have you seen this book?

[MaryW]

I checked out a book from the library called Healthy Eating for Life to Prevent and Treat Diabetes from the PCRM. It talks about a low fat vegan diet, as I thought it would. but the recipes were a little surprising. Some of them call for oil or nuts or tahini. Each recipe has a nutritional breakdown, and some of them have a percentage of calories from fat that is 50 percent or more. Doesn't it seem odd that a book that condones low fat eating would have such recipes? Even so, some of the recipes sound great, and it wouldn't be hard to tweak them to take out the extra fat. I plan to make the Pueblo Pie this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Here's a link to the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Eating-Pr ... 195&sr=8-6

[ncyg46]

there are soooooo many no fat and low fat books out there, I would pass on this one... I do subscribe to their newsletter but I don't think this one is a good McDougaller book. I would stick with Esselstyn, McDougall, Engine2, and Neal Barnards books instead...there are many more. I do remove the oil in things but why have to do that???

[talkingmountain]

PCRM is Dr. Barnard's organization. I've got several of Barnard's books (but not this specific one) and the recipes in there also often include some oil (like 1 tbsp in a batch of muffins, vs the usual 1/2 cup in most recipes). So I guess by American standards they are low-fat, but not by McD standards.

Remember that the focus of the book is diabetes prevention; completely eliminating fat has been shown to be critical in reducing cardiovascular disease, but as far as I know, eliminating added oils entirely hasn't been shown to directly improve diabetes outcomes.

I'm a big fan of Barnard because I think he makes vegan eating more accessible to average folks, but I don't use his books' recipes much for this very reason (the fat). Also they tend to be on the "gourmet" (i.e. time-consuming) side, and I find Dr. Esselstyn's faster and generally tastier. Many McDougall recipes are tasty too, though often too slow to make.

What really drives me crazy about PCRM is their weekly web broadcast! It's neat and gives out good nutritional info, and often stresses non-fat eating. It always ends with a chef cooking something vegan... but more than half the time, the chef will pour 1/4 cup or so of "heart healthy canola (or olive) oil" into the pan to saute the veggies! Arrrgh! I've written to them about this discrepancy and they seemed receptive, but I haven't seen a change so far.

[MaryW]

You're right, talkingmountain. The fat in the recipes is much less than what the average American consumes. It just doesn't seem in line with the nutritional guidelines they condone. People would be much better off if they switched to the PCRM's recipes. But if they are showing people how to eat, I think they should go all the way and CUT OUT oil. We all know as McDougallers that you DON'T need oil to bake or fry or make a salad dressing. So they should show people how easy and tasty food is with NO oil.

[ncyg46]

another good no fat site (for the most part) is http://heart.kumu.org/
I check there all the time....

[talkingmountain]

You're so right, MaryW. It drives me crazy that they preach one thing, then illustrate (in recipes & on their web show) another. Makes no sense at all.

[MaryW]

I love new web sites! Thanks for the info. Lots of great recipes.

[LJ]

another good no fat site (for the most part) is http://heart.kumu.org/
I check there all the time....

Thanks for the website. I'm going to try those pretzels today. I've also been looking for a good stuffed pepper recipe, they have one that looks GREAT! Thanks!