Trust me when I say that my kitchen has done a complete 180. In the past 11 months, I've gone from a meat-free, vegan kitchen to a meat-centric, grain-free, dairy-free, corn-free, soy-free kitchen. Other than a few veggie-centered dishes, NONE of the recipes that we relied on on a regular basis met the qualifications to stay around in our new lifestyle. Thankfully, my husband has one dietary requirement: it has to be delicious. Here's a look at what our typical weeknight dinners used to look like: Monday: Baked sweet potatoes with black beans and salsa Tuesday: Soy glazed stir fry with brown rice Wednesday: Um....I'm trying to remember what I used to eat and honestly, I don't remember cause I don't miss it. Our current weeknight menu: Monday: Bacon, sweet potato, and kale hash with a fried egg and guacamole Tuesday: Crudite plate with jamon, oysters, dried fruit, smoked salmon wrapped around avocado Wednesday: Grass fed ground beef in marinara sauce over spiralized sweet potato noodles Thursday: Salmon filet with mango-avocado salsa and parsnip french fries Before I changed my eating habits, I would eat and then be hungry a few hours later. I could never understand those people who "accidentally" forgot to eat a meal. I was the person counting down the minutes until the next meal (and in some cases, adding an extra meal in to tide me over). BUT, I couldn't have made this transition on my own. These cookbooks saved me!! Not only are these books great resources for coming up with AIP/Paleo compliant recipes, but some of them also provide helpful information about autoimmune disorders and the science behind why an AIP diet can help. The Autoimmune Paleo Cook Book If I had to recommend ONE cook book, this is the one. The recipes are straight forward, clearly organized, and really, the most important part, is that EVERY.SINGLE.RECIPE is delicious. One of the hardest things about transitioning to AIP/Paleo is that almost every condiment has corn syrup, sugar, or soy. The sauces in this book are even better than "the originals." For example, the cherry-maple BBQ sauce is the best BBQ sauce I've ever tasted. The avocado crema sauce-- is it a dip or a sauce? The answer is both. The answer is put it on absolutely everything. An extra bonus is that the photos in this book are stunning, making you want to try all the recipes. The author, Mickey Trescott, runs the blog Autoimmune Paleo with Angie Alt, another incredible AIP expert to follow. Their blog makes me want to be BFFs with them. The Paleo Approach and The Paleo Approach Cookbook If there was an AIP/Paleo bible, these books would be it! In The Paleo Approach, Sarah Ballantyne goes into the nitty-gritty scientific explanation behind everything you could ever want to know about AIP. I mean, she delves into the molecular explanations of why it is important to avoid certain foods and how autoimmunity really works. I had so many questions when I transitioned over-- this book provides detailed reasoning for those who want to understand the why behind the AIP/Paleo diet. In the cook book, the recipes are clearly organized into categories and most of the recipes are really approachable and simple. The cook book also provides adjustments or modifications for people who are following FODMAPs, which I didn't do but I would imagine is incredibly helpful if you are trying to include that modification in your healing process. Dr. Ballantyne runs the website The Paleo Mom-- another great resource with recipes, podcasts, and articles. The Autoimmune Solution This book isn't really a cook book, although it does contain recipes. Dr. Myers walks through her own autoimmune issues with her thyroid and then dedicates the remaining chapters to methodically walking through how to combat autoimmunity in several different areas of your life. She does address food, but she also addresses heavy metals, mold toxicity, and environmental pollutants. She provides suggestions and resources for transitioning over to cleaner resources in all areas of your life. As I said, the book does have recipes, but there are no pictures and the recipes are very simple. She does include a meal plan and a strategy for batch cooking, which I find incredibly helpful for people who have never been big on cooking all their own meals (as most people must do when they are starting out on AIP). For me, I've always loved to cook and spending a lot of time in the kitchen is not a chore, but if you find yourself overwhelmed with the idea of eating every meal at home, this book gives you a game plan. Here's more info about Dr. Amy Myers. I love that she's from Austin, too! The Wahls Protocol
For me, this book isn't so much about the recipes, although Dr. Wahls does include recipes (no pictures though:( This book gave me a lot of hope during my worst moments. So much of having an autoimmune disorder is mentally fighting fear. You don't feel in control of your own body and sometimes symptoms seem inexplicable. It can be terrifying. Dr. Wahls herself was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis). Her disease had progressed to the point of her being wheel-chair bound and completely dependent on others. Yet, by nourishing her mitochondria with nutrient dense foods and the appropriate supplementations, she has reversed her MS to the point where she is able to ride 10+ miles on a bike!! This resource is incredibly informative when it comes to understanding how minerals and vitamins help our body repair itself and function properly. You can read more about Dr. Wahls here. Other cookbooks have been incredibly instrumental-- the Whole30 cookbook helped me start my transition last May. And in the past few months, some new AIP/Paleo cookbooks have come out, but with this being the part of the school year where most teachers develop an eye twitch due to what we call "May Madness" (which really lasts from spring break til the end of the year), I haven't had a chance to try any new books. Once summer gets here and I can try out some of my new cookbooks, I'll post a AIP/Paleo Cookbook review, Part II!
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January 2017
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