Book Review: Mediterranean Paleo Cooking by Caitlin Weeks and a Recipe!

Book Review: Mediterranean Paleo Cooking by Caitlin Weeks and a Recipe! post image

I just received my copy of Mediterranean Paleo Cooking and I am so excited! Caitlin Weeks has teamed up with chef Nabil Boumrar (her husband!) and Diane Sanfilippo to create a gorgeous Paleo cookbook – Mediterranean style!

love the fusion of Mediterranean cooking with the Paleo style of eating. I have to admit that I miss certain Mediterranean dishes since I’ve been following a grain free, Paleo way of eating. The over 150 recipes in this cookbook are Mediterranean inspired but all gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free.

This amazing cookbook brings back many of these traditional Mediterranean comfort foods with an entire chapter on pizza and pasta! There are clear, step by step, instructions with beautiful photos on how to make Paleo pasta if you so desire!

The book includes some of my favorite Mediterranean recipe favorites, such as, falafel, pita bread, moussaka, hummus, and biscotti cookies.

There are two, 30 day meal plans for the Mediterranean/Paleo eating as well as for the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. Leaving out nightshade vegetables in Mediterranean cooking is difficult, but they managed to create delicious meals without gluten, grains, inflammatory vegetable oils, dairy, or refined sweeteners.

I love all the Chef’s Tips from Nabil and all the Nutritionists Tips from Caitlin! These are really helpful!

For those on special diets such as SCD, low FODMAP, GAPS and AIP Paleo, there are recipe/ingredient notes and swaps. For those who have food allergies (including to eggs and nuts) there are swaps as well. Of course, the shopping lists and an optimal food buying guide make it easy to find the right ingredients.

This book is full of information and fantastic recipes that make Paleo eating a snap! This is a gorgeous book to hold and read and will likely get battered from use in my kitchen!

The Problem with Nightshade Vegetables

The nightshade family of vegetables is actually quite large, over with 2000 species. Most of these are not edible and highly toxic to humans. The most commonly consumed nightshade vegetables are tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers and all pepper derivatives such as chili peppers, and red pepper derived spices (not black or white pepper).

The problems are with the chemicals called glycoalkaloids – such as the alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine in potatoes, the alpha-solanine in eggplants and the alpha-tomatine in tomatoes.

These glycoalkaloids have been shown to increase intestinal permeability in humans (leaky gut). There is another group of chemicals called saponins (glycoalkaloids fall under this category) that are detergent-like chemicals that cause destruction of the red blood cell membrane. Not a good thing. (source p.110)

In general, nightshades are understood to be highly inflammatory for some people and need to be avoided, especially if there is any kind of autoimmunity going on.

F0r these reasons and more – for instance some people are simply allergic to tomatoes and others are sensitive to the acid in tomatoes – many folks just have to avoid tomatoes and all nightshades.

I love this No-Mato Sauce! It is similar to my Not Tomato Sauce, but different enough to be useful in many contents other than just as a replacement for traditional tomato sauce. For someone who cannot have tomatoes, this sauce is a life saver!

Mediterranean Paleo Cooking

Autoimmune Friendly No-Mato Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 large raw beets, peeled and shredded
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
  • 4 cups beef broth (see mine recipe here) there is a recipe in the book as well
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (where to get salt and spices)
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, for garnish

Equipment

Instructions

  1. Place all the ingredients except the basil in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat
  2. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender
  3. Use an immersion blender to  puree the mixture
  4. If the sauce seems too thin simmer for 5 to 10 more minutes uncovered
  5. Adjust the seasonings to taste and top with fresh basil, serve and enjoy

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 cups

Order your copy of Mediterranean Paleo Cooking here

Get your pre-order in today and get the best price! The book will be released October 28!

This recipe is reprinted with permission from the publisher.

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