Muffins to Slim By: Fast Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Bread & Muffin Recipes to Mix and Microwave in a Mug

This is a great little book that I use almost every day. I first borrowed it from my library to try it out and ended up buying it for my collection. I particularly like the "Corn Dog" type Muffin Dog, and I don't feel one bit guilty eating it either! Instead of one tablespoon of the flaxseed meal, I use 1 tablespoon gluten-free hi-maize corn meal. Yum! My other favorites are the Pizza Muffin, Pumpkin Pie Muffin, and Chocolate Muffin. I've even invented some of my own mug muffins/cakes since purchasing this book and may even write my own cookbook. I like my Egg Mmmuffin (not the name I use) better than the one in the book, but her recipe is still very good (probably the only difficult recipe in the book--not as difficult as mastering Southern biscuits, though). While the author gets very inventive with her fruit substitutes in order to make the recipes lower carb, I didn't think they were very convenient to prepare or find some of the flavoring ingredients. I even went to the Lorann Oils site and couldn't find some of the flavorings she recommends in the recipes. I would much prefer to use real pineapple, banana, apples and peaches in the recipes instead of eggplant-based copycats. Of course, it will add extra carbs, and I quite understand why she adapted the recipes, but after trying some, I choose to use the real thing. I love that on the opposite page of each recipe there is notable information concerning the ingredients or other interesting facts about the recipe. There is also a nice measurement conversion chart in the front of the book and comprehensive index in the back (so many smaller books totally disregard an index!). The only things that are missing are color pictures of the recipes--pictures would have been nice. I highly recommend this book for those on low-carb, gluten-free diets, even without pictures. **Note: I was very disappointed in my delivery and packaging, which is unusual for Amazon. The book came with the front cover creased in half from the top right corner to the left lower corner. I contacted Amazon and complained, but they didn't even have the decency to contact me back or replace the cookbook as I asked them to do. Not very good customer service. 2018 Update: I’ve started the healthy Keto/Intermittent Fasting Diet recommended by Dr. Eric Berg. Dr. Berg and other study sources do not recommend soy or whey protein products, which numerous recipes in this book use. I’ll need to find suitable replacements for these ingredients. Regardless, it would nice if the author updated her recipes to reflect these new guidelines.

The absolutely perfect answer to trying to cook something for breakfast for anyone on a low-carb diet, especially in a household where others aren't. I'm gluten-free too and fortunately I love to cook, so I have all the ingredients for most of these already. The flours or flour substitutes (almond flour, coconut flour, flaxseed meal) aren't difficult to acquire - just buy them on Amazon if you don't want to pay outrageous prices in a health food store and can't find them in the grocery store. The other ingredients are things you probably already have around the house - eggs, sour cream, cheese, spices, baking powder, etc. The recipes I've tried have been quite satisfying (not to mention very tasty). The texture of those has been more spongy than muffin-like, the only thing that might turn off someone who was expecting a conventional muffin. But they make a satisfying breakfast that's ready in minutes and tastes good, with enough variations so there's no need to get bored with them for breakfast - though I tend to stick to the big cheese muffin that fills a 10-oz Pyrex baking dish. And for the mornings when one of these muffins is not enough, I spread it with butter and peanut or almond butter. Yum. There is also a hamburger bun recipe that makes two and takes only 1 minute each in the microwave - the first decent gluten-free hamburger bun recipe I've found that actually tastes good. And making only 2 is perfect when no one else is gluten-free. I've been using the buns for sandwiches too, a nice low-carb alernative to bread or wraps. That recipe alone is worth the price of the book.

I was recently diagnosed as diabetic and stumbled across this book searching Amazon for a something else. The rave reviews for this book caught my attention and I figured it was worth a try. The results far exceeded my expectations! The recipes take no time to make, there are bulk mixes you can prep in advance, they are VERY friendly to diabetics, and taste great!! I have tried around a dozen recipes and ALL of them I would do again. ALL in the microwave for single and/or double servings, and all under 30 carbs. Even if I were not diabetic, I would still happily eat all of these recipes, and often. Best cookbook I will probably ever own. And 5 - 10 minutes to make from start to finish! Lastly, these are not just deserts, but several kinds of great breads. The recipe on page 114 is PERFECT sandwich bread! I just leave out the meat and cheese and the 'Muffin Dog' becomes healthy serving of bread that is tastier than the wheat bread I used to buy. I just cook it in a flat glass dish 5" wide and cut the thick bread into two slices for only 10 carbs! I wish I had found this book sooner!

Yes, I LOVE this book. My husband must eat gluten free and I am a low carber for health reasons but we both miss bready things, both sweet and savory. This book takes care of it all, and the 5 recipes I have tried are super, although they ALL look delicious. ( I have made up the larger basic mix recipes and they make muffin prep even easier and faster--and, yes, I had to order a few "specialty ingredients" from Amazon because we live in a rural area--not cheap, but a whole lot better than doing without some favorite foods or eating crap and suffering the health consequences--and probably cheaper.in the long run anyhow. ) But YESTERDAY, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Our Plates- -I was cleaning out the back of an"unexplored for years" kitchen cabinet and found one of those funny old GT101 Xpress things. And I thought: hmmm...I just wonder what would happen IF....so I mixed up a coconut cream muffin and heated up the GT101 and poured the batter into the two little wells. After 3 minutes I checked and the bottom was a beautiful crispy golden-brown. turned it and cooked for another 3 minutes. Cut into it--OH, HEAVEN! Did the same thing this morning to the cheese and bacon one and it was equally good. and the texture when you cut into them was VERY close to real bread. Umm hmmm, requires more time than the usual OMM, in the microwave,but comes out not at all like any "usual anything." "There are genius ideas in this book and all are quick and easy to do. Would be high on my list to be "shipwrecked with." If they had 10 stars, that is what I would give this book! I am off now to order some of the author's other books.

Some great recipes for healthy, low carb, low glycemic index comfort in a cup! Mostly pretty common ingredients, though the eggplant "fruit substitute" is a little weird.

I was so surprised at how well these muffins came out, that I had to share. I made a Stuffin' Muffin for my friend who is sensitive to grains and also low carbing, and she ordered herself a copy of this book right away. All that I've tried are good and some are really amazing. How low is low carb? These are suitable for those of us on very low carb or ketogenic diets where every gram counts. You might have to skip a few, but every recipe includes carb and fiber counts for you to choose easily. The very low net carb recipes I've tried are high in fiber, so if you are very sensitive to that, beware. If not, you are in for a treat! Many treats! These recipes are easy to use. If you can crack an egg and use a measuring spoon/cup, you can do this. I am neither a cook nor any kind of baker and I got amazing results. You can also adjust what you need to; substitutions are discussed. My tastes run a little sweeter than the author's, so I increase sweeteners in the sweeter recipes. I really had given up on finding satisfying breadlike products under my dietary restrictions. There was a time when I tried everything, and was so disappointed most times that those products made me feel even more miserable about my diet. I'm sure those products were great before they got packed, frozen, shipped... they are no comparison to fresh from your own kitchen! Finding this book made a real difference for me, and I am grateful for it, and I've used it more frequently than any other cookbook I own. It's a treasure.

I want to start out by saying that this is a very well written book and I really only have one pet peeve about it but it's a big one. It doesn't have nutritional count for the actual recipes. It does offer up nutritional counts here and there for other items in this book but I don't want to have to add up individual items to come up with a count every time I try a new recipe. I also hate the idea of having to write in a brand new book, it's ether this or post it notes. I would really love to know why you would write such a nice cookbook and leave out something so important to someone on a diet? I realize that these counts can change if you use different brand products but it would be nice to have a baseline to go by. When I really like recipes I always purchase the suggested brands, I figure the author has already done the testing so there is no need for me to reinvent the wheel.

After a month or so on a low carb diet - both my husband and I were really missing muffins, bagels, toast - all the things you just can't have if you are trying to overcome insulin resistance. This book is AMAZING! I have to admit, I ordered the almond flour and other things I didn't have on hand, but didn't really believe I would be able to swallow these recipes. THEY ARE ALL WONDERFUL. Sure, if you haven't been doing the low carb thing and just had a regular muffin yesterday - you'll probably notice that these are different...maybe. My husbands exact words after eating the Cinnamon Sugar-Buster Muffin were: "That's the best muffin I've ever eaten!" Granted, it's been a while since we've been able to eat a muffin, but it really really WAS wonderful. I expected "heavy & dense" - it was light and airy. I expected tough or chewy - it was absolutely tender - not at all chewy. I thought it might be dry & crumbly - it wasn't. It held together beautifully - stood up nicely to butter and cream cheese. All in all - I loved it! I immediately made the Light Carb Chocolate Muffin. Fabulous! Tonight we are having The Best Garlic Cheddar Ever muffins with dinner. If you miss high carb baked goods BUY THIS BOOK! Literally in one minute in the microwave you will be in Carb Heaven - without the carbs.