I highly believe that Atkins is a good lifestyle diet for all that ails. It is strange for this cookbook to be a new release when the release date is in 1995, but I am glad to see the reprint. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the book and the first recipe I saw was chocolate ice cream. In fact the whole back section of the book is desserts. What is weird about that is Dr. Atkins, in his original diet book, before he died, advised against sweets of any kind and especially dishes made with fake sweeteners. Maybe I am looking at it wrong. So I go back to the beginning of the book. Here is a sample menu day for induction, the first phase of this diet. Eggs with cheese and bacon for breakfast, but it makes a point of saying no-nitrate bacon. There are several recipes in this book that are a compilation of fake ingredients like sugar free raspberry syrup. After researching it seems that following Dr. Atkins death his family inherited his empire and followed up by compiling a new cookbook that differs greatly from the first few that he actually wrote. There are some good salad dressing recipes. One of my favorites is
Mustard Vinaigrette
1 t Dijon mustard
1/4 t dry mustard
2 T fresh dill, minced
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t seasoned salt
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Beat ingredients together in a small bowl until well blended. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.
There is a carb counter in the back, but it is quite limited. There is also an index. There are no pictures. All of the recipes are not easy to follow and some of the ingredients seem like they would be hard to find. It disappoints me that this cookbook is so different than the original one that Dr. Atkins created. I would not recommend this book to someone new starting Atkins, but seasoned veterans may find several recipes to add to their collection.
Columnist Pamela Robinson: Pamela is an author and reviewer.
