Recently my husband and I said enough is enough and decided to try going paleo for a while. None of my clothes fit, we were grumpy and tired, and we needed a change. I have to admit, though: I was dreading an endless string of grilled chicken and vegetables for dinner. So boring.
But after six weeks of eating clean (and two inches gone: so long, suckers!), I couldn’t be more excited about the meals we’re cooking, thanks in part to the new cookbook Ready or Not by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong of Nom Nom Paleo fame.
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Related: 5 clever ways to get kid excited about healthy eating before they sit at the table.
Michelle starts with smart tips that make paleo easy — like the diet-saving tip to invest in an Instant Pot for quick, healthy meals even when you forget to defrost your meat. Then she dives into three sections that are cleverly organized cleverly busy parents: recipes that require some advance planning or time in the kitchen, quicker meals that use up leftovers, and last-minute recipes you can make when you totally failed to prepare anything ahead of time (i.e., every meal I cook).
Related: 10 must-have cookbooks for families.
Her Whole Roasted Cauliflower with nutty dijon dressing has officially joined our weekly rotation, because even the kids will eat this savory, crispy, tender veg. And the Cantonese Crispy Chicken Thighs are life changing. No exaggeration.
It’s also been really easy for us to adapt lots of these meals for our kids, who aren’t eating strict paleo. We made her Monster Burger recipe — brushed with dijon and topped with a crispy fried egg and Sriracha (swoon!) — for ourselves, but skipped the sriracha and added buns for the kids.
The back of the book includes meal plans, which makes my job of feeding my family even easier. In fact, for two weeks now, we’ve literally eaten every meal from this cookbook. It’s that good.
Get it, whether you’re eating paleo or not.
