200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes: Healthy Dinners That Are Ready When You Are! Reviews

• The essence of convenience, nutrition and soul satisfaction

  
  By A3ATTCCO32ZXET on 2005-06-13
  Dana Carpender has made a serious study of adapting classic recipes from around the world to work with modern low carb diets. In this latest offering, 200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes, she proves once again that you don't need refined grains and sugars to enjoy healthful, satisfying food - no matter your culinary traditions or meat of preference. The key is quality ingredients, simply prepared.
  
  
  Dana Carpender is a believer in keeping it simple and freshly prepared whenever possible. None of the ingredients were hard to find at my supermarket except perhaps the low-carb imitation honey that shows up in a few recipes. Of the dozen or so main dish recipes I tested in 200 LCSCR I can honestly say that seven were big hits with my family, a few were just okay and just one was bad. All of them cooked on time and just as predicted. There were some very satisfying desserts toward the end, with several variations on cheesecakes and custards that turn out splendidly in my slow cooker. Although I do not normally have a use for appetizer recipes, there is even a section for that - which contains an outstanding hot artichoke dip.
  
  I am impressed with the author's diligence in keeping most recipes under 10 grams of net carbs per serving. Dana really does stick to the universal "rules" of low carb dieting; lots of veggies and meats, occasional artificial sweetening, a sprinkling of fruits now and then and a bare representation of grains and sugars -- and only when absolutely necessary for flavor, never as filler. She is good at innovating more nutritious subs for common starchy side dish ingredients; fauxtatoes (cauliflower) and mashed turnips are big players at her low carb table. Eat the 200 LCSCR way and you will probably have better, more varied natural nutrition than ever before in your typical American diet.
  
  The recipes for lc condiments & sauces are a big bonus to those of us who suffer from sticker shock at the supermarket's low carb pricing practices. Readers of her other lc recipe books may find some of these items familiar, but hey, it is convenient to have them all in one place. And as for convenience, well...slow cooking is the essence of convenience to modern time-challenged dieters.
  
  Did I make it sound as if this book is one of the best kept secrets for low carbers? I hope so, because it is.
  -Andrea, aka Merribelle.
  
  
  

• Actually quite good, even if you don't do low-carb

  
  By A3RQMPIT3WLZ2N on 2005-04-29
  This is a really nice collection of slow cooker recipes. Since they've been modified for low-carb eating, you won't find a bunch of recipes calling for "cream of whatever" soup mix. What I like most about this collection is the recipes aren't all really high in calories. Sure, some of them are, but there is quite a variety and I appreciate that.
  
  Most of the recipes call for about 8 ingredients. Some ask for more, a few call for less. They are mostly simple, with a few "worth the extra steps" recipes thrown in.
  
  I think any home cook can find a few things to like or love here. You don't have to be on any special diet to enjoy these recipes.
  
  

• They're in lots of your favorite processed foods, so how bad could they be?

  
  By A51PVZ5FAQBFJ on 2006-04-24
  Quote from page 18:
  
  Guar and xanthan gums - These sound just dreadful, don't they. But they're in lots of your favorite processed foods, so how bad could they be?
  
  --
  
  If I had known that the author uttered the line above or relies on the use of artificial sweetners (Splenda and imitation honey), I never would've bought the book.
  
  The whole point of using a slow cooker is to use natural food and spices/herbs/condiments to create healthy, home-cooked meals. Not to take baby-steps away from processed foods.
  
  I think the author is misguided. Low carb does not mean "get rid of all the natural carbs and replace with artificial substitutes". It means lessen their amount in proportion to the other ingredients.
  
  If it wasn't for the over-reliance of Splenda and Guar/Xanthan, I would rate this book much higher, as the recipes sound very good. However, my experience suggests that cornstarch offers a small amount of carbs for an ingredient already conveniently stocked in most kitchens.
  
  Glibness suggest ignorance, and lowers my opinion of the author in spite of her best efforts elsewhere in the book.
  
  
  

• Is this another Dana recipe, mom?

  
  By ARD9MKAWIJ4L6 on 2005-04-02
  We're a careful carbing family and I have used and enjoyed Dana's other books. This one on slow cooking is super and is a real hit with my sons, ages 21 and 18, both very active college students. They say they want slow cookers and the recipe books when they move out! When I try something new, they ask, "Is this another Dana recipe?" Usually it is! If you've tried slow cooking before, whether you low carb or not, but have been disappointed with the results, give Dana's recipes a chance. They will probably change your mind about slow cooking while saving you time and money and getting you out of the fast (food) (drive thru) lane and into REAL, healthy eating.
  
  

• Just Wonderful!

  
  By A2WAVSCET404YB on 2006-02-23
  Dana Carpender never fails to bring you delicious recipes for "every" low carb(LC)lifestyle. You will find this book versatile with a garden of recipe choices you never thought could be done in a slow cooker! Everything from hot dips to desserts (yes desserts) that will leave you asking "are you sure this is low carb"? She is a gift to those of us who know LC is the magic bullet we've all been looking for... I've lost over 100lbs eating Atkins LC and doing moderate exercise (1hr/3-5x/wk) and Dana's recipes have been my saving grace! This book is worth every penny and praised for every delicious morsel I've consumed while keeping every one of those 100 pounds "lost"!
  
  *Please note optimal weight loss occurs through maintaining an intake of 20 carbs or less "until" you have reached your weight loss goal, after that gradually increase carb intake to find your optimal carb count then stay there to maintain your goal weight* Very easy to do using the recipes in this book-yes even the desserts! As far as exercise, I didn't even exercise the first few months and I stil lost weight rather quickly. Exercise will speed you throught the process and of course tighten up your body; for me it equated to about 6-7lbs a week while I was very over weight, and 4-5lbs a week as I got smaller. Also keep it healthy - don't buy the processed LC snack foods, make them using Dana's recipes (see 500 low carb recipes and 500 more low carb recipes by this author for extensive choices), they taste better and don't have cancer causing partially hydrogenated oils! Very - very important to cut from your diet! Good luck and I hope this review is helpful.
  
  
• Very Disappointing
  By A2JVGIQUV9BPMC on 2005-09-16
  After four tries I have disliked every recipe from this book. They are awful and/or too weird to eat. No doctoring can be done. I've dumped them all. The meat dishes are dry and tough, from a slow cooker! I have other slow cooker books that produce great meals, and I've made up my own with much better results. Don't waste your money.
  
  
• Finally Slow Cooker Dinners My Picky Husband Will Enjoy
  By A23XMSGWMOFZ4U on 2005-04-05
  I first got Dana Carpender's 500 Recipes book > 1 year ago. Then I got the 15 minute book, I use it the most as I work FT & my husband does not eat left overs but I do for lunch the next day. I am low carbing but my husband is not, does not believe in such ideas--"It's Just A Fad" he says (where have we heard that before hmmm). I have fixed several of the main dishes including: Pineapple Pork Loin, Pork w/Apricots, Chicken Chile Verde, 3 Minute Roast (quicker in the 15 minute book), & several others. Only one has not been successful, we did not like the I've Got a Life Chicken, but it might have been my brands of ingredients. Making the Traditional Pork Roast tonight.
  
  Dana's books are fabulous but if I were to try just one the 15 minute book has some slow cooker recipes but the slow cooker one has few quick recipes.
  Enjoy!
  Beth the Kitchen Klutz (if I can make it work, I know you can, too)
  
  
• What I think about this book
  By A32K7S4R9Y6YER on 2006-09-20
  It has a lot of neat recipes in it! My husband is the "low-carber" in our family, and he has said that some of them need a little more flavor, usually salt. I've really enjoyed her unique recipes; out-of-the-ordinary seasonings like curry powder, I enjoy that. And some of them are just so darn easy, I love using it! Healthy yet convenient are my two favorite characteristics of recipe books. Thank you Dana!
  
  
• excellent even for those not pushed for time
  By AN5VXKX7M0KSI on 2005-02-13
  I have recently discovered slow cooking and this book is fantastic, even though i have more time to cook in the oven i find the process of slow cooking so much more tasty and it makes the meat more tender. A favourite at the momment is the sweet and sour pork, suitably de carbed off course, I have got into the habit off putting the slow cooker onlate at night and then having the food ready to take as a packed lunch in the morning. Pot poasts which i never managed to get just right are now meltingly beautiful, Dana as usual provides a wonderful cookbook
  
  
• some excellent recipes.
  By ACZ957EPQ2ZCX on 2006-03-08
  I'm going to rate this as a 5 star because, with one exception, everything I've made from this book has been excellent. The only exception was the walnuts and blue cheese snack recipe. The instructions say to stir halfway through the cooking time (on low) which is about 90 minutes into the cooking. By then, the bottom layer of nuts was already burned beyond recognition. The remainder were greasy and not really palatable. But the others were REAL WINNERS, so I can forgive one blunder.
  
  
• Dana does it again!
  By ARH0BOA8J5AOE on 2005-04-01
  This is the cookbook I've anxiously awaited from Dana Carpender. I've loved all her other ones, but couldn't wait to see what wonderful things she would do with a slow cooker. Even though I work from home and have time to prepare meals, I love the all day cooking smell and no fuss, no muss benefits of crockpot cooking. The first recipe I tried was Braised Pork with Fennel, a real winner! Then I made Slow Cooker Pulled Pork -- fabulous. Detecting a pattern? If you hate eating dry, tasteless pork chops and roasts, Dana's new book is for you. She shows you how to make meals fit for company using cheap cuts of meat. Be prepared for some surprises, too. Snack mix in a slow cooker? You have to try it to believe it. As always, you need to read this one cover to cover. This lady has a real sense of humor!
  
  
• Excellent Companion Volume
  By A3MBSXWJB8VIFY on 2005-04-02
  This is a great addition to the Carpender Low Carb Library. I have been trying to adapt slow cooker recipes for awhile and never really mastered it. After trying just 3 of Dana's recipes, I see she obviously has. The Simple Meatloaf is superb. Enjoy!
  
  
• So easy, so nice!!!
  By A2QKGZY629DED3 on 2005-08-02
  I have a busy life, and with this book, I get awesome ideas for fantastic dishes that take little time to prepare, and then it cooks while I'm on the go. Coming home to a finished meal is great. No messing with preparation when I'm already fried from a long day!!!!
  
  
• Still trying them out
  By ALEKHG9EASSCO on 2005-08-12
  I would give this a five star review but I am still trying out the recipes and I am not sure about all of them.
  The only downside is that she includes some repeats from previous books since I have the others I feel they are redundant but since they are great recipes I accept it.
  If you need to have low carb foods ready in a hurry then this is NOT for you but for slow cooker use all that I have tried have worked beautifully and don't require an inordinate ammount of preparation time.
  
  
  
• My favorite cookbook!
  By ALHZNH9C9EZ5Y on 2007-01-03
  This is my new favorite cookbook. The author includes a lot of good basic information about choosing and using the slow-cooker which I found very helpful. The recipes are of varying degress of difficulty so you can pick and choose based on how much prep time you have available. A wide variety of ingredients and combinations are used which avoids the old crock pot problem of everything tastng essentially the same. In fact, something magical happens to the flavors Carpender has combined: one recipe that I thought sounded terrible was the pork and rutabaga recipe. It is so amazing that I make it almost every week. Another benefit of this book is that (unlike most books I've peeked into) these recipes are truly low-carb.
  
  
• Best Cookbook Ever
  By A3947PT3D16CDF on 2004-12-02
  Dana Carpender is a fantastic author, full of expertise and humor. I highly recommend all of her books!
  
  
• Okay - Not Great
  By A1HPDZL2WW4DXQ on 2006-08-23
  I've seen many of the recipes this book contains on various Low-Carb websites. I've tried a couple and wasn't thrilled. If I'd been able to look through the book before purchasing it I probably would NOT have bought it.
  
  
• 3 Strikes your Out
  By A1JX39U771HPFK on 2007-03-16
  I don't usually write reviews, but had to speak out about this book. I I really enjoy using my slow cooker (and use it a lot) and was very excited to try the recipes in this book. I made 3 recipes from this book, the kashmir lamb, the chicken in coconut milk and Hot Asian Pork Ribs. Not one of the recipes turned out well enough to say I would make them again. The taste just wasn't there in these recipes. The descriptions on how good they were was way off in my opinion. Word of warning on the lamp shanks, they smell awful when cooking on low which I was not aware of. We ended up throwing the whole dinner out because of the smell alone.
  
  
• Not good for South Beach Dieters
  By A3AP2SNUIRP4YB on 2007-09-28
  I gave this one star without even trying a recipe. While this book has a good variety of recipes which are "low carb", if you are following South Beach, don't buy it! It uses lots of butter, cream and fatty meats! I will be returning my copy.
  
  
• Love this book
  By AK7UAWHWHLP45 on 2006-02-12
  I have all of Dana's books, but this is the one I use the most. I use my crock pot 2-3 times a week and have only been disappointed with 1 recipe (and I have made almost all of them). Everything else I have loved. Our favorite is chicken paprikash. I shred it with a fork and serve it over mashed celery root. This is the only slow cooker recipe book I use, and I just love it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for easy to prepare low carb meals.
  
  
• Great food, no matter if you do low-carb or not
  By A21L9HKBOWRLOL on 2006-12-22
  It's been said that a sauce can make a meal--in the sense that a great sauce can make ordinary food seem extraordinary. And if you think about it, what do you really pay for when you eat at a nice restaurant? --A nice sauce, a nice presentation, and a nice atmosphere. But when do we all have time to do this at home?
  
  While we may not go to all this trouble most of the time at home, using a slow cooker makes it easy to at least have a nice sauce to go with the meat and vegatables. With Dana's book along with "The Everyday Low-Carb Slow Cooker Cookbook: Over 120 Delicious Low-Carb Recipes That Cook Themselves", I feel a lot more like I'm eating out at home.
  
  Before buying these two books, we almost never used our slow cooker. Now we use it two or three times a week and enjoy our evening meals a lot more.
  
  
• awesome low carb cookbook
  By A1C705VFTMAV9 on 2007-01-11
  finally a cookbook that truly is LOW carb (not these articles that give you a 30 carb per meal "low carb" title) these are delicious, easy and most under 15 carbs per meal! i would definitely recommend this book to anyone doing low carb / diabetic cooking and sick of making chicken every night:)
  
  
• Overweight and think you're too busy to do anything about it? This is the book for you!
  By A1CHH7M2J6SHA5 on 2008-04-14
  I just described myself in the title of this review. I'd lost 45 lbs. doing Atkins 6 years ago, when my kids were small and had no actvities to go to. I gained it back towards the end of pregnancy 4 years ago.
  
  I've known I needed to get it off, but now the first kids are in multiple activities, and it's very rare for us to get home before 7:30 p.m. With normal cooking styles, we'd be lucky to eat by 8 or 8:30! NOT good. And, when I'm tired, it just takes me that much longer to cook.
  
  Last summer I made a serious effort and lost most of it again. But I couldn't find a variety of recipes, and when my kids' activities started up again this year, I had to stop, and (of course) gained most of it back. Low-carb truely IS a lifestyle, and I wasn't following it. I couldn't.
  
  This spring, after experiencing danger signs in my health, I started looking around for a good low-carb cookbook to fit our family lifestyle. I decided I needed to have dinner ready when we finally walked in the door, so that meant getting a good programmable slow-cooker with a keep-warm function.
  
  So many cookbooks SAY low-carb, but they aren't really. They're low-fat/low-carb (DANGEROUS when combined with low-carb), or their idea of low-carb is in one meal what people in Induction can eat in 3-4 days. I bought one slow-cooker book from another author, and out of the whole book, there were only 2 recipes that I could use! I returned it.
  
  So I was thrilled to find this cookbook! Most recipes come in at under 10 carbs; many lower than 6. I can use most of them right now, in Induction!
  
  AND: my kids love these recipes! Not a strike-out yet. We've used it nearly nightly for almost 3 weeks. They loved Roman Stew and Chicken with Creamy Horseradish Sauce (it's very, very mild horseradish flavor); they gobbled down Orange Teriyaki Chicken. Even the Pork Neckbones with Cabbage and Turnips was a hit! The Balsamic Beef was the first thing I made, and they wanted seconds and thirds.
  
  In addition, the nutrition information is good. Nice to be able to see if you're not only getting a low enough number of carbs, but enough fat and protein to boot!
  
  
• They don't all taste the same.
  By A1SK9RBJEEGURE on 2007-03-31
  Sick of crockpot recipes all tasting the same? This recipe book for slow cookers avoids this with plenty of low carb recipes perfect for anyone on a low-carb eating plan.
  
  
• Truly low carb, wonderfully varied and delicious..-Miz-J.
  By A26EPC2DMY0W18 on 2008-06-01
  This is a low carb book written by someone who knows what it's like to live on a low carb diet, rather than a nutritionist who's just going by the numbers. Dana Carpender has a wonderful sense of humor, she makes her recipes interesting with her comments even if you don't want to cook them. I like the fact that she occasionally adds a high carb item but she explains why and why it's worth it.
  
  Her section on Ingredients, Common and Not So Common is wonderful. Here is the secret to guar and xanthan gums! Who would have believed that low sugar marmalade and jams would have fewer carbs than the all fruit kind. And the vegetables and side dishes, who ever bothered with a slow cooker for side dishes?? The idea of cooking custard in the slow cooker is totally new to me. Custard is one of my favorite desserts. The information in this book is invaluable for diabetics.
  
  I checked both of her books out of the library and kept them until mine arrived from Amazon. If you must live on a low carb diet, this book and her 500 Low Carb Recipes book are must-haves for your cookbook library.
  
  
• Another great Dana endeavor
  By A1I60RKYMF1W8S on 2006-02-28
  My wife and I love everything this lady writes.
  She is an excellent spokesperson for the low carb lifestyle.
  Thanks, Dana.
  Keep up the great work.
  It is appreciated.
  
  
• Good, not great
  By AJ8L1X7GO20ZJ on 2007-06-12
  I found about 10 or 15 recipes that I would actually use, and have tried a few and they were very good. Maybe that is par for the course with cookbooks , and considering the reasonable cost I'm not complaining. I'm happy to find some interesting, low carb recipes, for a slow cooker.
  
  
• Good recipes, no photos
  By A32D4Y6VDRW7SV on 2008-03-09
  I always prefer to buy recipe books with a photo for every recipe. None here.
  
  
• A dream cookbook
  By A1RXHMM4T7CI2K on 2008-05-03
  I don't like to cook and use slow cookers whenever possible, and needed to go low-carb (the only way I've ever lost weight), so this was a no-brainer. To my delight I've found lots of good recipes, and was so impressed I sent a copy to my sister and roommate who live on low-carb, too. They have been so delighted they use this book almost exclusively, and have served guests who liked the food and had no idea it was low-carb. How nice is that???
  
  
• 200 low carb
  By A2CLCHPHGT3883 on 2006-03-03
  great book, think i will be trying several recipes. Dana's advice and humor are encouraging when discouragement lurks at the door.
  
  

• Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

• 500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Recipes from Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love
• 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes: Instant Recipes for Dinners, Desserts, and More
• The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life
• 500 More Low-Carb Recipes: 500 All New Recipes From Around the World
• The Everyday Low-Carb Slow Cooker Cookbook: Over 120 Delicious Low-Carb Recipes That Cook Themselves