I have reviewed quite a few gluten free books geared towards children in the the past few years and I have to say that Eat Like a Dinosaur is truly one of my favorites. This book is written by Stacy Toth and Matthew McCarry, founders and authors of the website: Paleo Parents. The heart of these two parents is beautifully woven throughout this cookbook. I love the overall tone, which is loving, happy, and full of giggles! You can tell through the pictures and gentle words that Stacy and Matthew's children are healthy, joyful, and thriving. The recipes are written in such a unique and genuine way. They specifically show which steps children can take part in and help with. I love the explanations of each recipe and why this family loves them. I love the way the book is divided clearly and easily into main dishes, vegetables, treats, etc.
There are just so many wonderful things about this book! I love the introductory illustrated story for children about how the kids and their parents decided to follow a healthier diet. The children slowly learned to love the new foods and they felt better about themselves and healed their bodies. Following the story, there is collection of over 100 recipes that both parents and children will love. All of the recipes are easy enough for beginner cooks and include tips and hints on how to make the process easier, what you can do or prepare ahead of time, etc...
My husband and I have tried quite a few recipes from this cookbook over the last two weeks. I've made the Ratatouille twice (yum!! and wow it smells amazing!), "Eggs in a basket" (sausage and egg cups, YUM!), and one night this week we made the Fool's Gold chicken nuggets:
Even Michael helped! It was so much fun to cook these together!
We loved the seasonings in the almond flour coating and it was a really delicious and fast way to cook chicken! I think we're going to make a big batch of the dry coating as a "paleo" shake-and-bake!
Since last February I've learned a lot about my body. I'm better at understanding what foods make my body feel well and what foods do not. I already knew about gluten, dairy, soy, corn, shrimp, and a few other odds and ends... But one thing I finally came to realize is that my body absolutely doesn't digest beans very well. Yet, I really love vegetables. It was frustrating for me because it's a common teaching that beans are really healthy. So I would always TRY to eat them, even though I always had painful tummy issues afterwards.
While beans in general truly are healthy for many people, they simply do not work for my body. This was the biggest reason that following a "paleo" type diet would be beneficial for me. Yet, it also made me feel like a whole category of my diet was now off limits. But Eat Like a Dinosaur provides so many different types of veggie-filled, yet bean-free options, such as Bunny Soup and Ratatouille (which was absolutely delicious and made enough for an army), Carrot Rounds, Kale Chips, Mock-a-Mole... I absolutely don't feel deprived! I'd really love to just cook my way through this whole comforting cookbook.
Would you like a chance to do that too? I am going to giveaway a brand-new copy of this book as soon as it's released on March 20th. I'm personally buying this copy to send to you myself because I'm such a huge fan of it!
This contest has now ended!
Congratulations to Kathysyear, comment #19:
I've made the journey from gluten free to primal over the last 2 years. Now I'd like to bring my family along. Would love some kid friendly recipes for my (almost) 4 year old daughter.
- leave a comment on this post (not on facebook, not on twitter) and tell me ways you've tried (or WANT to try) to incorporate healthier whole foods into your diet.
- share this giveaway on facebook, and leave an additional comment here on the post letting me know you did.
- share this giveaway on twitter, and leave an additional comment here on the post letting me know you did.
- "Like" Paleo Parents on facebook and leave an additional comment here on the post letting me know you did.
- "Like" Gingerlemongirl.com on facebook and leave an additional comment here on the post letting me know you did.
I'm so excited to giveaway a copy of this book. It's truly one of the best cookbooks I've read in years and it makes me excited to cook. I hope it will encourage a spark of creativity in your own kitchen as well!
Make sure to stay tuned and continue reading the {Paleo Books 101} series! I will have a "reader's choice" giveaway with two winners to choose the books of their choice from this series! So you not only a chance today to win this copy of Eat Like a Dinosaur, but another chance next week!
GLG Disclosure: Victory Belt Publishing provided me with with a copy of this book for review, if I chose to do so. This is not a sponsored post and I did not receive compensation. The opinions in this post are completely my own.
