100 Days of Real Food: How We Did It, What We Learned, and 100 Easy, Wholesome Recipes Your Family Will Love (100 Days of Real Food series)

This is not just a cookbook. The book is broken down into two parts: the Plan and the Recipes. The Plan provides detailed guidelines about what real food is and what it is not. It discusses why it is important to avoid highly processed foods, how to read food labels, healthy grains, the problem with sugar, artificial dyes, sweeteners, dairy products, cooking oils, organic options and GMO’s (genetically modified organisms). The Plan section also offers a shopping guide, tips on eating local year round and motivation for getting started now. If you are packing school lunches, there is a lot of information in this book about how to do so in a healthy way. She also offers budgeting tips and meal planning ideas, as well as a section on starting your own dinner club. If you are just starting to transition to a real food lifestyle, this is definitely a book you will want to own. If you are already on the real food bandwagon but need some renewed motivation and strengthening of some of the key real food ideas, then you would also enjoy this book.Part two, the Recipes, offers some very simple and tasty recipes. Here are the ones we have tried so far: Apple and bacon grilled cheese: This was a nice lunch and gave a different taste to an old classic. We used organic cheddar cheese, green apples and grass fed bacon. The next time we have this recipe, I would use red apples and make sure the bacon is really crispy. Overall, I really enjoyed the flavors and it was a quick and tasty lunch that the whole family could enjoy. Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes: Delicious! My husband could have seriously eaten the entire batch, but I was able to save a few to freeze for a quick breakfast to serve the kids before school. This recipe was so easy that I am the one who made it. For those of you who know that I am the researcher and the one who devises the recipes and my husband is the one who actually does the cooking, this is a big deal and speaks to the ease of the recipe! I even let my daughters (age two and four) mash up the bananas and pour the ingredients into the bowl for me. They came out very thick and moist with a nice subtle sweetness and were perfectly paired with 100% real maple syrup. Slow Cooker Refried Beans: Every person in my household loves refried beans, so this was a recipe we tried from the 100daysofrealfood.com website before the cookbook was released. For some reason ours came out really, really dry. The time it took did not prove worth it when compared to the convenience of purchasing a can of organic refried beans from the store. That said, we will definitely try this recipe again when time allows in the future and will add more water. PB&J Smoothie: My kids are used to the flavor of 100% real fruit and vegetable smoothies as we have those all the time. We thought they would love the PB&J smoothie because they love PB&J sandwiches. Neither of our girls took more than a sip. This smoothie did taste exactly like a PB&J sandwich and could be just what you need to start your kids out loving smoothies. However, if they are already used to the real thing, skip this recipe. Jason’s Grass Fed Burgers: These burgers were juicy and delicious. We did omit the onions since my husband is not a huge fan. The mustard powder is the flavor that was distinctive to me as my husband has a recipe that uses soy sauce. It was really good and a recipe that will definitely make it into our rotation. Slow Cooker Flank Steak Fajitas: This is a very easy recipe. The flank steak tastes great. I did not like how soggy/soft the onions and peppers turned out in the slow cooker. We have made this recipe many times (from her website) and have actually included some in the slow cooker for flavor, but then sauteed the rest to used on top of the prepared fajita. This is a very filling meal, so think light when you decide on side options. We have used the refried beans with it previously and it was just too filling. A nice salad would be a better choice. As a side note, we have yet to try making our own whole-wheat tortillas from her recipe. Again, it boils down to convenience as we have a nice 100% whole wheat tortilla option at our local grocer. Time permitting though, I would love to try homemade. Teriyaki Flank Steak Salad: A lovely meal! The Teriyaki steak was so good that I did not even want to put it on a salad. We omitted the onions and cilantro. This was a really good salad, that did not even feel like eating a salad. It was flavorful and delicious. Use the dressing sparingly so that the ginger in the dressing does not overpower the taste of the steak seasoning. Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Meatballs: I was really skeptical that I would like a meatball with carrots in it. Mince them fine enough and you barely realize they are there. It is slightly different than the classic meatball flavor, but I still thought they were good. This is a very kid friendly meal and one that we will make again. The meatballs can also be frozen to keep on hand as a last minute meal option. Whole Wheat Pizza: We LOVE making our own pizza at home. It may have actually been our dinner every Friday night for a while. The dough base of this recipe is pretty standard across the internet and I prefer it made thin as opposed to trying to make a thick crust on it as my husband sometimes does. We have tried adding honey to it to make it a little sweeter, but found it doesn’t make a big difference. No matter what recipe you go with, you should try making your own pizza at home. It really is easy and the feeling after you eat this pizza compared to a fast food pizza is full without feeling that you need to unbutton your pants! We have perfected the sauce and the recipe makes enough to freeze for future use. See ours here. Pizza Bites: Again I found myself making a recipe! This is a really easy meal for kids. Serve with finger food fruits and veggies for a nice well rounded meal. It is literally pita bread crust (found one with flax and whole grains), organic tomato sauce and organic shredded cheese. Put on a baking sheet in the oven and 10 minutes later it is mini pizzas for lunch. It was so easy I just used the entire package of pitas on two baking sheets and froze the leftovers for an easy future snack or meal option.UPDATE, NEW RECIPES TRIED: Brown Rice Risotto: Excellent! I would not change a thing. We added sauteed (in coconut oil) red peppers, asparagus and white mushrooms. I barely even like mushrooms and I did not even bother picking them out it was so good. It is an easy recipe but takes 45 minutes to cook and you have to stay close to the kitchen to stir frequently. Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs: Took 4 1/2 hours on high in the crockpot. The ribs were fall off the bone delicious. The rub and sauce have chili powder which offered a little spicy kick. The BBQ sauce is tangy. Different than the Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce we used to use but I still enjoyed the ribs.A real highlight for me about this book is that there is a picture for every single recipe. This is amazing to me as I have been disappointed in the past by cookbooks that one have a picture for every few recipes. This is a huge plus in my book. The book contains about 100 easy recipe ideas and is perfect for those just starting out or trying to perfect their real food journey. This book is more about the technique and the principals than the recipes. The recipes that are offered give an idea of how to simplify and turn recipes that you already use into real food options.I would like to point out that while this book offers readers a guideline to leaving processed foods behind and turning to a real food lifestyle, it does NOT focus on nutrition. This method begs the question, “is simply removing processed foods from our diets enough?” Many of the recipes and posts on my website (happierinhealth.com) focus on the specific health benefits that you receive from the food and why you should feel good about making those choices. To me, focusing on real food was a stepping stone of going from processed food, to real food, then to real food that is specifically focused on providing benefits to our body and overall health. This book is a great step in any journey towards health and happiness. Visit me at happierinhealth.com for more information like this.

I'm not a nutritionist, but after years and years and years and years and years of trying to diet off my extra pounds, I know a lot about food. I don't believe in "bandwagons". I never went for the diet food craze. I didn't do Adkins or Weight Watchers. I didn't do the TV meal plan things. I did almost do the juicing thing, but thought better of it. I didn't invest myself in soy and I'm a little leery of the new coconut oil craze to be honest. But, even though I homeschool and don't need to send my children to school with a lunchbox, I found myself fascinated with Ms. Leake's website and her daily Facebook posts. I've seen some ridiculous lunchbox posts---Cinderella shaped stacked vegetables and whatnot---just enough to make you wonder if these women EVER sleep! But, that was not the case with Ms. Leake's posts on Facebook. Like so many of her subscribers, I was won over by practical, organized and pretty lunches that were posted 5 days a week. Next, I read her blog and her mission to live on real food. I've been trying to do this unsuccessfully for years. I know what real food is; I know where it comes from and I know what it looks like. My family has gardened all of my married life. We homestead, sort of, and I know what fresh dairy and meat and eggs are. So why can't I pull the whole food thing off? Well, laziness, proximity in my new situation and complete, total hatred of cooking. I truly hate to cook. I don't even like food that much, which is why I'm a confirmed grazer. I don't like to sit at the table; I don't like meal planning; I don't like the clean up; I'd rather have weeks of dental work than GO to a grocery store because you can't eat anything from there without guilt. I don't mind Farmer's Markets, but I've never lived near one until now. I live in the desert and our growing season is October to April. The problem with our market is quantity. I'm feeding 5 people and I'd have to buy THE CROP in order to get enough for my family for a week. Things here are geared to singles and retired couples.So why 5 star? Why say "Just BUY it already"? Because, you probably don't face the same obstacles I do. Your organic store isn't a 160 mile round trip. You've probably got a great Farmer's Market near you. This is good advice. You should take it.I'm not sure to whom this book is written. Anyone can use it, but because of Ms. Leake's age and where she is in the process of raising her children, she probably aimed the book squarely at younger families raising children similar in age to her children. Don't let that put you off. There's some good up to date information in this book. She doesn't seem to be one for bandwagons, which is so refreshing. She didn't talk about the new fad of fermentation, the emering health concern of iodine deficiency. She didn't veer off into homesteading ( which is interesting, but it clouds issues and topics) This is good, even though I'd love to know her thoughts about yeast bread vs. sourdough. Anyway, she stays pretty mainstream with this book and it is what we all needed. I have shelves full of cookbooks I can't use for various reasons. Mostly, because they use ingredients that I either cannot get or I don't want to do it. It's too big a change, too much different. She didn't mention asparagus once! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE asparagus. But, I can't get it. We live so far (the 150 mile rule) from places that can grow it, I wouldn't have it even if I did find it in the one organic store 80 miles away. Have you ever noticed how much asparagus the other "real food" cookbooks use?? So many cookbook authors ASSUME that I can get the same ingredients that they can find in their area. I can substitute, but it's the principle of it. I think Ms. Leake does make this assumption to a degree, but she still kept the ingredients simple enough that I can get just about everything she lists. This is simple food, simple preps, simple organization, simply practical. Ms. Leake has answered a real need with this book.The book is well organized. Others have said it in reviews that you can read here. I skimmed the first section "The Plan" because, as I said, I read a lot about nutrition and about food, the food industry and nutrition as a practical health alternative. I've read Michael Pollan's books, I've seen the documentaries. That's probably why I have so much trouble with it. I read TOO much. IF you don't know much about food, about where your food comes from, about what food companies deem acceptable ingredients for you to ingest, read the first section very carefully. Then go read Michael Pollan's books. And, I'd add Joel Salatin as well. But, don't skip the education part of the book. What is available here is good sound advice for the average American grocery shopper. Again, I use the adjective "organized and practical". This is one of the best presentations of the problems, trends, misinformation and other food information that I've seen. Take the challenges that she presents in this book, use it, write in it, just work the problem one week at a time.The second section is what I bought the book for. Well, I like the blog and wanted to support her work, but I also need some help with my own lunch box problems. As I said, I live in a very remote area, but we have many tourists who visit regularly. My husband helps maintain the roads that are not paved, so that they remain passable for those who visit the area. He isn't near anything, when he stops his machinery to have lunch. I desperately need lunch box ideas!! Who better than the queen of lunchbox lunches? What I need are lunch ideas that can sustain a guy doing physical labor, but who doesn't want to fill up (nothing worse than that feeling in our heat). I need something that can give him enough of a nutritional kick to make it through the rest of the day. I scored with this cookbook. I've also recently gotten a job. But, unlike my husband, I'm right next door to a cafe with special pricing for employee meals. I DO NOT need to be eating cafe food four days a week. But, what I normally pack for my husband, in terms of calories and good choices for me, is just as bad as the cafe food. Because Ms. Leake doesn't dumb down her food for her children, she has learned to make and her children have learned to eat a more sophisticated selection of food. Meaning, I've got ideas, real ideas and recipes for a grown man doing a tough day's work and his pudgy wife (me). BONUS! I admit that I had this expectation when I bought the book and with just one time through, I can see that I'll be able to use these recipes everyday. She's done for me a job I really hate. She's figured out "what's for lunch?"And finally, I think I might be able to use this to finally make the changes and buy better ingredients for the family. I might even shed a few pounds. I'm not going to hold my breath for that one, but just for peace of mind to finally kick some of these few remaining bad habits. I've truly been strangled by all of the information that is out there concerning nutrition: good fats, bad fats, good eggs, bad eggs, no yolk, free range, organic feed only, which veggies are over exposed to chemicals, which are safe, what is organic, labeling, wild caught seafood vs farm raised vs cold water vs warm water, locally grown ( no more than 150 miles), seasonal fruits only vs. fruit all year round (Barbara Kingsolver's book). Then add to that the homesteading movement and the (very real need for us) need to have a store of food in case of emergencies. It's too much information, too many directions all in the name of food. This is a very simple, practical and organized guide that will help you on the road to one thing. It tells you how to incorporate real food into your diet daily. It gives you practical, easy and surprising sophisticated recipes to accomplish this. Those who would ask about sophisticated? How many of your Moms sent homemade mini quiches in your lunchbox? I rest my case. ( And they're easy, too)Love the book (it's thick, too! I wasn't expecting it to be so big), love the blog, appreciate the daily pictures of daily lunches on Faebook and I appreciate the help with my own grownup lunchbox dilemma. Job well done and I am so pleased for you with the success of this book!PS: It isn't "preachy" either. Another bonus.

Only half way through but having flicked through thé recipes to start, I already have a liste to try first. Thé bookéd arrives long before expected,..an added bonus

Have tried most of the recipes and I love it.

This book has become a stable in our house that I refer to weekly. I also like the introduction which has a wealth of information on helping you to define real food and how to access it in our North American culture. Makes an excellent gift as well at that price. Most recipes are easy for beginners or those that may want to try something a bit more challenging.Some of our favs:-Carrot Applesauce Muffins (or cake)-Potato Hash-Homemade Vanilla Extract-The Best Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker and Chicken Stock-Mushroom Soup-GranolaThe constructive feedback that I have is that some of the recipes are initially a bit bland and I think this is the result of trying to stick to a short list of ingredients (which I understand). However, I often find I'm adding more spices to make the dishes more savory (e.g. cinnamon or sage).

A wonderful book that not only provides great recipes but also goes through every step and detail involved in making this lifestyle change- from weekly shopping plans to strategies for getting your family on board. Lisa has a very sensible and realistic attitude towards food and the food industry. Unlike so many other food and lifestyle books, 100 Days of Real Food does not seek to frighten you into changing your diet, make sweeping claims or provide drastic miracle solutions. Lisa takes you step-by-step through the process and addresses all the problems and difficulties one might face. She fully acknowledges that her way is not the only way to live a real food lifestyle, especially because everybody is different and lives in different circumstances. Therefore, she informs readers about the different options and attitudes out there, providing a foundation from which they can make their own choices. She sources all her information (listing relevant books and documentaries) and always provides an explanation for all her personal choices and opinions so the reader is never left confused.I am so glad I decided to buy this book! I'm excited to put things into practice now that I can make informed decisions about food.

Probably the most helpful book on food I've ever encountered (this is the only one I've ever encountered so far lol), the author has kindly list out the conversion, recipes and tips! Very easy to "digest" ;) as a total noob on the topic! Well done.