My wife was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and I need to shed a few pounds, so we really liked the idea of a meal plan for the first four weeks so we could have some time to settle on a long range meal plan moving forward into this new territory. The recipes generally require more prep than we're used to because all the fresh veggies, but are generally tasty and not all that difficult to prepare. But then we hit a dinner that took 1.5 hours to prepare--mostly because the two recipes that made up the meal were oven-baked--at two different temperatures. Between the baking and the prep and the additional broiling required for one of the recipes, we wound up with recipe too cold to be tasty any more. We both work. Fortunately, I work from home and could accommodate the additional time required--but this isn't s five course holiday meal and I had better things to do than spend an additional hour of my day in the kitchen. Most diabetics I know are older. Most are retired. This kind of work on hard tile for this long is a no-go from the git-go. In another example, left-overs are used for meals--and that's great--but we hit a meal for one more leftover than is accounted for in the plan. In this case it was tortilla chicken soup (which is quite tasty) that's supposed to be for four servings. But there were two following leftover meals. If this plan is for one person, we didn't know. The other leftovers seemed to work out okay for serving two at each meal. Either the information needs to be very, very clear and up front that this plan is for one person or the extra leftover meal has to be deleted. I get that the author is a nutritionist. I'd suggest that the author employ a senior diabetic to test the entire plan before publishing it.

The recipes are easy and taste great. Others had said it does not have pictures of the recipes, however this is not a cookbook for just looking at, it includes a plan and a way of eating that is healthy and good. It has a 4 week meal plan that is flexible and includes a lot of detailed instructions to help you figure out how to do it successfully. The author is a dietician and certified diabetes educator so she knows what she is doing with nutrition-no goofy plans that are not sustainable in real life. I cook a lot but I was tired of trying to figure out all the nutrients and how to keep it low fat and think of snacks-this does it all for you. It is also a good primer on what is diabetes and how meds work. Because I was skeptical that a so called "diet" cookbook could have food that was actually good I made a few recipes just picked from the pages and asked my husband to rate them-not telling him it was from this cookbook. He thought they were all good and when I showed him the plan he thought it was actually something he could do-not overwhelming. So I would highly recommend this to anyone trying to figure out how to eat better with diabetes.

I specifically wanted a cookbook with meal plans, this has four week's worth. It also has a shopping list for each week plus suggestions for a well-stocked pantry. I think the first week's meals were the best. The recipes were easy to follow, but some seemed not to have been tested previous to publication. There is a salsa verde recipe that uses tomatillos, but says nothing about processing either them or the jalapeno that's called for. With the jalapeno, all that's said is to seed it. I found quite a few of the recipes wasteful, for example calling for a Chinese cabbage but using very little of it. Unless you are prepared to make the dish several times in one week, you've basically wasted an entire cabbage. Cole slaw with both red and white cabbage? Delicious, but you only use a smallish chunk out of each. The meals were good, light but filling.

Great resource for assistance in learning the what, why and how of blood sugar levels and how to control and correct it. Easy to understand., helpful information.

I am afflicted with Type 2 Diabetes. Not so much a newly diagnosed, however. I have been working with medical staff and a nutritionist at the Veteran’s Administration. Despite the media headlines, at least in North Dakota, the people have been very good to work with and to perform the necessary tests and treatments. It also is noted that I am a Health & Safety employee (certified First Aid/CPR & AED Instructor). I also am a disabled veteran, having served during Vietnam. I have health issues in addition to diabetes that may be a result of occupational exposure to radiation (my lifetime dose is less then 10 REM and, possibly due to exposure to Agent Orange. Such information is offered so readers may understand that I may, or may not, have a better grasp on certain health issues addressed by this book. It is not offered to seek sympathy or to clutter my review of this book. Only to advise readers that I might have learned some points from my nutritionist and my doctors and nurses. I am going to state right at the start that the information this writer provides is spot-on in agreement with everything I have learned thus far. I am so appreciative of her east-to-read explanations and instructions for getting control of one’s A1C, etc. So appreciative I am including two excerpts and three screen shots. As I stated, most of this information I did know, but, simple-minded and stubborn as I sometimes can be, I needed the reinforcement provided. Also, the explanation of what constitutes pre-diabetes and non-diabetes was helpful and straightforward. But, the greatest value in this book comes from it easy-to-use meals. You’ll get a glimpse by looking over the screen shots wherein links to, for example, egg bites makes preparing such entrees easier than using a hardbound cookbook. The screenshots were taken using my iPhone, but it would be better to use an iPad for preparing these dishes. Aside from the above comments, I will let the two excerpts speak for themselves. Excerpt 1 ‘…number to know. Your A1c is the average of what your blood sugar level has been throughout the day for the past two to three months. It measures how much sugar is attached to your red blood cells. Knowing this number will give you the big picture of how well you are controlling your diabetes. HERE ARE THE RANGES: • Normal: Less than 5.7 percent • Borderline (also called prediabetes): 5.7 to 6.4 percent • Diabetes: 6.5 percent or greater Once someone has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the aim is to keep hemoglobin A1c below 7 percent. You always want to check with your doctor to see if he or she has specific and personal goals for you, but these are the general guidelines from the American Diabetes Association. HOW DO MY MEDICATIONS WORK? When should I take them? What should I do if I forget a dose? If you have been given any medications to help with your blood sugar levels, it’s important to understand the why and the how. Ask your doctor to explain why he or she is choosing the particular medication and how you should take it. Make sure it is a medication you are able to afford every day. The more you know about your medications, the better you will be able to take them and recognize how well they are working or report any unusual side effects. CAN I HAVE A BLOOD SUGAR MONITOR? Checking blood sugar levels at home is one of the best ways to immediately understand how food, exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle habits affect your blood sugar daily. Ask your doctor when you should check your blood sugar level and what your goal levels should be.’ Zanini RD CDE, Lori. Diabetic Cookbook and Meal Plan for the Newly Diagnosed: A 4-Week Introductory Guide to Manage Type 2 Diabetes (Kindle Locations 280-295). Rockridge Press. Kindle Edition. EXCERPT 2 You’ll notice that the plan includes a snack after every meal. As I point out in my diabetes management program, For the Love of Diabetes, snacks should be eaten about 2 to 3 hours after your main meals. If you are hungry less than 2 hours after a meal, you will likely need to evaluate whether you are eating balanced, satisfying meals. If it has been between 2 and 3 hours since your last meal, focus on snacks that are low in carbs: nonstarchy veggies, proteins, and healthy fats. If it has been more than 3 to 4 hours since your last meal, include at least 1 serving of carbs (15 grams of carbs) in addition to a veggie, protein, and/or healthy fat. Having a snack after dinner can be helpful if eaten at least an hour or more before you go to sleep. Since it is recommended to avoid going more than 10 hours without eating, a bedtime snack containing 15 to 20 grams of carbs, combined with a protein, prevents the liver from releasing stored glucose in the bloodstream and assists in the management of fasting blood sugars the next morning. Zanini RD CDE, Lori. Diabetic Cookbook and Meal Plan for the Newly Diagnosed: A 4-Week Introductory Guide to Manage Type 2 Diabetes (Kindle Locations 867-874). Rockridge Press. Kindle Edition. BOTTOM LINE A solid five stars for this book. Did this review answer most of your questions and concerns? I encourage you to leave a comment below to help me provide reviews that work for you. Further, I am writing a book for aspiring reviewers and for product suppliers seeking reviews in an effort to help improve the process and to understand the value of Amazon’s Customer Review process. Together, you and I can build something great. Will you join me? One request: Be respectful and courteous in your comments and emails to me. I will do likewise with you. Thank you.