Grain-free Gourmet Delicious Recipes for Healthy L Paperback – September 22, 2005

Registered dietitian Fiona Press has reviewed each recipe to ensure accurate nutritional information. Lass and Bager know that adjusting eating habits towards healthy choices can be a chore rather than a pleasure, but the Grain-Free Gourmet is filled with tasty, easy-to-make dishes guaranteed to improve your health, fool your taste buds, and amaze your dinner guests.

Jodi Bager is the president of Grain-Free JK Gourmet, a Canadian baked goods manufacturing company, and a baking services consultant. In 2000, after the birth of her second child, Jodi was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a life-destroying intestinal disease. In her search for alternatives to heavy doses of steroid drugs, she tried the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).

Born and raised in Toronto, Jenny Lass is a freelance writer and cooking consultant with an MA in medical geography from the University of Toronto. In 2001, shortly after she established her writing company WordLink Communications, she was diagnosed with celiac disease and turned to the SCD when the gluten-free diet didn't relieve her symptoms. She was inspired to combine her love of writing, science, and cooking for the Grain-Free Gourmet cookbook series.

Food takes you on a journey. The comfort you get from just the right taste and texture satisfies more than your hunger. Food has the power to make the world seem perfect -- at least for those few moments when you're savouring your favourite meal or dessert. But for people who try to adjust what they eat in an effort to be healthier, mealtime can become a chore rather than a pleasure. Fortunately, you don't have to abandon the dishes you love if you're on a specialized diet.

We first met when driving together to a potluck lunch for people who follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). This diet, developed by Dr. Sydney Valentine Haas and made famous by Elaine Gottschall, has helped thousands of people with intestinal problems, including those with autism, to eliminate or control their debilitating symptoms. During the drive to the potluck, we discussed our respective routes from severe illness -- celiac disease and ulcerative colitis -- to improved health through the SCD. We also started sharing recipes -- what we made and how we made it, both of us incredulous at how our revised dishes tasted better than the originals. Over the course of the next few months, we realized that our passion for experimenting and creating in the kitchen had led us both to gather a repertoire of signature dishes that were more than just healthy and delicious; they were well worth sharing. This book is the convergence of these two paths: good health and a love of cooking, followed by two grateful women whose lives were saved by eating this food.

In this cookbook, we re-introduce you to your favourite meals, with a twist; all of our recipes are grain-free and refined-sugar-free, and contain little or no lactose. Our secret ingredient is ground almonds, also called almond flour. This grain substitute is perfect for anyone who has lactose or gluten intolerance, low calcium intake, high cholesterol, or an intestinal disease -- or simply for anyone who loves delicious, nutritious food. We show you cooking tricks that will improve your health, fool your taste buds, and amaze your dinner guests.

We hope you enjoy these recipes and discover new favourites that will keep you happy and healthy for years to come.