The Dude Diet: Clean(ish) Food for People Who Like to Eat Dirty – 125 Idiot-Proof Recipes Making Takeout and Pizza Surprisingly Healthy

by Serena Wolf

From chef and creator of the popular food blog Domesticate-Me.com, 125 outrageously delicious yet deceptively healthy recipes for dudes (and the people who love them), accompanied by beautiful full-color photography.

Dudes. So well intentioned when it comes to healthy eating, even as they fail epically in execution—inhaling a "salad" topped with fried chicken fingers or ordering their Italian hero on a whole wheat wrap (that makes it healthy, right?).

There are several issues with men going on diets. First, they seem to be misinformed about basic nutrition. They are also, generally, not excited about eating "health food." You can lead a dude to the salad bar, but you can’t make him choose lettuce.

Enter Serena Wolf—chef, food blogger, and caretaker of a dude with some less than ideal eating habits. As a labor of love, Serena began creating healthier versions of her boyfriend’s favorite foods and posting them on her blog, where she received an overwhelming response from men and women alike. Now, in The Dude Diet, Serena shares more than 125 droolworthy recipes that prove that meals made with nutrient-dense whole foods can elicit the same excitement and satisfaction associated with pizza or Chinese take-out.

The Dude Diet also demystifies the basics of nutrition, empowering men to make better decisions whether they’re eating out or cooking at home. Better still, each recipe is 100% idiot-proof and requires only easily accessible ingredients and tools. With categories like Game Day Eats, On the Grill, Serious Salads, and Take Out Favorites, The Dude Diet will arm dudes and those who love them with the knowledge they need to lead healthier, happier lives—with flattened beer bellies and fewer meat sweats.

The Dude Diet includes 102 full-color photographs.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food, Reference, Ebooks, Foodie

322 pages, Hardcover

Published October 25, 2016

Reviews

[Kirsti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear. Where to begin? Let's go from least serious to most serious:

• The author has a boyfriend named Logan. She loves Logan so much. So much that she wants to control him and mold him and change him into a different person. A better person! A person whose views align with hers about food and mealtimes. She provides fascinatingly horrifying details about the giant pile of bizarre flaws that make up his personality. His behavior around food delivery people is "batshit crazy"? He doesn't do well in temperatures over 75 degrees? Why doesn't she set him free and either be happy by herself or date someone she actually likes?

• Unfortunately, the author treats the readers of her cookbook the way she treats Logan: in a condescending and infantilizing way. She assumes the reader has no cooking experience, knows nothing about nutrition, and is terrified of trying new foods. So we the readers get treated as badly as Logan does, and we don't even get to eat the chicken wings she no doubt tested out for this cookbook. (Well, I assume he got to eat them. In the photo, he is pretending to eat them while wearing a shirt that clearly isn't his because it still has the creases in it from being taken out of the cardboard packaging. Logan, please find someone who lets you pick out your own clothes.)

• Most serious problem: The author goes on and on about how "scary" and bad for us American-style fast casual restaurant food is. Which is partly true! But if you care about nutrition, then work with a medical doctor or registered dietitian to vet the recipes in your cookbook. Or at least provide nutrition information for each recipe! And if you think cornbread is "dangerous," then don't provide a cornbread recipe. And for the love of all that is holy, do not put sausage in your mac and cheese recipe and then have the nerve to claim that your cookbook teaches people how to prepare healthy foods.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance reading copy of this book, for free, through Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for my honest review.

I gave the book a three star rating, however, if Goodreads allowed half star ratings to be given, two-and-a-half stars would be more accurate.

After reading the blurb on the back cover of first-time author Serena Wolf’s The Dude Diet: Clean(ish) Food for People Who Like to Eat Dirty, my expectations were high. The promise of “more than 125 drool-worthy recipes that prove that meals made with whole foods can elicit the same extreme excitement and satisfaction associated with deep-dish pizza or Chinese take-out” sounded too good to be true… aaaand it was.

I’m a dude. A dude that knows his way around the kitchen. A dude who hasn’t eaten a vegetable since 1977 (needless to say, I skipped right over the chapter entitled, “Serious Salads”). Of the 127 recipes found in The Dude Diet, I would say only 15 sounded appetizing enough that I would even want to try them. Of those, there were only 7 that I would be willing to put in the time and effort to make myself. None came close to the level of excitement and satisfaction I associate with deep-dish pizza or Chinese take-out.

Since I love to fire up the grill, and was open to the idea of new, healthier alternatives for my next tailgate party, I immediately flipped to the “On The Grill” chapter of The Dude Diet. I had to laugh at the thought of replacing the traditional shouts of, “Who wants a dog? Who wants a burger?” with (doing my best Thurston Howell III impersonation), “Would you prefer a Grilled Chicken Sausage with Summer Succotash, or a Lamb and Feta Burger with Mint Tahini Sauce?” Sorry, but that’s a little too foofoo for me! Is there a more sure-fire way to have your Man Card revoked? I think not. Heck, that might even get a dude beat up! A dude might have to leave town and start anew elsewhere.

With her Le Cordon Bleu Paris training, Serena Wolf is undoubtedly a talented chef. She obviously cares about the health and well-being of her boyfriend, Logan (Logan this, Logan that, Logan, Logan, Logan…) I’m sure many would find these recipes to be exotic and exciting. I imagine that chicks will love The Dude Diet. However, I found the majority of these recipes to be unrealistic, and unappealing, for the diet and lifestyle of an authentic dude.

I just can’t see myself, or the majority of dudes for that matter, roaming the aisles of the local Piggly Wiggly with a shopping list, looking for chia seeds, extra-virgin coconut oil, and non-alcoholic ginger beer. Man boobs be damned! I’m ordering a deep-dish pizza!

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 stars. There are a handful of recipes I may actually try, but this cookbook was annoying to read. How many times can you use the word "dank" or the phrase "knowledge bomb"? Apparently a bazillion. I guess when you are writing a cookbook for men, you have to call them dudes in order to interest them in cooking?

[Clare Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

love alot of these recipes in this cookbook, like the penne pasta with spinach pesto, sweet potato dish with chipotle, honey, cinnamon, and goat cheese. cant wait to make the hummus and spicy lime pita chips and buffalo chicken salad!!!

[Jaime Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

No macros

Good book but would’ve been better if it included nutritional information. Wouldn’t want to do the recipes with several ingredients for that reason.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at a clearance shelf and was excited by the premise and low price. I am now not surprised by its presence on the clearance shelf.

I agree with another review that fewer guys will buy this than concerned girlfriends; however, it being written for them is better for their engagement (even if a female partner bought it, it may be a gift for them to cook or he may flip through it knowing you will inflict it on him). The entire thing is based on the premise that men will not give up their meat, then some sauces. In fact, most of us would be hard pressed to get this past our nutritionists - while the recipes are better than the originals, most of us would still be told these are treats, not regular fare.

I also find it suspicious that her men (Logan and test subjects) are really such children, unwilling to try new food. Yes, with my ex, I had trouble getting him to eat a healthy diet on a regular basis. That said, I made vegan zoodles in a tomato sauce with tofu cheese, telling him he could make some chicken to add if he wanted, but he was just so shocked that I was able to make a meal entirely out of vegetables (pasta's not plant-based in his mind) that he gleefully ate it, once. I've had similar experiences with male friends. Clearly all of this is based on who you surround yourself with, not all "men."

Knowing it was still a treat, we tried some recipes from the book. Admittedly, we are praised for being foodies but still enjoying the common food of chains. We were unimpressed. We are stealing a few things, like cauliflower cooked with milk does taste better than boiled, but her Mac & Cheese wasn't as good as mine and had MORE calories and fat, due to her unnecessary inclusion of sausage (Mac & cheese is one of the few dishes people - including men -accept as vegetarian anyway, so why add meat?). Besides, it was not as saucy as she claims ("Don't worry about extra, it will be absorbed" she says, but there was no extra and the resulting dish was dry).

I'm not donating it yet and my price of $5 CAD (which is even less in American) makes the cookbook worth it. However, it is more a showpiece for my shelf - so potential mates will see my versatility and willingness to make more than "health food" than it becoming a part of the regular rotation.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

First impression upon skimming book: "If this is dude food, then I'm a dude."

My biggest complaint with this book is the whole "dude diet" idea. The author clearly knows her way around the kitchen and this collection of recipes is pretty amazing. But, this book doesn't strike me as something a guy would pick up for himself. It's definitely the kind of thing a guy's girlfriend or wife would buy though.

That's why I wish this book was written more with that idea in mind. Instead, it's written to men, who in the author's eyes are bumbling idiots who can scarcely be expected to do more than operate a t.v. remote. I suspect most guys would be insulted by this dumbed-down talk. And the way she talks about her "dude", Logan, makes me feel sorry for him. I mean, how embarrassing is this?:

To describe Logan's game-day eating habits as "disturbing" would be a gross understatement. The dude is physically incapable of watching football without getting dirty on the food front, and he's known to mindlessly push things into his mouth (he literally pushes bigger bites into his mouth with his fingers if they don't fit) during the game with no regard for serving sizes or Dude Diet decorum. Just as a point of reference, I once witnessed Logan inhale a pile of Buffalo chicken tenders, break out in a pretty sever cayenne-induced rash, and then casually pop a Benadryl with his beer and continue eating. As you can imagine, such reckless behavior has upsetting consequences, including meat sweat-soaked sheets, teary pleas for Zantac, and prolonged periods of "alone time" in the bathroom. Shit gets weird."

So yes, the recipes are great. The photography is great. But the rest is just, well, like she said, weird.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library hoping to find some recipes and meal plans for good and nourishing food. Call me a prude, but I couldn’t get past the liberal use of four-letter words. Maybe the author thought she had to use them in order to appeal to the “dudes,” or maybe it’s how she really talks, but i didn’t even make it to the recipes before I was done, and the nourishment I hoped to gain is lost on me. Too bad.

[Jessie H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 Stars

I picked this cookbook up because it was a kindle deal and had a high rating. It sounded like a good one from the synopsis. The promise of this cookbook is to lighten up and make healthier version of a dude’s favorite foods. Overall, I found how this was written annoying and more than a bit condescending in places. Honestly, I’m only interested in a couple of the recipes. I’m glad that I didn’t pay full price for this one.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed glancing through this cookbook in order to get potential ideas for snacks and other get-together foods. The book is nice and sturdy and should hold up well to usage in my kitchen. It is also well illustrated and organized. Granted, I'll have to tweak some of the recipes that I want to try, but I do think I will get a lot of use from this book.

Thumbs up - Copy from Goodreads.

[Kristin L Turner · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought I could find great recipes for my husband to try. I was wrong. The writing terrible and annoying. She is condescending and uses the word dude way too much. There is swearing - which I don't mind; however there is constant swearing that becomes annoying.

Most of all, the recipes are terrible. I'm sorry I bought this.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the recipes are good, the gendering of how people eat was a little annoying. Can't ladies use this cookbook too?

[Lafourche Parish Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serena Wolf’s “dude” is like many of our significant others (or ourselves) and loves to eat. However, what he chose to eat was stereotypical unhealthy “man meals” full of fat, salt, and sugary carbs. His health started to take a toll because of his dietary choices so Serena stepped in. Her idea was to remake some of his favorites with healthier substitutes and then build off of that into new healthy recipes. According to my husband, she’s a culinary genius!

Serena is a trained chef from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Serena says, “I honestly had zero desire to become a chef. I simply wanted to master some domestic skills, practice my French, and maybe find the perfect red lipstick—all while figuring out what to do with my life.” For Serena, cooking was an accidental love and for her it is something meant to be experimental – even for those of us who are not as skilled!

This cookbook has humor, easy to follow recipes, plus delicious and healthy options for even the pickiest or unhealthiest eater in your life. My husband and I enjoyed creating so many of these dishes. I cannot tell you how many times we have checked this book out and recommended it to friends. It has done what so many other healthy cookbooks have not been able to do for us in the past - it gave us realistic recipes that were delicious. It is not full of crazy ingredients or unappetizing substitutes. There have been several meals out of this cookbook that we now keep in a constant rotation for our weeknight dinners.

If you are like me and you eat with your eyes first, this book has plenty for you to feast on. The photos are lovely and the layout of the recipes are easy to navigate. What is also nice about The Dude Diet is Serena runs a food blog that she is constantly updating with new recipes and funny anecdotes about what is going on in her life. Serena writes like an old friend who just wants to sit down with you and talk about life and food, delicious food.

If you are looking for a delicious way to still eat many of the same foods you already love but in a healthier way, pick up The Dude Diet at your local library. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family has!

- Elizabeth, Reference Librarian

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book is that men won't give up their meat and fatty treats, so to help the dudes in your life get fit, help them out by cooking from this book - lower fat, real food that men will still love. The premise is slightly sexist (there are plenty of women with terrible food habits, and many men who indulge only in healthy fare), which got me riled up. However, the idea of taking comfort food recipes and making them healthier has a lot of appeal.

In general, these recipes are OK. It's not necessary to add meat to mac & cheese, and many of these recipes aren't particularly light (having less calories than a big mac doesn't make something healthy). Also, most of these are longer than a page/have too much prep time for me - I'm a weeknight cook, and there are a lot of weekend meals here. Highlights include the chia jam, avocado dressing slaw, and double-chocolate cake. There aren't any nutritional stats here, which is a little frustrating because it's a 'diet' - if we're going to help people reduce their cholesterol and sodium intake, we need to include that information.

This is a good source of revamped comfort food recipes. But it's not really a diet.

[Marisa Eikenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is the story in this book incredible but the recipes are delicious, easy to make, and the ingredients aren't that hard to find. (And for ingredients that you may have never heard of, she gives you a clue as to where you might find them. I had no idea my grocery store had chipotles in adobo sauce. But now I know.)

This book is full of great food in healthier ways but unlike some diet books, you don't feel like you're being deprived by eating it. It's also a great way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet.

I've already made three of the recipes in here and they all came out fantastically. I picked this book up at the library but after checking out the first two recipes, I immediately bought my own copy. It's just that good.

So if your SO (or even you) isn't willing to give up the "dude food" but you want to make sure they live past 35, try out the recipes in this book. I hope it encourages and helps you know that you don't have to be deprived to eat great food (and there are things you may have never thought about trying before.)

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serena Wolf helped her boyfriend clean up his diet without feeling like he was depriving himself. The recipe introductions are funny and make the book interesting. There is a wide range of delicious recipes that are at least a little bit healthier than their traditional versions - like Italian Herb Meatballs with Spicy Marinara (which call for cauliflower rice instead of breadcrumbs). There are some low-carb options and there are plenty of recipes designed to introduce healthy food like quinoa, kale, farro, etc. I've tried a handful and look forward to trying more - like Basil Tofu Lettuce Wraps.

[Sienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't think I'd add this to my list but I really did read & enjoy it. I liked Wolf's unpretentious approach to making "regular" food but a little more healthy. It's not a drop lots of pounds diet book, but a how to eat what you want in a healthier way. I think it's much wiser & more sustainable to add healthy habits into current routines, to make your own food, watch portion sizes, & to eat in a way that makes you happy than any quickie detox slim down diet nobody could ever stick to for long. (She does rather overuse the word dude, but I'm a Cali girl so I barely hear that anyway.)

[Kristina Childers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is filled with fun, manageable and tasty recipes. My husband and I have loved all of the meals I have made out of this book. The dialog is engaging and relatable. The recipes are simple enough to follow but the meals are more exotic than what you will find in your standard Betty Crocker cookbook. The one thing that I feel the book is lacking is the length of time a recipe will take to complete.

[Eric Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good resource

The Dude Diet had an intriguing name so I picked up a copy. There are a lot of good recipes here that I am excited to try. Some of the recipes are less gut-healthy than others, which I need to watch out for (see The Plant Paradox, and other reading on autoimmune issues). I am sure Serena had a fun time putting this together. It is definitely worth a look through.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not read through the whole book, just the recipes to see if there were any my husband would like. (This was partially because while skimming the text, I noticed the f-word and other profanity. Necessary? Probably not.) Anyways, we found a handful of recipes that we would like to try! So far, we've tried the sausage and peppers skillet meal and it was really good.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cookbook clearly marketed to men by trying to be bro-y and acting as if men only eat red meat and hate vegetables.

There are a few recipes I'll try - the cookie dough balls and the breakfast quesadillas look good. But it's definitely not the kind of food that's healthy or you could eat every day.

[Carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice recipes for comfort food. We had mixed results -- smoky black bean chicken stew was a big hit with the whole family while "grown-up beans on toast" was a bomb and super sloppy joes was about half and half. Many of the recipes look and sound DELICIOUS -- might be better in the summer than in the dead of winter?

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for anyone who struggles with embracing "health foods" and letting go of some bad nutritional habits. The recipes are pretty simple and really do provide healthy meals that that provide that comfort food feeling.

[Dee Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute informative book

I saw her on access live and i liked her recipes . I have found the sesame orange chicken i want to try and the cherry garcia looks wicked good ,this is a fun book to reaf

[Jamie Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting recipe ideas. Loved the dude commentary along the way. Looking forward to giving a few in each section a try.
Note: there is no nutritional info and she’s big on fat free/low fat so it’s not keto friendly.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this cookbook! I cook from it frequently. It’s opened up a whole new world to me.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tasty! The arugula egg salad has become a favorite!

[Carol Pickersgill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoying the Dude Diet cookbooks! Great guide for clean cooking!

[Kaiti Kirkpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book and the second

[Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got several good recipe ideas