Veronica Atkins is the widow of Dr Robert C. Atkins MD, the doctor who launched The Atkins Diet. She wrote Atkins For Life Low Carb Cook Book with Stephanie Nathanson and the Atkins Kitchen and it was published in November 2004.
It’s a big thick book, which would hurt your toes if dropped, with over 250 recipes. I get that Veronica Atkins, like many other diet book authors (whether low carb or not) want to make the diet accessible.
They don’t want readers to feel like they will be eating a lettuce leaf at the family barbecue, or a pot of cottage chees and a bowl of soup at Thanksgiving. Authors want dieters to feel that they can eat a normal(ish) diet, even on occasions like the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Hanukkah and Christmas.
Veronica Atkins gives recipes for every occasion. Weekday and weekend breakfast, lunches, barbecues, suppers, family dinners, all the holidays. She allows dieters to eat cakes, puddings, egg nog, cocktails, roasts. pasta, Mexican, Chinese etc etc etc
There’s some dietary sleight of hand going on. Firstly, the carb counts are given per serving, not per 100g. Look at the servings and they vary between 1, 2, 4 and 8 servings. Very many of the recipes are for 8 servings. This means that the total carbs for the serving will work out a lot higher, if only four of you are eating it.
Secondly, Veronica Atkins and Stephanie Nathanson are using supposedly low carb pasta, tacos, bread, bagels, sweeteners, Atkins bars and Atkins flour mix, to lower the carb count. These don’t work terrifically well for every person and could cause problems for people with gluten intolerance or sensitivity.
With all the cakes, puddings, cupcakes, dieters aren’t giving up the ingrained habit of baking. A lifestyle change, would be cutting out cupcakes, not merely using a lower carb flour and a chemical sweetener.
There are a few recipes which sound interesting, such as veal chops with exotic mushrooms, chicken thighs alla puttanesca, blender Hollandaise, mustard and pepper-coated ham, grilled butterflied cjicken with herbs and shrimp and avocado salad with lemon abd cilantro (coriander).
If you like to have a lot of friends or family over, you may be able to indulge, yet keep your carb intake low. If that’s you, there are recipes for spidery cupcakes at Halloween, and turkey at Christmas.
If you don’t like entertaining, or you can’t muster eight family members, much of the book will be useless to you, especially if you’re doing keto.
BUY if you like entertaining, or want a Christmas menu to follow for your family. DON’T if that’s not your lifesty;e.
There will be other book reviews as Dr Atkins’ books arrive..