Dear Gretchen:
Your book, "The First Year" was my first experience to the world of diabetes. Thank you for the preliminary education in the condition that I have deemed "The Roller Coaster Disease" and subtitled "Buckle Up!" ... I am, for one, looking forward to a new book helping us make sense of the condition that sometimes makes no sense.
What would I like to see in a nutrition book?
First of all, thank you for asking. I wish more authors would ask that upfront rather than waiting for the reviews. By asking your audience while in the planning stage, you will find the questions that readers are looking for the answers to.
While impossible to write every fact about every facet of nutrition and diabetes, here are a few things that I would like to have addressed without resorting to reading hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousands of books, blogs and articles:
I must that I really enjoy the whole series of "Eat This, Not That" books by authors David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men's Health, and co-author Matt Goulding. The books are simple; however, they fall short of addressing carbs or diabetes. Using that style of information, I hope your new book will present the facts and studies of nutrition which relate to various supermarket and restaurant ingredients and recipes with research to present the best of the best and worst of the worst in regards to shopping, cooking and dining.
I'd like to see recipes (or at least resources on where to find recipes) that give diabetics (or anyone looking to eat better / healthier) options for eating and dining on a shoestring budget. What are the least expensive foods that give more bang for the buck in regards to be "diabetic friendly?"
In addition to budgeting, I often look at diabetic cookbooks and magazine recipes featuring 45, 60 or more grams of carbohydrate per serving. I'd like to see options for nutritional values of less than 10 grams so I can have two or three servings without guilt on major impact on glucose.
I would like to see unbiased information on brand names such as the "Eat This, Not That" series which will say this meal is healthier than that meal; however the series avoids the topic of carbohydrates in favor of discussing calories, fat, sodium and everything BUT carbs. Gretchen, tell us what you can or should eat ... Please!
There's no doubt that the healthier and least expensive options for food are those with fewer ingredients and fewer chemicals and preservatives.
Another consideration for better nutrition should be time which is why raw foods or less processed alternatives can help with the average person or families lifestyle.
Gretchen ... Can you answer ...
What kinds of foods can be ready in minutes without resorting to opening a can or this and a jar of that?
What are the food choices to the consumer that can be made from scratch cheaper and faster than alternatives?
Why is it that bag of potato chips or meat snacks cost far more than the sale price on a well trimmed steak?
Why is it that the TV charities can feed a child for only pennies a day while my family requires several dollars a day?
The things I would like to know about food relates to Taste, Time, Money, Carb Counts, Preservatives/Substitutes, Vitamins/Minerals and concise writing. In short, Just the facts, Ma'am, Just the facts!
Thank you for the education, motivation and inspiration.
Ray Tetreault
North Royalton, Ohio