The Whole30 Cookbook: 150 Delicious and Totally Compliant Recipes to Help You Succeed with the Whole30 and Beyond Hardcover – December 6, 2016

I was very excited to get this book but am putting this in the "just ok" category. That said, I'm normally a huge Whole 30 fan and use the recipes from the Whole30: 30 Day Guide... all the time. Something that I appreciated from the 30 Day Guide was the simplicity of the recipes, most were kid friendly and included lots of one pot meals that work for busy people. That is not the case with the new recipe book.

Some points I wish were different:
1) Many of the recipes are complicated, like REALLY complicated. Some requiring as many as 20 ingredients to complete. Others require uncommon ingredients, which will likely not be reused, especially if there isn't another recipe in the book asking for it. Something I appreciated in the 30 Day Guide was that ingredients were frequently used in more than one recipe so they were worth the investment.

2) There is a big step up in the use of tree nuts in the cookbook. I never really got why tree nuts would be included in an anti-inflammatory diet when they are one of the more common allergens. Aside from that, I'm super allergic to tree nuts (need an epi-pen) so this was, personally, lame for me. Nuts were easy to avoid in 30 Day Guide but many more recipes include them in the cookbook.

3) A lot of the recipes are what some would consider "exotic" and may need to be sold to kids. Sure, not everyone buying the book has kids but a lot of us do so let's keep it simple. I appreciate some exotic dishes (especially Indian and African foods) here and there and I encourage my kids to try variety but... really... I need more simple recipes that won't meet opposition. Simple, uncomplicated foods without a tons of strong spices. Complicated dishes are appreciated in moderation in cookbooks, not nearly every recipe.

All this said, I still think it's worth buying if you are looking for more variety in your Whole 30 meals. I think the least complicated section is breakfast and lots of them look delicious. However, anticipate that this cookbook may surprise some people who were used to the recipes and format from the 30 Day Guide. This one is definitely more work. I would love to see one like the 30 Day Guide, with more one pot meals, "make it a meal" options, etc...

I LOVE Whole30. I preach it and I live it. The reason I am only posting 3 stars is because I am really disappointed in this cookbook, which I anticipated for months. I love crockpot meals and soups, and this didn't hardly have anything like that. Most of these meals did not look very appetizing. I don't want to have to purchase odd ingredients for that 1 meal and you'll be doing that with every one of these recipes. I hope they come out with another cookbook that focuses more on altering the more common meals that we are comfortable with.

This book was a surprise hit for me! I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much, and only bought it because I was actually doing a Whole30 in January 2017 (it went great! I recommend it—I assume you’re thinking about it if you’re reading this review). We’ve been vegetarian for about 7 years, so eating and cooking so much meat, well, let’s just say I needed some help. The first thing I was impressed with? The recipes are very creative! They are easy to follow, don’t take a lot of time (I have a baby and a toddler and work from home), I particularly loved the slow-cooker recipes that make extra (beef roast, etc) that is then used for different recipes later in the week. Genius!

Melissa makes liberal use of spices, and as a spice blender myself Gneiss Spice Everything Spice Kit: 24 Magnetic Jars Filled with Standard Organic Spices / Hanging Magnetic Spice Rack (Large Jars, Silver Lids), nothing could make me happier. And when I say liberal…I mean, this book uses 50 different spices, herbs and seasonings. Some other reviewers stated the recipes call for hard to find ingredients. I disagree; besides the occasional call for capers or fennel bulb, most everything can be found at your local store. Spices on the other hand, there are a few that you might need to source online if you don’t have a gourmet foods market near you. If you were to make all the recipes in the Whole30 Cookbook, you’d need:

• allspice (ground)
• ancho chili
• arrowroot
• basil
• bay leaves
• Cajun*
• caraway
• cayenne
• cinnamon (ground)
• chia seeds
• chili (seasoning blend)*
• chipotle
• cloves (ground)
• coriander (ground)
• coriander (seeds)
• cream of tartar
• cumin (ground)
• cumin (seeds)
• curry (powder)
• dill
• dukkah*
• fennel (seeds)
• garam masala*
• garlic (granules)
• garlic salt
• ginger (ground)
• harissa
• herbes de provence
• italian seasoning*
• jerk (seasoning / no sugar)*
• lemon peel (ground)
• mustard (ground)
• nutmeg (ground)
• nutritional yeast
• onion (granules)
• oregano
• paprika (sweet)
• paprika (smoked)
• pepper (ground black)
• peppercorns (whole black)
• parsley
• ras el hanout*
• red pepper flakes
• rosemary
• sage
• sesame seeds
• tarragon
• thyme
• turmeric
• sea salt (coarse)

*Some of the seasonings (cajun, chili seasoning, dukkah, garam masala, Italian, jerk, ras el hanout,) you can blend yourself if you already own the other spices on the list.

Of these 50 spices, the essential, most often used ones are coarse sea salt, cracked pepper, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, cayenne, onion granules, garlic granules and ground cumin. However, you better have ras el hanout (or the spices to blend it) because it was hands-down the best chicken I’ve ever had (Moroccan Chicken with Carrot-Pistachio Slaw, page 143). Check out the photos we posted with our review, and don't skip making the accompanying Carrot Slaw!

The other highlight recipes for me: Shakshuka (pg. 25), Beef and Sweet Potato Chili (pg. 33)—we ate that all week for lunch, Slow-Cooker Italian Beef Roast (pg 43)—use later for other meals like Poached Eggs with Salsa Verde (pg. 44), Mediterranean Bison Burger (pg. 53), Slow-Cooked Moroccan Spices Shredded Beef (pg. 61), Thai Beef Curry with Green Beans (pg. 77), Pork Posole with Tostones (pg. 87), Chipotle BBQ Chicken Thighs (pg. 128), Grilled Jamaican Jerk Salmon (pg. 192), Mexican Salmon Cakes (pg 198), Dukkah-Crusted Brussel Sprouts (pg. 224).

The first thing you should make from this book? Red Curry Roasted Cauliflower (pg. 242). We've made it FIVE TIMES since we got the book. Super easy and so delicious. If you follow us @gneissspice on instagram, you’ll see dozens of posts of the meals I made from this book. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are debating a Whole30. Nothing is worse than trying to stick to the strict rules, and then have no idea what to eat for dinner. My only complaint about the book would be no mention of portion sizes. I had to head over to their website to find suggestions (they have a cool graphic for this, not sure why they didn’t include it in the book).

I absolutely love this cookbook. When I first started Whole30 I felt really overwhelmed. Having the cookbook helped me stay motived as I kept pictures of my dishes, and started to experiment more on my own. Also, seeing the book on the kitchen counter held me accountable each day. Thinking back, I don't think this book is a necessity though when doing the Whole30. Between google, Facebook, Pinterest etc there are so many ways to find delicious and creative Whole30 recipes as well. (Which I also kept researching). The majority of the recipes are meat based, I would not recommend this book for vegans/vegetarians. I was a little disappointed with the breakfast recipes. (can't look at those eggs anymore!). Again, the internet will be your best friend for that. My favorite part of this book are the many dressings provided. Since commercial dressings/sauces are loaded in sugar it was so nice to be able to make my own Ranch, Caesar, etc. dressing (most of them have raw eggs in them).

Overall, I am very happy to have the book, I still use it all the time and it was definitely worth every penny, but with all the information online I can see how I didn't actually needed to buy it.

Some great recipes but many do require unusual ingredients.