Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Volume 1) Hardcover – December 17, 2013

Full disclosure: I'm friends and colleagues with Michelle Tam and Henry Fong. But this review is straight from the heart because I think their book is wonderful.Five Cool Things About Food For Humans1. The vibrant photography and illustrations.If you’re a fan of NomNomPaleo.com, you’re familiar with the mouthwatering photography and charming comics of the family created by Henry, Michelle’s husband and creative partner. Like their app, this book is packed with glamour shots of sexy food — step-by-step process photos, full-page shots of the finished recipe, and in-between pages that grab you by the taste buds. Throughout the book, comic-style illustrations are like a Greek chorus, narrating the experience with jokes and other important info.2. Michelle’s writing.Nom Nom is a gifted storyteller, and her ability to spin a yarn shows up not only in her excellent essays — don’t miss “I’m Michelle and I’m a foodaholic” — but in her recipe headnotes and how-to information, as well. This isn’t merely a collection of recipes; although the recipes are excellent. It’s a love letter to food and family.3. Expert advice.A comprehensive list of kitchen tools, how to stock a paleo cook’s pantry, a primer on fats, an ode to the pressure cooker — Michelle shares how she created a paleo kitchen that works for a busy mom/pharmacist/cookbook author/dynamo. The recipes are also sprinkled with helpful tricks and cooking wisdom, including Tweak It! tips that show you how to modify the recipes.4. Recipes for everyday and special occasions.The content of the book is broad and deep, which means there are recipes for every cooking occasion. There are “staples” that will be in your weekly cookup, like bone broth, sauces, and cauliflower rice. And then there are fun recipes — like creative deviled egg variations and a few treats for sweet endings to your meals — as well as main dish recipes for meat, seafood, poultry… soups… veggies. Everything you need is covered.5. Family.This might be the best reason of all to buy this book: love and family. It’s evident on every page. Michelle and Henry love food, and they love their family. The best moments of my life have been enjoyed with my near and dear and something delicious on the table in front of us. This book celebrates moments like that.Recipe Test DriveI’ve made recipes from NomNomPaleo.com and the Nom Nom Paleo app plenty of times, so I knew that Michelle’s recipes are well-written, reliable, and delicious. I didn’t need to test them to be sure, but man! I wanted to. The table of contents is filled with luscious things that want to go into my belly.I picked Macadamia Nut “Ricotta” because I was curious and my husband was skeptical; Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs because I wanted something “hands-off easy;" and Slow Cooker Kalua Pig because… pork!Macadamia Nut “Ricotta”: This was a huge hit! It’s shocking how quickly a pile of macadamia nuts can be transformed into something that is close enough to ricotta cheese to make even the Italian in me feel satisfied. I added minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and fresh basil to the “ricotta,” then served it with my Old School Italian Meat Sauce. It was like deconstructed lasagna, and it was heavenly.Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs: Tender, flavorful, silky, and super easy to make, I can definitely see this short ribs recipe going into my regular rotation. When they came out of the slow cooker, I removed the bones and shredded the meat, then refrigerated the meat and sauce overnight. The next day, I removed the solidified fat from the surface, simmered the whole shebang, then served the meat on cauliflower rice. We happily ate leftovers for a few days on various vegetable beds.Here’s a thing I love about Michelle’s recipes: They’re excellent on their own, but they also mesh well with the things I already make on a regular basis. Her recipes inspire me and that’s the highest compliment I can give to another chef. She inspires me, and I think she’ll inspire you, too.

Nom Nom Paleo is officially my go to Paleo cookbook. My husband and I embarked on the Paleo journey two weeks ago. We ordered this book and three others. This book scores major points with us for actually being a hardcover with sewn binding and thick durable pages. While I do enjoy my other Paleo books, the quality was the worst of cheap and they all had tattered binding within one week. Short of cramming Nom Nom Paleo down a garbage disposal, this book is meant for the actual, heavy kitchen use.The book is divided into the following sections: introduction (very basic paleo intro); building blocks (like mayo, sriracha, and other meal builders); nibbles; salads and soups; eggs; plants; seafood; poultry; meat; and treats. Amusing and insightful blurbs precede each recipe, and the photography is top level quality. Little cartoons and asides educate and delight throughout the book.I have made mayo, a real keeper and super simple as well as the Peruvian roast chicken with aji verde sauce. I think my husband thought twice about peeling all the crispy skin off the bird and devouring it all in one meal. We are also big, big fans of her Liar bars, a snack/energy bar knock off. Every recipe is clearly explained and well written. I see several reviews bemoaning the lack of protein, but there are twenty something protein recipes and that excludes the eggs and seafood chapters. Paleo isn't a free pass to scarf down all of your calories through meat. A wide variety of vegetables and some fruits and nuts should round you out.If I owned only one Paleo book, this would be it. If you are a newbie like me looking for the cookbook to get you started, I think this should be the book. Most of the ingredients were easily attainable for me in my small town grocery store with the exception of coconut aminos...and Amazon can help you out with obtaining those if you can't procure them. I adore this book, and I have my fingers crossed for another one. I read on the author's blog that she was quitting her job as a pharmacist so here is hoping she'll produce another book soon.