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Paleo Vegan: Plant-Based Primal Recipes

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With their heavy emphasis on meat, paleo cookbooks have had little to offer vegans...until now. Athlete, coach, and vegan advocate Ellen Jaffe Jones joins forces with chef extraordinaire and culinary genius Alan Roettinger to present a surprising yet delectable blend of plant-based vegan cuisine and popular paleo diets.
Ellen examines both vegan and paleo dietary approaches, culling myth from reality. Laying bare the essentials, she proposes a simple, straightforward way of eating based on natural, whole, unprocessed foods that both diet styles endorse. Nutritional charts let you compare at a glance the value of vital macronutrients, such as protein and calcium, which play an important role in paleo diets, so you can easily select healthful, power-packed, plant-based alternatives to help you survive the rigors of civilized life. Just a simple hunt and gathering at your local grocery store, farmers market, or back-yard garden is all you'll need to evolve your diet from primitive to superhuman.
Alan then takes these basic principles and guidelines and sets your primeval taste buds ablaze by dishing up wild creations and exotic flavor combinations using a bounty of fresh, whole foods such as nuts and seeds, fruits, vegetables, wild-crafted greens and mushrooms, and healthy fats (as well as the occasional cheat of beans or grain-like seeds). Dishes like Oyster Mushroom and Baby Bok Choy Curry, Dandelion Salad with Beets, Roasted Pumpkin Dip, and Tuscan Kale with Chili, Garlic, and Black Olives highlight the culinary delights that await in Paleo Vegan.

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2014

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371 people want to read

About the author

Ellen Jaffe Jones

7 books9 followers
Ellen Jaffe Jones is an American athlete, certified personal trainer, health and fitness journalist and vegan writer.

She lives with Rustie the Rescue who as found by the local Humane Society wandering the streets of Bradenton, Florida on New Year's Eve 2017.

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Susan.
5 reviews1 follower
May 18, 2014
I expect a lot more from my cookbooks than what was offered in PALEO VEGAN: PLANT-BASED PRIMAL RECIPES by Ellen Jaffe Jones with recipes by Alan Roettinger. It is a 137 page paperback with ten chapters.

The first 23 pages cover the paleo philosophy of eating like people did during the Paleolithic era when food came from either hunting or gathering. Since this is a vegan book, there is no hunting, just gathering at the farmer's market and grocery store. Ms. Jones does give a brief guide, without photos of foraging in the wild.

There is no science in this book, no studies quoted, just the author's personal insights. There isn't a bibliography at the end of the book, just an index and glossary. Ms. Jones is a certified personal trainer, running coach, author and speaker, reporter and athlete. Mr. Roettinger is a writer, blogger, food designer and public speaker. His recipes are fairly easy and they include the calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates, sodium, calcium and fiber per serving. Thank goodness for that bit of solid information in this book.

According to the author, a modern vegan paleo menu consists of unprocessed foods, high in fiber, potassium and healthy fats. It doesn't contain grains, legumes, potatoes, dairy products, added salt or refined sugar. After explaining the paleo diet, Ms. Jones then goes on to explain the importance of "cheating" or "cheats" on your paleo diet. "Cheating is your way to success," is a direct quote from the book. There are also two chapters in the 8 chapter recipe section on "optional cheats for protein."

This is a concept I don't understand. If the paleo vegan diet is a healthy lifestyle, then why do you have to "cheat" on it? I have been cooking vegetarian food for 27 years for my husband and two of my children and they don't cheat on their diet. They would rather cut off an arm than consume meat or fish or any by- product of it. I would never write a vegetarian cookbook with chapters on how to cheat on it!

I believe that this book is, at best a trendy, light reading book. I do like some of Mr. Roettinger's recipes which happen to be in the "cheating" sections of "Artichokes Stuffed with Quinoa, Olives and Capers" and "Pineapple Fried Rice," which I will be trying.
Profile Image for Susan.
3 reviews12 followers
October 26, 2014
I received this from the Goodreads first reads giveaway. It has a number of fruit-based breakfast ideas. I also like the soups and salads sections. But I am not convinced that paleo and vegan can really be combined into a sustainable dietary plan. It includes optional protein cheats to include grains and beans. It is probably best to have around for additional plant-based recipes for paleo people than for vegans.
Profile Image for Rebecca Bond.
37 reviews4 followers
February 27, 2020
I had high hopes for this but in addition to being disappointed by one of the central premises, that vegans can eat paleo by cheating with grains and legumes, the directions were unclear and confusing. As someone who is following a paleo diet currently to try to heal from borderline autoimmunity, I can’t really cheat by including grains and legumes, as much as I miss them as a former vegetarian for most of my adult life. My doctor told me I can make an exception for quinoa occasionally, but that is all.
But anyway, we made the stuffed artichokes and it had us zest two lemons and set aside the zest, and then never mentioned the zest again. Recipe called for 2 tablespoons of capers, thankfully we did 1/2 tablespoon but it was still too salty. We had to puzzle over and talk through other parts of the recipe as well. It felt like no one tried making the recipe or it needs more editing. Not a good choice for a weeknight meal, and I don’t think we will be brave enough to try anything else from this book. Thankfully it’s from the library.
Profile Image for MJ.
83 reviews2 followers
September 3, 2018
I think this book could have had some more organization and most assuredly more creative recipes. Though I did get some ideas that were helpful, I found myself expecting more in the way of truly plant based recipes that don’t rely particularly on grains.
Profile Image for Julie-Anne.
25 reviews1 follower
December 7, 2016
I gave it 2 stars. I was being generous. Essentially this book says that in order to maintain health while being a "pegan" you have to cheat & have legumes & tofu. The recipes were very average. Don't waste your time. Save money & google Paleo vegan meals instead. If you really want to read it do what I did & borrow from library.
Profile Image for Hollis.
383 reviews9 followers
July 18, 2014
Based on the concept that paleo allows cheats, so why can't those be the addition of grains and beans?
Profile Image for Christine.
50 reviews
April 10, 2016
the added challenge of vegan as opposed to vegetarian is tackled, with some rules that differ from those for vegetarians. helpful resource.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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