cookbook idea

[sambalam]

hi all,

i have been toying with the idea of putting together a low carb cookbook, mainly for myself and for friends who are interested in low carb. part of this has come from my complete and utter aversion to counting up things every darn time i cook. this way i can enter it all into fitday or keep track of it much, much easier.

a request has been made from someone on this forum to get a copy of the cookbook once it is done, which has prompted me to think of the bigger picture. i work for a publisher so i am aware of the processes we put authors through when deciding to take on a book. i am also in a position to self publish, but either way, i will need market feedback. that's where all of you wonderful people come in. what i would like to do is put this cookbook together and anyone who wants it can have a copy on the proviso they give me some feedback about the recipes etc. if anyone wants to contribute that would be great.

so now i have made this public, i am going to have to get my act into gear. but i think this could be a reality. hope you do too.

[Moonie]

Good Idea Sam, maybe you and Makeely could put your heads together as she was going to do the same thing at one stage, I don't know if she is still working on it or not. (see page 30 of her diary)..

[crisdagosto]

That would be soooooo helpful!! Please, do it!!!

[lynda]

That sounds like a teriffic idea

[raybeanberry]

Go for it girl!!! I'll buy a copy when its ready ;).

[SandyJ]

Yea, go for it!!:D :D

[Rossana]

Happy to promote it as long as there's a chapter on our mixes!! *hint* HINT! ;)

What kind of ideas or feedback were you looking for specifically?

[Sherrie]

Yeah would be cool to have all the poh mix recipes in it.

[sambalam]

of COURSE the mixes will be included rossana, although i have to confess i haven't has yet got any myself but that will change soon (when visa card isn't maxed!).

in terms of feedback, i guess for starters, what do low carbers want from a cookbook? (besides recipes). i think down the track when it has taken some form, i would appreciate some recipe testing and feedback (liked it/didn't like it, too hard, too time consuming etc). i've culled loads of recipes off many sites and tried them out, altered them to suit me, but will it suit others? that sort of thing.

thanks for your support, i really appreciate it and it's spurring me to get started NOW, especially as low carb is becoming more and more noticed. if i was a chef i'd open a low carb friendly restaurant but this will have to do! :D

[Moonie]

in terms of feedback, I guess for starters, what do low carbers want from a cookbook? (besides recipes).
I like to see picture of the finished dish next to the recipe, and a table of different ingredients measurements. eg 250ml = 1cup and so on in the front of a recipe book.

I also like to know if a finished product can be frozen or not.

Preparation time is as important as cooking time when deciding what to cook, so I like to see that listed.

I like the exact temperature needed to cook in the oven, not slow, moderate or hot. (I always get it wrong)

If you need forward orders put me down for three please. (One for me and one each for my daughter and daughter-in-law)

[SandyJ]

I would like the pfc and cals for the whole recipe and for each serve please.

[lisa202]

The cookbook sounds like a great idea Sambalam. I would like it to have a picture of the finished product and also pfc and cal count too. Hope you get it going.

[Delia]

Put me down for what ever you want. Recipe testing. I love to cook and used to have a catering business.

I had a low fat book but never got it to the printers.

A great idea and I was thinking along the same lines. I have not been in the low carb forum for very long but have gathered heaps of recipes as well.

If you are thinking of it you can bet others are also...

Moonstruck has great ideas as SandyJ idea is.

I will help you in any way I can.

Delia

[Moonie]

A great idea and I was thinking along the same lines.If you are thinking of it you can bet others are also...
Yes we can all have these great ideas, but following through with it is another matter entirely isn't it.
You are in a great position to make it a reality Sam, good luck..

[Gizmo]

Ditto - count me in...very interested

Thought about sections yet Sam ???

Maybe something along the lines/order of a 3 course meal...

Prelude - thankyous, dedications, etc etc
Chapter 1 Intro
Chapter 2 common low carb ingredients used
Chapter 3 entree', nibblies
Chapter 4 main course - maybe subsection into chicken, beef, seafood, pork and vege..
chapter 5 dessert

chapter 6...how to work the food off you just ate !! :D

Cheers,

[Delia]

Moonstruck
You are so right. I just have to think what happened to my low fat book. All ready to go and then did not go through with it.
SILLY ME.
Some one else did and has make a fortune.
I have not forgotten about it altogether or doing another one.

[ladybird]

I t would be good to have a low carb cook book using products that are in Australia :)

Go for it . I would love a copy to buy . And their are alot of food recipes put in by as as well .

Lady bird

[sambalam]

great feedback so far guys, really appreciate it and you are spurring me along!! i am getting al my recipes together so far and dividing them into categories. i agree with ladybird, the big thing for me was what the hell can i eat? a list of recommended foods would come in handy.

keep the good ideas rollilng, you're all going to be in the thanks yous that's for sure :D

[crissy]

wow this is looking really good..just finished reading the start of some ideas for your LC cookbook your trying to get to gether sam..

Also maybe somewhere towards the front of the cookbook you can go through some of the types of people that would benefit from LC and what LC does to individuals bodies and how it can help these people..

EG: Diabetics, Polycystic ovarian syndrome, Insulin resistance etc etc

Also i was just thinking i think i saw you mention "place all the labels of each food in the book etc from fitday.com.."
isn't that the american site..maybe the dietclub.com website (australian ) would be better.

That would be really good as it explains all the different good fats broken down and saturated fats, and all the different types of sugars and artifical sweetners etc

Maybe place a Dictionary in there also explaining What all the types of carbohyrates, fats, protein do (what function they have in the body, how they are broken down in the body etc)

A-Z vitamin/mineral guide also where to obtain these essential vitamins from fresh foods etc and what the recommended dose people should have each day to stay healthy as when the body is lacking certain vitamins and minerals it tends to not function normally causing problems later in life...

Hopefully the Health GURUS who put out the healthy eating Pyramid get together and pull their socks up and get the NEW Healthy eating Food Pyramid out soon..that explains how many serves of fat's and the types of fats you should have in your diet and then the carboydrates and the types also (LOW GI etc)
That would also be good to have in the Cookbook...

I heard the Reccommended Healthy Food Pyramid was being revised and would be coming out..when i don't know?

okay i'll keep on thinking of things to place in the book and keep adding for you..this is great!!

PUT ME IN FOR SOME COPIES.....

IF you need any help in ANY aspect of putting this book together don't be shy.....i'm sure if you don't have any contacts or are needing help in a certain field if you post it out..we would all do our little research and find things out for you if possible.....

COUNT ME IN FOR A FEW COPIES OF THE COOKBOOK ALSO!!!

Crissy

[sambalam]

hi crissy, thanks for your feedback. when i mentioned fitday, i meant that having the PFC already would be really useful if you use fitday to track your food intake, it gives you the % etc. i use dietclub.com to get the PFC values or labels of foods.

a little update, i am actually off low carb for a while, but never fear, i am still going on with the recipe book. so far i have gotten together my recipes and divided them into categories. some of them i just need to finalise a few things, then i am going to put them up and if anyone tries them, i'd love your opinions and suggestions. i hope to get started on this later this week, i am off to the snow (no boarding but nice break) tonight for a couple of days.

crissy, your suggestions are great thanks. i think i would have to be really careful putting in anything with a medical bent, as i am not qualified to make comments like that. i will look into the legal implications of it though, it might be ok. i guess it comes down to whether i create just a cookbook or include some lc background or go the whole hog with all the info you could need as a first time lcer? plus, what lc diet do i gear it for? i know atkins is popular, but not all lc diets are the same. the A-Z idea is a good one, but there are pleanty around, so would i be reinventing the wheel? lots of things to consider, but thanks for the ideas and keep 'em coming!

[PP]

Count me in for a copy too.:D

I agree with all the above ideas on what to include, can't think of anymore at the moment, but if I do......:p I'll let you know.;)

[sambalam]

ok guys, things have been little hectic for me, although i am still collecting recipes and trying them out as best as possible. and i have heaps of recipes, so i thought, maybe i should just post the recipes now, even if i haven't tried it or worked out the PFC values. if you guys do try any of them, please let me know waht you think or if you can make improvements.

[winnie]

I'm with Ladybird - yay for recipes using Australian terms and measurements!!
Maybe a section for - not exactly recipes - but suggestions for quick "put together" meals?
I would also love ideas for what I can prepare the night before (in 5 minutes or less!) to put in the fridge to grab the next morning to take to work!
Ack! I'm demanding, aren't I?!
Any recipe which doesn't tell you to buy some kind of Atkins' product would be a bonus.
Good luck, and give a yell if you'd like anything tested :)

[Sherrie]

Yes good idea Winnie!

Sam, what people can eat at work seems to be one of the biggest issues here, you should devote a section to it. You could do a section on that, maybe another for entertaining and another for family meals etc...

[Moonie]

Maybe a section for TOM times...you probably couldn't call it that but maybe a section on how to get past cravings...

[Gizmo]

...im also happy to include an alcohol section, specifically aimed at those people on LC that deserve that little something extra special !! :D

[sambalam]

you bloody would!!

thanks for all the extra suggestions, i am trying to get this together as a mock up...in this lifetime...

[Sherrie]

Yes Sam have a section preaching on how DETRIMENTAL alcohol can be for your weightloss! :D

[sambalam]

sherrie, you can be the guru about such things and i will quote you!!

[Gizmo]

nag nag nag.... ;) :D

[sambalam]

you're the one who is whining about not losing weight matt. we aren't nagging we are pointing out the obvious...:p

[Gizmo]

..in all honesty ive been really, really, really good this past 3 weeks...ive had one drink during this time.

I was averaging about 4-5 dirnks a week when i was losing all my weight earlier this year.. :p

[Jess]

How is the cookbook coming along?

This book is going to be what EVERYONE needs!

It'll be the best thing since in Australia since POH muffins!

[sambalam]

thanks jess. it hasn't been very productive for me lately, been too busy and the like. i have to start testing and tallying up the counts and then hopefully i will have a mock up that you guys can have a look at.

[Jess]

How is the cookbook coming along?

This book is going to be what EVERYONE needs!

It'll be the best thing since in Australia since POH muffins!

[Sherrie]

Hey Jess!

How are you going? Any updates? :)

[olivia18]

:) Wow!! Sounds fantastic. I'm new (like today new) to this forum, but count me in for a book. I'm always on the lookout for recipes.

[Lauren78]

Great idea, i have been putting together a cookbook of low carb recipes myself as it is so much easier to have something there you can look at easily, so you dont get bored with the food and dont eat something you shouldnt because you can think what to eat. There are plenty of people out there that would buy your book, great idea!!

[Bubbley]

i agree a fantastic idea i'd really be interested in a copy i always seem to be stuck for meal ideas