Book Review: Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo
Posted | 12 comments
Diane Sanfilippo is a certified nutrition consultant, and owner of the popular Balanced Bites. She attended a MovNat workshop in West Virginia last summer, as described in her MovNat blog post.
After I read her MovNat blog post, I registered for my own trip to MovNat West Virginia last year. Now I work on the MovNat team, so her impact on my life has been profound on many levels.
Diane continues to inspire people to good health through her podcasts and now with her new book, Practical Paleo, which releases today, August, 7th. After you read this review, I think you will want to mosey on over to Amazon and get your own copy.
Even Robb Wolf, who wrote the Forward for the book, was impressed by the wealth of knowledge Diane shares in this book. “1) Wow, this is going to be a really useful book for a lot of people! 2) DAMN! I wish I laid out some of the material in my book, The Paleo Solution the way Diane did in her book,” wrote Robb.
Part 1 of the book addresses Food and Your Body — everything from how to grocery shop, figure out what’s going on in your body, dealing with leaky gut, eating on a budget, how to socialize and eat at restaurants without feeling awful the next day, and much more.
Part 2 is a 30-day meal plan with diet and lifestyle recommendations, supplements to consider, and supportive nutrients and foods that contain those nutrients. This info is summarized for these areas of interest:
- Neurological Health
- Heart Health
- Cancer Recovery
- Athletic Performance
- Fat Loss
- Squeaky Clean Paleo
I could stop there … if not for the 120 fabulous recipes. Three things struck me about her recipes: 1) The Variety, 2) their Deliciousness, and 3) the Simplicity.
So I will tantalize you with a few photos here.
Bacon-wrapped Smoky Chicken Thighs
Carrot Gingerbread Muffins
Diane, always the collaborator, worked with her friends Bill Staley and Hayley Mason to do the beautiful food photography for her book. They are Paleo cookbook authors themselves with Make it Paleo — which I also own and enjoy.
The design of Diane’s book is beautiful.
The magnificent layout, graphics, and clear and compelling organization with colored page tabs identify content categories such as Poultry, Autoimmune Conditions, Treats and Sweets, Kitchen Basics, along with the variety of colors — all of it is inviting and with a ‘workbook’ feel.
The book covers food A to Z … from cutting an onion properly to making perfect flourless mocha bacon brownies (on my weekend to-do list.)
So get a copy for yourself or someone else — and congratulations Diane on a book that both educates and inspires.
Photos owned by Practical Paleo
Post by Lori Crock, MovNat Communication Coordinator and foodie.
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This looks like an interesting approach for a paleo cookbook. I like the sound of the Food and Your Body section. Good luck – I’ll be picking up a copy when it’s available in Britain
Thanks, just ordered the book – I hope it would not take a long time to be sent here in Norway.
Thanks for sharing this. I’ll take this in consideration for my paleo cookbook collection. Yesterday while searching recipes I found about paleo recipe book and today found about this book. It must be worth the money, right.
Thanks
Riyana
I feel like the price is very fair given the depth of nutrition content and recipes. ~Lori
Just placed my order and how I hope the flourless mocha bacon brownies on are in the fat loss section.
Who is Diane Sanfilippo? I have never heard about her.
She is an author, nutrition consultant and movnatter.
Hey, this cookbook looks really great! I have spent a significant amount of time learning about the paleo diet this month, and it has really opened my eyes. I used to think that this diet was a little too restrictive, but books like Practical Paleo have helped to show me how wrong I was. Thanks!
I have been very interested with the paleo diet as of late. I played sports all the way through school, and this seems like a diet that is perfect for athletes. Diane’s cookbook appears to be a great resource for a beginner like me.
I have become extremely confused about what I thought should be an easy thing to do, eat. I bought this book and it is chock full of information but when I look at reviews for what are the best ways to eat for health, the paleo diet comes out dead last. I am especially confused about the health benefits of coconut milk, oils etc. since they contain so much saturated fat as does many of the meats suggested in this diet. I don’t know which way to turn for the best ways to eat for health. Moderation in everything???
Kim, it is true that there is so many conflicting sources of information about nutrition out there. Probably the answer is not in what we think or believe is best, but what we can feel ais best for us through experiment. Experimenting with a diet at least a few weeks in a row, but strictly (i.e fully, not partly) is probably the best way to figure how you feel and perform (and even look!) with a given dietary approach. This is certainly the most compelling argument.
Thanks for sharing the informative post! Diane’s cookbook may need to be my next purchase. I have become quite intrigued by this method of eating, and have been doing some personal research on it. Incredibly, it seems like many people living with chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia can gain some measure of control over their disease with the paleo diet.