

I received an ebook copy from NetGally in exchange for a fair review.

Even if you can't tell by the title, this book is more than just 100 recipes. Actually, the three first sections of this book were what I found the most interesting. On them, you'll find information about how sugar affects your body and different health conditions linked to high consumption of sugars. Also, there is a very detailed section with different varieties of sucrose (sugar cane) and syrups, their common names and their processing. Complex carbs are also explain, including the controversial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Third section gives alternatives to sugar, starches and unhealthy carbs with details and usage suggestions for each one of them.

When changing your diet, most certainly you will need to change your grocery list. If you are familiar with ingredients such as  whey protein, almond and coconut flour, psyllium husk powder and erythritol, you are good to go. Those were the "out of ordinary" ingredients I found that are used extensively. If you are vegan, this is not your book at all. Recipes can include eggs, meat and dairy products. Those on keto diet can benefit from these recipes as well. For all of you who simply want to cut on sugars/carbs without the strictness of a keto diet, this is a great option. 

PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST!

Yes, you heard me, there is a "pizza" recipe in the breakfast section and while ingredient-wise it is an omelet, it looks like a cute pizza and I love it. Comforting chicken zoodle (spiralized zucchini) soup was another favorite of mine. However, most of the recipes weren't love at first sight. I expected that "low sugar, so simple" would be more about popular recipes that are naturally low on sugars and carbs without the need of special ingredients. Once you get the right ingredients, it's easy peasy recipes with no fuss but healthy benefits.

The book is divided into basics & pantry staples, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts and drinks which makes it easy for choosing a whole day menu. The three dishes on the front cover are good examples of easy recipes with common ingredients, so you can actually find those as well.  Yum!
*I requested an eArc from Fair Winds Press via NetGalley, Thank you! (later on i purchased the ebook version)

I am often looking for ways to eat less sugar (both refined sugar, which immediately springs to mind, and also sugar hidden in foods like bread, pasta, etc). This book is a great help in providing inspirational, uncomplicated recipes to try out. I often cook vegetarian or pescetarian dishes for me and my partner as he is pescetarian, so we obviously wouldn't cook the meat-based recipes together but I might try some on my own, or we'd adapt them with vegetarian replacements.

I really like that this book has low sugar/ low carb versions of old favourites, so you won't feel like you're missing out. I should point out that this does not mean that these are all super healthy recipes, because they're not necessarily classed as that. They are, however, lower in sugar and, in many cases, in carbs in general, so if that fits in your lifestyle then it's a great book to have on hand! It also very handily lists the nutrition info including protein, fats, and carbs (very handy!), not only by servings but in total too - great if you have a big appetite, like me, and usually double the 'recommended' servings because otherwise I'd still be hungry afterwards! This is also really useful if you track your macros, too. I haven't seen a lot of cookbooks provide as useful nutritional info with their recipe as this one, so that's really impressed me and means I will be turning back to this book time after time.

There are plenty of sections with information about cooking without sugar and replacing traditional refined sugar with other, more natural, alternatives; this is interesting but the parts I enjoyed the most were, of course, the recipes! There are sections for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, and drinks - covers all bases really. I found the lunch and dinner sections most interesting, as they are my most-coveted meals, and I went throufh and noted some recipes to try at a later date. I particularly like the look of the 'savoury ricotta butternut squash tart', the 'cauli-rice seafood paella', and the 'rich no-potato clam chowder' plus some very appealing-looking desserts (easy fudgy brownies or peanut butter cake mug, anyone?). My only criticism is that I wish there was more dinner recipes - it didn't feel like a big enough section in my opinion. I'd have preferred to sacrifice the drinks section for a larger dinner section, but I'm sure other people might feel differently!

Overall this is a really simple to use, well-laid-out recipe book which not only has some clear recipes but lots of useful information too. There are some nice accompanying photos and, as I said, I love the inclusion of the nutritional info. Very impressed.

Sugar is such an insidious attacker of health that this cookbook is a great addition to the shelf, whether you are just thinking you'd like to reduce your sugar intake without sacrificing tastiness, or cooking a low-sugar diet because of health reasons for yourself or a family member.

I selected this book as I have a health condition which may benefit from eating a no sugar diet. The problem I have with my condition, is that there are so many other food groups which I can also not eat (people often joke I am only left with ‘dust and air’ to eat! 😁)
Whilst I soon discovered this wasn’t the perfect book for my condition, I still think it is a great book and was able to take a number of recipes that, with a bit of adapting, I will be able to use.
About one third of the book covers the benefits of following a no sugar diet and the reason why we shouldn’t be eating so much of it. Even though I am already very well read on the subject, I found it very informative and interesting. The other two thirds of the book cover a whole range of no sugar recipes (breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinners and puddings). All of the dishes appealed to me. The photos were great and instructions easy to follow. If it were not for my dietary restrictions I would be trying a lot more of them! 😋👨🏽‍🍳
My only criticism is that some of the sugar alternatives the author suggests cannot be easily found in regular supermarkets, but I am sure can be sought out at health food stores if not will definitely be able to purchased online.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am definitly a sugar addict, so I found this book to be practical and easy to use. I liked that most of the recipes were contained simple ingredients and/ or were less than a half hour to make. 
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest *

Fill with great background information, this cookbook is great if you're looking for low sugar recipes without getting too complicated. From breakfast to drinks and desserts, you can make something for every meal of the day. Another great book to add to any public library attempting to stay up to date with current health trends.

I received a digital preview of this book, but took too long to review it so ended up getting the hard copy from my local library. The odd thing is that I found myself liking it better in paper. I can't say why. Overall, this book has a variety of recipes sized for one or a small number of people, so is great if you live alone or are the only one in your family who is reducing your sugar intake. It does use some ingredients that are uncommon, such as liquid stevia and glucomannan. But other ingredients are common in US grocery stores. Each recipe has a photo and is clearly written. I made the Berry cobbler overnight oatmeal and the Raspberry cheesecake in a mug. The first is a simple recipe that reminds me of an overnight muesli recipe I used to make. It was simple and satisfying. The second didn't turn out quite as planned, but was still tasty. My microwave did not cook my mug cake the way described in the book, and I'm glad I started with a shorter time than listed. Overall, I find there are a number of recipes I want to make, and I appreciate the use of stevia as the primary sweetener.