Everyday Paleo Around the World: Italian Cuisine: Authentic Recipes Made Gluten-Free

This is a wonderful cookbook! If you are familiar with Sarah Fragoso's work then you already know that she presents things in a clear and simple, yet engaging way. This cookbook continues that. Additionally, there is an element of elegance woven throughout. There are beautiful photos throughout, especially of the recipes. But this in no way makes the recipes intimidating, due to her sincere desire to create healthy and delicious meals for her loved ones, as well as the world at large.The first section of the book is a travelogue of her and her family's journey through Italy. In it she highlights the different chefs that she had the opportunity to work with and learn from. Aside from information about the regions and the chefs themselves, there are observations about attitudes towards food, where that food comes from, pace of life and finding the balance in the fast paced world of today. I found it fascinating, especially in regards to the near insanity of the pace of life here in the U.S. Throwing life into a transmission burning gear isn't necessarily isolated to the States though. So it was very interesting and enlightening to get a glimpse at the struggle for balance against a different backdrop. The travelogue alone is a real treasure. I will admit that I usually associate Italian cuisine with a lot of pasta and dishes that feature bread recipes. Fragoso shows another side of Italian cuisine. A very delicious side. The section of Antipasti is filled with diverse recipes that I never knew were antipasti, as well as many other dishes throughout the book that have expanded my knowledge of Italian cuisine. As well as some just straight up delicious recipes. There are the classics like, Lasagna and Baked Ziti (Paleo versions of course), but other dishes that I knew very little about. Dishes like Chicken with Fig Sauce, Ossobuco (slow-cooked veal or beef shanks), as well as meats combined with pomegranate reductions. She has some wonderful seafood recipes as well. And one my favorites, using cauliflower as a substitute for grains, like in her "Risotto" alla Milanese recipe.Sarah is very good about pre-warning the reader if a particular recipe requires some added time. I find this so helpful in a recipe book. Sometimes you need something delicious and quick, sometimes you want to go on a cooking adventure. She gives opportunities for both. As a mother of four kids and the go to person in our house for almost all the food prep this is very important and useful to me. Trying to feed my family in a way that is healthy and exciting (surgary, gluten-loaded Franken-foods can look pretty enticing to a kid) can be a challenge. Having a cookbook authored by someone who understands this dilemma is a Godsend.The book is full of great tips for cooking, in general, not just Italian. From trying out some of the recipes I have already learned some great new techniques.The quality time she spent with the different chefs really comes through in the recipes.Sarah Fragoso also offers up tips, advice and info about planning a family trip to Italy and recommendations for places to stay and dine in different areas of the country.I highly recommend adding this book to any cookbook library (not just a Paleo one!). An amazing gift, especially since you might not want to loan your own copy out!

I was impressed by this book as a beginner, but as I've expanded into gourmet cooking, my enthusiasm for it has waned somewhat.On the bright side: This is a great book of basic ideas, and we've really enjoyed some of them. It was a good introduction to real Italian food, and my best friend, who studied abroad in Rome, told me that the Bruschetta tasted very authentic. Every recipe is clearly photographed, and there is a pictorial list of recipes in the back of the book as well as a very slim index. The recipes I have tried have turned out reasonably well, except for one and I'm willing to blame that one on my sloppy measuring.What I didn't like: As Sarah states up front, this book is about her experience in Italy. The vast majority of the recipes are her own renditions and the prose discusses her travels more than Italy's culinary culture. In a sentence, this book is unabashedly Sarah ... and therein lies the problem: I guess I was hoping for a more expert guide. I like to feel like I am being led by a person that is far and away my superior on the topic at hand, and I just don't get that feeling here. The writing is bloggish, the techniques are not well-explained, and the reader is left wondering what has been changed in a recipe and why. Also, the clunky graphic design bugs me ... it's just not a joy to page through the way that, say, Primal Cravings or Gather are.Also, on a more personal dietary note, I am on a real food diet that most closely resembles the Perfect Health Diet and this book was not a great fit for me. She spends quite a lot of energy taking out things like dairy and white rice that I find perfectly acceptable. There are quite a few recipes (vegetable noodles, cauliflower risotto, bechamel made with pureed sweet potatoes) that are not of much use to me. It also makes me wonder how much she silently altered.I wavered a lot between three and four stars. I openly admit that my criticisms are quite personal: This book was not advertised as a work of deep expertise, nor was it meant to be a Perfect Health Diet cookbook. It meets its stated goal very well, and it's a very decent Paleo recipe book. Moreover, I genuinely enjoyed it, especially at first.But I have to admit that I am just not inspired by this book, not the way that I'm inspired by Julia Child or even Primal Cravings, wanting to come back to it again and again. My husband and I agreed that I would make at least ten recipes from each cookbook before I buy more; this will be one where I meet my quota and move on. The truth is, I probably wouldn't buy this book again. Instead, I would buy an authentic Italian cookbook and make my own adaptations.As always, YMMV.

I really like how I feel on paleo. It totally makes it worth it. I must admit to myself, however, that I often feel that something is missing from many of the recipes that I make. They just don't satisfy my palette. Now don't get me wrong, they DO satisfy my stomach. I definitely am full after a paleo meal- I'm just not, well, emotionally satisfied. I think that it has something to do with the crossfit culture. I think a lot of people that are into paleo are really in to making everything Spartan- including the food. It's like, they don't NEED it to taste good. They are tough. They can flip tires and do handstand pushups and stuff like that. And I'm not putting them down. I'm seriously impressed. I WISH that I didn't need food to taste good (and I wish that I could do a handstand pushup. Or even a regular pushup). But I need my food to have some flavor. I was starting to get depressed- like I was going to have to pick either having insomnia and anxiety OR eating cardboard for the rest of my life.And that is where this book comes in. From what I garner- Sarah is a former chubby girl who totally got down and dirty with the SAD diet (bc let's be honest- it's delicious). She changed her ways, however, for the same reason I changed mine- it just makes me feel better to eat paleo. I sleep better, I workout better (though they are NOT crossfit workouts by any stretch of the imagination), and I am less moody. These recipes are amazing AND delicious. The cost of the book is worth the Bechamel recipe alone. And while Everyday Paleo and the Everyday Paleo cookbooks for families were great books- I actually think that she is getting to be an even better cook. So give this book a try. You won't be disappointed.

Loved reading the book and now working through a few recipes. I'm not strictly sticking to paleo and more trying to just eat clean (well, cleaner!). This book is a good read for anyone who is thinking of dabbling with paleo or cleaner eating and wants a book rather than just recipe cards.

An excellent book full of sound practical ideas. It blends in common sense with good up to date dietary advice. The book is presented in an excellent format with good attention paid to detail especially with the photographs . Well recommended. the book can also be used a s a 'travelogue.

I was really excited to order this book but once I received it I found it too basic. The recipes are okay but the author, Sarah Fragoso, concentrated too much on talking about her young family and lifestyle for my taste. I just wanted a good cookbook that would cover all the bases of a Paleo diet and a way to incorporate Italian food (my favorite) into my diet. Could have figured that out myself by just ordering an authentic Italian cookbook. Sent this back.

Very funny that the author gets so astonished and surprised that Italian cuisine isn't only pasta and pizza being one of the biggest and most comprehensive cuisine in the World. Probably that's the perception the average American has got. But apart that, very good book indeed, especially for Paleo diet fans.

I am a fan of French cuisine. And mediterranean of course. And this book is just like mediterranean cook book should be. LOVE IT!