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100 Days of Real Food: How We Did It, What We Learned, and 100 Easy, Wholesome Recipes Your Family Will Love
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Food & Cookbooks (2014)Simple, family-friendly recipes and practical advice to help you ditch processed food and eat better every day!
Thanks to Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, Lisa Leake was given the wake-up call of her life when she realized that many of the foods she was feeding her family were actually "foodlike substances." So she, her husband, and their two young girls completely overhauled their diets by pledging to go 100 days without eating highly processed or refined foods—a challenge she opened to readers on her blog. What she thought would be a short-term experiment turned out to have a huge impact on her personally. After wading through their fair share of challenges, experiencing unexpected improvements in health, and gaining a preference for fresh, wholesome meals, the Leakes happily adopted their commitment to real food as their "new normal."
Now Lisa shares her family's story, offering insights and cost-conscious recipes everyone can use to enjoy wholesome natural food prepared with easily found ingredients such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, seafood, locally raised meats, whole-milk dairy products, nuts, natural sweeteners, and more.
Filled with step-by-step instructions, this hands-on cookbook and guide includes:
Advice for navigating the grocery store and making smart real food purchases Tips for reading ingredient labels 100 quick-and-easy recipes for such favorites as Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Whole Wheat Pasta with Kale Pesto Cream Sauce, Cheesy Broccoli Casserole, The Best Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker, and Cinnamon-Glazed Popcorn Meal plans and suggestions for kid-pleasing school lunches, parties, and snacks A 10-day mini-starter program, and much more.
100 Days of Real Food offers all the support, encouragement, and guidance you'll need to make these incredibly important and timely life changes.
Thanks to Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, Lisa Leake was given the wake-up call of her life when she realized that many of the foods she was feeding her family were actually "foodlike substances." So she, her husband, and their two young girls completely overhauled their diets by pledging to go 100 days without eating highly processed or refined foods—a challenge she opened to readers on her blog. What she thought would be a short-term experiment turned out to have a huge impact on her personally. After wading through their fair share of challenges, experiencing unexpected improvements in health, and gaining a preference for fresh, wholesome meals, the Leakes happily adopted their commitment to real food as their "new normal."
Now Lisa shares her family's story, offering insights and cost-conscious recipes everyone can use to enjoy wholesome natural food prepared with easily found ingredients such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, seafood, locally raised meats, whole-milk dairy products, nuts, natural sweeteners, and more.
Filled with step-by-step instructions, this hands-on cookbook and guide includes:
Advice for navigating the grocery store and making smart real food purchases Tips for reading ingredient labels 100 quick-and-easy recipes for such favorites as Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Whole Wheat Pasta with Kale Pesto Cream Sauce, Cheesy Broccoli Casserole, The Best Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker, and Cinnamon-Glazed Popcorn Meal plans and suggestions for kid-pleasing school lunches, parties, and snacks A 10-day mini-starter program, and much more.
100 Days of Real Food offers all the support, encouragement, and guidance you'll need to make these incredibly important and timely life changes.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2014
698 people are currently reading
6086 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Leake
5 books31 followersLisa Leake is a wife, mother, foodie, blogger and author of the #1 New York Times Best Seller, 100 Days of Real Food. She began chronicling her family's journey on 100DaysofRealFood.com when in 2010 they decided to start seeking out the real food in our processed food world. What started as a simple pledge has turned into a valuable and practical resource that's now read by millions around the globe. Lisa has appeared on Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, CNN, and The Doctors TV Show.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 285 reviews
December 4, 2014
Lisa Leake is pretentious, and that pretentious attitude saturates everything she does.
Not everyone can afford her lifestyle. Her and her husband live in Charlotte, which is one of the most expensive places to live in North Carolina, she's a stay at home mom who can afford a cushy lifestyle, and thus, thinks that everyone else should be able to do what she does.
She once told a reader of her website to sell their car so they could afford clean eating. This person lived in the rural Midwest, where having a car to go anywhere was a necessity.
These recipes are good - doable - if you have the time. But time is a thing that people like Lisa and "Food Babe", her partner in crime, don't realize most people don't have. The recipes in this book are not feasible for a lower middle class or impoverished family, or a single-family household.
Mrs. Leake thinks she is doing some good, and while she might be, for the people who can afford it and have the time, it leaves the rest of us, the people who should "sell their cars", still resorting to eating convenience foods.
Budget Bytes is a far better alternative, if you're poorer and want to eat healthy.
Not everyone can afford her lifestyle. Her and her husband live in Charlotte, which is one of the most expensive places to live in North Carolina, she's a stay at home mom who can afford a cushy lifestyle, and thus, thinks that everyone else should be able to do what she does.
She once told a reader of her website to sell their car so they could afford clean eating. This person lived in the rural Midwest, where having a car to go anywhere was a necessity.
These recipes are good - doable - if you have the time. But time is a thing that people like Lisa and "Food Babe", her partner in crime, don't realize most people don't have. The recipes in this book are not feasible for a lower middle class or impoverished family, or a single-family household.
Mrs. Leake thinks she is doing some good, and while she might be, for the people who can afford it and have the time, it leaves the rest of us, the people who should "sell their cars", still resorting to eating convenience foods.
Budget Bytes is a far better alternative, if you're poorer and want to eat healthy.
January 9, 2016
I've followed Lisa Leake on Facebook for some time which is why I wanted to check out this book. After reading, I can say that it was a worthwhile read, and the recipes are a great introduction to simple, clean eating. Her family has definitely gone to the most strict sense of clean eating, and that isn't for everyone, including me, but it definitely makes you think about what clean eating means and how even small changes such as reading labels can make a huge difference. It is amazing to see what is being put in our food even when it is being pushed as "healthy."
A lot of the complaints about this book were how eating clean isn't cost effective and that Leake comes across as pretentious. Leake very clearly states that it won't work for every family, but she does give the tools for those who really do want to go "all in." She also stresses that any change is better than no change. She is definitely opinionated about clean eating, but it's her passion. I'm not going to overhaul my family's eating habits, but I did take away some good information from the book and will make some positive changes. As far as complaints about cost, it's just an easy excuse to not like the book or Leake's lifestyle. Does it cost more? Sure. Cost of produce, meat, and other healthy foods always have cost more. This isn't her fault.
Overall, this was a worthwhile read with an interesting point of view. I'm not going to become a full convert, but I am taking away some great information and recipe ideas.
A lot of the complaints about this book were how eating clean isn't cost effective and that Leake comes across as pretentious. Leake very clearly states that it won't work for every family, but she does give the tools for those who really do want to go "all in." She also stresses that any change is better than no change. She is definitely opinionated about clean eating, but it's her passion. I'm not going to overhaul my family's eating habits, but I did take away some good information from the book and will make some positive changes. As far as complaints about cost, it's just an easy excuse to not like the book or Leake's lifestyle. Does it cost more? Sure. Cost of produce, meat, and other healthy foods always have cost more. This isn't her fault.
Overall, this was a worthwhile read with an interesting point of view. I'm not going to become a full convert, but I am taking away some great information and recipe ideas.
December 19, 2022
My Takeaways:
1. Check ingredient labels for the word “whole” before any grain… if it doesn’t say whole, it has been refined and is less nutritious.
2. The shorter the ingredient list the better.
3. “Low-fat” replaces fat with more sugar, and “sugar-free” replaces sugar with artificial sweeteners that are worse for you.
4. Whole milk> because if is less processed and less nutrients are removed since no fat is removed.
5. Bags of shredded cheese often have cellulose added, but cheese blocks don’t.
6. Cheddar cheese that is orange has color added.
7. The best cooking oils are olive oil, butter, and coconut oil (also unrefined fats like avocado oil, sesame oil, bacon grease, etc)
8. When vitamins are listed as ingredients, it is usually a sign that the food was stripped of nutrients earlier in the process.
9. Avoid products that make health claims.
10. Local/humanely raised meats have little to no additives.
11. “Organic” means no pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or GMOs.
12. The word “natural” has little to no meaning because standards for labeling food as natural are so lax.
13. Chickens and cows that eat better produce better products. i.e. grass fed>grain fed.
14. Twelve produce that are the most affected by pesticides and synthetic fertilizers (and thus would be good to get organic): apples, strawberries, grapes, celery, peaches, nectarines, spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, snap peas, cherry tomatoes.
15. Frozen veggies are more nutritious than canned.
16. Any change you make is better than none at all. You don’t need to go 100% immediately, and the two biggest impact changes are eating more produce and switching to whole grains.
1. Check ingredient labels for the word “whole” before any grain… if it doesn’t say whole, it has been refined and is less nutritious.
2. The shorter the ingredient list the better.
3. “Low-fat” replaces fat with more sugar, and “sugar-free” replaces sugar with artificial sweeteners that are worse for you.
4. Whole milk> because if is less processed and less nutrients are removed since no fat is removed.
5. Bags of shredded cheese often have cellulose added, but cheese blocks don’t.
6. Cheddar cheese that is orange has color added.
7. The best cooking oils are olive oil, butter, and coconut oil (also unrefined fats like avocado oil, sesame oil, bacon grease, etc)
8. When vitamins are listed as ingredients, it is usually a sign that the food was stripped of nutrients earlier in the process.
9. Avoid products that make health claims.
10. Local/humanely raised meats have little to no additives.
11. “Organic” means no pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or GMOs.
12. The word “natural” has little to no meaning because standards for labeling food as natural are so lax.
13. Chickens and cows that eat better produce better products. i.e. grass fed>grain fed.
14. Twelve produce that are the most affected by pesticides and synthetic fertilizers (and thus would be good to get organic): apples, strawberries, grapes, celery, peaches, nectarines, spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, snap peas, cherry tomatoes.
15. Frozen veggies are more nutritious than canned.
16. Any change you make is better than none at all. You don’t need to go 100% immediately, and the two biggest impact changes are eating more produce and switching to whole grains.
January 8, 2015
I have such mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I agreed with the author's food philosophy. Processed foods are bad, bad, bad. I, like the author, read Pollan's book, In Defense of Food and agreed with it. Some of the advice the author gave was helpful and I was motivated to eat better.
Buuuuuuuut, there was a lot in this book that I couldn't relate to. The author made such a sweeping and dramatic change in her diet and props to her. However, her reaction to In Defense of Food was so opposite to my own, that I had a hard time understanding this author. (I'm more of a slow, small changes person.) Even her 12 week challenge was too much for me. Rather than holding my hand through this whole foods life style change, I felt like she was pushing me off a food cliff. Also, at times, the author came off as a bit self-righteous.
While I agreed with the author's beliefs about the virtues of organic foods and local, humanely treated meat, I found her eating habits completely unrealistic to my life. The entire time I read this book, I kept thinking, "Too expensive. Too expensive! Too expensive!!!" Sure enough, when the author gave her "frugal" budget for four people, I laughed. It was a whopping $50 A WEEK more than my budget for four people.
I also felt like too much of this book was a review of Pollan's book. I wish the author would have brought more of her own ideas to the table. For instance, she could have focused more on application and given baby steps to those of us who aren't quite ready to so drastically change our eating habits. I would have loved a section about how to incorporate more veggies into one's diet.
On the bright side, this book was beautiful, with gorgeous pictures of the author and her family and pictures of food, scattered throughout. Visually, it was stunning. I also loved that the author included quotes from her children. It was so cute and sweet.
I had mixed reviews on the recipes. Her dinner recipes didn't quite gel with my family. We tried the eggplant Parmesan and the potato soup. The eggplant Parmesan was a little too simple for my family's tastes. The potato soup was good but didn't taste any different from potato soups that I've made in the past.
What I really loved about the cookbook were the breakfast, lunch, and snack recipes. I'm always looking for lunch and snack time ideas in particular. We made the cinnamon apple chips and LOVED them. They were a very doable, healthy treat. We will definitely be making them again!
The breakfast and lunch sections had lots of great-looking recipes. However, we only had time to make the black bean tostadas before I needed to return the book to the library. We loved the tostadas. I will definitely be adding them to our lunch rotation. They would also make a great quick dinner for our busy nights.
Overall, this was a decent book (especially for people who don't have time to read In Defense of Food), with some good recipes.
3 Stars.
Buuuuuuuut, there was a lot in this book that I couldn't relate to. The author made such a sweeping and dramatic change in her diet and props to her. However, her reaction to In Defense of Food was so opposite to my own, that I had a hard time understanding this author. (I'm more of a slow, small changes person.) Even her 12 week challenge was too much for me. Rather than holding my hand through this whole foods life style change, I felt like she was pushing me off a food cliff. Also, at times, the author came off as a bit self-righteous.
While I agreed with the author's beliefs about the virtues of organic foods and local, humanely treated meat, I found her eating habits completely unrealistic to my life. The entire time I read this book, I kept thinking, "Too expensive. Too expensive! Too expensive!!!" Sure enough, when the author gave her "frugal" budget for four people, I laughed. It was a whopping $50 A WEEK more than my budget for four people.
I also felt like too much of this book was a review of Pollan's book. I wish the author would have brought more of her own ideas to the table. For instance, she could have focused more on application and given baby steps to those of us who aren't quite ready to so drastically change our eating habits. I would have loved a section about how to incorporate more veggies into one's diet.
On the bright side, this book was beautiful, with gorgeous pictures of the author and her family and pictures of food, scattered throughout. Visually, it was stunning. I also loved that the author included quotes from her children. It was so cute and sweet.
I had mixed reviews on the recipes. Her dinner recipes didn't quite gel with my family. We tried the eggplant Parmesan and the potato soup. The eggplant Parmesan was a little too simple for my family's tastes. The potato soup was good but didn't taste any different from potato soups that I've made in the past.
What I really loved about the cookbook were the breakfast, lunch, and snack recipes. I'm always looking for lunch and snack time ideas in particular. We made the cinnamon apple chips and LOVED them. They were a very doable, healthy treat. We will definitely be making them again!
The breakfast and lunch sections had lots of great-looking recipes. However, we only had time to make the black bean tostadas before I needed to return the book to the library. We loved the tostadas. I will definitely be adding them to our lunch rotation. They would also make a great quick dinner for our busy nights.
Overall, this was a decent book (especially for people who don't have time to read In Defense of Food), with some good recipes.
3 Stars.
October 8, 2014
The healthy eating sections in the beginning of the book are interesting. However, these recipes are way too basic and there are really very few recipes- for people who do not know how to cook at all. My book group chose this and I will give this to our library. I have many actual cookbooks.
June 12, 2018
I have to say that I found myself shaking my head while reading this book. The pretentiousness, arrogance and condescension of this author was WAY too much for me. The entire time while reading this book, I thought she taught her audience as though they were too stupid to think through anything and needed her direction to even go to the bathroom. If they're too stupid to even read a recipe and then make up a grocery list, how do you them to cook the meals?
The only thing that saved this book from getting a zero star rating were the recipes. She did have some very interesting recipes in the book that will be added to my meal rotation.
The only thing that saved this book from getting a zero star rating were the recipes. She did have some very interesting recipes in the book that will be added to my meal rotation.
April 6, 2017
More of a cookbook than anything else - but some great information and support in a 'real food' diet.
December 16, 2022
This book absolutely changed my life. I loved the extensive tutorial for reading ingredients and shopping for whole foods that she included at the beginning of her book; I had no idea that so many of the things I have been eating are actually processed and bad for me. I also loved the recipes; I want to try almost every single one, and the several that I have tried so far are delicious. I appreciate the simple nature of the recipes that are easy to prepare and still taste good. Though I didn't take the 100 Days Pledge or completely overhaul my pantry like Lisa did, I am very pleased with the results that my family and I have experienced so far in implementing many of her healthy eating strategies (more energy, better sleep, and even a few pounds lost that I wasn't expecting to). I will definitely be buying this book!
September 9, 2018
Very informative and helpful! I was reminded of things I already knew, and learned a lot of new things along the way. The recipes in the latter half of the book look GREAT! I can't wait to give them a try!!
November 4, 2022
I’ve read this book several times now - any time I need a real-food reset because I’ve gotten lazy. We fell into a bad eating pattern over the summer and our health is suffering from it, so here I am, back to what I know.
I love how Lisa makes it simple. Am I able to do everything she does? No. Do I have the same resources here that she does? No. But I can still take her concept and make it work for our budget and our area.
Real food isn’t hard. It does take extra time and planning but we are living proof that it’s worth the effort.
I also appreciate that Lisa has great, easy recipes and not exotic things that my kids will ever eat.
Also highly recommend her “fast food” cookbook that came after this one.
I love how Lisa makes it simple. Am I able to do everything she does? No. Do I have the same resources here that she does? No. But I can still take her concept and make it work for our budget and our area.
Real food isn’t hard. It does take extra time and planning but we are living proof that it’s worth the effort.
I also appreciate that Lisa has great, easy recipes and not exotic things that my kids will ever eat.
Also highly recommend her “fast food” cookbook that came after this one.
November 8, 2020
There were some good-looking recipes in this book, some of them a bit challenging for me, but still. I enjoyed the photos too.
June 1, 2015
This is a beautiful book with great photographs. I read the first half, and like other reviewers, was a bit put off with her pretentious attitude and constant referencing of Michael Pollan, who himself is a journalist and not a nutritionist. I would have like more "science" backup, although I did learn a few things about processed food. I feel like she really excels at marketing her ideas in a beautiful glossy book!
The second half of the book is recipes, which I just glanced through quickly, since I had to return the book to the library. I referenced a few recipes to try, which I hope I can find on the the blog, or I will check the book out again.
The second half of the book is recipes, which I just glanced through quickly, since I had to return the book to the library. I referenced a few recipes to try, which I hope I can find on the the blog, or I will check the book out again.
March 17, 2022
I liked the whole idea of making healthy food on a budget. It is crazy, but somehow I need "permission" to swap ingredients. Leake gave some some easy swaps like honey for maple syrup, and cream cheese for goat cheese. She also included some really great recipes I am going to try. One for the crockpot is Mongolian beef. It uses a cheap cut of meat and the prep is easy. Sometimes I get frustrated with crockpot recipes when they are so labor intensive that it is really easier just to cook it on the stove. Also Moo Shu pork for the crock pot is on my "to try" list. Protein balls that don't require expensive protein powder is also on that list. Then she had a very easy pickle recipe.
January 14, 2018
Loved it! Pure common sense, but it's good to have it all laid out and recipes too. We are gonna do this - it's gonna take a bit - while we use up what we have but then pure butter and olive oil, 100% whole wheat, and cutting MAJORLY back on added sugars, deepfried, fast food and items with preservatives in it. Have you read the labels on your bread?! Bagels? Wraps? Salad Dressing? Things that are supposed to be "healthy". Insane. Whole foods is the way to go.
December 17, 2015
Really cool ideas in here, even if you don't go completely "real food". Gives you a lot to think about. Every recipe I've tried is fantastic (and easy).
September 16, 2019
Some of the reviews here are calling Lisa Leake pretentious. She absolutely is. I followed her Facebook page after reading this book and I am often shocked at how oblivious she is to the rest of the world. Not everyone can afford to eat like her family does, and not everyone has the leisure time to do meal prep and make sure their kids get X amount of fruits and vegetables in a day. She has occasionally posted things that refer to a lack of effort from people who do not make healthy eating a priority. I am curious if she is even aware that poor people are, like, a thing. Working multiple jobs and barely scraping by usually means you can make sure your kid is fed, period. So yes, Lisa is a pretentious and privileged white lady from North Carolina.
However!
I still really enjoyed this book. Some of her beliefs didn't jibe with me (I just don't think GMOs are THAT big of a deal), but there are a lot of excellent tips in this book as well. Eating two fruits or vegetables with every meal? That's a good tip. Cutting back on heavily processed foods? Also good. I have tried a few of the recipes and found them tasty, and I have baked a few things (not from this book) with whole-wheat flour and minimal sugar and been pleased with the results. I am not going to give up putting sugar in my coffee or eating french fries (because I want to enjoy my life while I am alive), and while my husband and I are blessed to be very comfortable financially, I am not going to buy all of our meat and eggs at a farm, because holy crap that is expensive. We did switch to pasture-raised eggs and we are more careful about reading ingredient labels. So did I learn some things from this book? Yes, absolutely. I had some really good takeaways and we definitely incorporated some of these ideas into our day-to-day eating.
However!
I still really enjoyed this book. Some of her beliefs didn't jibe with me (I just don't think GMOs are THAT big of a deal), but there are a lot of excellent tips in this book as well. Eating two fruits or vegetables with every meal? That's a good tip. Cutting back on heavily processed foods? Also good. I have tried a few of the recipes and found them tasty, and I have baked a few things (not from this book) with whole-wheat flour and minimal sugar and been pleased with the results. I am not going to give up putting sugar in my coffee or eating french fries (because I want to enjoy my life while I am alive), and while my husband and I are blessed to be very comfortable financially, I am not going to buy all of our meat and eggs at a farm, because holy crap that is expensive. We did switch to pasture-raised eggs and we are more careful about reading ingredient labels. So did I learn some things from this book? Yes, absolutely. I had some really good takeaways and we definitely incorporated some of these ideas into our day-to-day eating.
January 25, 2018
The teaching portion of this book is a little judge-y. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in the earlier stages of recovering from disordered eating.
Lots of stars though for tons of super practical recipe inspiration! Such a great resource for lunch ideas in particular.
Lots of stars though for tons of super practical recipe inspiration! Such a great resource for lunch ideas in particular.
November 29, 2020
I learned a few things from reading this book but must of the information provided was common sense. The recipes look straight forward and simple (the way I like it). Didn’t blow me away but not a bad addition to the kitchen recipe book collection.
March 24, 2021
Good reading. I hate purchasing cookbooks but if I saw this used I would buy it. 🙂
March 11, 2018
Excellent ideas on how to move towards more wholesome eating and living. Wonderful recipes.
December 30, 2018
Awesome cookbook. Lisa's lovely personality shines throughout.
April 20, 2025
I don't normally "read" all the copy in cookbooks. But the story part of this one was engaging and captivating, I started at the beginning and just kept reading. Really like her approach to cooking and food!
November 8, 2018
One positive takeaway from this book was a lot of easy and practical ways to incorporate more real food into my diet. But man... this author is very much blind to her own privilege. This woman's diet relies on a lot of things that are unrealistic to most- disposable income, time and access- and her condescension towards those who are unable to feed their families this strictly prescribed diet was not appreciated.
March 15, 2017
I love these recipes!!! I have already made a third of them. They are easy to follow and make. Each recipe I made has came out great!!!
April 7, 2015
This book is broken down into 2 sections: the first half is a recap of what is on Lisa's blog and the 100 day "real food challenge" that started it all. The 2nd half is recipes.
I follow the blog and agree with some of the other comments; Lisa can come off as pretentious because she is very passionate about her beliefs. There is nothing wrong with that, but it can rub some people the wrong way. She is also a stay-at-home mom with what appears to be a very comfortable financial situation -- something that allows her to do things that a lot of people won't be able to follow.
Pros: --she has a lot of good, if common, information.
--She has a LOT of kid-friendly recipes (which I don't have to worry about, but I know many people who are constantly trying to find food that their kids will eat).
--EVERY recipe has a picture -- this is HUGE for me since i am not the best of cooks and the pictures help to know what I'm trying to accomplish.
--The recipes that I have tried are very tasty and easy to follow.
Cons: There is absolutely no nutrition information. Lisa addresses this in that she herself does not have a weight problem and just wants people to focus on the 'real' food. For someone who DOES have a weight-problem I find this to be a big draw-back of the cookbook. It is not promoted as a weight-loss book, but nutrition information is considered standard in today's world so I find this to be a disservice to the public by not including that information.
Thanks to Brianne's review for putting me onto Budget Bytes website; I am now a follower. I like how that blog breaks down the cost of things and you can easily incorporate some of 100 Day's philosophy's into the recipes to come up with healthy yet budget-friendly recipes.
I follow the blog and agree with some of the other comments; Lisa can come off as pretentious because she is very passionate about her beliefs. There is nothing wrong with that, but it can rub some people the wrong way. She is also a stay-at-home mom with what appears to be a very comfortable financial situation -- something that allows her to do things that a lot of people won't be able to follow.
Pros: --she has a lot of good, if common, information.
--She has a LOT of kid-friendly recipes (which I don't have to worry about, but I know many people who are constantly trying to find food that their kids will eat).
--EVERY recipe has a picture -- this is HUGE for me since i am not the best of cooks and the pictures help to know what I'm trying to accomplish.
--The recipes that I have tried are very tasty and easy to follow.
Cons: There is absolutely no nutrition information. Lisa addresses this in that she herself does not have a weight problem and just wants people to focus on the 'real' food. For someone who DOES have a weight-problem I find this to be a big draw-back of the cookbook. It is not promoted as a weight-loss book, but nutrition information is considered standard in today's world so I find this to be a disservice to the public by not including that information.
Thanks to Brianne's review for putting me onto Budget Bytes website; I am now a follower. I like how that blog breaks down the cost of things and you can easily incorporate some of 100 Day's philosophy's into the recipes to come up with healthy yet budget-friendly recipes.
August 29, 2014
A couple years ago I started following 100 Days of Real Food on Facebook. It was an easy way to see lunch ideas and get some great recipes for our family. I visit their blog occasionally and have pulled some of our favorite recipes from their (the creamy wheat macaroni and cheese is a favorite of my husband's!).
I was thrilled when I heard about their cookbook. And even more excited when they offered me a copy in order to review it!
100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake is more like a Bible for food and healthy eating. The recipes are divine, yet family friendly and easy to make. The pictures are gorgeous (you know I love a cookbook with photos!).
The lunch box ideas are fantastic, and there are several pages of ideas. Perfect for any lunch, really, not just one away from home!
But it's not just recipes. The first half of the book is about the Leake's own food journey and how to get started on your own road to real food. From "What is Real Food?" to "Making Changes; Don't Overthink, Just Start!" There are menu plans based on seasons, what to watch for in food labels, how to shop, snack ideas, and so much more. As a busy mom, with limited time in the kitchen, this is the book on how to change our diet while not having anyone rebel at mealtimes!
I am thrilled to add this to my bookshelf and see myself using it time and time again. Perfect for all degrees of cooks, the recipes even list the difficulty from easy to advanced.
I was thrilled when I heard about their cookbook. And even more excited when they offered me a copy in order to review it!
100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake is more like a Bible for food and healthy eating. The recipes are divine, yet family friendly and easy to make. The pictures are gorgeous (you know I love a cookbook with photos!).
The lunch box ideas are fantastic, and there are several pages of ideas. Perfect for any lunch, really, not just one away from home!
But it's not just recipes. The first half of the book is about the Leake's own food journey and how to get started on your own road to real food. From "What is Real Food?" to "Making Changes; Don't Overthink, Just Start!" There are menu plans based on seasons, what to watch for in food labels, how to shop, snack ideas, and so much more. As a busy mom, with limited time in the kitchen, this is the book on how to change our diet while not having anyone rebel at mealtimes!
I am thrilled to add this to my bookshelf and see myself using it time and time again. Perfect for all degrees of cooks, the recipes even list the difficulty from easy to advanced.
September 19, 2019
The only "diet" book you'd ever need. The recipes are great for omnivores and vegetarians but a vegan would have less to choose from--though the principle still applies. There's no real science in here supporting the claim that real food is better for you than normal packaged fare, but it just makes sense that it would be. We didn't evolve over 5 million years of eating BHA, Xanthum gum, sodium benzoate, and so on, so it's doubtful we could be well-adapted to it. (Though the same thing could be said of New World veg for people like me, and oils, which come from a recent--in evolutionary time--technology, or out-of-season vegetables and fruits. But ya gotta eat something in winter.)
Eat like this 95% of the time, accept the body size that results, and quit obsessing over whatever the TV tells you about if eggs or oil or whatever are "good" or "bad" this year, and I suspect that'll give you optimal physical and mental health. It'll also save you a lot of time obsessing over food news. Just don't become a bore about it. If granny feeds you a store-bought cake for your birthday, smile and have a small piece and say "Thanks, gran! You're the best." Because she'll be dead soon, and you should be nice to her and that trumps any diet, any day.
I'm going to start eating "apple sandwiches" with either PB or cheddar cheese between two slices of apple. Sounds yummy! i wish I had a mom packing me those amazing lunches. They're works of art! : )
Eat like this 95% of the time, accept the body size that results, and quit obsessing over whatever the TV tells you about if eggs or oil or whatever are "good" or "bad" this year, and I suspect that'll give you optimal physical and mental health. It'll also save you a lot of time obsessing over food news. Just don't become a bore about it. If granny feeds you a store-bought cake for your birthday, smile and have a small piece and say "Thanks, gran! You're the best." Because she'll be dead soon, and you should be nice to her and that trumps any diet, any day.
I'm going to start eating "apple sandwiches" with either PB or cheddar cheese between two slices of apple. Sounds yummy! i wish I had a mom packing me those amazing lunches. They're works of art! : )
November 19, 2014
I am (admittedly) more than a little obsessed with food...or perhaps terrified by food would be more accurate. What I read on a weekly basis keeps me up at night, and I can't for the life of me understand how these additives and poisons are legally put into our food. There are many books about food that I'm not yet brave enough to read, though I am very well-versed in and try to abide by the whole/local/certain things organic lifestyle.
This book is part cookbook, part back story and part tips, hints and techniques for variety and success. I love the idea of this book and found it to be an easy, enjoyable read. I'm not familiar with the blog but I applaud the author for what she has accomplished both in this MAJOR life change to real food and in her presentation of it in this book. She seems to truly want to help others move over to a lifestyle of eating whole foods and her offering is neither preachy nor judgmental.
For me, the recipes were very basic but for anyone who is eating primarily processed, packaged foods, the recipes would be great. Regardless, I give this book high marks. I would love to get my family to an all "real food" existence and this book gives me hope that it could happen.
This book is part cookbook, part back story and part tips, hints and techniques for variety and success. I love the idea of this book and found it to be an easy, enjoyable read. I'm not familiar with the blog but I applaud the author for what she has accomplished both in this MAJOR life change to real food and in her presentation of it in this book. She seems to truly want to help others move over to a lifestyle of eating whole foods and her offering is neither preachy nor judgmental.
For me, the recipes were very basic but for anyone who is eating primarily processed, packaged foods, the recipes would be great. Regardless, I give this book high marks. I would love to get my family to an all "real food" existence and this book gives me hope that it could happen.
May 30, 2015
This books is OK. It offers a lot of arguments for cleaner eating, but the author didn't qualify herself as a nutritionist. . . just someone who developed a strong interest after reading Michael Pollan. She comes off as a little preachy, and there isn't really a narrative. She tells you things, then gives you recipes. The recipes themselves are solid, though pretty basic. Many of them would take too long for me to prepare during the week.
One thing that bugged me - around 2008 or 2009 another book was written on basically the same principal, only with an urban family of four (either in Brooklyn or Boston). It was before I was on Goodreads, so I don't remember the title of the book. But it was MUCH better than this; there was more narrative, and the parents told of their real-life struggles with eating like this (though pointing out the benefits). That book also included recipes, including the best fish stick recipe I've found. I wish I could remember the title because I'd recommend that book over this. I was kind of bugged too that Leake thought was she did was so unique, since it's been done elsewhere.
It's a beautiful book, and maybe worth checking out if you don't know how to get more whole foods into your diet.
One thing that bugged me - around 2008 or 2009 another book was written on basically the same principal, only with an urban family of four (either in Brooklyn or Boston). It was before I was on Goodreads, so I don't remember the title of the book. But it was MUCH better than this; there was more narrative, and the parents told of their real-life struggles with eating like this (though pointing out the benefits). That book also included recipes, including the best fish stick recipe I've found. I wish I could remember the title because I'd recommend that book over this. I was kind of bugged too that Leake thought was she did was so unique, since it's been done elsewhere.
It's a beautiful book, and maybe worth checking out if you don't know how to get more whole foods into your diet.
August 6, 2015
I love the concept of this book. I really try to prepare whole foods for my kids, but this lady takes it to a level that I don't feel like committing myself to at this time in my life. For example, if it comes from the store, it has to be 5 ingredients or less, and the word whole and organic must be present. Now, I'm a label reader big time. I look for sugar content, artificial ingredients, fat, sodium, etc...Part of my degree is in nutrition, but I feel like there is a misconception of ingredients labeled as "bad" that really aren't that bad...maybe I haven't been truly converted yet. What I did love were the recipes, they are delicious, and I love the lunch section for kids lunch...I was all inspired to change my lunch prep ways, then realized that the food she puts in her small kids lunch won't work for high school and middle school. Translation...my kids won't eat it. Great book for recipes though. I'll still use real sugar though...too bad it's got such a bad rep.
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