The recipes in Make it Paleo can range from extremely easy, to those that require a tad bit more skill. Regardless of the difficulty level very few of the dishes require more than eight ingredients. Although the ingredient lists are simple the dishes are far from bland because they use natures own flavor enhancers like garlic and pepper along with delicious food pairings to achieve maximum flavor while maintaining the larger goal of a healthy diet.

Simple ingredients do not mean boring either. This cook book is jam packed with a wide variety of dishes ranging from Asian or Indian inspired to traditional American meals and all are adjusted to fit the Paleo Diet. Just like the subtitle implies the dishes in Make it Paleo are indeed for any occasion, since the book does not only cover breakfast, appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, and deserts it also includes recipes to make the sauces, soups, salads, and even a recipe to make homemade Almond and Coconut milk! A few recipes you can look forward to if you purchase this book include (just a very small sample as there are far too many to list):

• Eggs Paleo (the Paleo Diet version of eggs benedict)
• Deviled Eggs (includes homemade mayo that is paleo approved)
• Chicken and Vegetable “Lo Mein”
• Artichoke and Avocado Salad (yummy)
• The seasonal must, Butternut Squash Soup (I made for the first time after being inspired by this recipe)
• Garlic and Herb Mashed Cauliflower,
• Cajun Sweet Potato Fries (I’ll be attempting these fries this weekend).

The recipes for all the sauces and dressings required for any of the dishes in this book are also included. And the dessert section includes cookies, cakes, pies and baked fruits all made the grain-free Paleo way.

Make it Paleo is easily worth its cost in recipes alone, but this cookbook includes so much more. Along with explaining the basics of the Paleo Diet, the first few sections are very guide like with in-depth instruction for changing your kitchen into a Paleo Kitchen. After seeing how much thought and effort went into this book it is clear to me that the authors not only subscribe to this diet but feel passionately about it.

It is important to note that though the Paleo Diet ends up being gluten-free it is not designed specifically for those suffering from Celiac Disease. The recipes included are naturally gluten-free as long as you make sure any of the ingredients you purchase to include in these recipes are also gluten-free. This shouldn’t be too hard since the majority of the recipes are made with fresh ingredients. The authors of Make it Paleo and all of us here at GFHP promote actively thinking about what you are eating and reading all food labels, both are something that HAS to become a way of life for those with dietary restrictions.

To learn more about Make it Paleo visit www.makeitpaleo.com

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The Paleo Diet gets its namesake from the paleolithic era. Essentially, it’s eating the way cavemen did – lots of meat, veggies, fruits and nuts. No processed foods or added sugar. No grains or dairy, either, as those didn’t become staples in the diet until humans settled down and started farming. Fortunately, modern cooking techniques do apply. As Julie and Charles point out, food processors and Dutch ovens are welcome tools in their cooking.

The cookbook itself is a work of art. Recipes include basics like Cave Ketchup and Spaghetti Sauce, to favorites like Fried Chicken and Bangers and Mash, to sophisticated fare like Braised Rabbit, Carrot Timbales and Melon Gazpacho. As if the titles weren’t enticing enough, a mouthwatering, so-close-you-can-taste-it photo accompanies each recipe.

The recipes are easy to read, with the ingredients and directions listed in clear and distinct columns. But it’s the little touches, like the Introduction for each recipe and the Tips & Tricks, Variations, Hints and other notes included at the bottom that gives you a real feel for the authors’ passion.

I made the Fire-Roasted Salsa and The Tastiest Slaw Ever (with a name like that, who could resist?). The salsa was simple, yet so fresh and flavorful. Pop some tomatoes under the broiler, then blend them up with some onion, cilantro and a few surprises, and you’re done. The slaw went beyond the usual cabbage and lettuce combo with the addition of mango. It was colorful blend, with sweet and tart flavors. A great option for a barbecue…or just when you refuse to let summer go.

One thing to note: Not everyone who follows the Paleo Diet does it for celiac disease, so there is the occasional mention of cheating in the authors’ anecdotes (rest assured, all of the recipes in the cookbook are gluten-free). We’d like to stress that cheating is never a good idea if you have celiac disease. So, enjoy all the gluten-free meals this cookbook will help you make, and relish the fact that you’re doing your body good!

Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking in a Gluten-Free Kitchen is available at Amazon.com and in bookstores nationwide.

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Chef Robert Landolphi is making a name in gluten-free. He not only wrote the Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook, but he’s also a driving force behind the acclaimed gluten-free dining options at the University of Connecticut, where he serves as culinary operations manager. You may even recognize him from NFCA’s webinar, “Serving Up Gluten-Free at Colleges & Universities,” where he shared tips from the dining hall.

In his latest venture, Chef Rob focuses on gluten-free recipes that can be made on the fly. Quick Fix Gluten Free is a cookbook filled with sweet and savory meals that go from pantry to table in 30 minutes or less.

The book is divided into nine chapters with additional sections for tips on stocking your gluten-free pantry, making substitutions, working with gluten-free dough, and more. While it’s well-organized, the book is far from stodgy or formal. Recipes are easy-to-read, with eye-catching tangerine accents to divide chapters and highlight ingredient lists. Chapters have laid-back titles like “Teasers” for appetizers and “Sweet Treats” for desserts. There’s even a chapter called “Battered and Fried” that – you guessed it – includes favorites like Crispy Fried Calamari and Fried Mozzarella Sticks.

While Quick Fix Gluten Free is all about speed, there’s also an endearing quality to it. Chef Rob began cooking gluten-free after his wife was diagnosed with celiac disease. At the start of each chapter, Rob includes a note that shares some of their gluten-free experiences and explains why dishes like Grilled Mojo Pork Tenderloin and Southern-Style Chicken and Dumplings made it on the list.

Quick Fix Gluten Free will be released on August 23, but you can buy it now from Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Gluten-Free Giveaway!

You can enter to win a free copy of Quick Fix Gluten Free by completing NFCA’s 2011 Gluten-Free Consumer Shopping Habits & Preferences Survey. Three survey participants will be randomly selected to win Chef Rob’s new cookbook. Plus, you’ll help NFCA gather important statistics about your gluten-free needs, so it’s a win-win! Survey ends Monday, Aug. 15.

Take the Survey

Hot Products Bonus: Gluten-Free Recipe

As a special preview, here’s a recipe from Quick Fix Gluten Free. Enjoy!

Cherry Walnut Quinoa Salad
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1½ cups chopped broccoli florets
• 1 cup dried cherries or cranberries
• ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the quinoa and water to a boil over high heat.
2. Lower the heat to simmer, cover, and cook until all the water is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Scoop the cooked quinoa onto a large plate and allow to cool completely.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the broccoli, dried cherries, red onion, walnuts, and cooked quinoa.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.
6. Add to the quinoa mixture and toss until completely blended. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld.

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[This review was written by NFCA communications intern Rachel Fox.]

Roben Ryberg, author of You Won’t Believe It’s Gluten-Free! and The Ultimate Gluten-Free Cookie Book has published her newest cookbook, Gluten-Free in Five Minutes, offering 123 rapid recipes for the gluten-free eater.

Roben has many years of experience with gluten-free cooking and baking. She not only wrote two other gluten-free books, but also is the founder and former owner of Miss Roben’s Gluten-Free Foods. She resides in Maryland where she developed her latest success.

Gluten-Free in Five Minutes presents readers with kitchen and baking tips, along with recipes for breakfast, bread, rolls, crusts, sides, cakes, icings, cookies, muffins, and many other desserts. Among some tempting dishes I noticed while flipping through: Banana Bread, Eggs Florentine and Potato Salad.

Also included in this book are helpful gluten-free resources, including support groups, mail order suppliers, manufacturers of safe gluten-free oats, and the author’s favorite gluten-free living book and magazine. These resources deem significant to any celiac, whether you’re looking for some new suggestions or are just starting out.

This book is a must for any gluten-free kitchen, and it’s a rather manageable price of $17. Gluten-Free in Five Minutes is available to order online – an easy way to ensure freshly baked gluten-free goods are never far out of reach!

Update: Gluten-Free Giveaway!

In response to requests from our Facebook fans, we’re giving away a free copy of Gluten-Free in Five Minutes. To enter the drawing, leave a comment sharing what you plan to do with all the time you’ll save by using this cookbook. We’ll randomly select and announce the winner on Friday, Aug. 12.

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Many of you already know and enjoy Cooking Light magazine, with articles ranging from entertaining tips to healthy dinner ideas. Now, the editors have put together a cookbook filled with delicious recipes that exemplify the magazine’s best food qualities…all in gluten-free form.

The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook offers more than 150 recipes for the gluten-free diet.  The book recommends how to stock a gluten-free kitchen, what’s okay to eat and what to avoid, what exactly is gluten, shopping, baking, and tips to use the book itself.  With all these helpful guides, the book is simple and easy to understand and very useful to any gluten-free foodie.

As I searched the table on contents, I came across a tantalizing picture of a pasta dish titled “Pasta Carbonara Florentine.” I have never cooked a specialty gluten-free dinner, but I imagined it would be somewhat easier than baking gluten-free. So, I stopped off at my local grocery store and picked up the ingredients I needed, including gluten-free pasta. The recipe was easy to follow and even provided nutritional values for the dish.  My mother, father and a friend all sampled the gluten-free pasta dish after I made it, and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy each bite.

“Simple food solutions for everyday meals” really does say it all about this book.  With tempting photos on almost every page and effortless recipes to follow, this book is the full package for a gluten-free kitchen.

Order The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook online at Amazon.com. You can also enter to win a free copy of the new cookbook now through August 12 by visiting Cooking Light’s blog, Simmer & Boil.

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The latest cookbook from Carol Fenster, PhD, features recipes that are not only gluten-free, but vegetarian as well. 125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes she provides the reader with quick and easy how-tos for vegetarian meals, with a bonus section of egg-free baking recipes for vegans.

The book is broken down into main dishes, vegetables, soups and stews, little meals or appetizers, quick breads and yeast breads, breakfast, desserts, and basics: homemade ingredients. Every recipe includes a nutritional guide, which is helpful to those looking for a balanced gluten-free, vegetarian diet. The beginning of the book even gives an explanation of these nutritional calculations, plus advice on combining gluten-free and vegetarian diets and what to have in your pantry for all types of cooking situations.

The book is easy to follow, and its table of contents is well organized. Carol even offers ideas for themed meals after some of her recipes. For example, “Super Bowl Party” and “Comfort Food Meal.” The recipes also indicate how many people they serve, which is beneficial to those cooking for a family or a party.

Overall, I find this book to carry many delicious recipes that I would try myself. The book is available at natural food stores, major booksellers, or Penguin.com.

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As I flipped through the pages of Artisanal Gluten-Free Cupcakes, by Kelli and Peter Bronski, my stomach began to rumble in anticipation. The pictures made my eyes turn bright and my appetite grow. Each picture showed homemade treats made from scratch, with the perfect amount of icing on top and the perfect amount of garnish. I wanted to dive right in, even now as I’m typing.

The book offers 50 delicious, gluten-free and from-scratch cupcake recipes, plus tips for making dairy-free, egg-free, and refined sugar-free versions of them. Eighty-eight color photos provide the baker with a final product that seems obtainable. The style and organization makes it simple and easy to follow along, so baking is a cinch. From Cookies & Cream to Pina Colada, the range of cupcake flavors is endless.

Artisanal Gluten-Free Cupcakes is the Bronskis’ second book – a follow up to Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking, which was released 2009.

Peter is also one of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness’ (NFCA) Athletes for Awareness, and he happens to be speaking during NFCA’s free Webinar next Wednesday, June 29. He will be discussing active lifestyle changes for anyone diagnosed with celiac disease and nutritious gluten-free foods for maximizing exercise. His new book promotes these things as well, as his gluten-free recipes focus on all-natural ingredients.

Artisanal Gluten-Free Cupcakes sells for $16.95, which I find to be a great price for such a wonderful treat. To order a copy, visit Amazon.com or any major bookseller.

To register for NFCA’s FREE Webinar on June 29, visit NFCA’s Webinars page.

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“Tastykakes,” crumb cake, pumpkin pie, oatmeal cookie sandwiches, tiramisu and many more of my favorite enticing treats are available in the book Favorite Desserts Made Gluten Free, by Amelia E. Pohl. The title really does say it all.

The front and back covers are almost good enough to eat as they draw your eyes right into the index, about the author, and about the book sections. With more than 140 gluten-free recipes in this book, there is sure to be something you will enjoy baking and eating.

The author provides “how to” information for those who are new to baking gluten-free, which I find to be very helpful. So far, I have only baked gluten-free once, and that was for the staff at the NFCA office. I will say I found it to be challenging. Amelia, however, is experienced in cooking and baking gluten-free. Her husband was diagnosed with celiac disease, so she took on the challenge and began to cook gluten-free. She now shares her knowledge in three gluten-free cookbooks, this being the first.

Favorite Desserts Made Gluten Free is broken into two separate parts. The first part is filled with classic desserts baked at home. The second part is a bit more interesting and exciting for the gluten-free eater. It contains recipes for make-at-home versions of commercial desserts. Amelia put quotations around the dessert titles to indicate which store-bought favorite she’s mimicking, but transforms the recipe so it’s safe for celiacs to enjoy. I find this to be a great addition to the cookbook.

I plan to take this book home so I can make some more decadent delights for the office to enjoy. And I know I will truly enjoy them as well.

Favorite Desserts Made Gluten Free is available for purchase at www.gluten-free-book.com.

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I’m a gluten eater, so I’m just learning about gluten-free (my uncle has celiac disease). I’ve been surprised to find the variety of recipes available for the gluten-free diet. I wasn’t aware of all the options available for a person with celiac disease, but cookbooks are helping me learn.

Let’s Eat Gluten Free, by New Hampton and Waverly Celiac Support Groups starts out with an impressive table of contents, whether you’re gluten-free or not. The cover art is enticing and makes you want to open the book to see the recipes inside.

The book is broken down into simple chunks, with different sections for appetizers, snacks, beverages & dips; salads & soups; breads & crackers; brunch; main dishes & meats; side dishes & vegetables; bars, candies & cookies; cakes/frosting, desserts & pastries; and miscellaneous food items.

Before any recipes begin, the book explains abbreviations used in the book and gives an overview of how to use gluten-free flours. In addition, the baker and reader are provided with gluten-free baking tips, which I find to be very helpful and useful.

The book is very well organized, and each recipe was donated by an individual. It feels personalized and creative when reading and making a recipe for yourself or a loved one with celiac. Best of all, the book is inexpensive ($15, plus $3 shipping), and there is even an order form in the back of the index so you can share this book with others.

To order Let’s Eat Gluten-Free, contact Betty Bast at rbbast@webiowaplus.net or 319-352-4740.

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As I slowly poured the mini chocolate chip morsels over top of the gooey brownie batter mix, I knew I had made something delicious. With the help of The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free, by Anne Byrn, I had made tantalizing gluten-free treats.

The book offers recipes for 21 layer cakes, 16 bundts, 16 sheet cakes, plus 18 different bars, brownies, cookies, and cupcakes. With this much variety, you are sure to find something gluten-free that tickles your taste buds.

The marbled cream cheese brownies can be found on page 241 and are very easy to make. The book includes dairy-free substitutes and recipe reminders to help guide me the next time I make this dessert. Byrn also offers cleaver and helpful suggestions at the end of each recipe, which I found to be very useful. And to top it off, there are dozens of kid-friendly recipes that can help any little one easily make something truly extraordinary.

The front of the book includes pictures along with page numbers to help connect your eyes to your tummy. And since all of the special treats are gluten-free, you can indulge without worrying about if each product is alright to eat.

Anne Byrn does a fabulous job at taking you step-by-step through each baking process and making sure the dessert turns out just like the picture shown in the front or whatever your imagination has drawn up. I was so thrilled with how my marbled cream cheese brownies came out that I am now preparing to make a chocolate chip layer cake – a surprise for my first day at the office!

The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free is available for purchase online or in bookstores nationwide.

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