More than just a cookbook, this cleanly laid out plan has everything needed to change to a low-carb lifestyle.
Michelle Bridges’ latest book, 12WBT Low-carb Solution, is more than another diet book. Designed to be used either in conjunction with her well-regarded 12 Week Body Transformation program or as a standalone resource, this recipe book incorporates healthy lifestyle adjustments that are designed to become long-term habits.
The entire first section of the book educates the reader on carbs: what they are, how our bodies process them, and which carbs are better for us. While it seems like a lot of information, it is written in an easy-to-read conversational style while still clearly explaining the body’s relationship to carbohydrates. As someone who usually doesn’t find this sort of information very interesting, I found that I was engaged enough to read the whole section thoroughly.
The book also contains exercise suggestions, including options for incidental or formal exercise, as well as several home workout options with diagrams. Unfortunately, while they come with pictures, most of the exercises don’t have explanations of how to effectively execute them, so unless you’re already familiar with all of the exercises in the routines you may find it a little difficult to decipher what the intended movement is.
There are 4 weeks of meal plans, utilising leftovers and cook-in-advance options, designed to help users get into a routine of eating low-carb. This is clearly laid out, and includes snacking ideas with simple recipes. Living in a household with a variety of food allergies, I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of food swap suggestions that can be applied to many of the recipes.
This section of the book also regularly points out that “no carb” is not healthy, but promotes eating “smart” carbs instead. It also acknowledges that people have varying lifestyles and eating habits, and encourages adapting these meal plans and recipes to suit personal preference. For example, my husband rarely snacks between meals, and doesn’t like eating breakfast most of the time. Instead, he would rather eat a larger meal at lunch and dinner. I’m the opposite — I prefer smaller meals, but then I have a small snack every few hours to keep me going. I feel that if we used the “carb booster” options where needed, we would both be able to make these meal plans work.
The recipes are separated into sections according to how many carbs they contain, rather than being separated by which meal of the day or by the main protein of the dish. This seems like it would be useful for those who plan to use the book to keep to the recommended maximum of 130g of carbs per day, but it did make things like breakfast recipes a little difficult to find quickly. However, an alphabetical index in the back of the book can help if you really feel like tofu or asparagus for dinner.
One negative I noticed with the recipes was that many of them are simple to the extreme, as though they are aimed at someone who really doesn’t cook at all. However, it doesn’t include the step-by-step instructions of how to do simple things (such as steaming broccolini). Overall, it felt that there was an imbalance between the assumed cooking ability and the assumed knowledge of how to prepare food. However, the recipes do provide a clear guide of what constitutes a low-carb meal, which is the main point.
Warm Winter Vegetable Salad (more than 30 grams of carbs, p226)
This recipe included a nice variety of roasted winter vegetables seasoned with paprika. It was easy to prepare and the servings were a reasonable size. We noted that the amount of paprika in the recipe was rather small, and we felt the dish as a whole would have benefited from more paprika and added the garlic to the whole dish instead of only flavouring the beans. I do feel this is a dish I would do again with modifications, and it looked colourful and appealing on the plate. My daughter even ate a Brussel sprout—a miracle!
Lamb Steaks with Spiced Sweet Potato and Coriander Mash (less than 30 grams of carbs, p184)
When preparing this dish, I felt as though I really didn’t need to use the recipe. Apart from the spiced mash (which was delicious), the rest of the dish was simply steak and steamed broccolini. My husband and I both felt that something was missing from this dish. Not only were the portions very small (my husband, the non-snacker, really felt this), but the steak would have benefited from a sauce to accompany it. We cooked our steak medium-rare, but if you prefer medium to well-done you may find that this dish ends up being rather dry overall.
For an accomplished cook looking for exciting, engaging recipes, this is probably not the book for you. However, for someone looking to change their eating and lifestyle habits with an easy-to-follow guide and quick, simple recipes, this book could be a game changer.
Reviewed by Kristin Stefanoff
Distributed by: Pan Macmillan Australia
Released: March 2020
RRP: $36.99
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