More fun with science and a book review

As I was saying a week ago -before I was so rudely interrupted by science- there is an experiment brewing in my house. Starting on Monday last week, I have been testing out one Mystery Ingredient at a time. Mystery Ingredient #1 went off without a hitch; #2 has gone well, too, although in the interest of full disclosure, I’m pretty sure it was soy protein powder.  I could taste that one.

All I know about these first four Mystery Batches is that each contains either egg yolk, soy, ghee or nothing (the last one’s the control). These were selected based on Mickey’s advice to reintroduce foods in stages, starting with the least likely to cause reactions. After I’ve tested out these first four ingredients, I’ll find out which was which and then move onto the next four. If all goes well, I’ll be eating egg yolks, ghee and soy by the middle of next week.

Speaking of Mickey, I may or may not have written a shamelessly gushy fan letter to a certain cookbook author who has made this all possible; and she might have written back and asked me to review her new hardcover book.

Yes, Mickey mailed me a hard copy of The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook before it was available for sale. My own copy. To quote my two-year-old: Mine. I want to say neener neener neener you can’t get one, but you actually can buy your own copy if you click here.

And you should. The hardcover version is similar to the ebook, only better, stronger and prettier. The reasons you need this book instead of the ebook are as follows:

1) If you’re stingy like me, then you’ll want to avoid cooking with the ereader that you don’t have, and will resort to printing out recipes from the ebook on scratch paper in black and white, and you’ll do your best to keep them organized and then fail; and your feeble but well-intending printer will desecrate all that beautiful photography. If you’re like me.

2) The ebook gives the basics of the primal diet, but the hardcover explains the principles further.

3) Micky shares her own amazing story in this edition, and

4) offers a guide to reintroducing foods, as described above. Most importantly,

5) there are even more awesome recipes in the hardcover edition than in the ebook.  Curried chicken and vegetable soup? Yes, please! Ooh, and lamb meat patties for breakfast! I also love the beef-butternut stew and the curry chicken salad and the clam chowder . . . Dang it, now I want to go eat instead of finishing this post.

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What’s that? No, I totally did not just run off to have a little snack of leftover stew. If you’re done with the rude questions, can we continue, please? Thank you.

6) Even more beautiful photography -in full color on fancy, glossy paper instead of on the backs of ancient receipts- that makes me kind of want to eat the book. No, I swear I have not tried.

The only con is that the typos are gone. Mickey did, it turns out, mean to call for 24 ounces of salmon, and not 24 hours. I think I’m going to eat a full day of salmon anyway in honor of the release of the new book.

Regardless of which edition you decide you need, The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook is an invaluable resource for people whose immune systems are making them sick or crazy or both. Mickey’s straightforward advice, meal plans and shopping lists cut through the brain fog and the baffling complexity of the diet, and helps you heal your body sooner. Mickey helped me get well.

And I have her book. And you probably don’t. Neener.