Going Against The Grain – Italian Style! – Book Review
If you love Italian food, but feel that you can no longer enjoy your favorite Italian dishes because you are now restricted to a gluten-free diet, I have good news for you!
Nuccia Ardagna – a lifestyle blogger who was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2013 – has written a book called Going Against The Grain – Italian Style that shows you how you can continue to enjoy your favorite Italian dishes in a healthier, more wholesome way!
Going Against The Grain – Italian Style is aptly subtitled A Gluten-Free Life Guide And Recipe Book For Staying Healthy And Eating Amazingly. The book is divided into two parts:
Part 1 is filled with invaluable information about gluten sensitivity, gluten intolerance and celiac disease, including:
- How it is diagnosed
- What the symptoms are
- What happens if it goes untreated
You’ll then learn what you need to do to begin converting to a gluten-free diet, including how to:
- Create a gluten-free home environment
- Read food labels
- Avoid cross-contamination inside and outside of the home
You’ll learn tips for dealing with children who require special diets and friends and family members who don’t. You’ll also learn if non-food items such as cosmetics pose a threat to you.
Each recipe is photographed so you’ll know exactly what you’re making!
Part 2 of the book is filled with Nuccia’s recipes – authentic Italian recipes passed down from her mother and grandmother. When possible, recipes include gluten-free foods; when necessary, Nuccia re-creates them to incorporate healthier, gluten-free substitutes.
You’ll find a wonderful selection of Italian recipes – all beautifully photographed – in Nuccia’s book, including appetizers, first and second courses, desserts – even bonus recipes. The best part? They are easy to make and as delicious as they look!
My family recently made and fell in love with Nuccia’s addictive Homemade Soft Armetti (Almond) Cookies on page 116 of Going Against The Grain – Italian Style.
These flavorful Almond Cookies were delicious and did not last long in our home!
We picked up a few specialty ingredients that we did not have on hand (almond flour and white rice flour) and then – following Nuccia’s clear and simple instructions – mixed our ingredients together and formed little dough balls.
We had everything on hand we needed to create this recipe except these gluten-free flours, which we picked up at our local grocery store.
Once they baked and spread in the oven, we placed almonds in the center and let them cool.
They turned out SO good! My husband says we must double the recipe next time!
The most challenging part about making this recipe was waiting for the cookies to cool down – and keeping prying paws off of the treats!
What really sets Going Against The Grain – Italian Style apart from so many other cookbooks are the personal touches that Nuccia adds as she shares her journey – her photos – and her tips throughout the book.
You don’t have to “need” this book to enjoy its contents. I’m looking forward to enjoying many more delicious, healthy recipes from Going Against The Grain – Italian Style and I invite you to pick up a copy – or enter our giveaway – so you can enjoy Nuccia’s cookbook too!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
About Nuccia Ardagna
Nuccia Ardagna loves to travel to the place of her roots: SICILIA! Being Sicilian, she grew up with mamma, nonna and all her zie learning all the tricks of the trade and creating DELICIOUS Italian food from scratch. When diagnosed with celiac disease she was forced to learn new habits and, now, after trial and error and experimenting, wants to share her exquisite culinary creations with you.
She IS a true Italian to the core.
Going Against The Grain – Italian Style! – Book Tour
Create With Joy is delighted to be a part of the Going Against The Grain – Italian Style Book Tour, which is hosted by Italy Book Tours!
The Going Against The Grain – Italian Style Book Tour runs from May 4 – 27, 2015. Please visit the Going Against The Grain – Italian Style Book Tour Page to learn more about the author and to see what other bloggers are saying about this book!
Resources
For More Information
- Visit Nuccia’s Website.
- Connect with Nuccia on Facebook and Twitter.
- Going Against The Grain – Italian-Style! is available on Amazon.
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Going Against The Grain – Italian Style! – Book Giveaway
Create With Joy is thrilled to offer you the opportunity to win 1 of 2 copies of Going Against The Grain – Italian Style! as part of this Italy Book Tour.
To enter this giveaway, submit your entries as instructed on the Rafflecopter form.
Additional Information
Please note that this Rafflecopter and Giveaway is hosted by Italy Book Tours and is being hosted on several blogs. They are overseeing the drawing and assume full responsibility for all aspects of this contest, including notification and prize fulfillment.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Italy Book Tours to review. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
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Love recipe books! Love good food!
I can’t thank you enough for your incredibly thorough review! I am equally flabbergasted that you tried my favorite cookie recipe and that they look as scrumptious (if not more!) than mine! 😀 We always double and triple the recipe because they run out so quickly.
I’m glad you found my book to be educational and at the same time inviting enough to try the recipes.
If you or your readers ever have any questions, please DO reach out! It will be my pleasure to answer.
Once again, a million thanks!
So glad you enjoyed the review! We LOVED your cookies and are already planning to make another batch! There are other recipes we look forward to trying as well. Thanks for sharing your wonderful book with us at Create With Joy! 🙂
This book looks like a great resource for those trying to eat gluten-free. My niece is doing that, not because she has celiac disease, but she does have a skin condition that has responded well to less gluten. I’ll have to share this with her.
So glad you came across this helpful resource Kay! Going gluten-free can be helpful for a lot of people, even if you don’t have celiac disease. Be sure to enter the giveaway – perhaps you’ll be lucky and win a copy for her! 🙂
Yum, those cookies look so good! Thanks for featuring this book — looks like a great resource, and I’m always happy to find gluten free alternatives to favorite dishes.
My pleasure Jama – I will be featuring the recipe separately on my blog as well the first chance I get!
Can’t wait to make those delicious cookies again…
We had two young adult daughters get diagnosed with celiac a couple of years ago, and have been cooking and baking gluten-free for a while now, because it got too difficult to switch the kitchen back and forth before and after their visits home. Would love to win a copy of Going Against the Grain to add to our growing collection of g-f cookbooks!
Best of luck to you Laurie – having a gluten-free book that focuses on Italian cuisine is a wonderful asset for anyone’s kitchen! 🙂
THose cookies look awesome! I have so many friends who have gone GF, I’ll have to tell them about this book.
Thanks for spreading the word Beth – this book is awesome! 🙂
thank goodness we don’t have a gluten problem! Cheers
I suffer from A LOT of intestinal problems and this looks like a great book
It’s SO hard when the food you eat makes you ill.
I hope you have a chance to read this book Alesha and try the recipes – I absolutely love it! 🙂
Sounds like a great resource for my gluten-free friends!
It is JoAnn – if you love Italian cuisine (and really – who doesn’t?) the recipes just call out to you to try!
Wow, great book review once again. I hope I win this one.
Thanks Mary! Best of luck to you – this is a wonderful book! 🙂
This looks like a great book. Fortunately I don’t have gluten issues but I feel for those who do and this looks like it has some awesome recipes the fit within their diet (although I think I would definitely like those cookies anyway).
Thanks so much for linking up with #ShareTheWealthSunday!
xoxo
Lisa
Lisa, you will LOVE those cookies and would never know they come from a gluten-free recipe unless someone told you that they did!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous week!
What a wonderful following you have here! If anyone at all has any questions about celiac or related to ingredients please do not hesitate to reach out…it will truly be my pleasure to help! I wish you all the best of luck in winning a copy!
Nuccia
Thanks for dropping by Nuccia – my readers are awesome!
I shared your book at Inspire Me Monday this week and I hope they’ll take you up on your generous offer! 🙂
Thanks for the interesting book review of Going Against the Grain, Italian Style. I’d like to know what percentage of the recipes are vegan to meet my dietary needs? I saw this at Inspire Me Monday – Week 178. I’m number 266 (Let June Colors Inspire You to Have Fun!) and I’m enjoying all the marvelous posts at this blog hop. Thanks for your help. Warm regards, Nancy Andres, Health & Lifestyle Writer, Author of “Colors of Joy: A Woman’s Guide for Self-Discovery, Balance, and Bliss,” Blogger at http://www.nancyandreswriter.com/colors-of-joy-blog/
Hi Nancy – great question (and thanks for stopping over from Inspire Me Monday!)
I will make sure that Nuccia knows you had a question for her so that she stop by and provide you with an answer!
Have a lovely day!
Hi Nancy! That is a great question. I’m not vegan but many of the recipes are so let me look through them and I’ll get back to you with a percentage by the end of the day. Thank you so much for your interest and have an awesome day!