May 2010

The Australian Women's Weekly

Allergy-Free Baking

Australia: ACP Books, 2001

Missing out at parties due to allergies is no fun!

This book is great value and has over 60 pages of information and recipes for cakes, biscuits, puddings, muffins and more.  Each recipe describes the allergy that is being catered for i.e.Gluten free, yeast free, wheat free etc… – so you can easily see if the recipe is suitable or not.

All the recipes are in typical Australian Women's Weekly style, beautifully presented and photographed. The only way you would know that these items are allergy free, is by reading the cover. With more and more high quality food substitutes available today, you are also not going to be compromising on taste!

 

Happy baking! 

*SHELLY SHINDIG* 

Resident Bookworm

click here to add The Australian Women's Weekly Allergy-Free Baking to your party book library now!

January 2010

Gabi Steenkamp & Tanzia Merlin & Jeske Wellmann. Sustained Energy for Kids. Cape Town: Tafelberg Publishers 2006.

A new year is all about new resolutions, and for anyone wanting to start the new year on a healthy note, why not try Steenkamp, Merlin and Wellmann's Sustained Energy for Kids? This family-orientated Low GI recipe book containing typically South African ingredients is also available in Afrikaans as Volgehoue energie vir kinders.

This full colour recipe book is compiled by a trio of SA registered dieticians and is definitely written with children in mind. Although the recipes can be used for the whole family, every effort has been made to make sure that the food not only tastes delicious, but also looks good enough to meet the approval of your little food critic.

The meals are low GI, meaning that you will be keeping blood glucose levels steady throughout the day, which is ideal for all kids, and superb for children with diabetes, ADD and ADHD. Kids don't need to feel cheated out of the fun stuff, as there are recipes for hamburger pie, pitta burgers, peanut butter biscuits, chocolate brownies and more... All the yummy stuff without the sugar highs, irritability, moodiness, tiredness and lack of concentration! Each recipe includes a note from the dietician, plus full colour pictures.

The recipes in Sustained energy for kids cover a wide range of foods. From Breakfasts to Main Meals, from Vegetables, Salad Meals and Soups to Baking, Puddings, and Snacks, from Lunch Box ideas to Party Food. I was quite impressed at the variety of healthy options suggested to fill up the party table.

Please note that most snack recipes in Sustained energy for kids use milk or peanut butter, so these recipes are not ideal for children with these specific allergies.

Happy Parties!

*SHELLY SHINDIG*

Resident Bookworm

Click here to add Steenkamp, Merlin & Wellmann's Sustained energy for kids to your party book library today.

Kliek hier om Steenkamp, Merlin & Wellmann se Volgehoue energie vir kinders te bestel.

November 2009

Martha Day. Children's Party Cakes & Cookies. London: Anness Publishing Ltd 2007, 2008.

Starved for treat ideas for that upcoming party? Children's Party Cakes and Cookies has more than 180 recipes for novelty cakes, cookies, buns and muffins for kids parties.

With over 200 beautiful glossy photographs to ogle over, Children's Party Cakes and Cookies will inspire even the most weathered party caterer. The step-by-step instructions between the pages of this inspiring cake book will help make even amateur efforts appear professional.

What makes Children's Party Cakes & Cookies stand out is the inclusion of a tip or suggestion or variation for each recipe given. For instance: change your Crunchy Oat Cookies to delicate citrus biscuits by adding grated orange rind to the batter; or make your Peanut Butter Cookies extra crunchy by including chopped raw peanuts to the mixture.

Children's Party Cakes & Cookies also offers some more unusual recipes like the ones for Carrot and Courgette Cake, Fruit Salad Cake and Chocolate Orange Sponge Drops. The birthday child and their guests will love the treats this book has to offer.

The cherry-on-top (so to speak) is that Children's Party Cakes & Cookies includes a nutritional analysis for each recipe, covering fats, carbs, fibre and energy count, so if you're concerned about balancing your party table, Children's Party Cakes & Cookies is a must-have!

Happy Parties!

*SHELLY SHINDIG*

Resident Bookworm

Click here to add Martha Day's Children's Party Cakes & Cookies to your party book library today.