Kitchen

[house_cat]

Are the recipes naturally low calorie and low sugar or do they include artificial sweeteners?

Thank you.

[traveler]

Lots of artificial sweeteners.

[house_cat]

---

@traveler wrote:

Lots of artificial sweeteners.

---

Thank you for your prompt response.  That's what I expected. Not for me.

[Icegoddess]

I think she concentrates on cutting sugar, fat, and calories.  I'm okay with the artificial sweeteners she uses, but I don't fear fat so much.  

I have a different question though.  Has anybody had any luck with getting her "breading" to stick?  I tried the onion rings once (original book) and all the breading fell off.

There's a sweet potato puff recipe in her original book that has pumpkin in it.  I don't remember if that was to cut the fat or the sugar, but it's a really nice recipe.  Not overly sweet the way a lot of sweet potato casseroles are.  It even fooled my grown nephew who hates pumpkin.  

[phoenixbrd]

I am so thankful that I "love" whole foods...so I get to eat what I love!  Don't know what is in this book....if it is whole foods, I'm in, if it is dairy/meat/processed food, I'm out.

[shoppersince1989]

Years ago, I bought her 1st book new.

Fell apart - binding was inferior.

I wrote to her website, but never heard anything from her, or her staff.

That was enough for me not to buy another one of her books.

[loriqvc]

I really like Marlene's books because they have realistic recipes in them without strange or hard-to-find ingredients. I am severely allergic to one of the major artificial sweeteners (sucralose/Splenda), so I just stick with the sugar equivalent for her sweet recipes (she always provides helpful tips on this topic), and I still feel like they help our family make smarter choices about desserts.

Best of all, we've never had a "flop" from any of her books—we've enjoyed everything we have tried so far. I'm excited for this new book because the recipes presented on ITKWD and ITKWM have looked delicious, and I like the idea of having a few of the previously popular recipes joining them in one place. Overall, I'd say the "Eat What You Love" series provides some great recipes and also helps to spark ideas for changing up mealtime every now and then with healthy food that appeals to many appetites and dietary needs.

[IamDoodles]

---

@loriqvc wrote:

I really like Marlene's books because they have realistic recipes in them without strange or hard-to-find ingredients. I am severely allergic to one of the major artificial sweeteners (sucralose/Splenda), so I just stick with the sugar equivalent for her sweet recipes (she always provides helpful tips on this topic), and I still feel like they help our family make smarter choices about desserts.

Best of all, we've never had a "flop" from any of her books—we've enjoyed everything we have tried so far. I'm excited for this new book because the recipes presented on ITKWD and ITKWM have looked delicious, and I like the idea of having a few of the previously popular recipes joining them in one place. Overall, I'd say the "Eat What You Love" series provides some great recipes and also helps to spark ideas for changing up mealtime every now and then with healthy food that appeals to many appetites and dietary needs.

---

Totally agree with your assessment of her books.  I have three of them and have given them away as gifts.  I have never had a "flop" either.  

[BeccaLou]

They are still high in sodium. If you read your packages a cookbook isn't necessary.

[MKR14]

I have every one of Marlene’s cookbooks. The recipes are so easy that to follow even my husband made me the orange chicken recipe a few years ago. I always thought he bought it but the dishes told otherwise.

I never had a problem with her books coming apart and also have given them as gifts. In my own books I make a note on each page after I make the recipe as how good it was.

I probably won’t buy the new one as I am retired and not sure how much I would use it. There were some good looking recipes in it though. I do love her demos. She is a lovely lady.

If you send her an email she always will reply herself.

You can usually adjust the sodium in recipes by buying low sodium ingredients when you can.