I was recently given the opportunity to review The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Paleo by Jason Glaspey and Neely Quinn and it was definitely much more comprehensive than I expected for a “Complete Idiot’s Guide!”
This 300+ page book not only has explans why some modern foods (grains, sugars, vegetable oils, etc.) are not healthy, but also some great recipes and a meal plan.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Paleo is also extremely easy to read and has lots of quick tips and easy reference for the main points. I think this would be especially useful for friends or relatives who don’t understand your way of eating and who could benefit from an easy and concise explanation.
I’ve tried a few of their recipes and especially enjoyed their Salmon Cakes with Mango and Cilantro Salsa and their Sausage Stuffed Tomatoes.
Perhaps my favorite part was at the very end where they compare a paleo diet and a standard American diet side by side for nutrient levels. I often get questions about if we will miss out on nutrients on a real food diet, and this clearly shows the superior nutrient levels in a paleo/real-food diet.
This book isn’t an intensive guide for already experienced grain free and paleo eaters, but it has a great introduction to the paleo lifestyle and reasons for choosing it. It also has some simple and delicious recipes that are great for beginners.
What is your favorite real food book? Have you read this one? Share below!
It is a diet which focuses firmly on the nutritive substances that our ancestors consumed during the Paleolithic period. Humans ate these foods for millions of years, ensuring that their bodies are best adapted to eating such types of nourishment. The grains, sugars, and dairy products produced by farming have only been consumed for a few thousand years, far too short a time for adaptation to occur. Our bodies still need the nutrition that was available before the first plow turned over the earth or the first cattle were penned. The food we eat every day is the wrong type of food for human beings – we are like wolves attempting to subsist on kumquats or sheep forced to eat fish.
I am a nurse and work, obviously, with a lot nurses. When I went grain free last year one of my co-workers told me that it was unhealthy to stop eating entire food group, that I had to eat grains to be healthy… I adamantaly disagreed and told her that there is nothing found in grains that I cant get from eating other foods. She persisted that I HAD to eat grains to be healthy. I finally quit arguing with her about it and told her she wouldnt change my mind. So many people believe that you MUST eat grains to be healthy that even people in the medical field refuse to hear the reasons why you dont. I went off my completely grain free diet around the holidays and have since felt like crap! and I am now going full force back to my grain free way of eating. I recently read “Maximized Living: A Solution the Dangers of Modern Nutrition” and loved it. I have given it to people I work with who are open to a change in lifestyle and a healthier way of living well. Thank you for all the information you have here, you are what started my healthy lifestyle and I read your blogs often.
So glad you’re feeling great! That can be so tough when others are so adamant (I have a few like that in my family) but the proof is in how great you feel!
“I often get questions about if we will miss out on nutrients on a real food diet…”
Definition of Real:
Adj. Actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed.
It’s my suspicion that people don’t understand that they are eating “fake” foods… If fake foods provide you with the nutrients you need, then wouldn’t real foods give you all of them and more?
I’m in the process of reading it right now because there is so much information out there. Between your site & Mark’s Daily Apple I felt overwhelmed. I felt I needed a foundation from which to build from to guide me to the other side…to the healthier side. I’m enjoying it & would recommend it to others who are just getting started.