I like this book for several reasons:

1. The recipes are ones that are palatable and that people want to eat. You cook things that you used to cook on a normal diet, just with low sodium. The recipes are for dishes that everybody would want to eat, not some weird vegan dish that only people with heart problems would eat because they have no other choice.

2. You get building block recipes as well as full dishes. Don shows you how to make different sauces that you can combine with raw ingredients such as meat and vegetables. There's also full entrees.

3. Recipes are not hard to make. You don't spent the entire day in the kitchen.

4. You get hard to find recipes. Salt free bread. Relish. Soy sauce substitute.

5. You know exactly what the nutritional value is. Don has it broken down to every last mg of sodium. Other values such as calories and cholesterol are also listed. Don also warns you about some traps like watching out for some maple syrups which have sodium.

6. Informative front sections tell you about spices, sodium value of some raw ingredients, and other basic information.

7. Active website. You can e-mail the author (...). I wrote him once and received a reply within 10 minutes. Other e-mail was answered within a day.

Things I didn't like:

1. Book contains typos/errors. Author has published an errata page on his website.

2. Author uses some substitute items which have potassium salts. Some people watching sodium intake also can't have large amounts of potassium, so I felt it would have been better to call this out more prominently, perhaps somewhere in the front sections. The recipes which use potassium salts, however, are a small minority. I wouldn't let this prevent me from buying the book; just be aware of what ingredients you're using.

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The author has doubtless spent many hours experimenting in his kitchen and testing the results. He's already blazed a trail for you. Why not benefit from what he's already discovered?

58 of 59 found the following review helpful:


Oh, My! A low-sodium cookbook with recipes that taste good!  Apr 07, 2001 By Robin Alwine
I'm astounded! Quite frankly, I never thought I'd be able to really enjoy the meals I made from my numerous low-sodium or otherwise "healthy" cookbooks. They were either tasteless or had plenty of (awful) flavor. No More!

Don Gazzaniga, a heart patient himself, has saved me the frustration I've experienced trying to remake good recipes into healthful ones for my husband with congestive heart failure. I have spent countless hours in the kitchen only to find that my attempt to prepare good food that's good for my husband has failed miserably. Chef Don to the rescue!

While my favorite is the Paella, there are a multitude of good-for-you recipes, gourmet and standard fare, from bread (even with bread machine recipes!) to dessert. Well-categorized and indexed, this has beome my favorite cookbook (and I have quite a few) in a very short time. I only wish there were photos, but that's the only thing I'd change. Each recipe includes the sodium counts for both the whole recipe and also Don's suggested serving sizes. He's also included, of course, other nutritional information per serving as well.

If you are looking for recipes to help protect your heart health, buy this book. If you already have a form of heart disease, buy this book RIGHT NOW. As for author Don Gazzaniga, I can't thank you enough, and I hope you're writing the next cookbook. You're a Godsend!

40 of 42 found the following review helpful:


Errors make recipes difficult to execute  Feb 21, 2005 By Icon O'Clast
The book contains numerous interesting recipes in which sodium and salt are creatively avoided. HOWEVER, a significant percentage of the recipes I have tried have errors or ambiguities that make the recipes difficult to execute. Specifically, the recipe instructions are frequently inconsistent with the ingredients list. It seems clear that not all of these recipes have been verified by independent cooks working from the book. An experienced cook can probably figure out how to make the recipes work, but an inexperienced cook will be frustrated when he/she runs up against one of these problems in the middle of preparation.

Another cautionary note is that many of the recipes are rather bland. Again, an experienced cook can figure out how to spice things up, but an inexperienced cook may end up with a meal that falls short of expectations.

19 of 19 found the following review helpful:


If you require a low-sodium diet, buy this book!!  Nov 07, 2006 By R. Lacy
After being diagnosed with Meniere's Syndrome, I was told to drastically cut the sodium in my diet. Being an avid cook, I immediately started the search for a low-sodium cookbook. I tried several, but this book is, by far, the BEST low-sodium cookbook I've ever seen. Not only are Don's recipes wonderful, but his book is a fabulous resource, particularly if a low-sodium diet change is new. I recommend trying first the Incredible Chicken recipe. It's easy, flavorful - incredible! You won't believe you're eating low sodium. Even my husband found that eating low sodium with me with these recipes was not just "doable" but enjoyable! This book is a MUST HAVE for those on low-sodium diets.

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