Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well and Feel Great

This cookbook is stunning. Beautiful pictures and inspiring recipes that make you want to cook. And eat! The real test of any cookbook though is not how it looks but how the food tastes. The recipes I've made so far have all (except for one) been amazing. Being from HI finding a nice selection of Asian inspired recipes was a pleasant surprise. There are a lot of recipes for treats and baked goods, many more than I was expecting, but the main and side dishes all look so amazing and delicious the fact that half the book is taken up with recipes I will rarely make doesn't bother me. I eat a lower carb Paleo so honey and maple syrup are almost always out. I've had good luck substituting with non Paleo sweeteners like xylitol, erythritol, or stevia with coconut milk yogurt added to replace lost moisture on the rare occasions I make treats. Hopefully these recipes will work too. (I have no qualms about these particular sweeteners despite their non-paleo status. There is no convincing evidence they are harmful and my blood sugar doesn't care if honey and maple syrup are paleo or not. I do use honey judiciously in recipes I feel call for it.) *Sesame Orange Slow Cooker Chicken: Delicious and so simple to throw together. I did have to reduce the sauce for double the time stated but that is no biggie to me. I used a local raw wildflower honey but halved the amount called for. It came out just fine. *Coconut Lime Cauliflower "Rice": This side dish is A-Mazing!!! It is flavorful yet more neutral that I expected and so will go well with almost anything. I actually added a bit more lime than called for. And it's even better the next day. This is going to make me and mine eat a lot more cauliflower. It's really just a handful of ingredients put together in a "why didn't I think of that" way. Genius! *Cashew "Cheese": Very basic recipe that subs nicely for ricotta type cheeses. I had to add an extra tablespoon of water to keep it fluffy. And the recipe calls for one cup but 2 would have worked better in my 48oz Vitamix. *Green Papaya Salad: Sooo good. I've made it with green papaya and a jicama/zucchini combo. Both are delicious but I think I actually prefer the latter. *Mango Slaw: Yum! Toss on some grilled shrimp for a fast easy meal. *Ahi Mango Stack: OK so I didn't stack them. And I used thin sliced jicama in place of the sweet potato chips. This is still a new favorite that I will make as often as I can get my hands on super high quality Ahi. *Rosemary Raisin Crackers: I've never made a cracker before. This recipe was easy, fast, and delicious. I topped with cashew cheese and prosciutto. Scrumptious! There's also a similar recipe using almond pulp leftover from making almond milk on the author's blog. I made both at the same time. The pulp recipe tastes a little more "whole grainy" whereas this one is lighter and more refined tasting. Both are excellent. *Chorizo Quiche: The picture looked so pretty that I just had to make it. Loved it!! *Thai Iced Tea: Blew me away! So delicious! I subbed cinnamon for the star anise as I don't do any sort of licorice flavor. This is a nice alternative to my afternoon iced coffee with coconut milk. I like that it makes a tea concentrate and so subsequent glasses are made in a snap. *Coconut Milk Yogurt: I've been making coconut milk yogurt for a while now with an almost identical recipe I found on the web somewhere. I guess there really isn't a ton of ways to make fermented coconut milk thickened with gelatin and coconut milk yogurt is so amazing it deserved a place in this book. I always have a container in the fridge. *Sandwich Bread: I don't usually do Paleo Breads. This was a really delicious treat. It tastes very whole grainy with a slight hint of honey. I splurged on actual honey in this recipe and am glad I did. My non-Paleo boyfriend and brother devoured most of the loaf. I had to hide a few pieces for myself. *Chicken Club Wraps: Simple and amazing. Almost veering into non-recipe recipe territory but it was so good and another "why didn't I think of that" dish so I don't mind. Now for the nitpick. I wasn't crazy about the mint chip ice cream recipe. To be fair mint chip has been my absolute favorite ice cream flavor since childhood so I am probably very picky. It's not that this recipe wasn't good it's just that it came out tasting like a mint tea chocolate chip sorbet more than ice cream. The main reason for this, IMO, was that the mint leaves needed to steep longer and most should have been discarded rather than blended up in the ice cream mix. This would have given a nice mint flavor but less of an herbal tea note. I subbed xylitol for the honey and thought it tasted too sweet. That was probably my error though. Additionally I am just not a fan of almond milk and the flavor came through loud and clear here. I love almonds, almond flour, almond butter, even the almond pulp leftover from making the milk. Just not the almond milk itself. Next time I will use cashew or macadamia nut milk. One other nitpick is that macadamia nut oil, while delicious and amazing, is not a great choice for mayo. It's just too strong tasting in a similar way that while extra virgin olive oil is great for certain applications it makes terrible mayo. Mint Chip recipe notwithstanding this cookbook has quickly shot up to one of my top five favorites. It just makes me want to cook. And I love looking at the beautiful pictures. The recipes I have made have been winners. On the short list to make in the future are the Curried Short Ribs, Artichoke Chicken, Lemon Roasted Chicken, Chocolate Cream Pie, Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Meringue Icing, and the Waffles. Really every single recipe looks amazing. I will be working my way through this book for a long time! Update: I've made a few more dishes from this book so wanted to update. Curried Short Ribs: Nothing short of amazing. Hands down my favorite recipe for my favorite cut of beef. Ever. Strangely they don't taste like much like curry but have an amazing rich beefy umami depth that knocked my socks off. This recipe is probably now my favorite from the entire book. I used 6 pounds of short ribs and the same amount of sauce and it was just fine. Vanilla Frosting: Yum!! Super easy and healthful frosting recipe. Chocolate Cream Pie: This was a hit when I had company a few weeks ago. Two of my guest were literally eating the crumbs from the pan. I subbed erythritol/stevia in the crust and erythritol/stevia + coconut milk yogurt in the filling and it came out perfectly. Curried Chicken Salad: I used a premade curry powder and the 2T called for turned out to be too much. I cut it with coconut milk yogurt though (@1/3C) and it was just fine. I also doubled the grapes. 1/2C is too stingy for 2 lbs of chicken. Was really good though. Artichoke Chicken: Wow!! Soo good. I was tempted to use store bought marinated artichokes but went ahead and made the recipe from the book for them. They were amazing and seeing as how they are a huge flavor component of this dish it, of course, came out amazing as well. I am still thrilled with this cookbook, still eating tons of the mango slaw and green papaya salad. It seems every recipe I make just makes me like this book more!

We've been on a modified paleo diet for a year-and-a-half, and have been really happy with the results. While we no longer crave carbs the way we did when we started ("A pretzel! a pretzel! My kingdom for a pretzel!") there are some comfort foods that we miss as, well, other-food conveyances. I really do love mashed cauliflower under gravy as much as I did mashed potatoes. But there's nothing like a BLT sandwich; you need something bread-like for that. And I hadn't realized how much I'd missed some kind of morning porridge until we made her banana porridge (with soaked cashews, almonds, and pecans, along with banana, coconut milk, and cinnamon). It's easy to recommend this cookbook just for the baking options, starting with her truly yummy sandwich bread. (It uses eggs, cashew butter, honey, cider vinegar, almond milk, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. And it taste like pretty darned good baking-powder bread. It's the return of a BLT sandwich for lunch!) However, Danielle Walker's cookbook fills in several holes in my getting-rather-extensive paleo cookbook library. In particular, I've never found a paleo muffin or biscuit recipe that really scratched the itch before. The spiced pumpkin muffins are seriously good, too. I'd never have to temptation to explain-or-apologize to guests; I'd only have to keep them from eating everything at one sitting. Another comfort food that's back on our menu: clam chowder. The creaminess comes from cashews. (Even if you don't buy this cookbook, you should know this: Soak cashews for a few hours or overnight, then blend thoroughly. It stands in admirably for any recipe that calls for roux to thicken.) Instead of potatoes, she uses celery root, which I think works better than potatoes ever did. Walker comes across like the Giada De Laurentiis of Paleo, which is to say her genuine friendliness comes across, and she's the sort of girl-next-door pretty that most of us aspire to. Every recipe has a photograph (I know that matters to some people). Most are surprisingly easy to make, so they're suitable for weeknight cooking. My husband thinks this would be a great first-paleo-cookbook. I disagree only slightly; for a first paleo cookbook I'd still learn towards Dana Carpender's 500 Paleo Recipes because, well, _500_. Here, the entree section is comparatively small. (Good, but small: the 28 "main event" recipes include chicken cobb salad; sausage and butternut squash stuffed tomatoes; slow cooker pot roast; prawn and pumpkin yellow curry. You won't starve.) Against All Grain excels for the sweets-and-baking, making it appealing to those of us wanting something delicious for dessert: banana bread, rosemary breadsticks (using almond flour), peach-streusel coffee cake (is it peach season yet? huh huh?).

Let me start by saying that I am not a strict Paleo follower. All I wanted to do was find some ways to get away from all the processed stuff (mainly GF goodies) my family eats. We're organic, gluten-free people who sometimes eat beans and yogurt and we were stuck in the gluten-free cracker/pasta/treat rut. I'm not here to debate whether or not her book is patently Paleo, as I've seen in so many other Paleo book/product reviews. I'm just here to tell you my experience with her recipes. That being said, we have enjoyed nearly every recipe I've tried so far (one exception - see below). I will be honest and tell you that I was not thrilled at the prospect of having to use my mixer and food processor so much...but trust me. It's worth the cleanup! Ms. Walker's chocolate chip cookies are the BEES KNEES (and if you're in the mood to cheat, try Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips - something I had to do with non-Paleo, sugar-eating guests coming over). The orange cranberry muffins are really fantastic and NOT overly egg-y the way some other paleo muffins are. We've made these multiple times using cranberries, blueberries and raspberries - all with great results. We also liked her zucchini bread, loved her bread sticks and we're now hooked on "zoodles" (zucchini noodles). Actually, we prefer using zucchini noodles over the spaghetti squash "noodles" in her Squash Boats with Mini Meatballs recipe. :-) I initially bought this book for her grain-free bread & cake recipes; however, I found that her other recipes are really quite fantastic. Just once in your life, try Granny Sarella's Spaghetti Sauce. My friend (who is the Paleo version of Superwoman) raved about it; however, I balked. I mean, who ever heard of *pork chops* being thrown into a vat of spaghetti sauce? It's good. Trust me. So is the cauliflower rice. That is now my go-to staple for many meals, as it's super easy and quite tasty (a word of advice: don't try grating your cauliflower on a grater - pull out the food processor for a faster, much less messy finished product). Some of the recipes are things I've been cooking forever, like grilled zucchini, braised chicken and cobb salad. One recipe didn't work at all for me (the pastry crust - it was just oily and weird). Could've been my fault, so I won't knock a star off for that. However, the bulk of her recipes are new, inventive and SO GOOD.

I had picked up this book at the library on a whim because the title stuck out in my mind as one that friends had mentioned frequently in Facebook posts, so I wanted to know what the hype was about. At the time, I 100% thought it was a fad cookbook. Cutting out grain?! Yeah right. Silly followers. However, being stuck in a dinner rut for sometime and absolutely dreading making dinner each night, I figured why not make something from this new book. I was also tired of being tired and just not feeling right, of not having the energy I wanted, so I thought, why not try this change? First night, I made the sole and spinach (using tilapia because it's what I had on hand). Easy enough. During that dinner, something changed. Something clicked. It was simple. It was so flavorful. It was EASY. And it was so satisfying! A dinner without wheat?! Could I really be satisfied with only veg and protein? Apparently, YES! Each night I made another recipe. And each night I loved the book more and more. It's been about 2 months since I've had the book, and I think each night's dinner has been from this book, plus a few desserts. I am a believer! I thought that I was eating very healthy before. But this book made me rethink things. It re-framed what I think healthy eating is. This is the food I've been wanting to eat my whole life but I just couldn't put my finger on what it was I wanted! It's like, this girl gets me! I was always big on veg/fruit/fat, but didn't eat nearly as much protein as I do now, and I ate a fine amount of grain and drank a decent amount of cow's milk that was really making me feel yucky and sluggish. I look forward to making dinner now!! There are so many things I love about this book, this woman, and the way she cooks. First, she embraces fat. Good fat! Fat satiates. Love that. Second, she doesn't use xanthan gum, stevia, and other unnatural weird things that I don't like. She uses whole, healthy, satisfying ingredients. There are a lot of ingredients that were new to me, like coconut flour, almond flour, coconut sugar, coconut aminos. But once I tried them, I was hooked. Third, this book is about reclaiming her/your health. I love that she created the recipes as a way to improve her health. It's not about weight loss. I LOVE that. Fourth, the photos are amazing. I was thumbing through some other cookbooks at the library and passing on each one because honestly, what's a cookbook without photos?! These photos draw you in. Bright, colorful, and beautiful. They allow you to see and practically taste what the final product will look like. Fifth, she's awesome. She makes it so easy. I mean literally, the recipes are easy. But she also gives insight into what types of ingredients and gadgets to buy, and even put in meal planning (2 meal planning worksheets. You know, so you can cut out one and keep the other in the book. Because she's awesome like that.). Sixth, she has DESSERTS. Ah, my weakness. But delicious, healthy desserts that I actually feel good about eating. Anyway, I am just so in love with this cookbook (and her other one, and you'll bet I'll be ordering her newest one when it comes out!). I am so glad to have checked it out at the library that day. I am SO HAPPY that I found this book. I'm 100% certain that I'd still be dragging everyday, wondering why I'm still feeling sluggish and yucky, despite eating "healthy". Highly recommend!!

First, I'm not writing from the perspective of allergies or an autoimmune disorder that requires a paleo diet; we are just choosing to phase out grains because doing so makes us feel better physically. So consider this review from a "recreational paleo" person. The GOOD: I don't think you can deny that the book is beautiful--the photos (of every recipe!) are lovely and detailed, and the page design and layout is clear and pleasing to the eye. The initial pages describing ingredients common to many paleo recipes was very helpful and a thoughtful touch for those new to a paleo-approach to cooking. What about the food? Some other reviewers have said this is a foodie's cookbook. We wholeheartedly agree! We have not made every recipe, but in the two weeks we have had the book, we have made the following: *Celeriac and Sausage Hash (delicious and our first ever use of celeriac) *Thai Coconut Soup (aka: Tom Kha Gai; this is fantastic, but we did double the chicken broth and halve the fish sauce because it was quite...fishy) *Mexican Chicken Chowder (very tasty--super easy to do if you are also making her Enchilada Stuffed Peppers with Chile Verde sauce off her blog) *Korean Beef Noodle Bowls (NOM! Reminded us of when we lived in the ROK) *Rosemary Breadsticks (our first attempt at a no-grain "bread." These were quite filling but were smaller than expected--just a touch longer than unsharpened pencils) *Shaved Brussels Spouts with Bacon, Leeks, & Pomegranate (This made a lovely addition to pan-fried tilapia) The LESS THAN GOOD (i.e., why not 5/5 stars): *Few Soups I would have liked to have more soup and stew recipes included; there are only 4 soups plus a chili recipe. (But this could simply be because we really enjoy soups, especially in fall and winter.) *Ambitious "Prep Times" If by prep she means all food is washed, chopped, peeled, measured, etc., then I would say the times are probably accurate. Our experience has been about double the prep time if you factor in time to prep ingredients before you begin the recipe. *Serving Sizes Perhaps another underestimate in the cookbook would be the number of servings in the soup recipes. The book says the soup recipes serve 6, which they probably do if you are serving the soups as appetizers or first courses. We're not that fancy--soups are main/solo dishes in our house--and found that we got about 3 adult dinner servings out of the recipes. So plan accordingly. *Occasionally Ambiguous Ingredient Amounts We noticed this first with the Korean Beef Noodle bowls, which calls for "4 large zucchini." What does "large" mean? Backyard garden as big as your thigh large? Six inches long large? Our attempt at this recipe resulted in an imbalance between meat to veg. Using weight or volume would be more precise, especially for those who haven't made "zoodles" before. *Lots of Sweets I will agree with some other reviewers in that there are many sweet-treat recipes in this book, but as it's our first paleo cookbook, I actually don't mind because there are plenty of options for when I'm hankering for something sweet and/or doughy. OVERALL: Lovely addition to the libraries of paleo-lifers and paleo-newbies alike. The recipes are tasty, well seasoned, and not especially cumbersome if you ENJOY cooking. If you don't, look for other cookbooks, as this one has recipes that are not necessarily labors of love, but certainly require more than 15 minutes of attention.

excellent book- lots of options for families whose "normal eater" members will enjoy. ***Update*** Have worked with this cookbook for several weeks and wanted to give a bit of feedback. Everything I have made, my husband and I have enjoyed. For the most part, the three kids have liked everything as well, with some exceptions that can be expected from the more picky of our kids. Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with sausage- page 24 AWESOME! I made it the first time this past weekend and made a few changes to suit what I had on hand and our family preferences. I omitted the spices (though will try them next time) and used Hot Italian sausage instead of mild. I had a hard time not sampling the roasted squash before the soup came together. Loved it so much that I made the roasted vegetables again as a side dish for last night's dinner! Slow Cooker Sesame Orange Chicken- page 130 In the crock pot now. The sauce is delicious, so I have high hopes Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Coleslaw- page 140 Yummy! I substituted maple syrup for the honey because I didn't have that much honey on hand. Have noted to cut the syrup by 1/3 next time if I go that route. Probably the honey wouldn't be so sweet, but for those of you who like sweet maple bbq, it would be a winner! Really, really good coleslaw. I never thought to put Dijon mustard in coleslaw, but it works! Rather than make the Paleo buns, like suggested, I ate it without bread while my family ate it on potato roles. Definite do again meal! BBQ Bacon Burgers with Rosemary-Garlic Mushrooms- page 176 My oldest son is definitely a carnivore and his favorite thing on the planet is hamburgers! This were a homerun served with sweet potato fries. LOVED the mushrooms and could have easily tripled the recipe and still not had enough. Banana Bread- page 224 Sometimes you just want something sweet, and this hit the spot for me. Walker mentions that Bob's Mill almond flour is a little grainy, and I found it to be true when I was sifting the almond flour and coconut flours together. I made sure that I had enough flour to make what the recipe called for and added the residual almonds to the top of the loaf before baking. It came out a little flat (she said that might happen with the coarser milled flour) and had 2 distinct layers. The top was bread-like and the bottom was custard-like. I conclude that I probably did something wrong in the construction. Don't get me wrong, it didn't last long at all! I decided it was best when chilled for a while. I should clarify that I'm not using this cookbook for the Paleo lifestyle, but rather for it's dairy, gluten, and sugar free recipes. I'm battling Lyme disease and was feeling desperate for good recipes that didn't seem too 'out there'. Since this will be my life for the foreseeable future, I'm so thrilled to have found this cookbook and am delighted at the results from each recipe I've tried. Kudos to the author! I'm planning on purchasing at least 3 more of this edition to give to my Lyme doctor, my brother and a friend.

Since going 90/10 paleo seven weeks ago I've bought five paleo cookbooks. Most of them I purchased at Costco, where I found one of each of the ones I bought. I've also become a follower of a number of blogs. I don't know how I found Danielle's, but I did and I'm so, so glad I did! Danielle seems like such a lovely person. Her blog is gorgeous, she has an adorable kid and a supportive hubby. She's been through heck and back and was able to get healthy thanks to the specific carbohydrate diet and paleo. I can relate as I suffer from genetic insulin issues and thyroid problems, though looking at me you'd never know I have these issues, I wanted to get healthy and chose paleo! Anyway, as I was already drawn to her lovely blog, I was happy to hear about her book! However, I already owned four cookbooks and wasn't sure that I needed a fifth. One day she posted a photo of some seven layer bars that were in her book and that did it for me. I pre-ordered it from Amazon and waited patiently. Earlier this week she posted that people were already receiving their books...and mine hadn't even shipped yet! I finally got it yesterday and immediately sat down and read it cover to cover. This is the only paleo cookbook I've ever done that with. Usually I skim through all of the extra unnecessary "junk", the how-to for the diet, etc. and get to the 50 or so recipes within the book. Not so with Danielle's book. There were some brief how-tos with cute watercolor images and adorable pictures of her family. But the vast majority of her book contains recipes; over 150. Each recipe is something I would cook, and often I don't find that. She has breakfasts, sides, soups, salads, main dishes, drinks and desserts, and ALL of them look amazing. As a girl firmly planted in her love for baked goods, I was thrilled to find that she included some extra special desserts. As a high school girl and for part of college I worked in a bakery and have often dreamed of opening my own. Since going paleo, I've backed off of treats, at least, in the oh-my-gosh-that's-so-many-calories/carbs/fats desserts. This is exciting! I can now make peanut butter cookies (and did last night!) that I do not feel horrible (stomach issues) after eating. Instead, I made these deliciously light peanut butter cookies with Enjoy Life chocolate chips added (not a part of the recipe) and still feel great afterwards. She has so many wonderful looking dinner recipes that I am ecstatic to do my menu planning for next week. I very much recommend this book, especially if you are going paleo and aren't sure how to give up your SAD (standard American diet) as these recipes will feel right at home. It looks like it's going to become my favorite paleo cookbook! Update: So far we've made the cauliflower rice and slow cooker sesame honey chicken, clam chowder, and peanut butter cookies. The clam chowder is still finishing up, but everything thus far has been fantastic. So, so so recommend!

Danielle Walker delivers a golden gem, a winner of a cookbook with everything you need, and a purchase that's worth every penny. There are several recipes to choose from, the recipes are simple, and easy to prepare. I'm amazed that the author delivered much more than I expected. Among my collection of cookbooks, this one will remain in my kitchen as my daughter and I try new recipes. The recipes are budget-friendly, and there's something for everyone. "Against The Grain" offers over 150 gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free recipes. One of the reasons why I purchased this cookbook is because my daughter has suffered from an autoimmune disease with other disabilities at a very young age, and I know these recipes will be much more healthy for her. There is so much information in this cookbook, I don't know where to begin, except to admit that this cookbook is indeed a treasure. There is a total of 368 pages, and the colorful photos of prepared meals are stunning. The author has included: Breakfast; Small Bites; Soups,Salads & Sides; Main Courses; Treats For Kids; Muffins, Loaves; Basics, Sip On This, Inspiring Success Stories; and more. Since I love breakfast, I already made the Banana Porridge, a complete tasty sensation. Next, I will make the Clam Chowder as it sounds very inviting. My daughter requested the Almond Crisps, our next project. For the weekend, we selected a dinner for Saturday, Slow-cooker Sesame-Orange Chicken, and we are anxious to prepare it. The Seven-Layer Bars look incredible. As we select our new recipes, I will leave updates. Inspiring, and extremely useful. I will also be gifting this cookbook to friends and family for special occasions. I am so grateful for my selection, there is absolutely nothing to complain about. Highly recommended!

Ce livre regorge de recettes qui me permettent de mieux gérer les repas de la famille tout en suivant mon régime SCD. Indispensable !

For 28 years I have been on a restricted diet for medical reasons. I have bought many different cookbooks and searched all over for good tasting gluten-free, dairy free recipes that meet the strict requirements of the specific carbohydrate diet. Never have I found a cookbook like this one! It is simply the best! For the first time in decades, I am excited about cooking and feel that I can proudly serve this food to guests. Some of my favorite recipes in this book are the barbecue bacon burgers with rosemary-garlic mushrooms (without a bun), Korean beef noodle bowls, world famous sandwich bread, banana bread, black bottom cream pie and chocolate cream pie with chocolate-cookie crust. The black bottom cream pie was so good my husband said it was restaurant quality and that was before I made the chocolate cream pie which he said was his favorite. This truly is an exceptional cookbook. I thank Danielle from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to share these recipes with me. This is a great recipe book whether you are on a restricted diet or not!

I've tried a few recipes in this book, unfortunatley loads of recipes call for ingredients not readily available at standard supermarkets, for example: coconut aminos. The pictures are great, but my results at home are sometimes "fails" (don't look like the pictures). I tried the banana bread and it is fantastic. The non-dairy creamer is too sweet for my taste, but that can easily be tweeked. Overall its a good book for someone trying to find interesting alternatives that mimic mainstream dishes....

Receitas muito boas para deixar seu dia a dia mais saudável

I love cookbooks and 9 months ago switched to a Paleo way of eating. I purchased this book 'against all grain', and from that point forward it changed. The recopies are designed for the family, as a mother and wife with 2 kids I still need to be practical. My daughter loves to bake and now we make banana bread, cup cakes and nice treats together. I also live in Switzerland where it is sometime difficult to purchase specialties but this book gives you recipes for basics like how to make your own Almond milk! I work full time and take my own food some home made vanilla granola for breakfast is just one of the great things. As well as the fact she has guidance if you do not have a dehydrator (again practical). Bar the treats and basics the recipes are easy and nutritious. Cooking interesting meals in itself is not a challenge as I grew up in a fusion family cooking since 9, but this book does have new ideas to add to the mix; it has added value to our lives. Great food, easy, practical and the best book I have found in 9 months that my family adore.