I almost can't believe it's taken me this long to post to the blog about it… but my newest book is a collaboration project I worked on with my good friends Caitlin Weeks (of GrassFedGirl.com) and her husband, Nabil Boumrar.

Introducing Mediterranean Paleo Cooking.

Our goal with this book is help you enjoy cooking again, and to bring new, exciting and bold flavors into your Paleo routine.

Caitlin and I are great friends from my years living in San Francisco, where we were students together at Bauman College studying holistic nutrition.

When we discovered that we were not only classmates, but also neighbors living all of five blocks away from one another, the time we spent together blogging and talking about nutrition and recipe ideas only grew.

Caitlin's husband, Nabil, is a professional chef at an upscale hotel in downtown San Francisco, but he's originally from North Africa. Nabil grew up eating local and seasonal food with accented by spices and herbs that highlight the unique flavors of each dish.

The book is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com and can be purchased online for international orders at BookDepository.com.

All large chain and small independent bookstores nationwide will carry the book, and it will be hitting the shelves at all US Costco locations mid-to-late November.

About a year or so ago, the couple released an eBook by the same name, and as soon as I saw it I was so excited about how amazing the content was, I immediately wanted to show it to my publisher.

Upon talking about ideas for the book, I realized that I had a very clear vision for not only how amazing it could look, but also for how robust of a cookbook it could be with the combination of Caitlin's input as a nutritionist and Nabil's input as a chef.

Together, they've presented not only notes on the nutritional value of certain foods and tips on how to best prepare certain dishes, but also modifications for special diets that go beyond Paleo for every recipe!

We had a blast over the course of multiple weeks of all-day work for Caitlin and Nabil to re-create all of the recipes they made for the eBook in my kitchen! They stayed here in New Jersey and we shot the entire collection of recipes in our home.

What a treat it was for Scott and I to enjoy eating everything as it was made – and there are a ton of recipes from the book that are already in our own regular weeknight rotation! Catilin and I got to relive old times hanging out all-day, but this time working hard on this big project.

I'm beyond proud of this book, as a project I've poured a ton of my heart and soul into, but even more so for the efforts made by my good friends to bring these recipes to life and to your kitchen.

A few of my favorite features of the book:

Nut-free, egg-free, low FODMAP, AIP-friendly, SCD/CAPS, and lower carb  modifications – on every recipe

Of course, there are going to be some recipes where these modifications aren't possible, but they've been considered and tested and included for every recipe possible. Yes, even the Paleo Moussaka (which traditionally includes bell peppers, tomato, and eggplant!) has an AIP version in the book!

The modifications run-down, including recipes that are suitable as-is or with simple, included modifications:

Nut-free: 152 recipes
Egg-Free: 129 recipes
Fodmap-friendly: 159
SCD/GAPS: 159 recipes
Lower Carb: 158 recipes
AIP-friendly: 112

For AIP-friendly recipes, we omit eggs, nuts, seeds, nightshades, alcohol, and stevia and of course grains and dairy. Please see the AIP introduction page for the specifics on how to use our modifications key and all the specifics about how we applied AIP swaps in our recipes. We also have a 30 day meal plan that will give a good roadmap of how to implement our recipes into everyday life.

Do you follow the SCD or Gaps diet for IBS or gut healing? We use pumpkin, butternut squash, eggs and coconut flour in recipes to substitute starches and in desserts we used honey in place of coconut sugar or maple syrup.

Those following a lower carb diet will be happy with this book as the recipes have substitutions for starches and sweeteners in the modifications key whenever it makes sense to do so.

Tons of slow-cooker friendly recipes!

Fall is upon us and winter is just around the corner – which means slow cooker season! If there's one type of recipe that I'm asked for the most often, it's slow-cooker recipes. I know lots of you love to put food in there in the morning and come home to an amazing meal all ready for you.

That there are at least 17 recipes in Mediterranean Paleo Cooking that have instructions for making them in your slow cooker!

I have to tell you guys, this book is the real deal. There is no fluff here.

This book is not filled with placeholder or “throw-away” recipes. Almost every recipe is practically a meal in and of itself – and some dishes even have two meats in one! We don't fill the pages with smoothies, salads and sauces – of course we have some of those – but most of these dishes are meals you will be ready and psyched to make – trust me, you'll get your money's worth with these recipes.

In my signature style, we've even included 2, 30-day meal plans – one for a general Mediterranean Paleo approach, and one for AIP!

We have two meals plans that are 30 days each, one designed for general Paleo followers and another for people on the Autoimmune Paleo diet.

These meal plans can help you get started if all this is new to you or you are someone who likes to follow laid out instructions so you can focus on other things. The plans have accompanying shopping lists that can be printed from here.

 

This project made us so excited to bring traditional recipes into your home that will bring your family together to enjoy cooking. We hope to liven up your Paleo diet with novel flavor combinations that will improve your health at the same time.

Mediterranean Paleo Cooking releases officially on October 28th!

We'll be completing a multi-city, multi-leg tour this fall and winter, come meet us!

10/28: Nashville, TN
10/29: Atlanta, GA
10/30: Skokie, IL (Chicago area)
11/1: San Francisco, CA

11/16: Framingham, MA (Boston area)
11/18: NJ/NY/PA area TBD
11/20: Roseville, CA (Sacramento area)
11/21: Manhattan Beach, CA (Los Angeles area)
11/22: San Diego, CA

12/7: Lake Forest Park, WA (Seattle area)
12/9: Tigard, OR (Portland area)
12/10: Highlands Ranch, CO (Denver area)
12/11: Houston, TX
12/13: Rochester, NY

Please RSVP for any of the above events here.

Check out this huge preview of the book!

And now, for the big Mediterranean Paleo Cooking book release celebration giveaway!

There will be 1 Grand Prize winner.

There will be 3 First Prize winners.

There will be 5 Runner Up winners.

a Rafflecopter giveaway