Sure thing. This book provided me with about a dozen different recipes that I've added into my routine. Of those, the mexican burgers, tacos, chicken wraps, wedding soup, etc, etc, etc are easy to make, inexpensive, and absolutely delicious (and healthy!).


I really enjoy what the book offers. In addition to the recipes, there's an 8 week grocery shopping list that incorporates at least one recipe for each day of the week and the list includes what to buy for that given week. They reuse a lot of the ingredients so it's pretty efficient. Personally, I modify the list and skip some things or replace with others as desired but it's generally a nice jump-start to eating more conscientiously.


My biggest piece of advice; do what works for you. I eat flat breads, yogurt, and pasta when I'm craving it. The important thing is my eat habits have changed and it's no longer a diet - it's a lifestyle now.


For what it's worth, I'd recommend the book to friends and family.

I thought you were my SO when I read your post!

I can tell you, as a man, in my mid-30's, who loves to cook (raised in a family of chefs), I get very frustrated with a few things when I'm cooking for a SO. Add in: I'm a perfectionist, lawyer who is a stereo typical "Type A to everyone else in the world (MR. Tough Guy, hear me roar!), but I'm really a Type B deep down inside (Roaring makes me exhausted...)." Over the years, I have learned to settle down, but it took a bit: A LOT of patience from my SO, couple's counseling, and reading a few books.

From my perspective, I want everything to be perfect. (I know, I know. It can't be. Working on that...) I want the meal to be plated and put down on the table exactly when the main / sides finish AT THE SAME TIME. It frustrates me to no avail when everything is on the table, and my SO is walking around the house, NOT eating. &%#%#&*@!!!
(╯ಠ_ಠ）╯︵ ┻━┻ (edit: added /u/spaghettirobotti 's emoticon)

But, I've come to realize that's just the way it is.

What has helped me calm down in the kitchen is my SO talking to me in a very, very gentle way about how I'm a perfectionist and I need to calm the f down. She started with a lot of "I feel ____ when you're upset that we don't eat right when the meal is put on the table." "I love that you take the time to cook, and I appreciate it so much. I want you to know my favorite meals, so we can enjoy them together." "It's been a long day, I'm really craving pasta, but I can't eat it because of our dietary restrictions. I've found nuking it a bit in the microwave gives it more of that pasta mouth-feel." Give him the opportunity to be open with you. I'm sure he looks at it as if he's providing for you, he's doing daily acts of service, and he [REALLY] wants to please you and he's being vulnerable with his food (see below, food is art).

Some other things that have helped me. 1) My SO and I started going to couples counseling. Up until then, no one had ever taught me how to be in a functioning, working relationship. Sure, my parents stuck together, but they weren't in the best place and I didn't learn how to truly be in a relationship until my early 30's. 2) I read a bunch of books... Seriously. I found so much clarity in Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. And I figured out how my SO felt loved with this one: 5 Love Languages. Both of these books had such an impact on my relationship.

I totally get where your SO is coming from. It's like bearing your soul to the world when you cook something. Just like an artist or singer showcases their talent and wants positive feedback. It can be tough for men, especially if at one time he was a professional cook / baker, to put their "food" out there and not get great feedback. I say "food" because for people who take cooking very seriously, it's our art.

Cooking healthy can be very tricky. No one grew up with their Mom teaching them the family recipe for spaghetti squash or cauliflower pizza crust. I have found two books that are amazing in this area:
Daniel Walker's Against All Grain Meals Made Simple, and her other book, Paleo Recipes. Walker's primary focus is to collect recipes for people with dietary restrictions / gastrointestinal problems / allergies. I cook 3-4 meals per week from them. If I want pasta, I'll sub out the squash; flour tortillas swapped for lettuce, etc. But the meals are VERY good (my favorites are the Ropa Vieja and Slow Cooker Orange Chicken). It also has a great spaghetti squash recipe. ;)

I hope this helps. Good luck!

If I were you I would get this book: https://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Wish-List-Savory-Treats/dp/1452138338 all the baked goods are rice based (no corn and no wheat). The recepes are great and taste and look like the traditional wheat items you know.

Most of the recipes in this book can you use as well. The author uses a variety of flour (sorghum/durra, buckwheat, chestnut, almond flour etc.) so it's a bit more complicated starting out, but will give you more nutrients. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1408858479/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1563013231&sr=8-2

Another option is going grain free. The book is great and has a lot of options of baked good, mostly made with almond flour. Baking only with nut flour is expensive though. https://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Grain-Delectable-Recipes/dp/1936608367/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=danielle+walker&qid=1563013477&s=gateway&sr=8-4

I hope this is useful.

I eat a combo of vegan/paleo. Why?
Paleo ppl know how to cook their meat in decently low calorie dishes
Vegan - man do they know how to make veggies! You don't really know how to cook veggies until you dig into these recipes.

• 1 Oh She Glows - Food genius! Best I've ever owned!
  

• 2 Against All Grain - Very solid, I love everything including the desserts
  

• 3 Thug Kitchen - Amazing flavor combinations and loved most everything I made, some things were more effort than they were worth. I found myself going to the grocery store a lot when I was cooking through this book. Avoided the desserts because of the use of all purpose flour, sugar etc. The baking seems more traditional.
  

• 4 Everyday Detox - Love the shakes and desserts, the cookie recipes are the best I've made, but the food falls flat. The combos don't knock my socks off.
  

• 5 Paleo Comfort Food - Found a few good things in here but lots of misses. Resorted to writing X's and check marks on the pages of things that were successful and not so successful.
  

  
  

Paleo is no wheat and no dairy. I would check there. They will have eggs in some recipes of course, but you could use egg substitute. There are lots of paleo cookbooks out there. http://www.amazon.com/Well-Fed-Paleo-Recipes-People/dp/061557226X/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450478162&sr=1-5&keywords=paleo

http://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Grain-Delectable-Recipes/dp/1936608367/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450478162&sr=1-3&keywords=paleo