Misc

Review: Your Personal Paleo Code by Chris Kresser

My path to a Paleo-style way of eating wasn’t perfectly straightforward. After years of health issues, in late 2010 I came upon an article describing a recently-published book called The Paleo Solution, written by a guy who obviously knows a thing or two about prehistory since his last name is Wolf. The book promised to demonstrate positive results for a number of health issues, including autoimmune diseases. Feeling like I was at a dead end with my own issues with autoimmunity, I bought the book at the very first opportunity, devoured it, and switched my diet within days.

While I’m very grateful to Robb Wolf and his Paleo Solution, it only gave me a glimpse of the journey I would need to take in order to restore my health. Much of the eating advice in the book was based on low-carb principles, which is understandable since the book is geared towards those who are looking to lose weight. But after losing an initial 30 pounds (likely due to discontinuing steroid therapy at that same time), I struggled with maintaining my weight, and had consistently low energy. It wasn’t until I reintroduced white rice and potatoes, foods promoted by The Perfect Health Diet, that I really started to feel like I had figured out an ideal way of eating for me (and one that I’ve maintained since). Dairy was also something I had to figure out on my own, as I found that I better tolerated certain types of dairy (mainly heavy cream, butter, and fermented products), and that my tolerance improved as my health improved. Dairy just didn’t warrant a blanket “avoid” stamp since individual tolerance was a better determining factor.

So over the years, I have had a hard time answering when people asked me where to start reading if they wanted to learn about the Paleo diet. The Paleo Solution is fairly inflexible, and was quickly becoming outdated as new voices entered the scene and brought new ideas with them. The Perfect Health Diet is a superior work, and provides an excellent template for sustained eating, but its lifelong approach to diet can be intimidating to those who aren’t ready for such a long commitment right out of the gate.

And in steps Your Personal Paleo Code by Chris Kresser.

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Review (and a Giveaway): Nom Nom Paleo – Food for Humans

Update: Congratulations to Christopher S., who won the giveaway!

A while back, I made the decision that I wasn’t going write single book reviews, and instead write book review roundups (check out my Summer and Fall roundups). But then I had a look at Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans, which came out on Tuesday. Here’s the deal: it’s so good that writing anything other than a single book review doesn’t do this piece of art justice. Don’t even read this review, just go buy the book. Not convinced? Well, then keep reading.

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I’m in People Magazine!

Just wanted to share some cool news: my Honey and Citrus Glazed Ham recipe is featured in this year’s People Magazine Holiday Entertaining issue! Definitely one of the highlights of my cooking/blogging career so far.

If you get a chance to grab a copy, let me know what you think. I pared down the recipe slightly to appeal to a broader audience, but it still definitely carries my personal touch to it. It’s awesome to see a Paleo recipe in such a widely-circulated magazine! And I must admit, it’s pretty surreal to be able to go into any supermarket right now and grab a picture of yours truly.

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Paleo Cookbook Roundup: Fall 2013

It’s hard to believe that my last Paleo cookbook roundup was only two months ago, because I’m already getting overwhelmed with another stack of new books. So I think I’m going to continue to write these review roundups each season. Personally, I can’t wait for the next roundup, since by then I’ll finally get my grubby hands on the Nom Nom Paleo cookbook!

Since we’re talking about cookbooks, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I announced my own cookbook last week, which will be out next February. If you haven’t already, I’d really appreciate it if you considered pre-ordering my book; pre-order sales go a long way towards getting it distributed and placed in high-profile stores. I’m a relatively small fish in the big Paleo pond, so every sale helps. Thanks! Okay, enough about me, let’s dive into other peoples’ hard work.

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Coming Feb 2014 – My First Cookbook!


It’s time to let you guys in on a little secret. For the past year I’ve been working on a cookbook, which I’m calling The Ancestral Table: Traditional Recipes for a Paleo Lifestyle.

The book will feature over 100 classic traditional and international recipes, much like what you’ve come to expect here on The Domestic Man. All dishes are gluten-free and Paleo-friendly. Many of the recipes are brand new, while others are updated versions of those already on this site, re-developed from the ground-up. I’ve even added a couple of dessert recipes – a first for me.

The recipes in my book will be aligned with my belief that safe starches (like white rice, tapioca, and potatoes) and some forms of dairy have a place in the modern interpretation of the Paleo diet. Essentially, this is the first Perfect Health Diet cookbook – so it’s only fitting that Paul Jaminet graciously provided the foreword.

If you follow a more strict interpretation of Paleo, never fear! The Ancestral Table is mostly filled with strictly Paleo offerings, and the book will also include a substitution guide for anyone wanting to convert the other recipes to a “cleaner” version of Paleo while maintaining maximum taste.

More info can be found on the book’s landing page. It will be out on February 11, 2014 – just four months away! – and is available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I hope you’re as excited about the book as I am. I think you’ll really like it.

Paleo Cookbook Roundup: Summer 2013

It tends to happen every year, but this year’s summer months have been especially busy for our family and in truth I’ve had a heck of a time maintaining my weekly blogging schedule. I’ve been sent several excellent cookbooks over the past couple months and I wanted to take a second and do some quick write-ups about them in case you’re interested in expanding your Paleo and Gluten-Free cookbook library.

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Book Review (and Signed Copy Giveaway!): Beyond Bacon – Paleo Recipes that Respect the Whole Hog

Congratulations to Abby F. who won the giveaway!

It’s with great pleasure that I take a minute and review Beyond Bacon: Paleo Recipes that Respect the Whole Hog, written by my friends Stacy Toth and Matthew McCarry (also known as the Paleo Parents). It’s the epitome of what I have been waiting to surface out of the Paleo world: a classy, beautiful, and relevant cookbook that holds its own against traditional cookbooks on the market today.

Beyond Bacon is a Paleo book with a lowercase “p” – the fact that the recipes happen to be Paleo takes a backseat, letting the dishes speak for themselves (and trust me, they can and do speak for themselves – more on that in a second). It’s the kind of book you’d expect people to buy only to find out later that it’s a book based on dietary restrictions.

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Book Review (and Giveaway!): Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry

Update: Congratulations to Erin W., who won the giveaway!

I think the upcoming release of Elana Amsterdam’s Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry marks an exciting time in the Paleo movement. This value-priced book is coming right when Paleo is spiking in mainstream appeal, and the book sports some really delicious and ultra simple recipes, which will be really helpful for those curious about changing their dietary habits for the better. Moreover, there are enough new recipes in here to keep seasoned Paleo eaters busy for a while.

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Book Review (and Giveaway!) – Gather: The Art of Paleo Entertaining

Hey folks, I’m starting to get quite a collection of cookbooks (although it pales in comparison to this stash!), so I’m going to review some Paleo-minded cookbooks as I receive them, and give a copy away as well. If you have a book coming out soon, I’d be happy to have a look and run it through its paces.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Molly D. from Houston, TX, who won the giveaway. Thanks to everyone for participating!

I’m really excited about Gather: The Art of Paleo Entertaining, which releases next week. Personally, I think it is a huge step forward in the Paleo cooking world. Not only have Bill Staley and Hayley Mason created some really tasty recipes, they’ve upped the bar in terms of presentation and thoughtfulness. This is the first Paleo cookbook I’ve seen that I think can stand toe-to-toe with the best non-Paleo cookbooks coming out this year.

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Please Vote for Me in the SAVEUR Best Food Blog Awards!

Folks, I basically flipped out when I found out that this tiny blog was chosen as a finalist for the Saveur 2013 Best Food Blog Awards, under the Special Diet category! SAVEUR is an incredible magazine and online resource, and one of my favorite places on the internet – so you can imagine my surprise when they gave a nod to little ol’ me! I’m speechless.

Okay, I’m not totally speechless, because I have a little more talking to do. I need your help. Although the Saveur editors whittled thousands of nominations down to us finalists, the winner is chosen by tallying votes, and it’s still anybody’s game: so please vote for me so I can win the whole thing!! I’m not joking when I refer to this blog as “tiny”, because I am tiny in comparison to some of my competitors, and every vote counts.

So please, rally the troops, grab your friends, and guilt-trip your families into voting for The Domestic Man on Saveur’s page. Please note that you have to register with Saveur.com first before voting. I realize that it’s an inconvenient extra step, but I really, really appreciate it. Voting ends at midnight, Friday, April 19th, so please hurry!

To vote, click here and then hover over one of the blog name and select “Register”, and fill out the form. Then return to the voting page and cast your vote.

Finally, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone that reads this little nook of the web, and I hope you’ve enjoyed my recipes so far. I have a lot more to share, so stick around!