The world does not lack “Paleo” Cookbooks and lately I have one of two feelings about this:
For one, I think it is so exciting to see awesome glossy photos as inspiration for this way of eating that has truly changed my life. Three years ago when I started down this path, the inspiration was a little bit lackluster. It didn’t feel like having a shelf full of beautiful cookbooks could overlap with a Paleo diet. That has truly changed.
But as with all good things, there comes a bit of a saturation tipping point. And sometimes when I see the Next! Best! Paleo! Cookbook! I’m going to be honest — I get that cynical feeling like “Oh great, another book telling me to wrap bacon around something and pretending it’s a mind blowing idea.”
This is probably not a popular thing to say, and who knows, maybe the cookbooks I receive from publishers may slow down because I say it — but I have to think some of you may feel the same way. I think we are sort of in this tenuous time where the QUANTITY of books available is slightly disproportionate to the QUALITY. This isn’t something I’m losing sleep over, and I’m certainly not the arbiter of good Paleo taste, so in the big scheme of things, who cares what I think. But I do think it is important to mention because I want you to know when I talk about a cookbook on this website, I am doing it because I appreciate the QUALITY of a cookbook, and not just because I just want to say HEY LOOK, I GOT THIS COOKBOOK TOO!
Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest. I feel like we are all friends here, so I want you to know when I tell you about a cookbook I really enjoy (or anything else for that matter) I want you to know that I mean it.
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Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry just recently came out, and it is blowing up the internet right now. But here’s the thing: Elana Amsterdam has been making Paleo Cooking look cool even before it was cool. In fact, the first grain free cookbook I ever bought was her Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook and when it showed up at my house I just remember sighing with relief. I could enjoy a slice of bread still! I could bake a tart! Gorgeous birthday cakes were at my fingertips without being full of crappy gluten and ridiculous amounts of sugar.
That sigh, of course, was because back then I thought Paleo was 100% or NOTHING, and while I have loosened up on those percentages, I still so appreciate the idea of gorgeous food inspiration and dishes you once loved — without the grains.
This is why, when I heard Elana was writing a Paleo cookbook I was ECSTATIC and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it, instead of furrowing my brow and thinking “ho-hum, will these be more bacon wrapped recipes?” She makes very simple, delicious food that is incredibly accessible. And on a completely superficial note – I just love the way her cookbooks look and feel in my hands. They are square-ish, soft covered and with clean design and nice photos. It’s a cookbook you want to look at and use and it fits neatly in any kitchen cupboard. Also, her ice cream recipes are what helped me rationalize my recent ice cream maker purchase. Thanks, Elana! 🙂
OBVIOUSLY I was game to talk about it on the blog but I just want to be clear with my disclosure: I was provided a free copy and one to giveaway, but was in no way obligated to write post about it. All opinions are my own and no one is compensating me to give them (although the Amazon link to her cookbook is an affiliate one. Thank you contributing to the coconut milk fund in our household. You are singlehandedly fueling our Paleo Ice Cream addiction. OHMAHGAWD YUM!)
The Giveaway
If you are interested in owning this cookbook (and as you can tell, I think you should be:)) Ten Speed Press is giving away one copy to one of my readers.
- This giveaway is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents 18 and older.
- Enter by leaving a comment on this post telling me what your favorite flavor of ice cream is — or anything else you feel like, frankly.
- One entry per person
- The giveaway begins today June 20, 2013 and ends on June 24, 2013 at 12:00 am pacific time.
No purchase is necessary. Odds of winning are based on the number of entries. The winners will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 24 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen.
The Paleo Bread Recipe
I thought I would share Elana’s recipe for Paleo Bread. Don’t you just want to toast this and slather it with Kerrygold? Meeeeeee toooooooo!
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup golden flax meal
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 7 by 3-inch loaf pan with coconut oil.
- In a food processor, pulse together the almond flour, flax meal, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the eggs, coconut oil, honey, and vinegar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 1 hour, then serve.
*****
Happy cooking!
Love new cookbooks! Favorite flavor is Rocky Road. And all the other flavors too.
I need to make that bread immediately!
Also, chocolate chip ice cream is my fave. But not cookie dough, just chocolate chip. I know, it’s weird.
A tie between mint chocolate chip and a nice hazelnut!
Yay! I’ve been wanting Elana’s cookbook. My favorite flavor of ice cream is apple pie. No, not apple pie with ice cream (which is great too), but apple pie IN my ice cream. Yeah. It’s the best.
I’d love to have this! I love any ice cream I can make with low or no sugar, but especially chocolate.
One thing I really love about Elana’s recipe’s is she tests the SHIT out of them before hitting publish. She is extremely methodical in her approach to cooking and baking and I know anything she offers has been tested and tweaked and reworked to make it as “perfect” as possible.
This is in stark contrast, in my opinion, to most of the Paleo websites that have gotten book deals recently. I love these websites for their enthusiasm and inventiveness and the inspiration I get from the blogs (hey, tonight maybe I will try X! Great!)but what make’s Elana’s books worth the purchase is that anything published there is going to be as reliable a recipe as anything I’ll find in Barefoot Contessa. Elana is a chef first, blogger second, and if you don’t think that distinction matters, well… you haven’t held her stuff up to the others, then 🙂
(cough. Um. Sorry. I’ll stop fangirling all over your comment section.)
Chocolate, of course. 🙂
My favorite icecream flavor is macademia nut..preferably from Maui 🙂 . That bread looks incredible!
Butter pecan.
Wheat free baking scares me – seriously. But thanks for the recipe – it looks delicious.
PS: Anything wrapped in bacon is mind blowing!! I just don’t need a cookbook to do it.
Oh yum; Elana’s recipes make me drool on a regular basis. My favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry; my grandpa had this hand crank ice cream bucket from way back when, and once in awhile, grandma would add fresh macerated strawberries to a batch of the stuff. So, so, good!
I would love a copy of this cookbook. Coconut ice cream
I love Elana’s website! Mint chocolate chip is my favorite ice cream flavor, but there aren’t many flavors I would turn down . . .
Ha I’m so boring. My favorite flavor has always been vanilla. I just feel like the other flavors can be overpowering. Granted…I haven’t had ice cream in a good long while. Excited about this cookbook. I typically shy away from cookbooks, mostly because I always want to share the recipes I try but have strong feelings about not sharing recipes that have been printed. But seeing that recipe for the bread definitely peaks my interest. I have all of those ingredients in my cabinet…bread might be happening this weekend…
I love lamp.
I love a good rich flavoured coffee ice cream, even better with bits of dark chocolate tossed in. Use to go crazy for Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar crunch. Don’t suppose the heath bar bits are ever going to be a healthy addition…Are they?? 😉
I like giveaways and am actually wanting to get into a paleo lifestyle but not sure where to start….
I need this cookbook just so I can make those bagels on the cover – yum! My absolute favorite ice cream is Haagen-dazs Limited Edition Salted Carmel Truffle. Unfortunately regular ol ice cream hurts my buddha (aka stomach). Not good. But I recently discovered So Delicious Almond Milk ice cream (chocolate of course). Delish and no buddha-ache!
Would love to add this one to my collection of cookbooks! My favorite ice cream is homemade, old fashioned vanilla….since you asked 🙂
I’ve been getting lax with my grain-free eating and need a kick in the pants to restart the way I should be eating. I’d love to check out this book!
I think the Almond Flour Cookbook was my first purchase of a ‘non-traditional’ cookbook and I still love it.
Mint chocolate chip ice cream.
I like the simplicity of the recipes on Elana’s blog. I had some Talenti sea salt caramel gelato a few months ago that I can’t stop thinking about.
My favorite flavors are mint chocolate chip and peppermint stick
Homemade strawberry is my favorite!
Strawberry. Miss you and Garrett!
Mint chip!
Whiskey, maple and bacon crack ice cream from Cupcake Royale in Seattle. 🙂
Also, I love your blog!
I love praline pecan, but having seen Mindi’s whiskey, maple, bacon reference I may have to hoof it up to Seattle to try it.
It’s totally random, but I adore saffron ice cream! It’s a pretty traditional Persian dessert, flecked with bits of frozen heavy cream. My goal this summer is to recreate a coconut milk version 🙂
My favorite flavor is cookies and cream!
I know the feeling! I have been overwhelmed with all the cookbooks lately. I would love to support all the blogs I follow, but couldn’t possible afford all the great books out right now. Elanas is at the top of my wish list! As well as a bowl of vanilla ice cream for this preggo. I need ice cream again!
Cherry Garcia from Ben and Jerry’s (in Lake George NY especially) is my one and only love of ice cream. I have never cooked Paleo and have just started learning about it. I made spagetti last night and the watched my stomach blow up like a balloon and thought that maybe I ought to give this Paleo diet a try. It just seems hard…. I will check out this cookbook. Thanks for your advice and I love your honesty!
Salted caramel is my favorite…! With a scoop of dark chocolate – yum!
My favorite is mint chocolate chip
Chocolate!!!
Buttered pecan!!!!!
Dark chocolate almond or banana cream pie!
I LOVE ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cookie & cream! YUUMMMM
My favorite flavor is goat cheese with red cherries from Jeni’s. If your work ever sends you to Columbus, OH you have got to go to Jeni’s, it is incredible!
I loveeee coffee ice cream and chocolate chip ice cream!!! I would LOVE to get her book! I have been reading her blog for years 🙂
Coffee
Love Vanilla… pure and simple.
My favorite flavor is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough!
I also have to agree with you on the cookbooks thing- I used to be so excited when I’d see one and buy them all, but now I make sure to really look through the recipes and see if they are just the same things I already have! So I’m definitely with you on that one 🙂
I’m a Vanilla gal and also a big fan of Elana’s Carmel Clusters. I make them way too regularly. And I do NOT share.
My favorite flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough or cookies n cream.
Her recipes are SO GOOD! I was making them even before I dabbled in Paleo.
My favorite ice cream flavor is peanut butter & chocolate but peanut butter hasn’t been agreeing with me lately so. . . second favorite is mint chip.
The cover of this book looks amazing… I want to try it all! My favorite ice cream is butter peacan.
Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups is my kryptonite!
Va Lila bean is my fav! Enjoy reading your blog !
My favorite flavor of ice cream is cookie dough– womp womp wommmmp. Probably the least paleo flavor there is! I haven’t had it in a while but maaaaan I miss it– perhaps a treat is in order soon 🙂 thanks for hosting this giveaway, holly!!
Coffee ice cream is my favorite and i love Elana’s recipes. I have NEVER had one fail.
Cookies ‘n cream Blue Bell!! YUM!
Mmmm, anything sorbet like with fruit or most flavors as long as it has chunks of chocolate in it.
My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate Hazelnut 🙂
My favorite is Pistachio. And Rocky Road.
The recipes in that book look amazing!
Peach, Please!
Chocolate!!!
Geeeeeezzzz, all these ice cream flavors ate making me drool! Pre-lactose intolerance (boo) definitely chocolate malted crunch from Thrifty! Now, I’ll settle for some non dairy chocolate peanut butter.
Elana’s book looks mighty appealing, need this in my life!
Favorite ice cream–strawberry cheesecake or some sort of dark chocolate with brownie pieces! Want to start paleo, but I’m scared! I live to bake and have a sugar addiction!
I love just good Old homemade vanilla paired with peach cobbler or homemade peach ice cream. That is tradition in Texas.
Is there a wine ice cream?
That bread looks amazing. And I’m up for any kind of ice cream!
Generally, my favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip. However, when I make ice cream at home, I love orange-vanilla. Tastes like a dreamsicle. mmmmm…dreamsicle.
Chocolate and peanut butter. Hands down. Didn’t you post a paleo version with aloud butter!? Will have to try it.
Hazelnut or Mocha Almond Fudge. It’s a tie. I love Elana’s recipes!
Chocolate-chocolate-dipped orange peel
Thanks for the giveaway!
Anything with coconut is my favorite!!!!
It is the bread. I need the Paleo version…
Mmmm I love cookie dough ice cream. I’ve seen a lot of interesting flavors on PaleOMG but have yet to run across a paleo friendly cookie dough ice cream recipe…
Mint Chip has always been a favorite. But recently I had some delicious toasted coconut ice cream – That was the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted.
sounds like a cookbook worth owning!
My fav ice cream flavour lately – something with coffee!! Need to experiment with that this summer…
Chocolate or Chunky Monkey. I’m so excited about this cookbook.
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