I bought this book about a year ago and I love it.  This is a book written by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.  The premise is similar to Nourishing Traditions which they also wrote together.  Using the work of Weston A. Price as a starting point, Mary Enig applies the science of exactly why traditional foods (butter, raw milk, coconut oil, etc) are good for you, while Sally Fallon puts the foods together into delicious recipes and menus.

The book starts out explaining what traditional foods are and why they are better.  It goes on to address specific issues people may want to resolve with diet, such as weight loss, asthma, and many more, providing specific menu plans geared towards those issues (and one menu plan called “Everyday Gourmet” which addresses no specific issues, but will help people maintain excellent health).  Finally, the last third of the book is devoted to the recipes.

Coconut oil is a big focus of the book (hence the title, Eat Fat, Lose Fat), and about half of the recipes are made with coconut oil, coconut milk or shredded coconut.

I’ve gone on the menu plans a few times.  I did the “Health Recovery” plan when I switched to eating mostly Weston A. Price/Paleo style from standard American diet (even if it did include a lot of organic foods, they were still pretty processed).  This was more than a year ago – before I started this blog.  I really felt the difference.  I lost a few pounds, gained a lot more energy – and this was the most impressive to me: I went from needing to use 10 sick days per year before the diet to using zero sick days after going on the diet.  My immune system was so much improved.  I no longer fear getting sick.

Right now I’m on the weight loss plan.  I’ve gained some weight over the winter.  I had a leg injury that kept me relatively inactive, even for winter, and even after it was doing better, I just had so much inertia that I never got back on the exercise wagon.  Well, I am now, but in conjunction with that, I’m doing the weight loss plan in the book.  Who knows if it is the extra exercise I’ve been doing or the diet (or a combination), but I have lost a few pounds.  Since I only had a few to lose,  it seems to be going well.

I’ve tried many recipes in the book, and each one is beyond delicious.  Today I had roasted chicken.  Now, I know how to roast a chicken.  I’ve been roasting chickens for years.  But I swear, when I do it her way, it is always the best roast chicken I’ve ever eaten.  Other recipes include curries made with coconut milk, salad dressings, various sauces and spreads, and so much more.  When I bring leftovers to work for lunch, I make my coworkers envious.

Now, some of the recipes require planning ahead – marinating something overnight or extended oven roasting times, that sort of thing.  But none of them are overly complicated.  You don’t need to be a kitchen genius to make any of these.  And if you are afraid that the ingredients might be to exotic for you to purchase easily, or if you don’t have time to make homemade mayonnaise, the book has an excellent resource section to help you locate ingredients and where to find the best store brought brands for things you’d rather not make yourself.

I love this book and recommend it highly.  My own copy has been so well loved in the past year that the covers don’t sit flat and the pages are stained.  A true sign of a great cookbook.

Tags: Reviews