Everyday Paleo – Family Cookbook Review

I promised in my last post I would review Sarah Fragoso’s excellent cookbook Everyday Paleo Family Cook Book

Here is my review of that book……..

The Book

Title: Everyday Paleo Family Cook Book

Author: Sara Fragoso

Edition: Hard Cover, Paperback, and Kindle Editions available

Available from: Amazon.com

ISBN-10: 1936608634

ISBN-13: 978-1936608638

Price: Hard Cover $21.33 Paperback $20.36 – Kindle $11.50

Overview

The Presentation

This is the kind of cookbook that I really like; it is a big, colourful, 220 page tome that you can browse through, use as a reference guide and learn from.

It is crammed full of, not only the most fantastic recipes, but also a really cool introduction taking us through Sarah’s Paleo journey. This is the follow up to her hugely successful book, Everyday Paleo, which tell the full story of that journey and is considered to be up there with Rob Wolf’s book the Paleo Solution which I have referenced in other posts and again which I will review in due course.

It is beautifully written, extremely easy to follow and immensely good value for what it costs.

Target Audience

This is really one of the very, very few Paleo references, written specifically for families and the key here is the consideration of children. Sarah converted her whole family to the Paleo lifestyle and some narrative at the front of the book takes us through how and why she has managed to accomplish this.

Content and Comments from Readers

Content

After the acknowledgments and introduction the book is arranged in 9 complementary sections before we even get to the recipe section (worry not there are 162 pages of glorious recipes to come after those first 9 sections

The Basics

The first of the 3 sections deal with:

• The Basics – what is Paleo and where does it come from, why is it beneficial
• Basic Food Guide – essentially what’s in and what’s out when following the Paleo Lifestyle
• Getting Started. – how do you go about getting onto and sustaining a Paleo lifestyle with a young family

Understanding Kids

This is what separates their cookbook out from most if not all others available for Paleo lifestylers. Sarah, over 4 pages explains her philosophy in regard to children and Paleo. it will come as no surprise I think that the key issue is in addressing the fast food, processed foods and sugary confectionery and mass-produced bakery goods that we all know are contributing to child hood obesity early onset diabetes and other maladies that can haunt children not fortunate enough to be subject to healthy diets and habits.

Supplementary Information

Sarah then provides 5 sections of supplementary material which really do set this book apart from its likely competitors:

• The Lunch Box for Kids and Grownups Too – this is exactly as it appears it helps with one of the specific areas that ne Paleo lifestylers struggle with.
• Quick and Simple Meal Ideas – an invaluable resource for busy families with a parents at work children at school and involved in after school activities.
• What Sarah Wants You to Have and Where to Find It. – This is a comprehensive pantry or larder stock guide that not only lists the items but talks about how to source them easily.
• One Week Meal Plan – along with Quick and Simple Meal Ideas and the 165 recipe pages this completes the toolkit for meal preparation.
• Budget Guide – this is an area neglected in most cook books built with a young growing family it will be of interest to everyone in that position. Sarah is at pains to emphasise that following a Paleo lifestyle does not have to be an expensive choice and in this section she discusses how this is possible.

The Recipes

The Recipe pages are supported by full colour plates of the finished meals with the classic layout of ingredients, method, prep and cooking time and each one has a section called something extra, which is a mix of personal reflection on the recipe and some salient cooking or preparation tips. Here is one of these reproduced to give you an idea of what they contain:

“The first time we made these ribs they didn’t even make it to the table. We all stood around and devoured them as they were removed from the grill. I wish I had a video of my boys with BBQ sauce covering their faces and the rare bonus of a few minutes quiet. Brining is the key to the preparation of these ribs, by the way, so do not skip that step.”

The recipes are divided into 6 well written and illustrated sections:

• Sauces and Dips
• Slow Cooker Recipes
• Soups and Stews
• Meaty Meals
• Sides, Salads and Small Plates
• Fruity Creations and Treats

Commentary

All, the reader reviews I read were in the 4-5 star range with one or two exceptions in the 3 star usually because they were commenting that they did not have a family LoL!

Some comments I reproduce here to let you see how popular this book is with families:

“So, I have bought 11 or 12 Paleo cookbooks, including Nom Nom Paleo, Practical Paleo, Well Fed, etc. and this one is my favorite”

“I’ve tried a lot of cookbooks associated with a lot of diets. They usually go down in flames once my 13 year old son tries them. I refuse to cook something different for every family member and he’s so fussy I have ended up cooking him Mac and cheese for every recipe tried from those “other” cookbooks. We’ve been cooking from Sarah Fragaso’s Everyday Paleo Cookbook for a month. My weight is down 4 lbs, everybody’s tummy is very content, and I haven’t cooked Mac and cheese once!!!!”

“I borrowed this from the library and knew immediately that I would be purchasing it. The author does a great job of explaining the “why”s so that you aren’t just good at her recipes but good at adjusting the recipes (although I swear she was peaking in my pantry before she wrote it, adjustments were so minimal). And she does a great job of combining standard ingredients in to new flavours 

The Author – Sara Fragoso

Sarah Fragoso is a dedicated mother of three who has succeeded in helping her own family find true health and wellness through living a paleo lifestyle. She also has a strong passion for helping other families adopt a Paleo lifestyle and has done so globally with her extremely successful recipe and advice blog, EverydayPaleo.com.Sarah is the author of the national best-selling book, Everyday Paleo, as well as a strength and conditioning coach at Norcal Strength and Conditioning, one of Americans top 30 gyms, where she mentors under the leading expert in the field, Robb Wolf, New York Times best-selling author of The Paleo Solution. This combination of expertise puts Sarah at the forefront of the Paleo movement and the leader in successfully helping families live paleo. Sarah also runs the extremely successful podcast, “Paleo Talk,” conducts nationwide seminars, and contributes to several publications and blogs regarding how to successfully introduce and maintain the Paleo lifestyle for families.

My Verdict

for me this book has everything advice, recipes, personal insight and reflection on the Paleo Lifestyle and it is written in a very friendly user format. The added bonus of a kindle edition for travelling just makes the whole thing a 10/10 for me.

What Do You Think

I really hope that my readers have found this post and this review useful, particularly if you find yourself asking those oft heard questions about young families and Paleo.

I am always delighted to hear from anyone who may have read the book or who might wish to comment on my post. Please do leave comment or discussion points below and I will always guarantee to reply within one working day.

Hamish 🧐

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