Paleo Perfected: A Revolution in Eating Well with 150 Kitchen-Tested Recipes

Okay folks... I just got this book and after glancing through it and reading just the preface I'm 100% sold that I will love it. First two things to know about me. I've followed the Paleo eating plan for about four years now... Not always faithful to it, but if I was a well disciplined person, this is the way I'd eat all of the time. I feel the best eating this way. I have noticed aches in shoulders and knees and heartburn have disappeared and much better sleep. Secondly, I'm a chemist and I absolutely love the way America's Test Kitchen cooks. I'm a huge fan, watch the shows, have purchased loads of cookbooks and even seen Chris Kimball Live! So when I saw that ATK was going to do a Paleo cookbook I had to get it.The Paleo way of eating is not just about focusing on meats and nothing else... Chris Kimball really says this the right way and I'd like to quote him here from the preface of the book: "The central concept of paleo is returning to an unprocessed, non-agricultural diet, one that depends less on the pantry staples we take for granted - flour, pasta, soy sauce, cornstarch, wine, vegetable oil, rice potatoes and commercial broths to name a few- and more on less-processed foods that are free from sugars, stabilizers and other unwanted additives". This was said with such perfection I didn't even want to try and summarize. It's absolutely how I feel about this way of eating.Now being on this way of eating I had to rethink and at time stumble my way through how to cook recipes and stay "legal" to the eating plan. I worked with coconut flour for weeks trying to prefect sweets and breads that never resembled things I use to know. I made my own ketchup and mayo and became of HUGE fan of coconut oil. So that's where ATK comes in and I'm so glad. I know they work months perfecting recipes so they taste good. And Chris points out several paleo cooking breakthroughs they had: like how to use pureed vegetables as sauce thickeners, how to make a great pan sauce without using wine or butter, how to use different flours to replace the traditional flours we cook with, how to make stir-fry without the soy and Chinese wine and recipes that replace the dairy but still turn out creamy.Some stand outs for me: 10 crucial ingredients you need to rethink or the Paleo Swap...this is an awesome table that is at a glance to tell you what to swap for things like veg. oil, butter, sugar, rice and potatoes etc... - A page on buying produce, meat and seafood - restocking your pantry... what's in and what's out! And a 10 page section on Paleo BASICS... this is how to make ghee, chicken and beef broth, mayonnaise, ketchup, tomato sauce, coconut milk, and almond yogurt, paleo wraps, sandwich rolls, and even pie dough. OMG, I've never tried making wraps, rolls and pie dough. I will now.Every recipe is laid out nicely with big print on a single page and has an accompanying picture. I love cookbooks that do that because sometimes I can't see what it will look like when I read an ingredient list.I will update more as I begin to cook from this book. I know however, I will really get great experience and learn new, better Paleo cooking techniques because I own this. In my opinion, a MUST for anyone following the Paleo eating and wanting to get back to just the basics in eating and cooking! Highly highly recommend

Love America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks. I love how they tell you why something works and the options that were done before they came to the final conclusion. Great ideas and groundwork.

I’m a huge fan of all things Chris Kimball, American’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Illustrated. Many of their recipes have become family favorites and ones that I can depend on. When I saw this book, I had to get it.The book starts off as an introduction to Paleo and why they decided to do this book. It also provides a nice chapter on the Paleo pantry and common Paleo ingredients. When it comes to the recipes, this book follows the same formula as others, ATK and CI books. They first provide a detailed description of why the recipe works that includes information on what methods they tried and how they arrived at this recipe. This is one of my favorite aspects of ATK and CI books, it helps guide me when I’m thinking of making a substitution. Additionally, sometimes the recipes have alternate endings (for lack of a better term) where they provide different spices/sauces to make the dish completely different. Finally, this book has nutritional information which is always helpful.From a Paleo aspect, I like that the book doesn’t get too creative with the ingredients and I like that it really captures the spirit of the diet. Sometimes you have Paleo books/blogs that have recipes that are full of “natural” sugars (honey, maple, pureed dates…) and other ingredients that are too hard to find or are super expensive. Yes, you have to purchase different flours, but you don’t have to buy pounds of dates to make “brownies.” I enjoy that there is not even a dessert chapter included!I’ve had the book for a week and so far I’ve made the following (my comments are included next to the item):Blueberry Muffins – best textures Paleo muffin/bread I’ve ever had, not a ton of coconut sugarSlow Cooker Caribbean Chicken – the recipe called for legs, but I used wingsCreamy Cauliflower soup – so far my favorite – managed to be very flavorful, creamy and filling with just butter, cauliflower, water, onion and leeksSo far all of these have been very good and I plan on making them again soon. I have several other recipes that I’m going to try over the next few weeks and will update my review.The only word of caution I will give (and why I’m not giving this five stars) is that ATK and CI have decided to not include the prep time and cook time at the beginning of the recipe in any of their books. Because a lot of the recipes include different appliances (mixer, food processors) and delayed cooking times (IE – when making the muffins, I had to have the arrowroot flour, water and coconut oil sit for 30 minutes before mixing everything and baking it) it’s important to read the directions ahead. I recommend reading them twice! I know that is cooking 101, but having the prep times at the beginning of a recipe always helps.

I'm a fan of America's Test Kitchen, loving their approach to recipes and exhaustive testing. Unfortunately I was disappointed with this particular offering.1. Too many recipes for things I don't think I'm ever going to want to make/eat. That's a kind of personal thing, but disappointing nonetheless. On the other hand, if I really like a recipe and make it repeatedly, that's worth a lot and makes up for having many recipes that I don't use. I haven't found too many recipes that I really love yet, though.2. No nutritional information. This is a cookbook for people who take their diet seriously! Why would they not run at least the macros and include them in the book for their readers?CORRECTION: I have found the nutritional information - in the back of the book instead of at the bottom of each recipe. A little odd, especially since the recipes aren't in alphabetical order, but rather in "book order," but I will give the book another (i.e. fourth) star to reflect the availability of nutritional information. Thank you, America's Test Kitchen, for including that.3. Where's the chapter on desserts?! The internet is full of recipes for people who are on special diets, but still want to have a dessert once and a while, showing the obvious need for this category of recipes. Where is the chapter with tried-and-tested, nothing-but-the-true-winners dessert recipes, so I don't have to play Russian Roulette with recipes off the internet?All in all, I would give the book 3 1/2 stars, if I could. The missing 1 1/2 stars because of recipe choice, nutritional information in a not-so-convenient format, and no chapter on desserts.

This is an interesting cookbook for those on any variation of the paleo diet, including Mediterranean, Atkins, or low glycemic index. I have found many entrees, sides, and salads that are definitely on my repeat list for being quick, easy, and tasty. A lot of the offerings seem unduly complicated, though that's because they tried so hard to abide by the paleo rules. If you are paleo and have the time and energy to spend a couple of hours on dinner, this is a good addition to your library. If you're just looking for gluten-free or low carb, low glycemic index, it's still a good addition. Those of us in the latter category can skip some of the more complicated steps required by the paleo folks.

A perfect book of simple recipes that more importantly recreates favourites that are fantastically tasty and won't make you feel like you're sacrificing anything in life. This (with some adjustments) and the Real Meal Revolution cookbook are so far the 2 best ones I found for a lchf diet.As others mentioned, once you get used to the american measurements (and there are no baking recipes here so it's not particularly important) everything is hyper clear and pretty easy.I've a ATK membership and I would say out of ALL the cookbooks and magazines I've read/owned, theirs really are stringently tested and works to make perfect meals every time. Hope this continues now that Chris Kimball (the founder person) has left.

I'm not following a Paleo diet but Paleo works for the diet I am following. So far I love this cookbook. Typical of America's Test Kitchen the recipes are detailed and give tips on how to achieve the best results. I've made the chicken fingers (which were awesome), two of the salads (both tasty) and the barbecue sauce (which I've been missing up to now as I'm only allowed honey and maple syrup - this recipe uses maple syrup). I am in love with the seeded crackers! So easy to make and they satisfy my need for crunchy vessel for guacamole.

I had high hopes for this book. I also own their "science if good cooking" book which is amazing! But this one was a disappointment. I've been paleo for 5 years and so I have a lot of experience with substituting for paleo cooking. It looks like their research into paleo substitutions just skimmed the surface with a quick Google search. They couldn't have had anyone involved in developing the recipes who has experience with paleo cooking. Some of their substitutions don't even make any sense. For example they rely way too heavily on almond flour. There are so many people with nut allergies that couldn't make these recipes and almond flour is often a terrible substitute for wheat flour, they never use tapioca or arrowroot flour. It looks more like a low-carb or Atkins style recipe book than Paleo. They really don't understand Paleo eating.