Customer Reviews

The Primal Blueprint Cookbook: Primal, Low Carb, Paleo, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free (Primal Blueprint Series)

5 star:		(127)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

All my readings and life experience (previously working for five years in a natural foods co-op) have now finally converged on the Primal diet lifestyle as the common sense approach to nutrition (and, for me, backed up by the well-researched book, Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes).

I've bought a lot of cookbooks on my journey to a more healthy diet. And some of those cookbooks seem to be comprised of recipes that were conceived purely on theory and not at all on taste (cough..Atkins..cough).

I knocked out 5 of the recipes in the Primal Blueprint cookbook in a week and a half, and every single one of them tasted FANTASTIC. Even my wife and two children, whom I'm slowly trying to wean from their highly-refined carbo-centric tendencies, raved about the recipes I cooked (e.g. Moroccan chicken, Transylvanian stockpot, Coconut ice cream, zucchini frittata...) These are not people who like the taste of real vegetables. My wife said, and I quote, "That cookbook is best money we've ever spent. I can't believe how good this tastes."

Clearly, the recipes were tested and refined by an actual person who knows the taste of good food. Thank you, Jennifer Meier.

Also, I have a son who is Type 1 diabetic. We noticed that the meals I cooked from this book had a very low effect on his post-meal blood sugar. No huge post-meal spike and less insulin required at mealtime. That in itself was worth the price of admission. Cookbooks like this show him that he can eat delicious meals that do not adversely affect his blood glucose. He will need this knowledge to cope with his diabetes when he ventures out on his own (he's 10 right now).

To me, a five-star rating indicates a perfect book (or movie, or whatever), so I'm giving it 4 stars, a very high rating to me, for the following reasons:
- It does not have an index referencing the ingredients. I often cook by the "what-have-I-got-in-the-refridgerator" method; designing a week's worth of meals (and our food shopping) around that. With this book, I can't look up all the recipes that have zucchini in them. So put an index in it already.
- I do have the Primal Blueprint book also, but what if I'm someone who doesn't have that and just wants the cookbook? This cookbook doesn't contain a brief overview of the theory behind the recipes it contains; it just jumps right in to the recipes. A Primal Blueprint primer at the beginning of the cookbook would round it out nicely.
- Final (unfair) criticism: not enough recipes! You do get your money's worth, but I want Volume II already! (I'm not one to browse the internet or blogs for recipes; I like cookBOOKs.

Highly recommended cookbook as it contains excellent tasting, easy, nutritious recipes!

Been a fan of Mark's Daily Apple website for a couple of months; I like the reader-shared recipes there, so hoped this cookbook would be more of the same.
Came away with mixed feelings....while there ARE some new things I had never thought to try (new spice uses, flavor combos, etc.), a lot of it echoes common sense for anyone who is familiar with basic cooking techniques and has been eating this way for any amount of time. This is a great intro for anyone afraid to make the leap, for whatever reason, into the Primal world in terms of diet (and I hesitate to use that term, because it's more of a lifestyle than a "diet") and fears that it would consist of bland meat & raw veggies. There are some pretty sophisticated (but not complicated to duplicate) flavor combos here, and you'll do better if you live in a area with at least access to a
metropolitan grocery choice (wheat-free tamari, unsweetened coconut milk, dried seaweed) but much of the ingredients ARE readily available.
I've lost over 70#s by limiting my diet to the choices advocated in this book (didn't realize it was a "diet" at the time), have tons of energy and advocate the primal
lifestyle (mainly diet, but I like the walk a lot, lift heavy objects-low aerobic/interval training- physical mission aspects as well).
Vast improvement over the other "low-carb" cookbook choices out there ( I would rather NOT fill my diet with unpronouncible ingredients, thank you!) but not "OMG-I can't WAIT to try this recipe!" excitement.

I've been following a Primal Diet since 2/2010 and was very excited to get this cookbook. For once, here's a cookbook that fulfills all of my diet choices without me having to adjust the recipes to fit what I eat. What I've tried from this book has been good-I'm a huge fan of the pumpkin nut muffins and LOVE the Enchiladas recipe (FYI-steep learning curve to making the egg-white tortillas, but great once you do!)
Here are my issues:
1. Mark Sisson has been working on this cookbook for a long time and asked people on his blog to contribute recipes. A lot of those recipes that ended up on the blog (and are AMAZING) didn't make it into the cookbook. While this means that there are different recipes in the book, I really wanted to have some of those other recipes more easily on hand.
2. There are a TON of color pictures in this cookbook. While I find pictures of how something should look helpful, giving me a picture of all the ingredients grouped together on a plate is just a waste of space! I didn't pay for pictures, I paid to get great recipes.
3. They need a better editor! The Enchilada recipe that I love so much doesn't give a temp for the oven--they only tell you to cover the dish with foil and bake it for 20 min. I've had to play around to figure out what works to get the dish done in 20min (it isn't 350). You might think I'm being nit-picky, but this isn't the only recipe that's missing information.
The gist of this is, the recipes that I've made are good, I just wish there were more of them and that they had complete cooking information. It's a great place to start if you're new to this diet. Also go to Mark's website: [...] for recipes as well.

I've been long awaiting a cookbook like this, and it lived up to it's expectations.

I've made the Buffalo Chili, the Peach Chicken Salad, the Jambalaya, the Roast Beef and the Grok Rocks. All of which have been delicious.

The book has some really interesting ways to work around foods you are used to eating. I've been really impressed with some of the ideas such as grated Cauliflower as an alternative to rice. Worked great in my Jambalaya.

On the down side, the book is a little too short, but worth the money in my opinion. Would buy again.

A bit over 3 months ago I was diagnosed with diabetes and my doctor recommended The Primal Blueprint Cookbook as well as the Primal Blueprint. I bought both books on Amazon and after 3 months of eating these recipes and following the Primal dietary guides, I am no longer diabetic.
The recipes are delicious and it will be no problem to continue to eat this way because my husband and I both enjoy the food.
I lost 34 pounds in two and a half months and my husband lost 36. We continue to lose now, but at a slower rate.
Just a note -- diabetes is rampant in our country now and like myself, most people know little about it until they get it. Let me tell you, there is pain involved, so for your family and for yourself, please switch to the Primal lifestyle. You will be thinner, stronger, healthier, non-diabetic, and I am sure you will live much longer.

A great cookbook needs tasty, usable recipes with photographs of the dishes, and a practical layout. This cookbook is almost perfect.

Mark Sisson includes three color photograph of each dish: one of the assembled ingredients, one of the finished dish, and one "in progress" pic. Some meals that I would not think of making from the title, I have tried based on how delicious the finished dish looks. The Transylvanian Stockpot dish, for example, is the best stew I've ever had despite the unfortunate name (it was a family name passed down for generations and they perserved that. The Five Spice Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry is another example. I thought 'Oh right another beef and broccoli dish" but the spices used rendered it absolutely amazing.

Each meal category is well-represented. Usually breakfast gets a paltry selection of dishes or they are the same old breakfast dishes we always see - high in carbs and low in nutrition. We made the Tomatoes Stuffed with Ground Bison and Eggs and some of my kids were hesitant to taste it but we found we ought to have doubled the recipe.

So as far as the food and presentation of the dishes goes, this is the best cookbook I've seen.

Two things are lacking: an index and a notation on the recipes themselves indicating how long each dish takes to prepare. Of course I can skim the recipe and get that information but if it were noted at the top of the ingredients list like many recipes have it, it would be an improvement. Also I would lay out the ingredients list with all spices together, then onions and items to chop, etc., so it's easy to see and do the prep work at once. This is minor, but no good editor would allow the book to get to publication without an index and I'm wondering what happened there.

Still it's my default cookbook and never disappoints.

A surgeon friend shared the cookbook with me when I was trying to decide on starting a new way of eating to loose weight. The first recipe I looked at was the grilled steak, that was all it took. I decided I could do it, giving up pasta, bread, grain, rice and legumes was easy. I have loost 22 pounds in 6 weeks, I am not hungry, I have more energy and I am sleeping better. I used to be sleepy shortly after eating and have to take a nap everyday after work, not any more. Eating out is easy also no problems at all. I would recommend this book who wants a healthier way to eat and live better.

Worth the cost for the Broccoli & Bacon Salad alone. Delicious.

Really though, this book exceeded my expectations. Mark's website can get a little involved with the recipes sometimes, assuming that we're all gourmet chefs with plenty of time on our hands. These recipes don't really overwhelm you like that, and they're all tremendously adaptable. Well done!

I ordered this cookbook at the recommendation of my Crossfit coaches at Crossfit Central who are all in AMAZING shape. The recipes are delicious and simple to make and help to keep me in line with my Paleo/Primal style eating. My husband who is not technically "Primal" has loved every single recipe I have made from this book. I highly recommend it!

I have been a fitness/nutrition enthusiast for years, and I always followed complex bodybuilding diets in the past. After I started reading Mark's Daily Apple (free online blog), I became fascinated with the principles of the Primal Blueprint. I've followed low-carb diets with great success in the past (they are superior), but I've never considered making it a lifestyle. The Primal Blueprint Cookbook opens up an unbelievable amount of tasty recipes that are simple to cook and make eating healthy enjoyable. I cannot recommend the Primal Blueprint and the cookbook highly enough! Do yourself a favor and grab a copy. If you are curious about the Primal Blueprint, check out the blog first. Mark post plenty of free recipes that will leave you wanting more!