Gluten-Free Quick and Easy: From Prep to Plate Without the Fuss :: Food and Nutrition

Gluten-Free Quick and Easy: From Prep to Plate Without the Fuss
by author HÃ©lÃ¨ne Meurer

by Carol Fenster, PhD
Avery, 2007; 352 pages;
paperback $23.50
ISBN 978-1-58333-278-8

It was with arm’s-length interest that I set out to read Gluten-Free Quick and Easy. No one in my immediate family aspires to avoid gluten, even though we do enjoy sharing meals with celiac friends. Also, I read a lot of food books and rarely find something new. So it was a welcome surprise when I quickly found myself seduced by–of all things–a gluten-free cookbook!

Author Carol Fenster brings a refreshing perspective to the subject of cooking for those with sensitive stomachs and stays true to her book’s focus: maintaining the benefits of home-cooked meals in the midst of a busy lifestyle. Rather than emphasizing alternate ingredients, Fenster encourages readers to optimize taste using fewer, more significant ingredients while making smarter use of modern tools and techniques. Preparing food for future use (making what she calls “planned-overs” rather than leftovers) is another time-saving idea.

Those who buy Gluten-Free Quick and Easy for the more than 200 recipes will be happily satisfied. Included are many easy comfort foods such as lasagna, tuna rice casserole, and banana bread. Or, try tacos with chili-lime chicken, Southwest salmon burgers, or tiramisu all without gluten. Readers will also find tips on identifying hidden sources of gluten, reading labels, how to best store gluten-free supplies, and how to make the most of your ingredients while spending less time in the kitchen. Various alternatives to wheat are discussed, as is how to choose between them. Yet, the loudest message here is that “gluten-free cooking is slightly different, but not more difficult.”

Some studies show that 10 to 15 percent of North Americans are intolerant of gluten. There is also a growing debate concerning gluten sensitivity for people with autism. This author knows her subject intimately. She confesses to being preoccupied with food, “someone who lives to eat and contemplates the next meal before I’m finished the first.” Fenster has lived gluten-free for 20 years and prepared more than 20,000 gluten-free meals. She has suffered the anger, denial, and acceptance of a lifestyle necessary for health. As an award-winning cookbook writer and consultant to food manufacturers, she is well suited to guiding readers along the path of gluten-free cooking.

Even cooks who do not suffer food sensitivities will benefit from this author’s customized, healthier meal planning.

When she is not reading new books for review, HÃ©lÃ¨ne Meurer exercises healthy self-control and moderation of some kind or another in Victoria, BC.

Source: alive #307, May 2008

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