/  Cookbook Reviews, Paleo

Ditch the Wheat
By Carol Lovett
Victory Belt Publishing
Retail Price:  $34.95
Amazon Price:  $19.22

Book Description: 

/  Cookbook Reviews, Nutrition, Paleo

Paleo Home Cooking
By Sonia Lacrasse
Victory Belt Publishing
Retail Price:  $34.95
Amazon Price: $25.03

Book Description: 

/  Cookbook Reviews, Diet, Nutrition, Paleo

The Paleo Cupboard Cookbook
By Amy Densmore
Victory Belt
Retail Price: $34.95
Amazon Price: $23.21

Book Description:  In her new book The Paleo Cupboard Cookbook, acclaimed food blogger Amy Densmore presents an all-new and personalized approach to Paleo cooking–allowing you to tailor each dish to your unique tastes. Amy puts the focus on flavor, teaching you how to combine easy-to-find ingredients to create the flavors you love in your favorite dishes – all of which are grain-free, gluten-free and dairy-free.

/  Cookbook Reviews, Paleo

Easy Paleo Meals
By Kelly Brozyna
Victory Belt
Retail Price: $34.95
Amazon Price: $23.21

Book Description:  Kelly Brozyna, the spirited personality behind the enormously popular food blog  The Spunky Coconut, brings you 150 easy Paleo family favorites—with all the pluck and liveliness her readers have come to love.

As a busy mom of three who has been feeding her family a restricted diet for multiple health reasons, Kelly understands the challenges of preparing healthy meals daily. Having nearly a decade of experience in gluten-free dairy-free cooking and baking, Kelly presents scores of creative meals using time saving-techniques essential to anyone wanting to make healthy eating easier.

Review

Prior to reading Easy Paleo Meals and trying Kelly’s recipes, I anticipated an outlandish diet theory involving periods of pure gluttony followed by lengthy stretches of starvation.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover through this cookbook that the Paleo diet  is actually a reasonable, healthy, and easily manageable diet using ingredients that are easy to find, many of which are already in my pantry!  This book provides great structure and is indexed well and it features a wide array of easy-to-follow recipes for every meal. The cookbook features ideas for main dishes, desserts, snacks, beverages, and even dressings and sauces. My favorite recipe was the pie crust mixes that Kelly uses in many of her recipes.  It is versatile as well as delicious.  She also offers several good recipes for sauces and condiments.  Comprehensive and explanatory, I highly suggest buy this book as a great starter to embarking on the Paleo Diet.

~Reviewed by Chris R.

/  Cookbook Reviews, Grain Free, Paleo

The Recipe Hacker
By Diana Keuilian
Cedar Fort
Retail Price: $21.199
Amazon Price: $15.19

Book Description:  Break the recipe code for your favorite foods! Free of grains, gluten, dairy, cane sugar, and soy, The Recipe Hacker is a mouthwatering collection of your favorite comfort foods with a healthy twist. Learn to use easy ingredient substitutions to transform traditional dishes into real, healthy comfort food masterpieces, without sacrificing any of the flavor! Enjoy healthier, whole-food versions of Key Lime Pie Crispy Orange Chicken and Banana Pancakes Step-by-step photos, dozens of recipes, and delicious flavors will keep you coming back for more. Enjoy all the comfort foods you crave and keep your body (and skinny jeans) happy at the same time!

Review

I have followed Diana’s blog Real Healthy Recipes for about a year now, but I only recently became serious about going wheat-free and possibly grain free.  The hardest thing about this (for me) is figuring what to eat to replace my favorite comfort foods.  This book really fills that need.  I devoured the book and marked several recipes to try and the ones that I have tried turned out fantastic and taste great – all without using grains!  The ingredients needed are easy to find and the cooking techniques are not crazy or hard to follow.  I just finished making the Crispy Orange Chicken (p. 108) and I serviced with with Cauliflower Rice (p. 122) and it was hit with my family.  There are so many others that I could mention, but I guess I will just say that if you want to cook “comfort foods” that are grain free then you have to get a copy of this cookbook!  On a side note, these recipes are also dairy, soy, gluten and cane sugar free.

~Reviewed by Rosie B.

/  Family

Exclusively Kamado: 50 Innovative Recipes
for your Ceramic Smoker and Grill
by Paul Sidoriak
Ulysses Press
Retail Price:  $25.95
Amazon Price: $19.05

Book Description:   Unique recipes that utilize the kamado’s amazing ability to enhance the flavor of everything from meats and seafood to veggies and baked goods

Impress your guests with these creatively delicious dishes you can only make on the amazing kamado ceramic grill. This book’s recipes and techniques take wood-fired cooking to the next level, including:

Mouthwatering Meats
•Hickory-Smoked Beef Tri-Tip
•Chimichurri Spiced Ribs
Show Stopping Seafood
•Blackened Salmon
•Salt Block Grilled Bass
Delicious Veggies
•Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
•Grilled Stuffed Artichokes
Baked Delights
•Brie in Puff Pastry
•Shrimp Scampi Pizza

Review

First, I want to say that I totally obsessed with cooking on my Kamado grill.  In my opinion, food tastes its best cooked on this grill!  With that said, this book gives you tons of mouth-watering recipes to try.  I’ve tried most of them and never once been disappointed!  It is easy to see that the author knows his stuff.  He provides useful information about the basics of kamados, cooking techniques, and lends specific tips for each recipe. The cookbook is approachable because of Paul’s straight forward, informative style. If you own a kamado style grill, of any brand, you will find this cookbook useful. With all the recipes, additional tips and techniques, there is something here from everyone. The variety of the recipes really shows off the versatility of kamado cookers, and will give everyone a good excuse to cook up something new. This cookbook is staying in my collection!

~Reviewed by Chris D.

/  Cookbook Reviews, Red Kettle Cook, Vegetarian

The Plant-Based Journey: A Step-by-Step Guide for Transitioning
to a Healthy Lifestyle and Achieving Your Ideal Weight
by Lani Muelrath and T. Colin Campbell Ph.D.
BenBella Books
Retail Price:  $16.95
Amazon Price: $13.58

Book Description:  It’s been proven that a plant-based diet is good for your weight, health, budget, and the environment, but the proof hasn’t come with a game plan—until now.

If you’ve ever wanted to make the plant-based switch but felt overwhelmed about where to start, we have good news: you don’t have to do it alone. The Plant-Based Journey provides the support you need every step of the way to make your transition into eating plant-based a fun and (ful)filling experience!

Award-winning teacher, transition strategist, fitness expert and dietary coach Lani Muelrath has been on her own plant-based journey for more than 40 years and has helped thousands of clients lose weight and live more healthy and plant-filled lives. Here, she brings that experience to you, backed by scientific evidence. In this comprehensive, foolproof, and accessible five-step guide, Muelrath will empower you as you make your own dietary transition:

Step 1: Awakening: Discover your “why” for eating plant-based
Step 2: Scout: Assemble what you need for plant-based eating basics
Step 3: Rookie: Increase the presence of plant foods on your plate with specific strategies and systems
Step 4: Rockstar: Take your newfound plant-based eating success on the road and to social and family situations
Step 5: Champion: Sharpen your skills for long-term plant-based living success

In addition, in The Plant-Based Journey, Muelrath explains how exercise and your mindset support dietary change, and she also shares more than 20 recipes along with meal plan templates and ready-in-minutes meals that will have you pulling together delicious and satisfying meals with ease.

Whether you’re a plant-based newbie looking to shed pounds or a seasoned vegan in search of fresh inspiration and navigational skills, The Plant-Based Journey is your essential, definitive guide—for a healthier, trimmer you.

Review

I have been reading a lot in the news about eating organic, juicing, etc.. My doctor even mentioned “eating raw,” that last time I was at his office. I decided to look further into it, but needed a guide to help me better understand it all. I picked up a copy of the Plant Based Journey and I’m so glad I did! It answered all my questions and provided me the info I needed, giving me a step by step template for navigating the transition to a more plant based diet. 

~Reviewed by Allie B.

/  Cookbook Reviews, Desserts, Family, Food Photography

Grandbaby Cakes Grandbaby Cakes: Modern Recipes, Vintage Charm, Soulful Memories
by Jocelyn Delk Adams
Agate SurreyRetail:  $22.95
Amazon Price: 16.54

Book Description:

Grandbaby Cakes: Modern Recipes, Vintage Charm, Soulful Memories is the debut cookbook from sensational food writer, Jocelyn Delk Adams. Since founding her popular recipe blog Grandbaby Cakes in 2012, Adams has been putting fresh twists on old favorites. Adams has earned praise from critics and the adoration of bakers both young and old for her easygoing advice, rich photography, and the heartwarming memories she shares of her family’s generations-old love of baking.

As a child, Adams and her family would routinely embark on the ten-hour journey from their home in Chicago to Winona, Mississippi. There, she would watch her grandmother, affectionately nicknamed Big Mama, bake and develop delicious, melt-in-your-mouth desserts. From blooming tree-picked fruit to farm-raised eggs and fresh-churned butter, Big Mama used what was readily available to invent completely original treats. Adams treasured the moments when her mother, aunt, and Big Mama would bring her into the kitchen to let her dabble in the process as a rite of passage. Big Mama’s recipes became the fabric of their family heritage. Grandbaby Cakes is Adams’s love note to her family, thanking those who came before and passing on this touching tradition with 50 brilliant cakes.

Grandbaby Cakes pairs charming stories of Big Mama’s kitchen with recipes ranging from classic standbys to exciting adventures—helpfully marked by degree of difficulty—that will inspire your own family for years to come. Adams creates sophisticated flavor combinations based on Big Mama’s gorgeous centerpiece cakes, giving each recipe something familiar mixed with something new. From pound cakes and layer cakes to sheet cakes and “baby” cakes (cupcakes and cakelettes), Grandbaby Cakes delivers fun, hip recipes perfect for any celebration.

Readers will love this cookbook for its eclectic and bold recipes steeped in equal parts warm Southern charm and fresh Midwestern flavors. Not only will home bakers be able to make staples like yellow cake and icebox cake exactly how their grandmothers did, but they’ll also be preparing impressive innovations, like the Pineapple Upside-Down Hummingbird Pound Cake and the Fig-Brown Sugar Cake. Grandbaby Cakes is a collection for both new-aged and traditional bakers, but mostly it’s for anyone who wants a fresh, modern take on classic recipes as well as cakes full of heart and soul.

Review

This book is a real treat…pun intended!  There is just something special about this cookbook as the author shares a bit of herself, her family history, and her heart. While the recipes are unique, well thought-out and explained, and quite delicious, that is only part of this book’s charm.  The bright, colorful photographs and the family history shared draw you in and keep you reading the book even after you have finished baking.

On a more practical note, the recipes (and the finished product) were to die for!  The cookbook is organized well and is divided into six main sections:  pound cakes, layer cakes, sheet cakes, baby cakes, celebration cakes and seasons and holidays. Each section is filled with recipes that are simply delicious.

This cookbook is a keeper.  You will use it over and over again.

~Reviewed by Allie B.

/  Cookbook Reviews

The Ketogenic Cookbook
By Jimmy Moore and Maria Emmerich
Victory Belt Publishing
Retail Price:  $39.95
Amazon Price: $26.33

Book Description:   In 2013, the fifth-most Googled diet search term was “ketogenic”; in 2014, it rose to number two. Now, The Ketogenic Cookbook, one of the most highly anticipated cookbooks of 2015, is set to be the ultimate resource for the growing number of people interested in eating a low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat diet to lose weight, improve their health, and heal their bodies from the inside out.

In this first-of-its-kind collection, Jimmy Moore, leading low-carb diet blogger and podcaster and bestselling author of Keto Clarity, joins forces with fellow keto advocate and nutritionist Maria Emmerich to bring you more than 150 delicious, real food–based, keto-friendly recipes that are ideal for anyone who wants to be in nutritional ketosis or simply wants to eat healthier.

In addition, The Ketogenic Cookbook explains why a ketogenic diet can help treat chronic illnesses from type 2 diabetes to heart disease to epilepsy, offers practical advice for pursuing nutritional ketosis, outlines the unique combination of whole foods that will help you become ketogenic, and much more.

If you’re seeking a healthier way to eat that will help heal your body of damage done by years of eating tons of sugar and carbs, the ketogenic diet may be for you. There’s no need to sacrifice taste for good health!

Review

When I found out about the Ketogenic diet, I was intrigued.  We have been told over and over again that fat is bad for us, now this diet says that fat is our friend.  I have studied this and decided to give this diet a try and in the process I found this cookbook a resource to help me reap the benefits of the ketogenic diet.  With this book as my guide I found keto cooking to be a breeze.  The recipes were easy to follow and it used common ingredients.  I have been using the recipes for a few weeks and am feeling really good, even though I haven’t gotten on the scale.  Whether you’ve come to keto through the guidance of your doctor or you’re looking for a sustainable way to lose weight, the recipes will boost your health and change the way you think about food forever.

~Reviewed by Jen W.

 Giveaway

If  you would like a chance to win a giveaway copy of this book, email me at pcpubreviews@gmail.com.  Include your name, address, and email address and a brief message of why you are interested in Ketogenic cooking.  This giveaway ends on 8/28/15.

/  Cookbook Reviews

Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook: Over 100 Gluten-Free
Recipes to Help You Shine from Within
By Juli Bauer
Victory Belt
Retail Price:  $34.95
Amazon Price: $19.61

Book Description:   Why eat crap food when you don’t have to? Better yet, why eat healthy food that doesn’t taste good? There’s no need to ever do that again with Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook.

New York Times bestselling author of The Paleo Kitchen and creator of the popular website PaleOMG, Juli is a well-known Paleo cook who creates meals that are sure to please the whole family. And this cookbook is her best one yet! Absolutely no one will complain when you serve them delicious dishes like Breakfast Tacos, Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Chops, Moo Shu Pork, Shredded Beef Tostadas, and Layered Flourless Chocolate Cake.

We’ve all heard about the Paleo or “caveman” diet at this point. But for most people, the diet seems unrealistic. “You expect me not to eat cake anymore?” was Juli’s first reaction. (There may have been a few curse words thrown in there, too.) For Juli, that just wasn’t going to work. We all understand that cavemen didn’t eat cake back in the day, but we’re here in the future, and we have the ability to create Paleo-friendly cakes. So Juli ventured out to put a new spin on eating like a caveman. After two weeks of eating Paleo, she knew she was in it for the long haul. She has been eating Paleo for five years now, and she consistently gives her readers Paleo recipes that bring back childhood meal memories or just bring back the foods they love the most. There’s no need to be a true, pretentious caveman if you don’t have to be! We see you using Instagram over there, you modern caveman, you.

Paleo is about so much more than just food. To Juli, Paleo is what gave her the freedom to feel healthy, energetic, and enthusiastic about life. And that’s exactly what she is trying to bring to everyone in her newest cookbook. She hopes not only to help you revamp your kitchen and excite your taste buds, but to help you feel confident with the new lifestyle you’ve taken on.

Review

  Giveaway

If  you would like a chance to win a giveaway copy of this book, email me at pcpubreviews@gmail.com.  Include your name, address, and email address and a brief message of how many Paleo cookbooks you currently have in your home.  This giveaway ends on 8/28/15.