Practical Paleo

on Sunday, 06 January 2013. Posted in Reviews, Books

This book is highly recommended when approaching the Paleo diet. It's less of a recipe book and more of a dynamic instruction manual for eating and maintaining a Paleo lifestyle. The first half is loaded with information regarding how to get started with things and some of the reasoning behind Paleo. It goes over what you should eat, what you should avoid, and why. This is an all encompassing book/manual/guide and well worth the money even if you're not pursuing the Paleo diet.

Heavily featured are several protocols depending on what you're attempting to do with a Paleo lifestyle. Diane has taken the time to write up guides for issues like Auto-Immune disorders, Thyroid issues, or Weight Loss. Each section consists of a 30 day meal plan with all of the recipes included in the second half of the book. Information regarding which supplements to take along with each protocol is provided as well.

I have personally sampled a very large number of the recipes offered in the book so far and I am pleased with pretty much all of them. I have found a handful of errors in measurements or instructions for some recipes but I can forgive that in the first run editions. For the most part all of them are easy to follow and don't require too many bizarre ingredients or insane culinary skills. I hate getting a recipe book and finding out that the author seemingly has gone out of their way to utilize specialized ingredients or some bizarre cut of meat for their recipes. It makes it hard for the everyday person to obtain these items and the recipe will likely never get used. Most of the recipes offered range from very easy, quick meals to slightly more gourmet to impress friends and family when they think all you eat are bland tasteless meals.

All told I am very pleased with this book as a resource for cooking. Not only does it help to put together meal plans weekly or monthly, there is a ton of information inside, even so far as to giving instruction on how to cut vegetables. If you're not one that cooks often and are trying to get started on this diet then this book is well worth the purchase. My only complaint is that the binding is SO tight I end up punching the book quite often to keep it open while cooking. That's not a slight against what's inside though!

I have personally gifted a number of copies of it so far to friends, family, and anyone else wanting to eat like me. It is usually one of the first items mentioned when questioned about Paleo eating. I would be hard pressed to tell someone first hand all of the information given here. I think there's a reason that this has been hanging on the NYT Bestseller's list for a while. So put down that Forks over Knives manual and pick this one up instead and thank me later.

Diane has also put together a fantastic program called the 21-Day Sugar Detox. Sugar may be one of the hardest habits to break. Follow the link below for more information. It is a difficult process and you may need help and her program can definitely help. This is also good for those that have been Paleo for a while but overindulged in those Paleo treats!