When Stacy of Paleo Parents asked us to review a recipe from their forthcoming book, Eat Like a Dinosaur, we couldn’t help but say “ABSOLUTELY!” We love the idea of trying out other blogger/cookbook authors recipes, because it is always interesting to us to see what other Paleo foodies come up with in the kitchen. Not to say we are too “self-absorbed” to try other bloggers recipes, but when you do this full time, and really view it as your passion and job, that doesn’t really leave much time for exploring other recipes in the Paleo Community. One thing that Bill and I have talked about recently is making an effort to try recipes from other Paleo blogs more often. Probably the fact that we got to enjoy Diane’s cooking for several weeks really made us stop and think…”Okay, clearly we aren’t the only Paleo foodies who can cook, we are totally missing out!”

We were really excited to hear about Stacy and Matt’s children’s book, Eat Like a Dinosaur. I personally don’t think there can be enough information out there for parents and children on how to make healthy changes in the diets of little ones. As I have said before, I have a lot of experience with children, and I have seen first hand the foods that so many kids are allowed to eat without hesitation by their parents. I think the worst of my experiences were going to the soccer practices of 4 years olds, and being shocked to see what the parents had packed these kids for their snack during practice. Milk Duds, pretzels, gummy candy, sodas, you name it… they had it. It was so sad, it simultaneously broke my heart and infuriated me. I can’t wait to be a mom one day, and I consider today’s “kids foods” to just be poison in pretty packaging. That may sound extreme, but it honestly is poison. No child should be sent to a sporting event with milk duds and soda for their snack!

Okay, enough of my rant on the health of kids today, and on to the review. Stacy and Matt are amazing parents. They took control of their health as a family when their third baby, Wesley was born. I can’t imagine how they could handle a newborn, along with two other kids, all while making a serious lifestyle change. These two are pretty miraculous people. Bill and I have spent some quality time with Stacy, Matt, and their three boys Cole, Finian, and Wes. They are a loving family with adorable children who have a deep understanding of what health is. When I think about our experience writing a book, and how stressful and time consuming it was, I can’t imagine throwing three kids into the mix as well. We are extremely moved by the passion that drives this family. How they could write a children’s book and continue to be full time parents, as well as have a full time job is just inspiring to us. This family really wants to make a difference.

Before we had met Stacy and Matt for the first time, we agreed to review one of their recipes for the book. We chose the Anytime Cookies. I made these with my cousin Brooke, and they were a hit! These cookies are free of dairy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, and soy. They are also only sweetened with an apple and a banana, so they are definitely cookies that you can feel good about giving to your kids every now and then! The day I made them we had a good bit of family in town, and the whole batch was gone in minutes! After Bill tried them he looked at me and took the words right out of my mouth…”damn, I’m mad these aren’t our recipe.”

The only bit of trouble we had with this recipe was the cook time. Our cookies took a lot longer than the recipe initially said, however this just goes back to what we always say about being aware while cooking. When you make a recipe for the first time you have to take into account different factors. Did we use an apple that released more water than they did when they made the recipe? Is their oven hotter than the oven we used? I checked on the cookies every so often until they were perfect, and they turned out great!

We can’t wait to receive our copy of Eat Like a Dinosaur (which should be arriving any day now) and dig into more of the kid friendly recipes. We will be having quite a few cooking dates lined up with my little cousins, that’s for sure!

Don’t forget to pre-order your copy of Eat Like a Dinosaur on Amazon  or Barns and Noble today!