The KETO COOKBOOK is a MUST for all families, caregivers, and allied professionals who need a thorough understanding of the ketogenic diet and its application to help reduce seizures in children with epilepsy and other neurological conditions.

The Keto Cookbook, co-authored by Dawn Martinez and Laura Cramp, RD, LD, CNSC, is written with the same precision and detail that the very nature of the diet dictates, reflecting the awareness, skills, and broad experience of both women.

Dawn is the mother of Charlotte, who has Dravet Syndrome, and who has responded so successfully to the Keto Diet after exhaustive and unsuccessful attempts with AEDs.

Laura is a registered dietitian at The Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, working not only with patients and their families, but also advising medical professionals and hospital food staff on the complexities of using the ketogenic diet to treat epilepsy and reduce seizures.

The myth that this diet is unappetizing, unpleasant, boring and unattractive is over! Beautifully illustrated recipes for 96 different delicious meals and snacks are testament to this. All recipes:

– are Keto approved
– give calorie count
– provide the exact ingredients for a 4:1 ratio diet
– are further described with symbols indicating other aspects of the recipe, eg “Quick”, “Vegetarian”, “Freezes well”.

The actual diet, while very important, is just one of many aspects that keto families need to fully address and understand.

Other chapters that cover all the contingencies to make the rigorous demands of the ketogenic diet as manageable as possible include:

– Stock the pantry for emergencies presented both by unforeseen calamities of the daily schedule and by major emergencies such as blackouts, floods, snow, etc.
– keep a supply of instant snacks and frozen meals that can be consumed quickly…
– presentation of the kitchen eliminating any temptation of indiscreet fingers
– equip the kitchen with the essentials for the preparation of meals, to reduce the time without precision
– sample letters to present at airports, schools, hospitals, etc. to ease the situation

I highly recommend “Keto Cookbook” because in the world of the ketogenic diet, it would be hard to match the combined knowledge and experience of the authors, who have written accurately and professionally, but from a foundation of heartbreak and love.

It is hard to estimate the happiness it brings to the family of a child suffering from uncontrollable seizures when the Keto Diet succeeds in reducing or eliminating the seizures. From watching helplessly as your child slowly deteriorates and falls behind in their development, to seeing the success of the diet: the child re-emerging with his previously known personality, progressing in his development, regaining speech and other important milestones is a stress unimaginable replaced by unimaginable joy for those involved.