Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-free Kids [Paperback]

Paleo Parents (Author), Elana Amsterdam (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: March 20, 2012

Don't be fooled by the ever-increasing volume of processed gluten-free goodies on your grocery store shelf! In a world of mass manufactured food products, getting back to basics and cooking real food with and for your children is the most important thing you can do for your family's health and well-being. It can be overwhelming when thinking about where to begin, but with tasty kid-approved recipes, lunch boxes and projects that will steer your child toward meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and healthy fats, Eat Like a Dinosaur will help you make this positive shift.

With an illustrated children's story describing the paleo diet, and colorful, mouthwatering photographs of recipes without grains, dairy, soy and refined sugar, this book is written for children. For those with food allergies, the top 8 allergens have been visually marked on each recipe for children to self-identify recipes that may contain eggs, nuts, fish, or shellfish.

Parents needn't panic! Details on the tools and products your family needs to get started have been provided, as well as an assortment of tips to help you along the way. Eat Like a Dinosaur will inspire your entire family to shop for new ingredients and get into the kitchen together. Let Matt and Stacy, the Paleo Parents, show you how to make the transformation in your family's life. With positivity, practicality and an appreciation for the fact that even the healthiest children sometimes want cupcakes and chicken nuggets—this book simply provides healthier ways to give kids the foods they love.

Editorial Reviews

Review

If you're the type of person that isn't fooled by the growing volume of processed gluten-free goodies on grocery store shelves, you will love the forthcoming book Eat Like a Dinosaur from the Paleo Parents. This book is full of family friendly, super healthy, and may I say, super delicious, recipes.
-Elana Amsterdam,  Elanaspantry.com

This book is a handbook for anyone thinking about transitioning their family to a more real food, paleo approach -- and it's ideal for parents dealing with kids' allergy issues.
-Melissa Joulwan, author of Well Fed and TheClothesMaketheGirl.com

It's the illustrated opening story, however - told by Cole - which truly moved me the most. It ends with the most innocent and sweet statement, "Now we enjoy going out and doing fun stuff instead of feeling sad inside our house." This is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
- Liz Wolf, CaveGirlEats.com

I cannot begin to express my excitement over The Paleo Parents new cookbook, Eat Like a Dinosaur, it is exactly what I've needed since embarking on my own grain-free lifestyle nearly a year ago.
-Heidi, Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom

It's time to expand your paleo library, family's menus, and healthy way of life!  It's time to "Eat Like a Dinosaur"!
-RobbWolf.com

About the Author

In the home of the Paleo Parents, overwhelming health successes have occurred since adopting a new diet and lifestyle. Matt and Stacy together lost over 200 pounds in a little over a year while their seasonal allergies, bouts of depression and digestive issues have disappeared. In their three young boys asthma, eczema, allergies, attention deficits and self-control issues have been solved. It is the authors' sincere wish that this book will have a positive impact on your family's health and well-being.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Victory Belt Publishing; Original edition (March 20, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1936608871
• ISBN-13: 978-1936608874
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (301 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diets & Weight Loss > Gluten Free
  • #19 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Low Fat
  • #31 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Allergies

More About the Author

Stacy Toth and Matthew McCarry are the bestselling authors of paleo cookbooks. They are the couple behind the popular blog PaleoParents.com. Well known for their award-winning recipes and detail their successes with the paleo diet. Featured in national publications, on radio shows and videos, their success story of drastically improving the health of the whole family and losing over 200 pounds as a couple is a testament to the power of the ancestral health lifestyle. You can also find them on their top rated podcast, The Paleo View.

Stacy and Matt authored Eat Like a Dinosaur, an allergen-friendly family cookbook. Part of their journey has led them to an appreciation for the environmental and health benefits of sustainably raised, pastured animals. Their second book, Beyond Bacon, is a love letter to pork and show you how to cook every delicious part.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Thought we were healthy" April 23, 2012

By Diane

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My family and I ate the right things or so we thought. Whole grains, brown rice, meats, veggies, fruits, and Friday night pizza of course! Even our close friends would come for a visit and say we always had healthy snacks. But something wasn't right, we were all tired, hungry, and had low energy. My four year old son ate breakfast and within a half hour was telling me he was still hungry. How could this be? He just downed 6-8 mini pancakes and a cup of skim milk.

Then I stared reading/researching healthy eating for families. Kids I especially wanted to read about their nutrition and it was at this time I found Paleo and Eat Like A Dinosaur. We quickly cleaned out our pantry, fridge, and freezer of ALL processed foods. I explained to my four year old what we were doing and we went to the market and ordered our copy of ELaD.

Today we are 3-4 months into Paleo and we have never felt better. We reference this book daily and my four year old is excited to pick-out recipes to help create. The children's story in this book was helpful in explaining our new lifestyle and we've even read it to some of our friends children.

Without a doubt you will love this book and live better after practicing these techniques to healthy living with your family.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great resource but watch the sugar! May 31, 2012

By S. Murphy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a wonderful resource for transitioning the entire family to a Paleo lifestyle. It describes useful tools that I almost deem essential now and what they term "funny ingredients". My 5 year old loved the dinosaur story and she was instantly motivated to eat that way. My 7 year old was terrified by it but he has a strong food aversion disorder. The thought of eating what he thought was gross just made him cry. He did pick the Anytime Cookies recipe so we made that one first. They did not turn out like the picture at all. As a very visual child, he was furious and wouldn't try them. I found them tasty but they certainly weren't like the picture. I plan to try it again and then see how I can adapt it to make it less runny. My favorite recipe in here is the waffles and I think over time my kids will like those as well.

There are over 100 reviews here that will tell you the wonderful parts with this book so I don't feel the need to repeat them all. Since this is a review, I feel the need to be honest with some criticism.

There were two parts of this book that I did not like. First, they recommend transitioning your kids quickly. I don't necessarily agree with this approach for kids age 4+ who are going through a picky stage already. Our child became malnourished from his refusal to eat a few months ago and as much as everyone tells you that they will eat what you feed them, that is not always the case. Although my son is an extreme exception, I know there are other kids out there like him. My other two children are transitioning nicely. I feel it is better to empower the child to make the right choice. Read Cole's story in the book and talk about how processed food, grains and legumes make your child ill. Given the choice and knowing the consequence (tummy ache) of a bad choice often makes transitioning less of a battle. Now if you already have good eaters, you can probably transition over night without a problem but I just wanted to point out that it is not the best approach for everyone.

My second issue with this book is that this is a Paleo family and although the book is not exclusively a Paleo only book, I expected all the recipes to be Paleo. Sugar is not Paleo at all. I was shocked to see how many of these recipes had sugar, some even up to a cup. Sugar will make you crave more sugar and leads to a host of learning problems for children. There are many ways to sweeten treats without sugar. Even coconut palm sugar is a much better option than granulated sugar. Sugar no longer exists in our home and I would hope that this Paleo family will eventually make that step in their diet.

Criticism aside, this family is truly amazing in their transformation. They talk about more than just food in this book. Going Paleo is a lifestyle change, not just a diet change. I highly recommend adding this book to your library of Paleo books but avoid the recipes with sugar.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Delicious Ways to Get the Family On Board March 29, 2012

By Melissa 'Melicious' Joulwan

Format:Paperback

It can be very challenging to get my adult self to follow the paleo guidelines sometimes -- and I'm experienced enough in life to know that if I take care of my body everything else is much easier to manage. But kids! Kids don't have that life experience to guide them; they rely on their parents for that. So I'm mightily impressed by families who make the transition to paleo and get their kids involved in food decisions.

Eat Like a Dinosaur is the newest addition to the growing collection of paleo cookbooks and how-to guides, and it was clearly made with love. The Paleo Parents (be sure to visit their impressive and helpful blog) have transformed themselves. Yes, they lost a lot of weight (200 pounds) following the paleo diet, but they've also created a new lifestyle for themselves that goes far beyond weight loss to really living. As they say in the (not at all) "Boring Chapter for Parents," they wrote their book for "ordinary families who want to start cooking and eating together with their children in a healthful way."

This book is a handbook for anyone thinking about transitioning their family to a more real food, paleo approach -- and it's ideal for parents dealing with kids' allergy issues. For your consideration...

5 Cool Things About Eat Like A Dinosaur

1. It's more than a collection of recipes.
If you're looking for paleo-compliant recipes and replacements for non-paleo favorites, Eat Like a Dinosaur has got you covered. With more than 100 recipes, there are plenty of ideas to make sure no one complains that eating healthy is boring. But Eat Like a Dinosaur goes beyond that to include helpful tips on two really big challenges: how to transition the family and how to pack kid-pleasing paleo lunches. There's also a colorfully illustrated children's story about eating like a dinosaur and my favorite part: a collection of paleo projects that would be fun for kids of any age. Field trip to a farm, anyone?

2. Your kids will love it.
From the friendly illustrations to the bright colors and playful design, this book will draw your kids in. It's accessible, friendly, and engaging -- and does an admirable job of incorporating all the stuff grownups need to know in a kid-friendly package so the little ones can read right along with you. There's a pterodactyl (for the kids) and a notes field (for the grownsup) on just about every page.

3. It's coded for safety.
Eat Like a Dinosaur goes beyond the generally-accepted paleo framework to help parents battling childhood allergies. Each recipe is accompanied by a color-coded allergen chart to alert parents to potentially problematic ingredients so kids can quickly identify the best recipes for them.

4. Tons of photos.
Every recipe is accompanied by a color photo, so kids and parents can flip through and pick the recipes that tickle their tastebuds -- and the recipe instructions helpfully include tips for where little hands can help in the kitchen. I love that aspect of the book because the kitchen is where my best family memories originate. Teaching kids how to cook and to appreciate real food is one of the best gifts they can receive.

5. Recipes for every occasion.
Each recipe begins with a well-crafted headnote -- my favorite part of good cookbooks -- and I enjoyed the Paleo Parents stories quite a bit. When you're reading to start rattling pots and pains, the 100+ recipes have got you covered: main dishes (crispy chicken nuggets, kebabs, unusually delicious salads), sides (ratatouille, zucchini latkes), dips and sauces (mole, black olive tapenade, pineapple sauce) , and a lovely selection of desserts for special occasions. I am madly tempted by the Samoa Cake Balls, but decided to make Halupki Casserole instead. It did not disappoint! It delivers all of the flavor of the original, without the fussiness of prepping individual cabbage rolls. Plus, I'm a sucker for any recipe that replaces rice with riced cauliflower. The texture was amazing! Exactly like a halupki.