Good suggestions, recipes a bit unclear
582688
Bought this book after buying my first dehydrator. Bell makes some great suggestions but the book is a little unclear sometimes about specific recipe directions. Writing quality is a  little mediocre.
382646
Great looking recipes! BUT some of the information is incomplete or missing. I
Love to bake and am glad to have recipes for desserts that fit into my new keto lifestyle.
3056152
So far I've made about half a dozen recipes, and they are very good. The types of ingredients listed are very complimentary with the dish and ones that I wouldn't have thought to use.

Flaws: the recipes don't show serving size, or list the time it takes to make them, which is a bummer because while a recipe looks simple enough, it is not and takes longer than expected.  He also encourages the use of certain ingredients or food products that are way too expensive for the average person or not needed at all, so I would wish he would state something like "you can use X if you don't have Y or find it too expensive." Otherwise, his suggestions come across a bit too unrealistic.  Also, the biscuits came out disgusting.  Don't make them.  In addition, there is an editing flaw in the cookbook; some ingredients will be skipped in the instructions, like they forgot to tell the reader to "add" it. Any experienced cook will eventually find out where that missed step goes, but for beginners, not so much.

Overall, a good book and it's my go-to recipe book for all things paleo.
3934288
I have not yet tried these recipes, so I cannot discuss the taste of the food, however I would like to go over some basics of recipe book writing.
  As a humble self-taught, home cooking chef/baker, I would like to say that the "read" of this is a little off. There are consistent errors that, to me, should be basics.
  For the first example, there are very few portions, or how much a recipe yields,  given in the recipes. The only recipes that have this information listed are for set amounts, such as muffins.
  Second, some quantities of ingredients were omitted. For example, the recipe for Coconut Crisp Chicken Tenders just says chicken breasts, no quantity given. I could understand using this terminology if this were a "per part" recipe, however the rest of the ingredients are very definite amounts.
  Third, I purchased this on my Kindle Fire. There are several pieces of missing steps (Coconut Flour Pancakes) or the ingredients are not fully used (Pizza...missing how much cheese is for the crust and how much is for the topping).
  Fourth, I would have loved to see the nutritional value of recipes, even if there is a disclaimer that it may vary on brand used.  I am a low carb eater and am not supposed to have the honey that is listed in many recipes.  Yes, I can make adjustments for substitutes, but it would be nice to see the carb count without having to enter the info into a recipe builder.
  I know some of this seems nitpick-y, and maybe it is to most, but this is just my two cents on how this could have been improved. Overall, I am excited to try many of the recipes.
  Thank you for putting them, and yourself, out there for our benefit.
843850
Not all of the recipes in this book provide amounts with the ingredients list. The ingredients are listed, along with the order they need to added, or which step they need to be added, but there is not an amount (tbsp, tsp, cups, etc) listed. So, as long as you do not mind improvising, or if you are a good enough cook to know, or make a good guess, on what amount will be needed, you should be all right. Not all of the recipes are like that, and many do have the amounts listed. But, you will come across some that do not!

The table of contents is interactive, which is nice. Overall, there seem to be recipes in this book for both beginner and advanced cooks, so everyone can find something to try.
1084068
I downloaded the cookbook with my Kindle Unlimited and like with all cookbooks I go through and bookmark recipes I would like to try. I really did appreciate all the very informative cooking times and better explanations in the front. But I get caught up on what seems like mistakes or omissions - for example - why is "corn cob" in the beginners breakfast section?  (I overlooked that baked sweet potatoes were there too as sometimes my Vegan friend has them for breakfast.)

For the Barbeque Pork - it says "Cook for 1 hour" after placing the seasoned pork butt into the Instant Pot... under pressure?  meat function? Manual? (It does say "release the pressure" after - but again high pressure? low? Meat/stew setting?)

Many of the early recipes in the book are very inconsistent with telling you what function to use. Some recipes do tell you "hit the stew button" or "select steam"  and some DO tell you to select manual but some it just doesn't specify - when it is likely using the "Manual" button it just says - select X minutes cook time - no indication of what to select for cooking method.

Just so many inconsistencies. At the beginning it says "Use this button if the recipe says to pressure cook..." for the manual button... I was really hoping that maybe the descriptions at the beginning were the part I was missing in the recipes.

I guess it does say for "smart people" so it may not be truly for beginners. Luckily I am not a beginner - but I don't proclaim I am smart either. So I will be careful to read the whole recipe through and when in doubt use my previous experience with the cooker.

The cookbook has many  recipes, some are a bit odd... like asking for erythritol as a sugar alternative  (just not an every day ingredient I have in my pantry) - I will give a few a try though. (Bookmarked the Bavarian Red Cabbage, Mango Dal, Baked Apples and Poached pears)
3395614
some of these recipes don't seem to be right, such as the Black Forest cake.. ingredients aren't working and I had to search the Dr. Oetker website for the correct ingredients.. It was missing something, because I was getting a "flat disc" rather than a nice fluffy cake.. some good ideas in here and techniques, but doubt I'll use this for much more than ideas..
4777354
The book is great - Alicia gives great, common sense reasons to reduce or eliminate animal products in your diet.  Very inspiring!  The recipes, however, are a little overwhelming for a novice cook such as myself.  I am a fan of 5-or-less ingredients / 30-min or less recipes.  Alicia's recipes contain some ingredients that are exotic (to me)and also seem kind of time consuming to make.  Also, it's summer right now and many recipes call for baking or simmering something on the stove for long periods, which I don't want to do in the hot weather.  Bottom line, I plan to keep hunting for some of those ingredients (where does one find brown rice syrup?) and in cooler weather I'll definitely be trying more recipes.
1641993
Good ideas in this cookbook, and as I type I'm cooking the Paleo Breakfast Porridge -- but I don't think the recipes in this book were tested very well (not to mention edited by a cookbook editor). For the Loaded Baked Potato Soup, the recipe calls for 6 potatoes -- whole? peeled? chopped?, doesn't specify -- either these instructions are left out, or indeed you cook 6 whole, unpeeled potatoes (and if so, it should read "6 whole potatoes, well-scrubbed") before pureeing the soup (and if that's the process, great! But it would help to indicate.) For the chicken broth, the recipe simply calls for "chicken bones" while listing more specific quantities for all other ingredients -- how many chicken bones? The bones of a 3-4 pound whole chicken? Two bones from leftovers? One recipe for Italian Wedding Soup calls for "grain-free couscous" you can "order online or find in the Jewish section of the grocery" -- I have searched both the grocery *and* online, I still can't find anything like that (gluten-free, maybe -- but nothing grain-free). Some recipes have you make a slurry of arrowroot mixed with a bit of hot broth -- you should *always* mix thickening starches with COLD water if you don't want lumps. If you have lots of cooking experience you can deduce what she means -- but well-written cookbooks for even the most experienced cooks still list specific ingredient quantities and clear instructions. This one needed more time before being published.
2729904
I've enjoyed this cookbook so far. Good recipes with ideas for how to implement more healthy food into my diet. A few notes:

- If you're interested in the anti-inflammatory diet, this book will help, but be careful. In order to make the food people-pleasing, there's more of the foods from the top of the pyramid than you'll want to eat in a normal day. More cheese, more processed flour, more milk, more meats. You'll want to look at many of the recipes as treats -- though they will be far superior treats to the normal processed food you could be eating.

- Some of the recipes are written seemingly for people who are already experienced cooks. I am an experienced cook, but even I would like a little bit more information than "sliced onion" (sliced how?) or "1 medium head of cabbage, shredded" (that can vary so much! an added approximate weight would be really helpful).

I've also noticed that the binding of the book seems to be coming apart a little bit, even though I've only had the book for a short time. Seems problematic, considering that cookbooks should really be bound well so they can lay open while you cook.

All that said, I do think it's a good book and I would recommend it. The recipes I've made out of it so far have been tasty - the butternut squash, apple, and pomegranate salad especially.
1383451
I purchased this book and was really unable to see what recipes were actually in it before I purchased it. I was hoping to find the recipe for the Firecrackers and did not.  But, maybe they have those shipped in?  At any rate the recipes for a few of the items call for "mix(es)" which of course are not explained to what makes the mix or where it can be purchased.  So, I'm left a little disappointed.  But, there are still some good recipes in here.
662272
While I found many yummy recipes in this book, I am frustrated by the lack of complete information. For example, many of the recipes have directions like, "place all ingredients in a pan." Well, ok...but what size pan? Also, I'd like to know how much of a recipe is considered a serving. One cup? Two cups? What? Also, the nutritional information is lacking. For example, the fiber content of a recipe is important for people on Weight Watchers to know, but this is not listed.
Some tweaking of this book would earn it a 5-star rating from me.
2489449
I liked the book overall, however, some of the recipes were a bit intense, I was thinking that 100 years of recipes would have some from my grandmother's day and age and I really did not find many with the least number of ingredients.  Some were overwhleming to read.  This is a good book for someone who is baking/cooking all the time, but the occasional baker/cooker would probably not use the recipes.
2352991
Overall good recipes and ideas. Would like more references with some of the conclusions that were made, and more pictures please.
3347847
I love the recipes in the book but was bothered by the number of repeats of some, the vague measures (a pinch/a dash/to taste)  and the lack of any sort of meal planning, background information on the diet and it's key foundations, etc. Overall, it's a good resource for some unique ideas but not the best guide for someone trying to follow the Dolce Diet.
3474983
I got this book in a LibraryThing Giveaway. It does have some nice ideas for meals, however pretty basic. I find it interesting it includes the utensils required for each recipe, which would become useful for any new cooker. The way it presents the amount of ingredients varies from recipe to recipe, in the format of the book, sometimes it just says "1/2" but doesn't specify if it's tsp or tbsp or a cup, sometimes it measures in grams/oz, it's confusing. There's one recipe that even calls you to search for instructions in google. It needs some editing since some sentences are cut or just not right, and also confusing. It refers to pictures that were not included at least in the version I received, but I find pictures would help a lot in making the recipes more appealing.
1754782
Not much substance, but some good recipes to try.