On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 07:40:33 -0500, Pete Romfh wrote:

> I'm curious about that other methods people use for tracking their recipes.
> Particularly, what are diabetics doing to determine their recipe's
> nutritional values?
> Do you use written cards, scraps of paper, or notes in cookbooks ? (I'm
> converting to electronic but still have two boxes of 3X5 cards)
> Have you adopted the use of recipe software? Which program do you use? Do
> you gather (and/or share) recipes on the internet ? (I often do, it's fun)
> Do you do nutrition analysis yourself or take what the recipe author offers
> as gospel ? (I run each recipe through the program then see if it makes
> sense to me)
>
> I've been using Big Oven to format, analyze, and organize my recipe
> collection for some time now. I'm considering creating yet another cookbook
> and it's been a convenient way to gather up the material. It does a pretty
> good job for me and was quite moderately priced and well supported. The
> nutrition analyzer uses U.S. Dept. of Agriculture data that is frequently
> updated. They also maintain a web site where fellow cooks can share recipes,
> photos, and tips. I've been quite happy with it.

Just started using a package called "Now You're Cooking" which is similar
to all the others, has a link to nutritional info and, to me, is easier to
use than BigOven or any of the others I've tried. It doesn't (that I've
found) have a link to a PDA, which might be nice to take to the store (if
I had a PDA that is :-)

>
> Also, what do you look for in a cookbook ? If I were writing a book just for
> you, as a diabetic, what you like to see in it ?
> Would you use one in electronic format or do you want something you can take
> to the kitchen and work from? Would you want specific recipes to follow
> exactly or general concepts and ideas you can use to create your own
> versions ? Are pictures and/or diagrams important ? Do you want to know
> about the science behind the foods or just know what to do to get it to work

In a cookbook, I'd like a section on general concepts and a section of
specific recipes with some hints on substitutions. Pictures? No need,
what I cook never looks like the pictures in the book :-) Science? sure
if it's interesting. Electronic access to the recipes would be nice so
that I could easily add them to my favorite recipe software, what ever
that might be at the time. Since that format is unknown, plain ol' ascii
text would be the "format of choice" for me.