Nom Nom Paleo Disappointment
I’d like to share with you my disappointment with Michelle Tam and Henry Fong’s new cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo.
If you decide to pick up a copy of Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans by Michelle Tam & Henry Fong, you may have to be prepared for a big disappointment. I say this because I am certain that you will miss out on what I consider the best part of cooking….. leftovers.
To Michelle and Henry’s credit, the portions are reasonable— but unfortunately, my family is not. After every single recipe I prepared from this book, without exception, they ate like they were coming off a hunger strike. I had no leftovers, even if I doubled the recipes. I never thought it was possible for recipes to be too good, but apparently, I stand corrected. They are too good. This has been a sincere disappointment for me.
I am also disappointed that this cookbook didn’t come out in 2009 when I first discovered the Paleo Diet, but that is where my disappointment ends. I absolutely adore this cookbook.
I prefer to treat my first encounter with a cookbook as if I were reading a novel. The first read through was so delightful! I could almost hear Michelle Tam’s voice and squeals of delight from her little ones, and it felt like much more than your average cookbook. I really enjoyed that.
I enjoyed this cookbook for other reasons as well. If you take the time to read through the tips at the beginning of the book you’ll end up looking like a genius in the kitchen. The recipes that I’ve made so far are about as straightforward as it gets, the ingredients listed are easy to find (although I still haven’t found furikake), and the “hands-on time” & total time are accurate even for a non-expert cook like me. Even if you have a small pantry of staples, your grocery list will usually be fairly short, and you won’t break the bank.
One of the perks of being Karen Pendergrass’ mom is that she receives a lot of cookbooks. Even though I enjoy trying recipes from the new cookbooks, I rarely make a recipe more than once. What’s the point really? Well…. remember the hunger strike analogy? You will likely be forced to make a recipe more than once. I made the grilled lamb chops & mint chimichurri (lamb on a stick), polpette di Vitello (Translation: best meatballs ever!) and spicy tuna cakes. My family practically inhaled! I had to make them again!
They think I’m some kind of kitchen goddess. Who am I to tell them any differently?
Thanks Michelle and Henry!
-Kimberly
20 Responses
Nice job with this review… I gasped when I saw the headline and was like “OH NO SHE DIDN’T DIS MICHELLE!” LOL Nicely done 😉
It’s fast become one of my go-to cookbooks – if you’re in Austin (as I believe you are) you can find furikake at the MT Supermarket on Lamar & Koenig. That place is a wonderland of amazing products!
Ha! After reading the title I was ready to hunt you down and make you scream “uncle” for disrespecting my most favourite Paleo blogger of all time (it was actually Henry’s blog re: P90X that brought me to nom nom). Great review. And with it you now have a new reader. Bravo Kimberly!
Cleverly done.
Headline almost did me in! I agree all of Michelle’s recipes are great so I had to check out the review. I like her side notes and lead ins and backgrounds on her can’t miss web site so the book has got to be a hit. What a rich background to draw from so glad she put it in print!
Wow!! I nearly fell over when I read that title and shouted to myself ‘are you mad???! ‘ but now I know better! This is THE single best cookbook I have ever owned, I fact I just have 2 cookbooks on the shelf, the next one is a paleo baking bible and I am sure it will be all I ever need. I have rediscovered the joy of cooking after owning this book…. It’s fab and I love it! Xxx
You got me good! I just got Nom Nom a few weeks ago and was totally thrown off by you saying it was a “disappointment.” I was thinking to myself, this girl doesn’t know what she’s talking about..then I continued to read and you had me hooked! I’ve cooked several of Michelle’s recipes with all being amazing! Thanks for the good read!
It’s so true even with 2 of us left overs are only in the fridge for a short moment. We found furikake at Whole Foods, but that isn’t what it was called. Eden foods has it.
You are an idiot. Thanks for the laugh at your stupidity.
Thanks for posting anonymously. It saves me the time of having to hunt you down 🙂
LOL well played — I’ve been debating buying this cookbook, sounds like I need to get it. Very seldom do I have leftovers, so that phenomenon is already how things are over here. No problems!!
I was SO ready to bow up on behalf of Miss Nom Nom! My husband bought the book over the holidays and we love it! We’ve renamed 40 Cloves of Garlic, courtesy of Barefoot Contessa/per Nom Nom, “Sexy Chicken”…however, you’ll have to go to the Nom Nom blog for that one… Happy cooking!
I have always hated to cook but a client of my husband’s gave him this book for Christmas. I love everything about this book. It’s incredibly easy to follow and the results are phenomenal. I made the Yankee Pot Roast it was honestly the best I have ever had anywhere! Michelle is my Queen!
I couldn’t agree more. It’s the perfect guide for new and seasoned paleo. What about the photography. It’s stunning. This could be a coffee table book if I would let it out of the kitchen. I put it as a must have on my blog.
Too good, ehh!? Nice touch with the title.
I agree with the article! I saw the book at a Books a Million and was drawn to the cover. I read through it while my family was shopping and bought it that day. Everything I have made from this book has been a hit with the kids, even my teenage son who hates vegetables. But yes, the portions are smallish for a family of 4. My wife and I do “Paleo-Warrior” type eating, So I usually have the prior days leftovers for lunch, the only problem being there usually aren’t any leftovers. I will fidget with scaling the recipes to see how things turn out. And like someone else said, furikake is hard to find, except on Amazon, where you can get all the exotic stuff (organic coconut milk, Hawaiian red salt, etc…)
I was ready to go to bat for Michelle when I saw the title of this article, but now that I’ve read it through, I admit we have the same problem. My kids love the book so much they read it while watching TV. Sorry you can’t find all of the tasty ingredients that I can get by walking around my neighborhood
I’ve been having the same problem with Michelle’s recipes…. too delicious, I feel stingy if I share a recipe for 4 with 3 friends… they glare at me as if I were stingy, while licking their plates. Also, I consider Michelle a friend… none of my other friends are interested in Paleo…. can’t live with out bread, cake, ice cream, rice etc.
I get my furikake at the commissary, so it’s not a problem. Any Asian grocery should have it as well. But, if you’re isolated, there’s always Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/JFC-Seto-Fumi-Furikake-Seasoning/dp/B0006G5KEO
Or this one, if you’d prefer a more Paleo furikake (I don’t get too fussy, but I know some people do): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019JPH2C