This book has some great-tasing recipes, which is the number 1 thing I look for. Are all of them perfectly low carb? No--and that's why it loses a full star.

However, the beginning of the book has an excellent summary of what it means to be on a low-carb diet. The recipes do give you things live whole wheat spaghetti as a possible side, but you should use your discretion of course. While whole wheat anything is not strictly low carb, due to the high fiber content there are certainly much worse things you can eat. (In other words, there aren't many people who got fat eating high-fiber foods.)

My favorites from this book are the beef stroganoff and the Irish stew.

I have enjoyed this book for a few years. When I recently went on-line to buy a copy for my mom, I was shocked to see all the bad reviews it received. My husband is an avid Atkins fan, I am not. For the times when he is following the diet rigorously, this book provided some much needed relief from another plate of bacon and eggs. Many of the recipes are higher in carbs than Atkins may suggest, but I'm happy it gives the non-Atkins people in our household a little break without going too overboard on the carbs. Most dishes I've made from this book taste great and they have a variety of recipes for any type of meat you want to throw in your crockpot.

I know that this is supposed to be a low-carb cookbook, but I bought it because most of the recipes are gluten free. There are a few that call for cream of something soup or barley (neither acceptable on a GF diet), but most have basic ingredients and sauces. I've enjoyed all but one of the recipes I've made from the cookbook, and it's great to find a book with so many GF recipes.