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You may have noticed the absence of the word “paleo” in the title of this recommendation and that’s because this book is NOT a paleo cookbook. It is however a book that I recommend to anyone who follows a paleo diet and cooks their own meal. Even though he doesn’t follow a paleo diet, Chef Symon shares many of our values. He advocates fresh real foods, he loves meat and he believes that rule which all of us paleoites have had to learn, which is “fat is our friend.”

While the book obviously contains many recipes that aren’t “paleo”, a surprising amount are. This book also offers a bonus for those of us who enjoy preparing every aspect of our meals – a chapter on charcuterie, which teaches how to make your own bacon, pancetta, sausage (poached foie gras bratwurst anyone?) and even duck confit. This chapter is immediately proceeded by one on doing your own pickling.

Like any good cookbook, “Live to Eat” is full of saliva-inducing photos, sprinkled in with charming pictures of Michael cooking or hanging out with his dogs. It contains an introduction to the chef by Michael Ruhlman (Chef, founder of OpenSky and creator of some of my favorite kitchen implements, including my meat tenderizing mallot/burglary deterrant) and a foreward by grillmaster Bobby Flay. 

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Dr. Loren Cordain’s book, “The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat” is one of the best-selling paleo books on the market, and it’s definitely the go-to guide for a beginner to the diet. In it, Dr. Cordain explains the fundamental concepts behind the paleo diet, how the diet is based upon the diets of our paleolithic ancestors. He explains how the cavemen found food, their physical activity and how their lifestyles differed from the way we live now. He also explains the corrolation between our current lifestyles and the increase in disease prevelance.

When it comes to breaking down the paleo diet, as far as what is and is not allowed and why, there’s not better point-of-reference than “The Paleo Diet”. Even one of the most affluential people in the paleo world today, Robb Wolf, began as a student of Dr. Cordain. This book not only contains a long list of approved and unapproved paleo foods, but tips for how to prepare them, recipes and even a bit about caveman exercise. 

One thing that you should keep in mind with this book is that a lot of the things that Dr. Cordain has to say are controversial in the diet world, and like any diet info, you should take it with a grain of salt (there’s a chapter about salt consumption). Nothing is gospel truth and if something sounds fishy to you, then do your own research and make your own decision. 

While I don’t personally agree with everything that Dr. Cordain has to say in his book, I would still recommend it to someone looking for a well-rounded reference guide for the way food and exercise affect the body. After reading this book, whether you believe everything he says or not, you’ll still be pretty highly informed in the health and nutrition arena. 

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The paleolithic diet (Paleo Diet), also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet or hunter-gatherer diet, is a modern nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic era - a period of that lasted about 2.5 million years - that ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture.

There are a couple schools of thought on the benefits of the paleo diet, one of which is that the human body was not built to consume certain foods, like oils or refined grains, and that the consumption of these foods is the primary cause of most, if not all, of our ailments and diseases. Therefore these paleo dieters consume only those foods that existed in their natural state during the Stone Age. They also tend to eat them uncooked, a method known as “raw dieting”. 

Another thought on the paleo diet, and one that is far more popular, and gaining popularity everyday, is the nutritional benefits as it relates to macronutrient ratios. Since paleo dieting limits the dieter to only those foods that exists in their natural state, it eliminates many of the foods that many consider bad for the diet, like grain and dairy products and ingredients that came into production during the iron age, like oils and salt. 

For this reason, the diet tends to be very low in carbohydrates (with the exception of fruits and veggies, which are allowed) and very high in protein. This is ideal for many who looking to lose weight by cutting back on carbs, and for athletes, as large amounts of protein are essential for muscle growth and maintainence.

So, what can and can’t you have on the paleo diet? The paleolithic diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

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