Reviews

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THE Authoritative Paleo Dessert Cookbook
By Peter Gold December 10, 2012

The one and only authentic Paleo dessert cookbook. This meticulously researched and marvelously executed book will delight extreme and moderate Paleo connoisseurs alike. Thank you Ms. Barthelemy. What a gift!

Amazing Cookbook! So easy and quick!
August 6, 2013 By Suzy Griffin

The Paleo Desserts cookbook is amazing. After I got stocked up on a few new ingredients, I found that I was ready for all the recipes in the book. I had tried some recipes in a gluten free cookbook and did not feel well after eating so much potato starch and other binding agents – yuck. Also in the other book, the icing for cupcakes would never firm up so I wasted a whole load of expensive ingredients.

Then I tried Jane’s recipe for the icing on the front of the book. It uses avocados! It is a quick and easy recipe that mixes all in one bowl. And it held up really well at a hot, summer picnic. The kids loved the cupcakes and I didn’t feel guilty or in trouble with their parents because I wasn’t contributing to anybody’s melt down from a sugar rush. Win-win. It’s great to be slowly releasing the sugar craving while still feeling satisfied with a bit of chocolate and sweet treats. Thanks Jane. This cookbook is a great contribution to all of us and helps us release the notion that eating healthy has to be no fun, or has to taste like cardboard. These desserts are fun AND tasty!

Disappointing,
July 14, 2013 By M. J. Rose

I bought this cookbook expecting that the products would not taste like regular sweet treats, but I thought they would be edible. I have not made one item from this cookbook that I could eat. I have followed the recipes to the letter as instructed (and they were not super easy), spent a fortune on difficult-to-find ingredients, and I feel like I have wasted time and money. I don’t think the Paleo diet should include dessert if this is what they taste like. FYI: Just Like Sugar Table top is NOT like sugar. I know this cookbook has received a lot of positive reviews, which is why I purchased it in the first place, I just wish I had found success with it like so many other customers.

Jane Barthelemy comments:

Hi M. J. Rose. Thank you for your honest review. I’m sorry to hear your desserts didn’t turn out. Which sweets did you try? I’m surprised and disappointed. These recipes taste like my mom’s best cooking to me and most people. However individual taste buds can vary a lot. Your experience is important. If you don’t care for Just Like Sugar, you might consider the other sweetener recommended in the book: it’s Zero by Wholesome Sweeteners. Let me know how I can help. This is Jane, the author.

Patricia A Schiewe Comments:

If you have the ingredients anyway try some of the other recipes. So many of the recipes in the Paleo desserts book have become family favorites for me, the cook, because they are very easy. Just a whirl in my VitaMix and also good for my family. All of us are getting a bit slimmer with the healthy and delicious food. Trish Schiewe

Best Delicious Nutritious Desserts
July 7, 2013 By Annie B

We’ve been eating healthy for years – no refined flours, all made from scratch with love. Because real food just tastes better. Paleo Desserts looks like a normal cookbook, however it’s a completely new concept in nutritious sweets. I mean – it breaks my brain – how do you invent a chocolate cake with no flour, sugar, or milk? But this recipe is made with blueberries, apple, and coconut. Boy is it yummy! The chocolate frosting tastes divine too – it’s made of avocado, chicory root, and cocoa – another delicious surprise! The instructions are easy to follow, especially along with Jane’s video. One more thing. I love to serve nutritious desserts like this to my grandchildren because there’s no sugar spike or crazed response in them. They just gobble it down with no negative blood sugar reaction at all. That’s a plus. Yes, the chicory root sweetener is expensive, but then so are diabetes treatments. I don’t mind buying ingredients online – it’s actually quicker. Most of the folks in our house are tired of tasteless mushy gluten-free cakes – they want real old-fashioned flavor. Every time I serve a recipe from Paleo Desserts, someone says: “You can make this anytime!!!” Highly recommended.

Disappointing
June 21, 2013 By kay mcquade

I am an avid cook, making almost everything from scratch. The hard to find odd ingredients in these recipes make this the worst cookbook purchase I have ever made. Not at all similar to the other great Paleo cookbooks I own.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Kay, Thank you for your honest comment. Paleo assumes you’re cooking from scratch (ha ha!), And yes, grocery chains in the 21st century aren’t very quick to carry new items, so we have to “hunt and gather” online. I’ve found it’s easiest to buy ingredients at VitaCost.com, as their prices are better than grocery stores and they offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount. The “odd” ingredients are the most important ones, and they will make your “Paleo Pantry” all the better for it. Most Paleo cookbooks use commercial coconut flour (refined and not Paleo), and high-carb sweeteners that will really spike your blood sugar, such as maple (highly refined), coconut sugar (refined), and honey (high in sugars). By contrast these “odd” sweeteners will not affect blood sugar. Hooray! That’s particularly important as most of the world is addicted to sugar, and we have an epidemic of sugar-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, metabolic disorder, etc. Even many Paleo folks maintain a sugar addiction, even though kicking the sugar habit was one of the original goals of Paleo. These are a few of the consideration I made when writing the book. It is intended for people truly serious about Paleo and health. It offers a unique possibility to make traditional desserts without refined ingredients, and provide a transition to a healthy metabolism without deprivation. Thanks again for your comments. Jane

Try it!
June 19, 2013 By CorttiJack

Great recipes, especially for a Paleo newbie like myself. But it was very difficult to find a few ingredients (a small container of nutritional yeast can only be found reasonably priced online, agar agar flakes, pure chocolate extract, pure maple extract/flavoring, carob powder, both sweeteners, yacon syrup) and its virtually impossible to make the recipes “to-the-T” on a college budget, and she stresses to follow the recipes and directions EXACTLY. The Table Top sugar used in this book is expensive, about $15 for a 16oz bag! And you use a lot for one recipe! I haven’t even bought yacon syrup because its $20 for one bottle. I’ve learned to half the recipes since I’m just cooking for myself anyway. I wish the book included nutritional facts and storing tips.
The author swears that this sweetener (just like Sugar table top) doesn’t have an aftertaste but that is a flat out lie. Tastes like some kind if sweet and low or Equal, but worse. But I learned to lessen the amount of the table top sweetener and just add the remaining measurement of honey or maple. That kinda masked the after taste, and lengthens the life of my $15 “sugar”. The Erythritol as a second option has much less of an after taste, but you need more of it, which is also expensive. It’s very light and sort of melts on your tongue.
I could only find the sweeteners online, which was a hassle because I had to REALLY plan out when I could make everything.
But I have to say, the Awesome Fudge Brownies on pg. 91, are really awesome! I put a little honey in with the table top sugar to mask the aftertaste. But they were moist and chewy just like real wheat-flour brownies! The Mexican wedding cookies were addicting!
If you don’t have a food processor, buy one! And if it’s okay for you to have a little sugar, use half honey and half of the table top sweetener. Honey is still paleo, it’s just not calorie/sugar free.

One thing I can say for this book is that it introduced me to tons of ingredients and methods of flavoring/sweetening that I’ve never heard of before, and I can eat sweets guilt-free while still feeling naughty!

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi CorttiJack. Thanks for your comment. Yes, some of the ingredients are hard to find. If you have a Whole Foods Market nearby, it’s easier – the nutritional yeast is in the bulk section, and they carry many of these items. I’ve found the ingredients are easiest to buy online at VitaCost.com, which has better prices than grocery stores and free shipping on orders over a certain amount. Sometimes grocery chains are slow to catch up and stock new ingredients, so we have to “hunt and gather” online. Everyone’s taste buds are unique. Thanks again, I appreciate all your comments. Jane, the author

Best Desserts Book for Weight Loss!
June 17, 2013 By Marion Y. Gorenstein

Jane’s book has been the solution to all my health problem. For many years I’ve had a big sweet tooth, and losing weight was an unpleasant sacrifice. Obviously every time I lost weight, I would I gain it all right back, because I started to eat sugars and carbs again. But that was the past. I finally had to accept that my concept of a healthy diet was totally wrong.
Then I found Jane’s book. All of her Paleo dessert recipes are very low carb or zero-carb, and 100% sugar free. Fantastic! This is exactly what I needed to lose weight. I am now doing a regular low-carb diet plus Jane’s desserts. My favorite recipe is the Fluffy Lemon Cupcakes, made with shredded coconut and lemon juice. I found a special way of calculating my sugars and carbs each day that results in easy weight loss. The exact counting method is something many, many people would like to know. I’ll be happy to share it if you send a comment to this post.
My daily goal is to eat 100 sugar calories per day and some days a little bit more.
If you use Jane’s recipes, you will see that these recipes fall beautifully under the perfect low-carb diet plan. Plus I can’t stand all those packaged and refined foods anyway. At last, I can enjoy delicious desserts like pies, cakes and cookies, all in healthy, low-carb form. So for me this book is heaven. Get the book and you’ll find that it’s heaven for you too. Everything is really low carb and no sugar. Finally I’ve found my dream book for weight loss! I request more photos in your next book, please. Highly recommended.

Delicious, well-written, easy to navigate
June 7, 2013 By Madeleine

So far the 5 recipes I have tried all came out wonderfully. I really like the author’s philosophy on food and nutrition, so the recipes are perfect for me. The only thing I would say is that the amount of sweetener (“Just Like Sugar Table Top Sweetener”) she calls for in all the recipes I have tried have been way too high. Especially the homemade chocolate chips: the recipe called for 1 1/4 cups sweetener; luckily I was adding it in 1/4 cup-increments, because I stopped after 3/4 cup and knew something was off. I ended up nearly tripling the other ingredients to get a good consistency for chocolate chips (I think for that particular recipe the kindle version may simply have a misprint). For the other 4 recipes I cut the amount of sweetener in half and was very pleased with the results (plenty sweet!) Overall, highly recommend!

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Madeleine, Thank you for your review. I just wanted to tell you that many people have made this comment on the sweetness level. I made the recipes quite sweet, because my taste testers liked them that way. And when the sweetness level was lower, they did NOT like the recipe, but many were not aware of why. This helped me to understand that many people do not have the sensitivity level that you do to sweetness, and of course everyone’s concept of sweet is different. What to do?? I’m now writing my next book on Paleo Breakfasts. And I’m trying a new method of allowing the users to sweeten to taste, and I’m defining 3 levels of sweetness, high, Medium and Low. the purpose is to help people be aware of sweetness, and to allow them to kick the NEED for sweet if they want to. It will be very interesting. Thanks again, Jane the author.

Madeleine Comments:

Thank you for responding! You’re right, I definitely like most things less sweet than the average person. Being on a paleo diet tends to have that effect I think! Can’t wait for your next book!

Are you willing to eat sugar substitute
June 2, 2013 By David Kubitsky

The pictures looked great in the book. However, when I started reading the book, I realized that all of the recipes call for inulin, a sugar substitute. Sorry, but I don’t think using a “sugar substitute” is what Paleo is all about. It’s about eating healthy real foods and enjoying their natural flavor once you’ve detoxed from processed foods. Eating some sugar substitute will only reset your tastebuds back again to pre-Paleo. Also, if this sugar substitute is so great and completely safe, how come it is impossible to find in any stores in my area? It’s not like inulin is new, so if it’s so great, you would think it would have caught on to become more mainstream by now. The recipes look great if you are willing to eat inulin and can actually find it at a store near you. Otherwise, pass.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi David, Thank you for your honest comment. I understand your reluctance to try natural chicory root sweetener. It seems too good to be true. It is a very new sweetener and hasn’t been picked up the grocery chains yet. We all know that there are a vast array of UNHEALTHY sweeteners in stores, so why should we accept them as beneficial? Some of us have found it serves our health to hunt and gather online. The cheapest prices are at VitaCost.com. That said, you CAN use any sweetener in my recipes, esp easier if it’s measured cup for cup like sugar. I don’t know how healthy it will be, as other so-called Paleo sweeteners like maple, honey, and coconut sugar are almost 100% sugars (fructose, sucrose, etc.), so they will affect blood sugar, insulin response, and overall health. Then again we can all skip desserts, and we might be better off for it, esp as most Americans are addicted to sugar – even many Paleo folks. We love sweets and we do deserve a measure of sweetness in our lives. This book is intended as a bridge for those people that are truly serious about kicking the sugar habit, and also enjoy an occasional traditional sweet – without affecting blood sugar. Some consider this an impossible feat. However it turns out to be quite possible. The real test of this book is for you to try a recipe and taste the difference. I invite you to do that when you’re ready. Thanks again, this is Jane, the author

Feemeister comments:

Coming from a real sugar addict, I can totally tell you it’s true that you can get way too addicted to the good for you sweets. I would think this book would be great to have around for really special events where you wanted to indulge some but not a lot. It probably would work out really well for people who are not as sugar addicted as I am. I mean, they would be able to keep it within reason (which I can’t)!!!

If you must have dessert and are paleo, better consider this resource
June 1, 2013 By Vulcan Isadora (Phoenix AZ)

It is a bit absurd to think of paleolithic human beings eating chocolate cupcakes, to imagine products from Sri Lanka on Arizona store shelves before transportation exceeded trekking on your own power. And the author reflects some of that irony in subtle asides. Well written, gorgeously illustrated. She says everything is easy and irresistible, and I appreciate her enthusiasm. Not so sure about all the coconut-based ingredients. Can that really be good for us? I made the ginger pear crumble and, after buying the ingredients at a whole-foods market which took some persistence and was no bargain, it was not difficult. A bit too sweet for me. Better the second day, after the pear juice moistened the sawdust-textured coconut flakes. Since I would have a devil of a time on the paleo diet without dessert, I am grateful for this book. Ask me again in a month or so if I like the outcomes. Only so much you can do with coconut flakes, coconut oil, and coconut flour. Sometimes all in the same recipe….

Purchased as gift
May 31, 2013 By jane Autry

Birthday gift for my granddaughter because she cooks Paleo all the time. She was happy to receive the cook book.

Paleo Desserts
May 28, 2013 By Lucille S. Deitiker

I did not like this book because of the ingredients in recipes. Weird sweetning. I have no idea where to get the ingredients. It should have had alternate ingredients which you would have in your house or convenient at the grocery store.
I gave the book away as sending it back, the refund that I would receive back would be offset by
the amount of postage to send it. So, I did not want to go to all that trouble.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Lucille, Thank you for your comment. This is a book for people seriously interested in improving their health. That’s why it uses a few non-standard ingredients you won’t find in your local box grocery store. After all it’s a PALEO cookbook. Many of the ingredients are available in healthy groceries. But most people find it’s easier to hunt and gather online. The natural chicory root sweetener is zero glycemic. It’s rather new, and it takes grocery chains time to catch up to new trends. However you CAN substitute any other sweetener in these desserts. The only real test of the cookbook is to try the recipes! I hope you’ll give THAT a try! Thanks again, Jane, the author

Just ordered
May 26, 2013 By Julie

I just finished watching Jane’s videos on her site, and decided I will try this cookbook. After I have several recipes under my belt I will update my review.
What impressing me about this woman is that A. She is a pastry chef, so I know she knows sweets, and B. I love that she opened her video by stating that she loves putting healthy food in her body, and she seems to back it up. Looking at the ingredients of the recipes she does have posted, even her chocolate frosting, packs a nutritious punch, a tough feat when you’re making an indulgence, because let’s face it, usually that’s the first thing compromised when making desserts.
I’m so looking forward to receiving my book and getting started.

Good
May 25, 2013 By BODY RIP FITNESS “BODY RIP FITNESS” (PUERTO RICO)
Good book great Paleo book i love it this live style Good for all people , is go back in beging time Good book that is.

This is a wonderful book!
May 20, 2013 By Los Lobos

I came across this book a few months ago, and am amazed at how these recipes help me to not only enjoy deserts, but to care for my body with joy and attention. I am new to the paleo dessert world and found the foundation information clearly understandable. I know that through the desserts in this book, I can live in more balance with less compromise in my body and emotions. These recipes support the wisdom that my body has been wanting to lead me into but did’t know where to find the information in an easy to understand format. I appreciate the ease I have found in these beautiful desserts that taste satisfying to my body and spirit. I see that Jane uses the highest quality foods available, which supports my own thinking about nutrition. I enjoy how she also offers alternative suggestions so I can brave creating alternatives to the recipes given with confidence. My favorites in this book are the Blueberry Harmony and Superfood Energy Revitalize Smoothies; the Easy Chocolate Mousse; and Dutch Apple Pie (with fabulous Whipped Creme Topping: you can’t tell the difference!). As I explored this book, I realized that it supports the notion that I can eat well with enjoyment in my meal plans, without compromising what I need for good health and balance. I found this book to be visionary and joyful.

Highly recommend
May 9, 2013 By Beth Diaz “avid reader” (Anaheim, CA United States)

I bought this as a gift, but have benefited from the use of the recipes contained therein. I highly recommend this to any healthy diet seeking cooks. Delicious and not too complicated for the home cook.

Delicious looking desserts
April 30, 2013 By Shannon Chamberlain

I bought this book for my husband for Christmas as we were starting to eat Paleo. However, we’ve found that some of the ingredients are tough to find, even at our local Whole Foods Market so we haven’t actually made anything from it yet.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Shannon, thanks for your comment. Many of the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, however some are not carried in every store, so it depends on which Whole Foods you go to. Sometimes retail stores are slow to catch on to new trends, and health conscious people have to hunt and gather online. I have found better quality ingredients, more convenience, free shipping, and better prices than Whole Foods shopping online at VitaCost.com. Check it out. I hope this is helpful. Jane, the author.

no pictures on the Kindle version 🙁
April 29, 2013 By Yolanda K Washington

I haven’t really used the book (ebook – Kindle) yet, but I skimmed through because I wanted to see pictures of all of the delicious dessers (an get an idea of how my finished products should look). However, the only picture on the Kindle version of the book is the cover picture. 🙁 The pictures are my motivation! 🙂
Jane Barthelemy Comments:
Hi Yolanda,
Thanks for your comment. I downloaded the Kindle version to my iPad several months ago, just to see what it looked like in e-book format. The photos are all there! They start right after page 86. It’s an inserted section of many photos located between page 86 and 87. Check again, they are there on my Kindle version. This is Jane, the author.

You better like “Just Like Sugar Tabletop” at $25/pound
April 27, 2013 By Robert J. Cote “Bob” (Deerfield, NH)

…because just about every recipe in this cookbook uses significant quantities of it. Even worse, this product is primarily inulin, which causes severe gastrointestinal distress in many people, including me.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Bob, Thanks for your honest comment. This is Jane, the author. BTW, you’re free to use your favorite sweetener in these recipes. I tested them with chicory root, however they will work with any granulated sweetener that’s measured cup for cup like sugar. In most people, chicory root fiber (inulin) functions as a pre-biotic, and many doctors prescribe it since it promotes healthy digestion and re-balances the intestinal flora. Often a reaction is just a temporary detox response in the body, while the bacterial balance adjusts. A small percentage of people do not tolerate inulin at all, and this may be your case. However it does work well for the vast majority. Natural chicory root inulin offers a sweetener alternative which does not affect blood sugar at all, and that’s a a gift to many people. In the book there are links to the cheapest places to buy Just Like Sugar. Nobody should pay $25 per pound. Thanks again for your honest comment. Jane

Robert J. Cote Comments:

I just checked three of the online resources listed in the book as sources for “Just Like Sugar Table Top”, and found it as low as $18/lb, but with $5 shipping, so I’ll maintain $25/lb plus or minus a dollar or two. Regarding your suggestion above to substitute my favorite sweetener, here is a quote from page 25 or the book: “All of my testers failed in their attempts to make these desserts when they substituted other sweeteners or flours,…”


Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Robert, You’re right on both counts. The best source I know for JLS is online at VitaCost for $17.59, and they offer free shipping on orders over a certain value. Since they carry many of the other ingredients used in the book, it might be the best source for bulk shopping at this time. After writing the book, research continues with the help of book users – we have discovered that many other sweeteners can be substituted successfully in most of the recipes. There are lots of possible sweeteners, and the easiest one to measure is cane sugar. I don’t know how healthy that will be, but for people that choose foods based primarily on cost, cane sugar is a whole lot less expensive.

Groundbreaking!
April 25, 2013, By Matthew

I realize that the author of this book recommends following her recipes exactly, but living outside the USA makes that a little challenging. The book intrigued me enough to order anyway and I am glad I did. I have substituted sugar in all of the recipes I have tried, and have had no problem.
Her coconut flour mix is nothing short of brilliant. This cooks very differently than processed coconut flour and the end product lacks the mushy, too moist texture I have gotten from regular coconut flour. Also, this flour blend seems to extend the shelf life of baked goods. If you have made something like muffins with regular coconut flour you might know what I mean – they are great right out of the oven, but not so good the next day. As a side note, I am not a big fan of coconut, and I don’t find the flavor of anything I have tried in the book yet to be too coconutty.
I made the key lime pie yesterday with avocado…. Even my picky eater gobbled it up and he hates avocado. I tried the apple pie last week and found the crust to be a little tough (may be because of my substitutions) but I think it will make a perfect pop tart.
I have been baking GF and Paleo for some time now and I can say that Jane really thinks outside of the box. If you enjoy baking, you will find a plethora of tips and ideas that will take you in new directions.

I love the concept of this book.
April 22, 2013 By nia h. (California)

The author of this book is kind and so receptive to customers and average joes on the internet which is how I found her and for that alone I’d like to rate this higher but I can’t. I originally made paleo crepes from her website and they were delicious, amazing and easy. However, for my taste the recipes in this book call for some things that I am just not fond of using (and honestly I stink at making substitutions for baking or else perhaps I’d have my own book.) 😉 Additionally, my urge for something sweet is fleeting so quick and easy is more my style. These recipes for the most part make pretty large quantities. I’m cooking for two and newly living in a foreign country so I have no one to share all of my goodies with.
On the other hand, the creativity level is totally there and the pictures look wonderful… And I will check out the other available books by Jane.

Truly healthy desserts for a change
April 18, 2013 By micro-bio

“Jane’s book of Paleo Desserts is just what a sweet-starved public need: something truly healthy for a change! I look forward to trying everything she has created, but for now, her one-minute whipped cream on page 173 was delicious and easy. I served it recently to dinner guests in a fruit parfait, alternating the fruit wih her cream and topped off with some fresh mint leaves that I grew. They loved it and thanked me for serving somthing healthy and simple. Jane is a genius in creating these tips and recipes, and I can’t wait to try everything in her book gradually. Just Like Sugar’s natural chicory root tastes delicious and is the healthiest sweetener I’ve ever used. Thank you Jane, for bringing these recipes to the world.” Fran Powell

Delicious perfection – even for inexperienced bakers
April 17, 2013 By Dawn Arnold (Virginia Beach)

I’m sitting here with the most delicious, MOIST cake I’ve ever tasted, so moist it reminds me of cakes made with pudding. The frosting is amazingly creamy, actually the only frosting I’ve ever really eaten because frosting is normally disgusting. I’m marveling that the cake is made of blueberries and apples, the filling is made of raspberries and lemon and the icing is made of avocados, orange and coffee.
I’m also marveling that during a brief crisis while preparing the filling I emailed the author of the book, Jane Barthelemy, for guidance and she responded within minutes with the perfect solution. Jane seems very down to earth, generous with her time and knowledge, and also someone I trust as an exceptional, nutritionally informed writer. And believe me, I’ve read them all and am often stunned at the number of renowned doctors and nutritionists who recommend things like Splenda, microwave ovens, lectins, agave syrup etc. It makes me lose confidence in everything they say. This author has chosen only ingredients that make no compromises with our health.
Her goal is to avoid obesity, GMOs, chemicals, toxins, insulin spikes and micronutrient depletion.
Each week, I prepare one of these recipes and all of them have turned out perfectly even though I’m a Level 0 baker. I’m such a novice that I had to purchase cake pans from Ebay before I could even bake this cake. The ingredients were not difficult to find, as some have suggested. The chicory root sweetener is available at Vitacost.com for about $10 less than at stores or other online sellers. This is also a good place to pick up coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut butter, almond butter, agar flakes, arrow root powder, organic vanilla, almond and maple flavorings, baking powder, baking soda etc. – all at cheaper prices than stores. As for the coconut flakes, these are even available at Food Lion – raw, unsweetened, organic.
As you probably guessed, I love this book! As the author says, it’s wonderful to be able to prepare and eat delicious desserts without the usual guilt, weight gain and potential health issues from sugar.

impressive results
April 14, 2013 By Maria Luiza

I still get impressed of how could Jane Barthelemy develop so many great frendly deserts with no milk, or sugar, or gluten, or grain!
That’s crazy… they really work and are delicious.
The only problem is to find all the specific ingredients such as “just-like-sugar” in Brazil, where I live. But if you like at a big town, you can really do these desserts.
Also nice pictures and directions.

hard ingredients to find
April 11, 2013 By Kirstie Ogle (Santa Rosa, CA United States)

Was very excited to recieve this book and start working on making some recipies. The ingredients were very hard to find and I didn’t up making anything.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Kirstie,
Thank you for your comment. If you’re looking for ingredients, go to my website JanesHealthyKitchen.com, and click on Ingredients. It will give you links to the cheapest and quickest places to get them. Sometimes it takes grocery stores a long time to catch on to new things. I find the best quality ingredients online. It saves hours of searching and costs less. If you have any questions along the way you can contact me through my website. 
Thanks again for your comment. This is Jane, the author.

One of the best books I’ve ordered
April 10, 2013 By Edith Gaylord

I made the chocolate fudge (I skipped the nuts) on page 104. Fabulously delicious. Only other thing I’ve made so far is the easy chocolate mousse on page 151…yummy!

I plan to make many more recipes from this book. It’s one of the best cookbooks I’ve ever bought.

Sugar substitute is crazy expensive!
April 4, 2013 By @ahopkinsgross

The recipes look awesome; however, the sugar substitute (Just Like Sugar) cost $25.01 for one pound, and I purchased it from Amazon. I thought I was ordering five pounds for that amount. Made the spicy carrot cake, it was too sweet and the aftertaste lingered. I can’t see spending this much money, sadly. I have a family of five and it’s just not practical. So sad. I purchased my book from a local bookseller in Vermont.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hello @ahopkinsgross,
Thank you for your honest comment. Yes, chicory root sweetener is very expensive. The best price is from VitaCost, under $18/lb. They offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount. I use this to stock my Paleo kitchen.

Believe me, I studied hundreds of sweeteners and eliminated most of them when writing the Paleo Desserts book. I view it as a minor miracle to create recipes for all our favorite treats without affecting blood sugar one bit. But I have NOT yet been able to miraculously create a sweetener that is comparable in cost to sugar. I’m hoping someone else will figure that out. 

Sometimes it takes several years, even generations to change our health habits. Right now, cane sugar and corn syrup are subsidized by the government to the tune of billions, so cheap carbs and sweets in the grocery store don’t reflect their true cost to produce. Alternative zero sugar sweeteners are not subsidized, so we pay more. They are two completely different kinds of nutrition. One causes disease, and the other does not. Yet we often compare their costs and lament.

Please know you can ALWAYS use other sweeteners in my recipes, and you can use less or sweeten to taste. The recipes were tested with Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener. If you use something else, you may miss the health benefits of chicory root, they recipes may raise your blood sugar, and they may not be Paleo. Just know that you CAN experiment with your favorite sweetener at any time. Or you can skip sweets, a viable option.

We make health choices every day. I know people who spend $300 a month on health insurance, $400 on phamaceuticals for diabetes and depression, thousands of dollars on dental work for tooth cavities, that have lost 10 years of their life to obesity, but won’t spend $17.99 for a pound of expensive alternative sweetener that might eliminate or reduce the need for all these other expenses. These are personal choices.

There’s a big difference between real food and empty food. My Paleo Desserts recipes are REAL, NUTRITIOUS FOOD, not empty calories. Back when I was eating conventional sweets, I could eat a half a pan of brownies without feeling satisfied. But with Paleo Desserts, when I eat just ONE brownie, my sweet desire is satisfied for a week or more. I freeze the rest or share them with family and friends.

There are many points of view and they are ALL valid. My role is to simply offer an alternative. Now there’s a book called Paleo Desserts that shows we CAN make yummy brownies without raising blood sugar. Those folks for whom this is appropriate will use it, and if it is not they will choose something different.

I hope this is helpful,
thanks again and best wishes for your delicious health!
Jane, the author

A New World of Flavors – Requires an Open Mind
April 4, 2013 By Happy Dessert Man

I was surprised when I got my book. The title “Paleo” brings to mind simple, rustic fare that’s quick and easy, like blended puddings, granola bars, or baked apples. And I was not disappointed – there are many such simple recipes. However this book has gone way beyond the Paleo norm to re-create ALL our favorite desserts in healthy form, using 100% hunt-and-gather ingredients. The mouth-watering photos are just a small hint of the wide range of recipes – from Blueberry Muffins to Chocolate Cream Pie, Lemon Bars, Belgian Waffles, Cream Cheese Frosting, Yellow Birthday Cake, and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. The main revelation of the book is that these desserts taste like I remember my Mom’s – only better!
Yes, it takes an open mind to follow the recipes and prepare food in this new way. It means forgetting every preconception and kitchen training I ever had. For example, my inner chef rebels against making a chocolate cake out of shredded coconut, cacao powder and apple. Yet when it is finished my taste buds tell me it’s my Mom’s best Devil’s Food Cake! And who in their right mind would make a piecrust out of shredded coconut, arrowroot, and eggs? Once again I was amazed – the result rivals any 5-star restaurant. The Pecan Pie tastes familiarly rich and luscious, but without any sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Perhaps we’re so immersed in our accepted habits, we’ve forgotten how to cook with real, healthy food? I had to order some of the ingredients online, and found an easy ingredient guide at JanesHealthyKitchen.com.
You don’t need to be on a special diet to love these desserts – yet anyone who is gluten-intolerant, celiac, diabetic, Paleo, including Vegan, Tree-nut allergic, or just tired of fake food, will seriously benefit from the collection. This book breaks traditional rules – even so-called Paleo ways – to open a new world of delicious real-food flavors that our Paleolithic ancestors could have never dreamed. Bravo! Next I’m going to try healthy Crepes Suzettes!

Disappointed
April 2, 2013 By J. Edwards

I live in “foodie” Portland and none of the healthy stores here carry the sugar that almost all of these recipes are based on though some do carry the cookbook. I’ve found other Paleo dessert cookbooks to be very helpful such as Paleo Indulgences, I didn’t make a single recipe from Paleo Desserts. There’s no way that I’m going to mail order for sugar at around $25 a lb and that doesn’t include shipping. I was quite disappointed.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi J. Edwards, thanks for your honest comment. I live in foodie Portland too. But I had to hunt and gather online when writing the book. Please know that you’re free to substitute any sweetener you like in the recipes. But if you want your Lemon Bars or Brownies to be low-carb and low glycemic, and if you’re serious about kicking the sugar habit, I haven’t found anything better than chicory root. At least not yet. Even honey, maple syrup, coconut nectar, agave, etc, all these are high in sugars. They’ll give you a nice blood sugar rush, which is hardly Paleo or healthy. I researched hundreds of sweeteners before writing the book, as I’m concerned about our epidemic of sugar-related diseases like obesity, diabetes, arthritis, etc. The advantage of chicory root is that it doesn’t raise blood sugar one bit. The cheapest place to buy Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root online is VitaCost.com. They offer free shipping for orders over a certain amount. There’s no need to pay $25 per pound. Whole Foods on Sandy in Hollywood does carry it in the 4 ounce container, but it’s not economical. In Portland you can buy Just Like Sugar from Trish, a health practitioner in Lake Oswego if you call her at 503- 636-4330. Paleo Indulgences is a good book, and Tammy is a friend. But if you want your Black Forest Cake, Mexican Wedding Cookies, or your Cheesecake to be truly healthy and low-carb, you’ll find these recipes in my book. Thanks again. This is Jane, the author

I’m sorry I spent my money on this one
March 31, 2013 By C.M.Cole

While the recipes are interesting, the prime ingredient is “just like sugar” – an artificial sugar substitute.
While it says it’s derived from chicory, that does not make it less a processed food, and, I would think, not in keeping with most adherents of Paleo lifestyle.
I’m still learning a lot about that type of menu, but the only way to obtain that particular ingredient in my area is by mail order, which makes the chance of creating a copy of any of the recipes less likely.
I hope that I’ll be able to use it for ideas, and perhaps have some success with alternate types of sweeteners, so it won’t be an entire waste of my money.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hey C. M. Cole, thanks for your comment – it’s honest and up front. After studying hundreds of natural sweeteners searching for the lowest in sugar, most natural, and safest ones, I chose chicory root. However you can use the recipes with any sweetener you like. The advantage of chicory root is that it doesn’t raise blood sugar one bit, so it doesn’t contribute to the sugar addiction cycle like maple, agave, coconut, honey, and so many others. We’ve noticed the cheapest and quickest way to stock up on ingredients is thru VitaCost. They offer free shipping over a certain amount. It turns out to be quicker AND cheaper than the grocery stores. Best wishes, Jane the author

Love it!
March 30, 2013 By Emily

I love this book and far as understanding how to make normal recipes paleo but it doesn’t show any unusually different items that would be the only down fall.

Written for the baker/caterer
March 29, 2013 By Anonymous

This is NOT a simple book of recipes. The cover, pictures and ideas are amazing, however every recipe is so bloody involved that I would never want to try any of them. Not that I’m incompetent, but I really think this book is created for a catering business, and not your average health-nut. I’ll sum this up in a few points that may be helpful:
1)She uses tremendous amounts of some sugar substitute called ‘just like sugar table top’ or something like that. Flipping through, I see some recipes calling for 3 cups of the stuff. I’m sure it’s not a cheap item (25 clams/lb.) as well to be using it in that quantity, not to mention that it’s a fake product that you’re putting in your body. All natural my bum.
2)Every recipe contains anywhere from 10-20 ingredients. The majority of them lean towards the 20 range. I don’t know about you, but that just gives me anxiety. I am a simple home cook who has been in the game for about 25 years, and I live a simple life. To use so much just to re-create something that I can’t/don’t want to have at this extent–well, I just don’t think it’s worth it. Again, this is my opinion and you’ve decided to skim it 🙂 If you are a lonely housewife with a significant other that works all day and is paleo–great! Go for this.
3) 10 egg whites in one recipe.
4) Just eat fruit and call it.
Thanks for reading. Gotta go have my banana covered in cacao with a sprtiz of maple syrup. 3 flippin’ ingredients.

Really Paleo
March 28, 2013, By steve Humphrey

Lots of sugar substitutes. Not even gonna follow up.. Haven’t made any thing. Not what I was looking for at all

Delicious Gluten Free Recipes!! Try it!
March 25, 2013 By cathy rogers-holmes

I tried a few recipes and they were fantastic! I would highly recommend for those looking for delicious dessert recipes that are Gluten free.

Paleo
March 22, 2013 By Eathel Belville

This cookbook has some wonderful recipes in it that I can’t wait to try! Book arrived in very good condition and in allotted time.

Great paleo dessert book
March 11, 2013 By K. E. King (Los Angeles, CA USA)

exactly what I was looking for. this book is different from all other paleo dessert books which generally use coconut flour. these recipes are much more nutritious.

Paleo Dessert to the Rescue
March 7, 2013 By J. Scholz

Baking and making desserts are not my favorite activities. Just buying goodies at bakeries is no longer an option for me. I bought this book to read and to find out if the recipes will work for me. At first I felt somewhat intimidated with the unfamiliar ingredients such as yacon syrup, nutritional yeast which are optional ingredients. The table top just like sugar sweetener is totally new. Ms Barthemy’s website was very helpful to give the information about this product. I “gathered” the paleo dessert essentials plus other ingredients that I know are not in my cupboard -from the internet and local health food stores. My cuisinart food processor came out of retirement as I tried my first project- the Mexican Wedding Cookies. It turned out better than I thought.I wasn’t very confident about how I went about making it especially how long to process the coconut flakes and sweetener. I emailed Ms. Barthelemy about my question and she graciously got back with the answer. Slowly my confidence is building and had made the lemon bars, awesome fudge brownies and used the chocolate part of Hazelnut Butter Cups to cover nuts in candy molds…heavenly. They were all delicious, gave just the right amount of satiety and satisfaction. Most of all no sugar spikes…I check my blood sugar just to make sure that the desserts are safe.
Admittedly it takes time to become familiar with the ingredients but for me it is fast becoming a new normal. One of the reasons I had disliked conventional baking and dessert making is the amount of sugar that is called for in the recipes. I literally lose my desire to eat because I could feel the crash just thinking about it.
I highly recommend this cookbook. The recipes are easy to follow. The sweetener is pricey but is worth it for me because I can treat myself with something sweet every now and then. I find that the paleo desserts do not initiate cravings. After I get my sweet fix I am done with it for a week or more that is why I have made just three paleo desserts so far since I bought the book in the beginning of this year.

Reading and Learning
March 4, 2013 By ladonna sebg (BOISE, ID, US)

I am still learning about the Paleo diet, but am looking forward to trying some of these reciepts in this book.

Delicious Desserts for Lovers of Real food!
February 27, 2013 By Asandra Lamb

The book is called Paleo, but these are NOT caveman sweets. They’re the most fabulous tasting desserts anyone can imagine – all re-invented with hunt-and-gather ingredients. What a joy to taste real flavor again instead of refined imitations! The natural chicory root sweetener tastes delicious. With zero carbs, it gives absolutely no rise in blood sugar. It is expensive, however many people I know spend ten times that on pharmaceuticals. These recipes can help you kick sugar so you don’t need them! There’s no other book anything like this. Jane’s creative recipes show us how to enjoy sweets again with 100% joy, and zero guilt. The Vegan Flan with Dulce de Leche Sauce is pure love. Oh, and try the luscious Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vegan Cream Cheese frosting – amazing! I highly recommended this book – not only for Paleo enthusiasts, Vegans, gluten-free folks, and diabetics, but for anyone who loves real food.

Awesome, February 27, 2013
By Carrie C. Fauteux (Vernon, CT United States)

This is a great book, especially for the price. Delicious desserts the Paleo way! I would recommend it to anyone with a sweet tooth.

Delicious Paleo recipes
February 25, 2013 By Laura Stewart

I don’t often enter into online discussions, and I’d like to share my personal experience with this book. I’ve been delighted with every recipe I’ve tasted. My favorites so far are Fluffy Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Instant Mocha Mousse. I didn’t believe it was possible until I tried a few. Jane’s suggested sweetener, Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root, tastes delicious and dissolves easily in everything, better than Erythritol or Xylitol. And it has zero sugars, much lower than maple syrup or honey. There are lots of other Paleo desserts recipes available, but none of them offer the lowest carbs, delicious flavor, and pure Paleo ingredients as this one.
A few of the ingredients aren’t in grocery chains yet – you’ll find it saves time and money to “hunt and gather” online. Follow the Ingredient link at JanesHealthyKitchen . com. Jane has taken a stand on sugar and refined foods in this huge collection of favorite desserts re-designed Paleo style. With an epidemic of diabetes, obesity, and sugar-related diseases at every turn, it’s about time! Now I have an alternative. I can enjoy sweets without breaking my diet or harming my health. The book is attractive, but cooks like me will appreciate more color photos.

Silly- Makes you buy expensive sugar substitute
February 20, 2013 By christina

This book only calls for one type of sugar that you can’t find in stores and it is really really expensive.
I made one dessert from this with 2 bags of the sugar i had to order on amazon. It turned out so sugary it made me sick. I recommend just looking up recipes with honey or agave and sticking tho those simple things. These recipes are for elaborate bakers that have no regard for how much money it takes to make a cake.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Christina, thanks for your honest comment. These recipes will work with any sweetener. The recipes are designed for folks who want their favorite desserts without high sugar and carb sweeteners. I researched hundreds of sweeteners and found natural chicory root to be one of the best, esp. since it has no calories or carbs at all. Many people can’t tolerate high-sugar sweeteners such as agave and honey – these are both very high in fructose, which is hard for the liver to digest. Cheap carbs are not always our friend. Fructose is the top suspect in our epidemic of obesity and diabetes – that’s the reason I my first choice sweetener is zero sugar . But you can use your favorite sweetener in these recipes. For the best prices on ingredients, check out my website ingredient shopping guide at janeshealthykitchen . com. Yes, the sweetener is expensive. However the flour is half the price of coconut or almond flour. I hope that’s some consolation. Then again, the cost of disease is difficult to measure. LOL, Jane, the author.

complicated, and ingredients not easily on hand
February 8, 2013 By Deborah (Winchester, New Hampshire, United States)

Wow, I really wanted to like this book. its a book that is best saved for a more advanced cook. The recipes are complicated, and call for ingredients not easily found out here in the country. I tried that “just like sugar” she keeps adding and ICK! its bitter, and has a huge after taste. My daughter is a very advanced cook and even she shook her head at it and said WTH, why wouldnt she just make this simple? So, its a fail for me.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Deborah, Thanks for your honest comment. Are you sure you used Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener? Many people make the mistake of buying the Baking (it says it’s for baking), and this does not have the same taste. BTW, you can always substitute your favorite sweetener in these recipes cup for cup. The advantage of the chicory root, is that it has zero carbs and doesn’t affect blood sugar. For quick and easy ordering ingredients at the best prices, go to my website JanesHealthyKitchen. com and click on Ingredients. I don’t make anything on this – it’s just easier. And there are lots of really easy Paleo desserts in the book, like Apple Cranberry Crisp, Pear Ginger Crumble, Chocolate Lava Cake, Milkshakes and Puddings. Thank you again.

Okay
February 7, 2013 By COLIN TURNER

I have celiac AND I generally eat paleo. This cookbook is okay. Theres just really no great or easy way to do dessert with Paleo. I love coconut, but HATE coconut flour. Horrible texture… like eating sand. I also get tired of that tell-tale coconut flavor that overpowers all other flavors.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Colin, Thank you for your comment. I agree with you, there’s no easy way to do Paleo Desserts. I use shredded coconut in my book, because it tastes great, it’s a whole food, it’s packed with nutrition, a great price, and it doesn’t dominate the flavor.

You’re right, coconut flour is not used in my cookbook, because it tastes like tree bark to me. It’s like eating pure fiber. Many people are unaware that the coconut flour we buy is not a whole food, and it’s not Paleo. Our commercial coconut flour is refined & de-fatted with chemicals and heat to sell the oil. The resulting mash is then pulverized including the hull and husk, and dried. The mixture with hull and husk make the flour darker in color, high-carb (71%), and very high fiber, but low in flavor and nutrition. In many Asian countries this mixture is fed to the pigs. I use it for flouring baking pans. Woo hoo!

My Paleo Desserts use pure white shredded coconut, ground in a food processor. It’s extremely low in carbs (27%), plus it makes the most delicious cakes and cookies! I hope you’ll give the book a Paleo try. Jane, the author.

Great Idea but Really?
February 7, 2013 By healthmom

I was so excited to receive this cookbook but was very disappointed in the limited ingredients used. I normally don’t complain because we eat different (organic, gluten free and tend to be paleo) but really was disappointed to see a fiber filler used as a sweetner as well as coconut for every recipe. I don’t want EVERYTHING to taste like coconut and chicory root really bothers my husbands digestion. I plan to modify the recipes otherwise will give the cookbook away. I will try to update this review in a month or so with my progress.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

hi Healthmom, 
Thank you for your comment. You’ll never know unless you TRY the recipes! Then you’ll see!
I appreciate your concern for your family’s health. My understanding is that chicory root inulin is a natural fiber used as a pre-biotic to help promote healthy intestinal flora, and that it is beneficial for 95% of people. Occasionally there is a gas reaction. This is a detox response as bad bacteria die off and leave gas. This effect should be temporary, and once the intestinal flora is balanced again, it will no longer happen. Every person is unique and there is a very small percentage of people (5%) who do not tolerate chicory inulin well.
Just Like Sugar Table Top is an amazing natural chicory root sweetener that has zero carbs and no effect on blood sugar – that’s why I like it. I don’t call it a fiber filler. It is made of chicory root fiber, calcium, Vitamin-C and the added sweetener is from orange peel, which is 600 times sweeter than sugar. It’s a very unusual product that does not raise blood sugar one bit. You can always substitute your favorite sweetener in the recipes. However you might miss out on the low-carb benefits designed into them.
The recipes have been tested with these ingredients. Shredded coconut is widely available in any grocery store and costs 1/3 to 1/2 the price of other gluten-free flours. Plus it’s packed with nutrition and super-low in carbs. (only 27% carbs compared to 70% – 90% carbs in other so-called healthy flours.) Take a look and compare. You’re totally free to experiment with other ingredients at your own risk.

I don’t even taste the coconut in most of these recipes. Coconut a wonderful base with a mild flavor that can be used in thousands of ways. In the orient it is called “The Tree of 100 uses”. I hope you’ll give the book a try. Jane the author.

Recipes look great but they require exotic ingredients
February 7, 2013 By Rusty

Since I ordered this online, it’s a bit of a moot point, but every recipe seems to have a lot of exotic ingredients. Zero Erythritol and Just Like Sugar are used commonly but are not commonly found. I haven’t gotten around to ordering these yet, so there’s very little I can do without a substantial shopping trip.

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi Rusty, Thank you for your comment. Here’s a quick link to the easiest way to order ingredients and the best prices. You can buy them right here on Amazon. Or go to VitaCost and Get free shipping for orders over $25. http://janeshealthykitchen.com/ingredients/
I found that the best ingredients are not always in grocery stores. They’ll catch up sooner or later. This is a book for serious low-carb Paleo fans who love sweets that are re-designed healthy. The Just Like Sugar Table Top is an amazing natural chicory root sweetener that has no effect on blood sugar, and that’s why I like it. You can always substitute your favorite sweetener. I hope you’ll give the book a try! Jane the author.

excellent book! dessert heaven!
February 4, 2013 By A. Mendis

I am so pleased with this book! One fear I had was that, because there are so many great free recipes on janeshealthykitchen.com, the book wouldn’t have much to add. What a delightful surprise it was to see the wide variety of awesome desserts. They are easy to make and turn out to be absolutely delicious! If you are the type to want to get cooking right away, make sure you have the JustLikeSugar, coconut, arrowroot, unsweetened cocoa/cacao and nutritional yeast flakes on hand or order it when you order the book. You won’t believe the sweets you can make without sugar/carbs/allergens!!

Jane Barthelemy Comments:

Hi A. Mendis, Thank you for your comment. I’m so happy you like my book! Just FYI, we’ve found the cheapest and quickest way to stock up on ingredients is from VitaCost. They have the best prices and free shipping on orders over $25. You can do it here on Amazon or go directly to VitaCost. The link for the list of suggested starter ingredients is on my site JanesHealthyKitchen . Click Ingredients on the top navigation. Here’s a quick link: http://janeshealthykitchen.com/ingredients/ Best wishes for your delicious health! Jane the author

Paleo Desserts 
January 30, 2013 By Bonnye
I bought this cookbook by mistake. It is a great book on desserts.
I don’t eat desserts or make desserts but for someone who is interested, it is a good recipe book.

Desserts that make you feel good!
January 29, 2013 By MichelleGW

How great is it to be eating desserts that are real food? Food that makes you feel good, doesn’t leave you with regret, and give your body quality fuel.

Getting the specialized sweetener Just Like Sugar (I completely agree with the book’s recommendation on the table top version–the baking one doesn’t measure exactly like sugar so you have to use more and it doesn’t taste as good) was absolutely worth it. My son is ADHD and ANY sweeteners I’ve tried leave him spinning. He can’t focus, he looses all impulse control, and is moody. So you can imagine when we went to an event and the desert was the book’s Mexican wedding cookies I was anticipating we’d have to leave pretty much immediately. Instead he sat quietly in his seat, listened to what was being said, and even cuddled with me. Huh? I’ve been baking from this book and using the sweetener ever since.

I’m serious about serving my family healthy food that helps us all feel good. This book was exactly what I’d been waiting for in the desert category. Hooray!

Just desserts
January 28, 2013, By patches

Sweet tooth watch out. You are about to be inundated with confections again. Those with gastronomical problems may find the answer here.,

Yum!
January 28, 2013, By Lori Mc

Great new recipes using things I have never used before. I tried the lemon bars (think I’ll use less lemons, mine were pretty tart) but they were great! Definitely using this more. The only drawback for many will be the cost of the supplies but if you have allergies or allergic responses it will be worth the money.

It was okay **
January 26, 2013, By Renee Laurent

I did not realize that they use very specialty ingredients only in these recipes. I was not willing to go out and spend a lot of money on those ingredients that you could not substitute. The recipes look delicious and great but not for me. I would rather bake with almond flour and coconut flour with alternative sugars.

Comment:
Hi Renee, thanks for your straightforward comment. This book isn’t for everyone. It’s designed for folks that are really serious about low-carb healthy sweets. The cheapest source for ingredients is found right on my website janeshealthykitchen.com. Click on Ingredients for a quick shopping list and the best prices. Most Paleo desserts are high in carbs, but not these. You’re free to experiment with your own flours and sweeteners in this book. But if you do you might miss out on the super low-carb content that’s designed into the recipes. For example, coconut flour is about the same high carb count as wheat flour. Both coconut flour and almond flour are two to three times the price per pound as shredded coconut! Healthy food is often expensive, but then so is disease. I hope you’ll give it a low-carb Paleo try! Thanks again for your comments. Jane, the author.

Fresh alternatives to every home chef’s library of favorites
James A. Cox, Editor in Chief, Midwest Book Review, www.midwestbookreview.com
Paleo Desserts, Jane Barthelemy, author

“Paleo Desserts” contains 125 Paleo diet (featuring fresh ingredients without refined grains, sugars and oils) desserts that are gluten-free, low-carb, made with unprocessed sugars. These recipes are diabetic friendly and minus common allergens including corn, dairy, peanuts and soy. Some are also vegan and tree-nut- free. Some of the recipes include Spicy Carrot Ginger Cake, Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling, and Luscious Lemon Layer Cake. The cake recipes (and others) uses coconut powder and Just Like Sugar Table Top chicory root sweetener for flour and sugar substitutes, and includes instructions for making coconut powder, coconut butter, coconut milk and coconut oil. In addition to breads, cakes, cookies and other baked treats, there are recipes for beverages such as paleo Chai Latte, and Paleo Hot Chocolate. There is even a recipe for Key Lime Pie (egg free), and cheesecake (cheese and egg free). Because Paleo menus are compatible with many special diets, a handy section at the end lists recipes by diet, including gluten-free (celiac friendly), dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, diabetic friendly, peanut -free, soy-free, raw, and tree nut-free. “Pale Desserts” presents recipes in step by step format, with special ingredients referenced and listed along with the others, in standard measurements. It can be a challenge to prepare healthy desserts for many special dietary needs. “Paleo Desserts” helps create fresh alternatives to every home chef’s library of favorites.

Paleo Piecrust Worth the Price of the Book!
January 17, 2013 By Dr Yerman

This book is a new discovery for me. And the Paleolithic Flaky Baked Pie Crust is truly a revelation, made with coconut flakes instead of flour. (!) I heard it took Jane ten tries to get it to roll out perfectly. It’s easier to make than the traditional white flour version, and tastes divine. This one recipe is worth the price of the book.

Guilt free and healthy to boot!
January 17, 2013 By sweetness

This book meets my needs on three different levels: As a cancer survivor I’ve read from a lot of sources that sugar can enhance the growth of cancer cells. That is hard to take because of my love of sweets. And my brother has been diagnosed with gluten intolerance and he loves cake. And three, I’ve recently become aware of the Paleo diet through several acquaintances who have intolerances for all the “good” things”: gluten, sugar and dairy. The first thing I tried was the chocolate mousse. Ms. Barthelemy offers a couple of different sugar choices in her recipes, so I decided, first, to start with the Just Like Sugar because I saw it at the market. So creamy and sweet was the mousse. And then I tried the Apple Cranberry Crisp, which was also delicious but quick! So I am encouraged and will continue to use this book. I also am impressed with the food information and the extensive research she did on sweeteners…not one but three healthy choices we have! So I guess it is possible for people like me, who love sweets but are committed to experiencing better over-all health. (Would be nice if there were more pictures, though).

Great Book. some considerations…
January 17, 2013 By dremraven

i love this book. and have recommended it to many friends and family. The recipes are really important to follow exactly, as they are unique and may take practice to get just right. but if you are looking for a way to make incredible desserts with no sugar, gluten, dairy, or carbs, this is the book for you. the Sugar she uses in these recipes and to help the consistency of the flour is a sugar substitute called “Just Like Sugar” it is made from chicory root, does not have an aftertaste like stevia and is a pre-biotic in the digestive system, which is great for most people. it is a little expensive to buy, but worth it. When we decide to change the way we eat and think about food, there are sacrifices. we can no longer just buy cheap ingredients and chemical foods. we must pay a little more in the beginning, but as you begin to eat in a healthy way, the truth is, you eat less, you need less and the expensive ingredients last longer and pay for themselves many times over in the long run of your health and well-being. it is sometimes hard to change our habits, but if it means paying a few bucks more for a few years more of health. i’ll buy it. One thing that i realized as i began using these recipes, is that some of them are too sweet in flavor for me. so i just reduce the amount of the Just Like Sugar. i really like the taste of the nuts and the spices and the actual flavor of the foods, and sometimes the sugar overwhelms that, so i have made adjustments to fit my own tastes. but i do that with everything. so it is nothing new. i highly recommend this book for anyone with food sensitivities, like gluten or dairy sensitivities, as well as people suffering from diabetes or autism, or high blood pressure. it is a great resource and a yummy addition to the healthy kitchen.

Paleo Desserts on a Budget
January 16, 2013, By annie wilkins

This book is chock full of low carb tips, more than just the chicory root sweetener, like how to make low carb flour from shredded coconut. The easy-roll coconut pie crust is amazing. Both these recipes are worth the price of the book. But I won’t spend $18 for sweetener. (I can hardly wait til the price comes down.) The book doesn’t say it and Jane probably wouldn’t approve but you can make these yummy desserts with regular sugar cup for cup. Then you can get the delicious nutrition and save money on the expensive sweetener. I make those choices and get the nutrition I crave.

Comment from Jane
Annie, thanks for your comment. I don’t object to this idea, in fact it is a good one. I designed the recipes for absolute minimum carbs. But unfortunately chicory root is expensive. If you prefer to use another sweetener, this is at least a halfway step to health. You won’t get a low-carb dessert, but it will be affordable, and that is a good thing!

Product based cookbook
January 15, 2013 By Jay Vee

*3 stars is not a review of the recipes included in the book. I’m sure there are great recipes in here, but I’m addressing another issue.*

I purchased this thinking there would be some lower-carb ideas I could glean off it in my quest to lower my sugar intake. What I didn’t know, and what isn’t listed on any part of the book cover, back, or description–is that this is a product-based cookbook. Plain and simple. Every recipe requires the same ingredient, something called “Just Like Sugar”. This product just so happens to be the most expensive non-sugar sweetener I’ve ever seen, hitting well over $25 per pound if you can find it in stock.

I doubt I could afford to bring treats to my crossfit potlucks with costs this high, and if I’d known it was a product based cookbook I wouldn’t have bought it. Amazon graciously allowed me to return it in perfect condition. I’m sure it’ll work for others, but this act of quasi non-disclosure was certainly a deal breaker for me.

Comment from Jane
Hi Jay Vee,
Thank you for your review. Your comment deserves a response. I understand your disappointment. Before writing this cookbook I studied sweeteners – hundreds of them. My kitchen was a laboratory of every sweetener you could imagine and a few more. I developed reams of recipes using every natural sweeteners known. To my amazement, over time this one sweetener slowly rose to the top. Now when I try making desserts with anything else, I notice a sugar spike, a disagreeable texture, or an aftertaste. It was an amazing process of elimination. I do suggest another sweetener in many of the recipes. Both sweeteners are natural, with zero carbs, so they’ll give you a delicious taste with no rise in blood sugar whatsoever. However you are free to substitute your own sweetener cup for cup.

Healthy food is expensive, it’s a shame. I don’t sell ingredients and have no ties with this manufacturer. My interest is only the healthiest sweetener. If you can suggest an alternative that’s reasonable in price, zero carbs, natural and healthy for most people, it will be a happy day for us all. This one is the best I’ve found. The retail price is about $19 per pound. Check the links listed in the book for better sources. Both Amazon and VitaCost have it for that price. Don’t pay any more. Make sure you use Just Like Sugar Table Top Natural Chicory root sweetener, not the Baking variety, which ends up even more expensive. For more info go to my website JanesHealthyKitchen . com and check out “Paleo Sweeteners” or “300 Sweeteners, Which is Best?“, where I wrote about my extensive research – it’s kind of amazing. Thanks again for your honest feedback. Jane, the author.

Disappointed
January 10, 2013 By Jane

Disappointed with the book as it is not for a beginner just starting out experimenting with Paleo more experience needed

Comment Jan 12, 2013 Jane Barthelemy says:

Hi Jane, Thank you for your comment. This is Jane, the author. I agree some of the desserts seem complicated. I wanted to show that we CAN make French desserts and 3-layer cakes that are healthy and Paleo. But there are lots of really easy recipes too. If you have a blender – try Instant Mocha Mousse on p152, or the Easy Chocolate Mousse on p151. Yummy! You can go wild with the Milkshakes and anti-Oxidant smoothies with zero experience. You don’t need equipment or experience to make Pear Ginger Crumble-140 or Apple Cranberry Crisp-137. The Spicy Trail Mix-147 is quick, easy, crispy and awesome! All you do is stir together a coating, throw in the nuts and bake them. They’re so delicious!

BTW a lot of people find these new methods surprising. Especially experienced cooks have a bigger challenge than you, because this book doesn’t use traditional methods. These new, non-standard techniques are actually easier and healthier, but I have to warn everyone to follow the recipe a closely. I hope you’ll give it a try.

Paleo cookbook
January 9, 2013 By Lynne Butler

The ingredients used are far too expensive and “one use only”. Will I use it? Probably not.

Comment Jan 12, 2013
Jane Barthelemy says:
Hi Lynne, Thank you for your comment. This is Jane the author. I agree with you. Why is healthy food so expensive? Inexpensive carbs like corn, soy and sugar are subsidized in our country, so the price doesn’t reflect their true cost. We don’t consider the long-term costs of cheap food. Maybe we should measure the cost of a lifetime of diabetes, or obesity. When we consider the true costs of low-quality food over a human life, then healthy food is the only reasonable choice, in fact it’s inexpensive. I truly enjoy healthy sweets, and that pleasure is worth paying a certain price. I don’t eat them every day. You’ll find the most expensive ingredients are the sweeteners. Other than that, the prices are pretty standard. I tested hundreds of sweeteners, and found that these are the ONLY acceptable ones for taste, low-carb and Paleo. After I bit the bullet and bought them, it wasn’t so bad. It’s amazing we can enjoy beautiful sweet desserts every once in a while, and it’s actually GOOD for our health! Thanks again.

Desserts for maximum taste and minimum carbs
January 3, 2013 By Will Meysing

At first I hesitated in providing my input–as a potential book reviewer for Jane Barthelemy’s book, “Paleo Desserts.” I grew up as a farm boy in Kansas; and even today, six decades later, I still truly enjoy my grains, dairy, and concentrated sugars created by nature.At an early age I had a life threatening illness that greatly deteriorated my load bearing bone cartilage (hips and knees). The main priority my whole life has been maintaining control of my body weight and building my muscles through regular exercise because they burn more calories; but I love my rich, tasty, high quality foods.

I am disappointed with the desserts I see when I go into coffee shops and delis–remarkably presented through the glass display cases at the counter. They are all very high carb and high calorie; and when I go to the big box food shopping stores everything is sold in mass quantity as well–obesity and the related issues of being overweight are what most threaten my life’s long-term quality.

I am most impressed with “Paleo Desserts” extensive effort and research this author has put into utilizing ingredients that are low carb yet have the look and the taste of the best desserts you see in the display cases that are massively carb saturated.

I am extremely empathetic and pleased that there are paleo books now published for individuals suffering from low tolerances or allergies–requiring special considerations for their health such as gluten-free, diabetic, auto-immune diseases, metabolic syndrome, chronic fatigue, digestive issues–those individuals need this option of this great cookbook and the other good ones on the market.

I am blessed that I don’t have any of the above health issues but I have focused on eating behavior that minimizes my risks. I have the luxury of eating anything I want–but I have chosen in the last 30 years to selectively balance my diet between quality organic and natural foods–a majority of which are low carb–whether they are in my main meal or in my dessert.

I am absolutely enthusiastic about the taste and carb content of some of the desserts I have eaten created from this cookbook. Any individual–regardless of their health issues or the threats of high carb food constantly bombarding them–can integrate many of “Paleo Desserts” recipes into their regular eating habits as well as during holidays.

I also greatly encourage delis, coffee shops, and organic grocery stores to take a close look at the extra effort that Jane Barthelemy has put into these recipes and possibly consider preparing desserts that are low carb and of this high quality taste to provide to their customers alongside the carb escalated or other natural organic desserts.

I only hope that this book continues to work towards the best seller list and becomes a staple for any type of food dessert business as well as all the individuals out there that could drop 20 pounds or more and relieve their joints from that burden everyday as well as enhance the diversity when satisfying their dessert sweets palate.

I love paleo desserts
January 1, 2013 By black mike

I can’t say enough about Jane’s Paleo Dessert book. It seems that everything I try just comes out super. I especially like the pie crust, in fact I am in love with the coconut and “Just Like Sugar” based desserts. Since my wife eschews sugar and wheat based desserts, I get to eat desserts!

paleo desserts
January 1, 2013 By sweet potato

This book is a fountain of knowledge, I am amazed how many delicious treats can be made without sugar and dairy products. The directions are clear and easy to follow and the illustrations are excellent. It is a whole new way of thinking about food and a great way to avoid the toxic effects of sugar and artificial or GMO ingredients.

Wow!
January 1, 2013 By Kaycheri Rappaport

There is so much well-documented information here. I have learned so much! I have a sweet tooth and now I can eat delicious treats and know that I am not sabotaging my health!

The Importance of Following Recipes
December 31, 2012 By Helen D. Stein

I’ve been hypoglycemic for many years, and try to avoid high sugar foods. I was really happy to find this low-sugar natural desserts recipe book. My first experiment was the chocolate cupcakes on the cover. They tasted awful so I emailed a complaint to Jane’s contact info at Paleo Desserts .com. Jane told me to use the Table Top version in the green bag, and she was right AND it was written very clearly in the recipe. I had used Just Like Sugar Baking version because it was cheaper, and I didn’t know the difference. My bad. The second batch of cupcakes came out fantastic! You really have to follow the recipes carefully. Even experienced cooks can mess up, because there are a few non-standard techniques, as one might expect for a Paleo book. Since then I have made two other desserts. The Instant Chocolate Mousse was out of this world and the Whole Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Sauce was amazing! Thanks for the great book, Jane!!!
Paleo-licious!
December 20, 2012 By H. Strang “Heather”

This book is a comprehensive guide to eating sweets without the sugar and grains. It is perfect for folks on a Paleo diet or like me who eat gluten/dairy/soy/refined sugar-free. Jane does a wonderful job of breaking the process down so it’s doable for any novice. You want this book – I promise you! xo

Passed 7 yr old birthday party test!
December 19, 2012 By Christa

With the help of Jane Bartholemy’s incredible work, I was able to host a birthday party without the typical outrageous sugar high and then inevitable massive crash. It’s so nice to have options my kids love without the hideous nutritional hazards. I found the recipes clear and easy to follow and really appreciate the obvious care given in finding the most health conscious ingredient choices. A must have for anyone who’s serious about paleo.

Paleo Sweet tooth,
December 18, 2012 By joanrrt

Great cookbook for those on Paleo diets with various sweetening choices. There is a nice variety of desert options in this book.

recipe result
December 18, 2012 By wisdom seeker “susan” (new Iberia, La) –

Boy, do I hate leaving a bad review for anyone…..but. It took about 2 hours for me to get every thing ready to make the cupcake pictured on the front cover. I was planning on making up boxes of assorted low carb Paleo sweets for Christmas presents and still plan to,but this one will not be included. I don’t know what I could have done wrong. I’ve been baking for over 30 years but this was an expensive dismal failure. They came out gummy on the inside and dry on the outside, did not rise, even thought I added the expensive agar flakes. Very disappointed in this recipe. I will try another before totally abandoning this cookbook! UGG!!!

Jane Barthelemy says: Dec 18, 2012

Hey Susan, Thanks for your honest review. I’m concerned because there are no agar flakes in the chocolate cupcakes. What recipe did you use? These methods are quite non-standard and even though the instructions are spelled out clearly, it’s often challenging for experienced bakers like you. We can probably figure out what went wrong. Let me know if you’d like to try. What sweetener did you use? What flour did you use? Let’s fix it. Email me at jane (at) janeshealthykitchen . com Thanks and happy holidays! Jane the author

Patricia A. Schiewe says: Posted on Dec 19, 2012

I made the chocolate cupcakes and they were totally easy and delicous but I sure understand the ease of making a misstep as this is a new way of cooking and requires a lot of attention. I misread the first use of the Just Like Sugar and coconut flakes to make the base of the recipe and put it into my high speed blender and had a mess, luckily I stopped before it ruined the VitaMix and then reread the recipe and saw I was supposed to use my food processor for the task and since then that tool has been getting a workout as I love being freed from the horror of using grains to make delicious desserts. Trish Schiewe

Kathleen says: Posted on Dec 19, 2012 11:50:11 AM PST

Susan, One thing I learned being a tester for Jane is to make the recipe exactly as she recommends to include all the same ingredients right down to the brand names in order to get the same magnificent results she creates. It works every time. She is so supportive and helpful so I would suggest you contact her directly and get some special input. She is a great teacher. I hope you give it another try. Kathleen

A gift that keeps on giving!
December 18, 2012 By L. Magliocco “happy feet”

Though I am not a baker nor a dessert person, I found these delectable desserts easy on my system and joyful on my palate! I am so impressed by Jane’s research and creativity. Here is where artistry, good taste, and good science come together in happy harmony. The Mexican Wedding cookies – a childhood favorite for me – are now on my yes list again. These desserts are truly nourishing rather than depleting. Every time I try something new, it’s like receiving another present. This book is at the top of my gift-giving list this year. You can’t go wrong. Anyone who is gluten intolerant, has Crohn’s, Colitis, is diabetic or on a low-carb diet, this is the book for you!

Kudos from a Skeptic of Gluten-Free
December 18, 2012 By J. Gullo “OrWineEd”

First of all, I’m an avid baker and consumer of baked goods, and have always found gluten-free fare to be awful: Gummy, loaded with sugar, lousy texture, all fake “faux apple pie” or “just like cinnamon rolls” hype. But I too need to cut my sugar and flour consumption and still eat my cake, and this book comes as something of a revelation. She figured out how to make a decent flour out of ground-up coconut and chicory root sweetener that bakes and behaves like real flour. Not perfect, but far and away better than any other substitutes I’ve tried before. Warning that the sweetener is as expensive as gold dust — $22 (delivered) for a bag from which I made about 4 desserts before it was gone. But having a chocolate frosting (made from coconut oil) that looks, behaves and tastes like real frosting, with virtually zero carbs or glycemic load, is, again, a revelation. Highly recommended.

Natural chicory root – best to get the right sweetener
December 18, 2012, By Lloyd Lemmermann

I’ve been on an anti-inflammatory diet for some time, forgoing sweetness to restore my health, so I’m very pleased to finally have this book as such a unique and well-researched resource. I’ve already fully enjoyed eating a number of these recipes, with no sense of sacrifice or substitute. The directions are clear, specific and easy to follow, and I’ve been attentive to the exact sweetener she specifies. Seems that while the “baking” version is to be avoided, I have no complaints whatsoever about the “table top” version of Just Like Sugar. Knowing that I can feed myself and others well without inflammatory or blood sugar concerns makes the finding and purchase of the sweetener very much worthwhile. I also appreciate that the author has no ties to the maker of Just Like Sugar; she’s just done her in-depth research.

Healthy Desserts that Don’t Cause Weight Gain
December 17, 2012 By Dr. Chiaoli A Lu

Finally here is a healthy desserts cookbook I can recommend to my clients. The Paleo Apple Pie tastes simply fantastic. As a naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist, I’ve been looking for a resource to help people lose weight and achieve better physical well-being by avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugars. This book succeeds where all others have failed, because the recipes use real food ingredients, low-carb coconut and zero-carb chicory root, a delicious natural sweetener. Chinese medicine indicates that sugar causes metabolic imbalance and premature ageing – even the “natural sugars” that are so popular in other Paleo recipes. I appreciate the careful study and research that has gone into these delicious recipes. Thanks for a truly useful book. Dr. C.Lu ND. LAc.

Finally, a Desserts Book written by a health practitioner!
By Mika Davies December 11, 2012

Jane has re-created my favorite dessert recipes from the point of view of a health practitioner, with years of experience in gluten-free, low-carb, and Paleo foods. I value her experience, and her personal journey healing from chronic fatigue, adrenal failure, hypoglycemia, etc. I know she’s tested every recipe herself with her own refined palate for taste and food allergies. My favorite is the Whole Apple Spice Cake with Orange Maple Glaze – WOW! Real flavor doesn’t get any better than this! I just wish there were more photos, because the book is rather colorless to look at. But the recipes are great. It’s a luscious handbook for Paleo and health-conscious foodies.

Wonderful new dessert cookbook
By Duncan Soule, M.D December 11, 2012

As a doctor advising patients, the question of desserts has always been tricky because of the typical high sugar and calorie content in foods with low nutritional value but strong appeal. I’ve seen numerous dessert cookbooks for gluten-free, raw and natural diets, but there’s nothing out there like this book. Jane has joined together the two most desirable factors in desserts: the rich flavor of real food with low-carbs. I’m a holistic doctor and see first-hand the negative effects of refined sugars on the body. Most people, even those on the Paleo Diet, are reluctant to give up their favorite sweets. One of the major breakthroughs in this book is the zero-calorie natural chicory root sweetener. Chicory root is high in fructo-oligosaccharides, which have a sweet taste, but contain no glucose or fructose, and are not assimilated in the body as sugars. This natural sweetener tastes great, and is without carbs and sugars that cause weight gain. As far as I know, this is the first natural low-carb dessert book ever written. Thank you Jane for this wonderful book for all of us that love sweets and want to stay healthy! I highly recommend the Awesome Fudge Brownies.

Paleo Desserts without triggers of high-carb sweeteners
By Kim Davies December 10, 2012

I’ve been avoiding trigger foods, such as sugar, agave, and molasses to discover the best food for MY own body. I’m so happy to have these recipes. Jane shares a lot of totally new information and techniques in this book. I visited her website JaneHealthyKitchen.com and she is very knowledgeable about sweeteners. These are the first desserts I’ve ever tasted that don’t give my body that weird sugary feeling afterwards. There are a few new methods and ingredients to learn in the book, but they are all spelled out clearly. I was amazed how delicious and moist the desserts taste. My favorite recipe so far is the Mexican Wedding Cookies, crunchy and rich with nuts and a sweet coating on the outside. They look just like the traditional ones, except they taste better. This book is a delicious breakthrough in health.

Wonderful Healthy Alternatives
By ClaudeAndPenny December 8, 2012

As “testers” and constructive critics of many of the recipes in Jane Barthelemy’s marvelous new book “Paleo Desserts”, we recognize that Jane’s work here is truly ground-breaking. She has combined the investigative skills of a scientist with the ingenuity of a culinary artist, to create a set of dessert offerings that are an excellent alternative to sugar-filled traditional dishes. While these desserts aren’t identical to their conventional equivalents, they are very good approximations, and they can be enjoyed without guilt or dietary concerns! This is a book that has been waiting to be written— and Jane is clearly the best possible author for the job. Highly recommended!

Holiday Gift
By Kate December 7, 2012

Thanks for a perfect holiday gift for everyone who is getting set to load up on Christmas cookies and then pass out in lethargy. Here’s the perfect option: Jane’s book gives us a new way to have celebrations and rituals around food. We can eat sweets on occasion and still be healthy. It pleases me to think of aromas coming from the kitchen and KNOWING there are healthy treats waiting. The book is gorgeous and would make a super gift for any person with a sweet tooth. Also, there are many sweeteners to try. This book promises to be a baking adventure.

Very Poor Quality Book
By Fastidious Gourmet December 6, 2012

Although I kept the book, there were thirty pages that were stuck together and inadequately bound. The only sweetners used in the book were Just Like Sugar Table Top, Erythritol, or raw yacon syrup. After acquiring several of the pricy sweetners, I can’t wait to try some of the books interesting recipes. Many Paleo books do no recommend the use of any kind of sweetners so I will have to see what happens.

Best gluten-free flour is pure shredded coconut!
By Heartsun (Gresham, Oregon) December 5, 2012

I’ve been off gluten and refined sugar for quite a while. But I miss an occasional sweet. I bought a big bag of coconut flour, assuming it would be the mainstay of Paleo Desserts. When I got my book I was amazed to see coconut flour is not used in any of these recipes. Then I learned that my coconut flour is refined, de-fatted and ground into a powder including the brown husk and hull. That explains why it is darker in color, and absorbs so much more liquid than other flours. Instead of flour, these dessert recipes use pure white coconut flakes ground in any home food processor. Coconut meat is a whole food with one third the carbs of wheat, rice or tapioca flour. I find it more delicious and more digestible than other gluten-free flours. This is a brilliant discovery, and so simple. Try it in the Whole Apple Spice Cake with Orange Maple Glaze – Deeelicious!

Jane’s book is very well written, resourceful and explanatory, I feel more inspired than ever about having the opportunity and guidance available to bake yummy, nutritious foods for myself, family and friends. Thanks Jane for all your hard work.

Authentic Paleo recipes and Jewish delicacies too!
December 4, 2012 By Ellen Shefi, L.Ac., LMT (Portland, OR)

Last night Jane taught us a cooking class based on the recipes in her book. We made 3 delicious desserts in a short amount of time. The desserts are easy to make and tasty. As a licensed acupuncturist I appreciate these authentic Paleo recipes with low-carb flours and sweeteners. I have many patients that are gluten free or have other diet restrictions. They truly miss the sweets in their diet. Now, I can recommend sweet desserts to my patients without detriment to their health. It is wonderful to find a healthy and easy dessert book that I can endorse with no roller-coaster effect on blood sugar or insulin. This book has a beautiful assortment of favorite desserts for many ethnic groups and taste preferences, in genuine Paleo form. I’m Jewish, and for years I’ve been looking for a healthy Rugalach recipe that is made of 100% whole food ingredients. The traditional honey cake is going to be a treat for Rosh Hashanah. I love this book!

Define Paleo Desserts? A new concept in sweets!
December 4, 2012 By Lori Soule ND, Lac.

I thought I knew about Paleo Desserts. Until I got my copy of this book. These recipes broke all my preconceptions about how to define a Paleo Dessert. I was very surprised when I saw the ingredients – unusual things that aren’t in the big stores yet. But they’re very easy to find online. Smart shoppers and health-oriented manufacturers discovered them years ago – like chicory root sweetener and raw yacon syrup.

It’s funny to even think about Paleolithic Desserts, because ancient cultures had no concept of dessert. And bravo for them, because we all know that sweets add calories and empty carbs to an already overloaded meal. In modern Western society we think we need a treat after each meal – and amazingly Jane’s book helps us do it. But these recipes do it strictly Paleo, without any modern high carb sweeteners at all. Jane points out with so much integrity that our Paleo ancestors ate real food. They lived primarily on vegetables, tart fruits, nuts, and wild meats. They weren’t hooked on sugars like most of the world population today.

These recipes don’t use the so-called natural sweeteners and high-carb flours we find on the shelves in food stores. Our Paleo ancestors didn’t have refined sweeteners like maple syrup and coconut nectar that are both boiled down and reduced to the sweet syrups we buy, with an astronomical sugar content. Honey is a true Paleo sweetener, but it’s also very high in carbs, and will cause a big spike in blood sugar. The way I see it, honey couldn’t have been consumed regularly by our Paleolithic ancestors, or they would have suffered an epidemic of diabetes and obesity like we’re seeing now in modern times. I tried the Honey Cake recipe – it’s easy and delicious, but surprisingly there’s not a bit of honey in it. What a concept!

As a naturopath and acupuncturist, I’m excited to recommend this book to my patients. It’s a breakthrough in healthy desserts that are also practical and easy to make. For example, the vegan flan with dulce de leche sauce is quicker than any flan recipe I’ve ever made, and even more delicious. I’m a Paleo purist and don’t like to see this simple lifestyle ruined with addictive modern high-carb ingredients. I enjoy being on the cutting edge of a new paradigm in healthy sweets. Buying a few ingredients online is fine with me, especially when I’m confident my diet is low in carbs and truly in alignment with our Paleolithic heritage.

Too many hard to find ingredients required.
December 1, 2012 By Jane

I was really excited to receive this book, but when I opened it, I discovered that it required too many ingredients not found in my Pantry. I have most of the unusual flours, sweeteners and thickeners found in a well stocked Paleo pantry, but I could not even find the ingredients for these recipes at Whole Foods or Fresh Market.

Not Just Like Sugar
November 27, 2012 By daisy

The book is well written and the recipes look good. However, all of the recipes call for a sugar substitute called “Just Like Sugar.” I find “Just Like Sugar” to be nothing like sugar. I made the chocolate chip cookies and followed the recipe to the letter. The finished product had a chemical taste with a metallic after taste. I had several testers and they all agreed that “Just Like Sugar” leaves a bad after taste. I am disappointed because I follow the Paleo diet. I was looking forward to some “sweets.” As they say, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Comments:
Jane comments:
Hi Daisy, this is Jane, the author. Thank you for your review and your honest observation. I read about your experience with Just Like Sugar natural chicory root sweetener. You are the first person to make this comment. I’ve interviewed hundreds of taste testers over a 2 year period of experimenting. I would like to know which Just Like Sugar did you use? There are several types. I recommend the Just Like Sugar Tabletop for all uses including baking. If by chance you used the Just Like Sugar Baking, which is cheaper, you won’t get a good taste or texture. Just checking. Thank you again. Posted on Nov 29, 2012

Patricia A. Schiewe comments:

I just absolutely love Just Like Sugar and have used only it for a couple of months and it is in a way a medicine as it is the food for the beneficial bacteria in our intestines and it could be that certain people might have to have their bodies adjust to the input from the prebiotic in order for it to taste good. I have used the inulin from chicory root for my clients whose intestine bacteria was out of balance and of course taste was not a factor there. If I were you I would give it a few tries if conventional sugar is a problem for your system. We are all learning new ways to be and sometimes it takes adjustment and time.

I just thought of something. There are two kinds of Just Like Sugar. One is the tabletop and it is the one called for in the recipe and the other is the baking Just Like Sugar and it is different in that the texture is powdery and it is only about half as sweet so if you used that the cookies would not taste good at all. Trish Posted on Dec 3, 2012

Kathleen comments:

These recipes are delicious, and I LOVE the taste of Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener. I bake a lot and it’s a great relief to find recipes without refined ingredients. This natural sweetener has zero carbs and doesn’t affect my blood sugar. My experience is that the Table Top version tastes the best. I measure it cup for cup like table sugar. I bought the Baking version and personally did not like it. I thought it tasted chemically. It also costs more because it is measured 1 3/4 cups per cup of sugar. I do not care for the Brown version either. Jane’s recipes use only the Table Top version, so make sure you get the right sweetener for the best flavor. The Table Top version dissolves quickly in liquids, so it seems to work best for everything whether it’s beverages or baking. Dec 10, 2012

Michelle comments:

I would like to thank you and all the commenter’s for pointing out the difference between the different types of Just like Sugar.

Best healthy desserts book, free shipping on ingredients!
November 26, 2012 By dichroicsun

Of course the recipes are simply wonderful, but I’d like to address one criticism that I’ve occasionally heard about the book… that the ingredients are unusual, expensive or hard to find. The only ingredient you may be unfamiliar with are the two sweeteners: Just Like Sugar Tabletop Sweetener and Yacon syrup. I recommend purchasing the Just Like Sugar right on Amazon when you order the book and get FREE SHIPPING for both! Another option is purchasing Just Like Sugar and Yacon from Vitacost.com and get free shipping if you order over $49 (which is not hard to do). VitaCost also has great prices on coconut oil, which is another often used ingredient in the book, and I often find 10% off coupons online. As far as the expense… a bag of the Just Like Sugar creates a lot of healthy desserts and that’s worth every single penny!

Desserts for a Healthy and Modern Lifestyle
November 23, 2012 By Lissa Reidel

Paleo Desserts look and taste like the real thing – those favorite sweets we grew up with and long for at every dinner party, birthday, and celebration. Cupcakes, apple pie, blueberry muffins, and carrot cake – reincarnated with zero sugar, wheat or dairy. They taste even better! And, to my delight, they are healthy for those of us on special diets. That includes the 25 million Americans with diabetes, the 3 million with celiac, 7.5 million vegans, and all of us who choose to be dairy free, gluten free or sugar free!

This is a cookbook that transcends the basics. Jane guides the reader to the source of her ingredients, the tools we need, how to deal with sugar cravings, how to avoid the ingredients that make us sick. All the recipes are original, invented by Jane – from carrot mini-cupcakes, to Paleo Apple Pie, and Tiramusu. There is information on how to adapt and serve, too. Jane Barthelemy is a trailblazer, creating, experimenting, and perfecting dessert recipes to complement our healthy lives. We’re so lucky to have pioneers like this author, finding new ways to be indulgent and healthy, too.

Fabulous Apple Pie, Easy to Find Ingredients, SO Worth it! November 19, 2012 By LynseySivapriya

The Paleo Apple Pie is absolutely the best I’ve ever tasted, and the streusel topping is amazing, It’s completely gluten, grain, and sugar-free. By the way, the ingredients are easy to find on the Resources page 217. And there are quick links to order ingredients on her website JanesHealthyKitchen.com. Click on Ingredients, choose the ingredient you want, and scroll to the bottom of the page to order.

Paleo Desserts aren’t supposed to be normal – they’re authentic and healthy and compatible with a truly healthy diet and lifestyle. I view it as a learning curve for all of us to remember finally how to eat real food again. Healthy choices are often more expensive. I know many people who prefer to save money on food, but then lose decades of their lives to poor health, drugs, and medical bills. These are important choices. I bought six copies of the book for myself and gifts – you can’t beat the price!

I have stumbled around cooking gluten/sugar free from all kinds of recipes and NEVER found anything that compares to the taste, quality, refinement and deliciousness of these recipes. The use of chicory and coconut as the sweetener and “flour” is a brilliant breakthrough to me, and digests so differently than the processed ingredients other recipes call for. It is so worth it (and easy) to invest in the few new products you need to cook these recipes. I’ll never go back!

Paleo Desserts Cookbook
November 17, 2012 By S. Horton (Denver, CO)

I really like the cookbook. I am really trying to be conscious of what I am eating, and taking better care of my body by cutting out the sugar. What I don’t like about the cookbook, is that I am having a really hard time finding a lot of the ingredients. I feel like I am driving all over town, from health food store to health food store, and what I am not finding, I am having to order online, and the ingredients, are REALLY expensive.

PALEO-TERRIFIC
November 16, 2012 By Dr. Robert B. Kellum

This is a useful book–one that we’ll share with our patients in our clinic, and one that my wife and I will use ourselves. I have seen Paleo cook books that belabor simple-minded recipes that shouldn’t be committed to paper (as in eat steak and greens). Jane’s “PALEO DESSERTS” is a refreshing step into delicious, TESTED recipes that keep Paleo INTERESTING. We often will recommend Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint cookbooks to our patients–they’re full of beautiful pictures and nourishing delicious recipes. Mark’s books are a little light on desserts however, making Jane’s extensive contribution here a wonderful companion volume.

The pictures are inspiring, and the recipes are both straightforward and CONSCIOUS, i.e., this is not just a “carbohydrate-light” book…it consciously integrates recipes to give the reader MANY OPTIONS–SOY FREE, PEANUT FREE, EGG FREE, DAIRY FREE, SUGAR FREE, ETC…EVEN SOME RAW DESSERTS!. To name just a few here….We loved the Mexican Wedding cookies, and we loved the Raspberry Rose Delight Mousse. I also happen to love strawberry shortcake, and to be able to return to yesteryear with Jane’s non-gluten version of this is probably worth the price of the book alone–which, by the way, is also a good deal…. Highly recommended.

Desserts to live for!
November 16, 2012 By msjasz

This book is a miracle. Imagine your favorite desserts made with ingredients that are the new health foods. My favorite is changing sugar to JUST LIKE SUGAR made from chicory root which is a probiotic food that nourishes the healthy bacteria in our intestines and according to many scientists the key to medicine in our future. My forbidden foods are suddenly what makes me thrive and as an aside the scales stay down. I could go on and on about the wonders this book has opened for me. I would encourage anyone to experience this new way of experiencing food. Jane’s book is a must.

Desserts for joyous health
November 15, 2012 By Patricia A. Schiewe

I’m a health practitioner with decades of experience treating almost every disease known to man, from cancer to diabetes, obesity, metabolic disorder, hyper-tension, celiac disease, MS, and just plain stress. My observation is that most every one of my clients could benefit from a diet that is free of gluten and sugars. To feel wonderful after eating chocolate cake with filling and delicious frosting an indulgence which made with wheat flour and sugar left me feeling sluggish and with Jane’s recipe I feel light and energetic.

Jane has invented recipes that re-create traditional favorite desserts in a truly low carb form, so they taste even better than the original. She uses simple Paleolithic ingredients, like coconut, chicory root, tart fruits and vegetables. After years of waiting I’m so excited to finally have a recipe book I can recommend to my clients. People deserve to have their favorite sweets. This book allows everyone to enjoy Yellow Birthday Cake, Fudgy Brownies, and Pumpkin Pie, all made with natural zero carb chicory root sweetener, which doesn’t raise the blood sugar one bit. This is truly a breakthrough book! Now I’ve got to go make those Chocolate Haystack Cookies. Thank you, Jane

Easy Ingredients, Gorgeous Color Photos
November 14, 2012 By DesertRose

When I saw the luscious photo of Mexican Wedding Cookies, I simply had to make them. They were easy, especially following the video on her site. They tasted rich and delicate – even better than my mom’s! Next I made the red velvet cupcakes – they were fabulous, and no red food coloring – just beets and chocolate. I put Crème Cheese Frosting on them, made with dairy-free coconut butter and lemon. It tasted exactly like cream cheese to me! With healthy desserts like this, I feel at home in my body again.

I have “suffered” from a sugar craving myself for years, and I am so relieved that I can have a treat now and again and feel good about it – just as my body does. Eating healthy takes time and effort, but what else is more important than what we put in our bodies? Once I picked up all the necessary ingredients, many of which were unfamiliar to me, I was ready to go. And now my cupboard is stocked and I am the more knowledgeable for it.

The ingredients are easy. Some of them weren’t at my Whole Foods Market, so I clicked the links on Jane’s website to buy them. (JanesHealthyKitchen.com) I was nearly overwhelmed by all the other original recipes there. The non-standard ingredients are the most important ones. That’s what makes this Paleo desserts book special. They’re low-carb and there’s no sugar rush! I found Just Like Sugar Table Top chicory root sweetener in my Whole Foods Market, but all they had was a 4oz container. I asked them to stock the 1# green bag, so it’s more economical.

Jane’s recipes use pure shredded coconut flakes that are only 27% carbs, ground in a food processor. It has a delicious rich, clean flavor. I’ve been trying to bake Paleo for months, but when I use coconut flour the baked goods are heavy and flat-tasting. I didn’t understand why. Then I found out coconut flour is 71% carbs, about the same as wheat flour. It is processed, de-fatted, and pulverized with the brown hull. No wonder it’s a dark color and tasteless. This book has provided me with a real education in healthy eating. Thank you, Jane.

An amazing discovery in the book is the flaky pie crust that rolls out perfectly. We all know how challenging pie crusts can be . . . Great for Paleo Pumpkin Pie – another gorgeous photo! How did she invent so many original recipes? I’ve been eating mostly low-carb and organic for years. But these are the very first desserts that taste delicious and are healthy too. I wish the book had a spiral binding so I could open it and prop it upright on the counter. Too bad it’s going to get really messy over the holidays, because I’m going to use it a lot!

Love your healthy body and love desserts too….It’s possible! November 13, 2012 By Donna

Yes, it does take a bit of effort to locate the ingredients in these recipes. Sometimes things that are special take a bit of effort at first. You could call it a learning curve. The Mexican wedding cookies are to die for! I have a friend who watches every little thing he eats….. so of course he gave up sugar long ago. I saw him standing by those cookies one whole evening raving every time he ate one. I like to enjoy what I eat with no guilt about what damage I am doing to my body. This book goes a long way toward that goal.

The Best Kept Secret to Eating Sweets
November 11, 2012 By Kathleen

The absolute beauty of the book is in the author’s complete dedication to making each ingredient and recipe easy to follow. The key word for this book is “follow”. Follow the author’s directions implicitly on ingredients and processes. You will LOVE the SWEET results of flavor and healthy feeling and no sugar rush!

My belief is these recipes are a breakthrough in pastries for health. And her new “secret” on low-carb, natural flour and sweetener sugar will be just a “sweet delicious” surprise for you. There isn’t anything like this book in the healthy food world, and I have been eating “clean” food since 1972. However, I could never eat SWEETS, as the sugar made me sick to my stomach, so I gave it up. Jane’s delicious recipes and healthy ingredients have changed my life. I GET TO EAT SWEETS again! And, if you follow her book recipes exactly, you will LOVE THE RESULTS.

The ingredients are easy to find in the Resources in the back of the book – and even easier to order with quick links on her website, JanesHealthyKitchen.com. Chocolate Haystacks are one of my favorite as they are SO FAST, and I feel so satisfied and healthy when I pop them in my mouth. My husband didn’t notice they were different, he just gobbled them down. I can’t eat just one, that is for sure.

I do wish they had put some colored pictures throughout the recipe pages. A picture is worth a thousand words to me when I am trying to learn something new. Anyway, I thank Jane for this SWEET gift to all of us, Kathleen

FABULOUS BROWNIES AND NO SUGAR RUSH
November 7, 2012 By Johana Moore

I got my book and bought Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener at my local market. The Mexican Wedding Cookies were delicious! I’m a diabetic and was delighted there was no rise in blood sugar. I tried the Awesome Fudge Brownies and they blew me away, moist and luscious. The photos inside are gorgeous. I am DELIGHTED to have this book!!! I now have a selection of healthy, low-carb, sugar and gluten free desserts that I can make. Best healthy dessert book EVER. Love it!

Godsend recipes
November 5, 2012 By innerdancer

The chocolate frosting is such simple genius that I almost cried!

The Apple Cranberry crisp is very yummy, and it accommodates the diets of everyone a recent potluck except the Raw Food people. There’s a great table in the back with various diets: Diabetic friendly, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Vegan. Soy or Peanut or Tree Nut Free – and Raw, too — so next time I will bring something that the Raw food folks can eat, too. How wonderful to be able to eat desserts again!

It is amazing to me to eat desserts this delicious without any sugar shock. It took a bit to track down some of the alternative ingredients — but I took that as an education in new ways of eating. I’ve found that I can order some of the more esoteric ingredients from Amazon.

Huge ingrediant list- Edited Review
November 5, 2012 By H. Hoog “Fyrechick” (Florida)

I was excited to receive this book but while looking through just to pick a recipe to start with I was overwhelmed by the amount of semi unusual ingredients I have to track down. I still haven’t finished collecting them and I will be hitting my 3rd store today. I am truly hoping the recipes are out of this world because just the chocolate chip cookie recipe has 12 ingredients !!

EDIT- I initially left 3 stars and the above review because it cost $40+ in unusual ingredients just to get started but boy I tell you what, those ingredients and this book are a mainstay in my kitchen now. Great cooking tips and awesome recipes

No Pictures and Non-Standard Ingredients
November 2, 2012 By Cheryl Dwyer “CherylD” (Cumberland, RI USA)

Just received the book. Hope the recipes are worth making. Typical nonstandard ingredients, coconut milk, oil, chicory root sweetener, raw yacon syrup. No pretty pictures. The one on the cover is it! Guess that’s why the book isn’t as costly as some other cookbooks.

Luscious Chocolate Cake!
November 1, 2012 By Claude Cruz
This amazing chocolate cake crowns a year of Jane’s creative experiments with textures and healthy sweeteners, drawing on feedback from hundreds of taste-testers. The cake explodes with intense chocolate and coconut flavors, and the frosting is marvelously silky and luscious — amazing, and not to be missed!

Delicious Traditional Desserts, True to Paleo Diet
October 30, 1021 By Lori Rede, Personal Trainer, Portland OR, www.movingpartsfitness.com

As an athlete and personal trainer for 29 years, I am always looking for new and tasty recipes my clients will enjoy, while guiding them nutritionally to a healthy lifestyle. The Paleo diet offers an optimum balance of proteins and vegetables, providing high energy levels, while eliminating carbohydrate overload.

I have had the pleasure of sampling many of Jane’s hundreds of recipes in the past year. She has truly perfected methods that re-capture the taste and texture of fine traditional desserts while remaining true to the “hunt and gather” diet.