The Autoimmune Keto Cookbook: Heal Your Body with Delicious AIP-Compliant Recipes and Meal Plans By Karissa Long
Got this book after reading the other autoimmune book - still super great! lower carb, love it 229 Love the recipes!
Having autoimmune issues I was immediately intrigued by this cookbook. Also, being a health-nut for years and studying about ketosis I thought it would be interesting to see what these ladies had to say. All the recipes are amazing and worth trying. The AIP recipes are a great reference when looking at a menu for the week. I have yet to attain a level of ketosis where my body is burning the fat stores and honestly don’t know many other who do either. That was why I rated this a 4 - “keto” has become a buzzword that few rarely attain. 229 It can be overwhelming to even consider following an auto-immune protocol elimination diet while at the same time eating low carb. What is even left to eat? ( And what is left to eat that actually tastes good and allows for mealtime variety?!)
Enter with trumpet fanfare: The Autoimmune Keto Cookbook from Rockridge Press! This gem of a cookbook provides 87 recipes (60 of which focus on the challenging elimination stage), along with 3 weeks of meal plans. The book is divided into sections for: Breakfast, Side Dishes, Snacks, Soups/Salads, Poultry/Seafood, Beef/Pork, Desserts, Broth/Beverages, Seasonings/Sauces/Dressings.
I especially appreciate the chart on which to note reactions during the reintroduction phase, and the macros included with the typical nutrition data.
For anyone suffering from autoimmune disease symptoms, I highly recommend this cookbook. It truly takes away the stress of feeling overwhelmed by how to follow an AIP diet while still eating a tasty variety of low-carb dishes!
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
229 Pretty Good Book - My Review is Ridiculously Long
Note:
This is a long review. It's long because aside from a brief review of this book, I've also included much deeply personal information mainly for two reasons. One, is so you have a better understanding of why I reviewed this book the way that I have & two, something about my story might help you.
This Book:
I do not follow a Keto diet because I follow my version of an AIP diet. I was however, very curious to see what a AIP Keto diet would look like. For the most part I like almost everything behind the premise of this book. However, there are a few things that are a real turn off for me. I understand that Keto is very low carb. Not being able to eat an orange or grapes is entirely unappealing. Only a half cup of berries too restrictive. I try to fit as many nutrient dense foods into my day as I can for the best nutrition possible. In my personal experience this means adding in things like an orange at breakfast & grapes for dessert.
I also don't care for the use of chemical sweeteners like erythritol. Again, I get it, no carbs, but for optimal health, you don't want to put crap like erythritol in your body. Okay, maybe YOU don't mind, but I do. Also, a trusted Dr. of AIP who I follow is against all fake/chemical sweeteners including stevia, monk fruit, & yes, erythritol, etc. She recommends natural sweeteners, honey, maple syrup, molasses, etc. BUT she is not promoting Keto for autoimmune disease.
As for the recipes, I've only made three so far:
-Creamy Matcha Latte page 56:
This is something I've already been doing for years for breakfast. It's a real winner. Organic Ceremonial Matcha is also fabulous Bulletproof style.
-Sticky Wings page 89:
The ingredients all looked great. This seemed like it would be out of this world, but it turned out incredibly bland. I doubt I'd make it again.
-Vanilla Panna Cotta page 146:
This is so easy to make & it tastes out of this world. It's my new favorite dessert (aside from red grapes).
There are many more recipes I plan to try as many of them look very appealing to me.
The beginning of the book briefly explains inflammation, the importance of diet, exercise, rest, & overall mental health. Lists of safe foods & foods to avoid are provided as well as foods to avoid initially to reintroduce at a later date during the reintroduction phase. A shopping list is included for each weeks meals. The back of the book has a half page of resources, including my favorite AIP Dr. Sarah Ballantyne. If you want an in-depth look at AIP, Sarah is your guide to all things AIP.
Overall, I like this book. At the moment I'm satisfied with where I am regarding my autoimmune disease. I will be utilizing more recipes from this book as I love to cook from scratch. Should my current diet lifestyle start to fail me or if I feel I want to try Keto to see if my health can further improve, I will be sure to utilize this book more thoroughly.
My journey with Endo:
I've been following an AIP diet for about 6 years or so. Initially I didn't even realize that was what I was doing. All I knew was a felt horrible. I like many thought a Vegan lifestyle was the healthiest. I was thin, but I was also suffering & it only got worse. I stumbled across the book 'Digestive Health with REAL Food' & decided to give it a go. I followed the most restrictive part of the diet for about 2 years. I stuck with it so long because as crazy as this will sound, I noticed IMMEDIATE results. As in the very same day I started to follow DHWRF. I was stunned & thrilled. It was an amazing moment & turning point in my life. The thing is I still didn't know what was wrong with me at the time (autoimmune disease).
After those 2 years I discovered the low FODMAPs diet & tried it out. Things weren't as great as DHWRF, but were still better than being Vegan & I finally had some variety in my diet after 2 years of very little variety where I knew I without question wasn't getting all the nutrients I needed (I was very low in Vit C for example). While following a low FODMAPs diet for a few years I started to regain all of my old symptoms, but this time they returned with a vengeance. My suffering almost brought me to my knees while I worked.
From this, I came across a book by Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, 'The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body'. I started to follow her book & learned that healthy foods like nightshades were causing me some of my horrible agonies. Ironically or not, the year I suffered the most was the year I was eating the most nightshades because I was growing them on my farm. Plus, I happen to like nightshades! I also realized that when I was following DHWRF, I was avoiding nightshades. In DHWRF I didn't really understand the science behind everything or I should say the why, I just figured I'd try it, it worked & I stuck with it. Dr. Ballantyne explains the why very thoroughly & I'm grateful to her for her work.
An AIP diet didn't fix me, but it did reduce my pain by a good amount. Finally however I found out exactly what was wrong with me, endometriosis. All I can say for those who are fortunate enough to not have it, the pain gets worse over the years & you slowly end up with more pain days than non pain days. Having never been able to conceive, I cannot speak for comparing it to labor pain, but women who have conceived said it is worse than labor pain. This explains why I would nearly crumple while working in the fields on my farm. For me, it feels like I am being stabbed or what I imagine stabbing would feel like. It is sharp and quick and awful.
This discovery of Endo lead me to looking in the right direction at last. Along with Dr. Google, I also followed much of the advice in the book by Dr. Andrew Cook, 'The Endometriosis Health and Diet Program: Get Your Life Back'. The combination of Dr.'s Cook & Ballantyne plus Google have finally set me free. I follow a mostly AIP/low FODMAPs diet (I have had years to figure out what foods do & do not work for me) along with the following supplements: DIM, Vitex, Pycnogenol, & Progesterone Cream.
Wherever you are in your journey I wish you good health. 229 I loved this cookbook the recipes are delicious and I found so many I like. I highly recommend it if you like keto dieting.
I received this book from Calisto Publishing and Rockridge Press for an honest review. 229
Tasty autoimmune keto recipes and meal plans for relieving your disease symptoms
When it comes to managing your health, a ketogenic diet can help. The Autoimmune Keto Cookbook takes a keto, AIP-friendly approach to relieving autoimmune disease symptoms and improving overall well-being. Three weeks of meal plans and 85 delicious recipes make a ketogenic diet approachable for everyone.
The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) calls for the elimination of inflammation-causing foods for a period of time. Half of the recipes in this ketogenic diet book are AIP-compliant, and you’ll also find each one conveniently labeled either “AIP Elimination Phase” or “AIP Reintroduction Phase.” That way, you can eat the food that works most effectively for your body without sacrificing flavorful, satisfying meals.
This ketogenic diet cookbook includes:
Autoimmune info—Learn about what autoimmune diseases are, what can cause them, the link between diet and disease, which foods to eat and avoid, what AIP is, and more. Plan your macros—Discover practical methods for eating the right ratio of macronutrients for achieving ketosis and maintaining a ketogenic diet. A guide to reintroduction—Get tips for reintroducing certain foods in phases once your symptoms have dissipated, as well as a tracker for recording dates and reactions.Relieve your autoimmune symptoms with mouthwatering meals centered around the ketogenic diet and lifestyle—The Autoimmune Keto Cookbook can show you how.
The Autoimmune Keto Cookbook: Heal Your Body with Delicious AIP-Compliant Recipes and Meal Plans