Reviewed by annieb123 on
The Autoimmune Protocol Meal Prep Cookbook has a lot of different themes going on: meal prep/planning, family friendly recipes, quick and easy, and autoimmune protocol (AIP) compliant. Released 22nd Oct by Quarto on their Fair Winds Press imprint, it's 192 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.
Author editor Sophie Van Tiggelen is a foodie, blogger, recipe developer, and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis some years ago and in the meantime has written/blogged about AIP and anti-inflammatory foods and diets. Her writing style is upbeat and positive, encouraging and accessible. For readers who are struggling with a possibly overwhelming diagnosis, I imagine her 'you can do it' vibe will be quite welcome and reassuring.
The book has a logical format. Chapter 1 covers the background and benefits of the autoimmune protocol diet as well as a very general layman-accessible discussion of the mechanics of the diet itself including food lists and a good sidebar about adding flavor and variety to the meals. Chapters 2 & 3 cover meal prep and planning, making lists, batch cooking, food safety and storage. There is a lot of good advice in these chapters which are applicable to any meal prep and planning sessions, not just for the AIP. The author also includes some logical pointers about containers, ingredients, and supplies.
The meal plan chapters (there are 10 of them) include a surprisingly varied selection of weekly meal plans with different tastes and representing different world cuisines: Cuban, Italian, American, Asian fusion, and more. There are 2 meal plans included which are low-FODMAP compliant as well as some low-carb options.
The recipes have their ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar. Measurements are given in US standard with metric measures in parentheses. Special tools and ingredients are also listed, along with yields and cooking directions. The ingredients are all easily sourced at any moderately well stocked grocery store.
There is also a chapter with recipes for basic ingredients such as bone broth, pestos, dressing, rice/grain alternatives, and more. The book has a resource list with links for further reading, short author bio, and index which includes all the recipes by name and by main ingredients.
The photography is sufficient; roughly 10% of the recipes are pictured. The photos which are included in the cookbook are well done, clear, appealing, and (for tutorial photos) easy to follow.
Well done. This book would make a great gift/housewarming for someone looking for AIP compliant recipes as well as fans of food prep planning / batch cooking.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 15 November, 2019: Reviewed