First off, a short note for those who are asking where your book is.
We’ve been getting a lot of confusion from followers of ours when they see people already getting their copy of Eat Like a Dinosaur when their pre-order still says they’ll be getting it at the end of the month. Let me explain.
When a book is a month or so out from publication, review copies get sent to many people to review as part of publicity for the publication. With our book, rather than sending hundreds of copies to mainstream publications that would never in a million years review a book that is so far outside the mainstream (You feed your children vegetables without hiding them Jessica Seinfeld style? You really think that works?!), we asked our publisher to send it to as many related blogs as we could. Not just paleo blogs, but also various other gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, Weston A. Price, and natural living blogs. Our hope was that the people who most wanted a book like ours would be reached by us casting this wide, but focused net. So far, the reviews that have come out have been fantastic and we’re excited and honored to share them with you!
By the way, if you are reading this and have received your copy or a posted a review, let us know so that we can make sure we capture that!
Another Press Release!
It seems like only last week (it was) when I told you all to share a press release for our book. Well, because you awesome people helped spread the word, we now we have another (paid and promoted) on PRWeb we’d love to see spread far and wide. Do you mind clicking and sharing this link and broadcasting it for us? We’d really appreciate it!
This Week’s Reviews of Eat Like a Dinosaur!
Elana’s Pantry
As Stacy said on Facebook, finding out that one of your idols is not ashamed to have written the forward to your book is a big relief! We’ve talked a lot about what a wonderful person Elana is and how lucky we feel to have her support on this endeavor. She was, by far, the best tool we had to get into the kitchen and cook with our kids when we started this journey. And now, we’re grateful to call her a friend and mentoring guru of all things awesome. Her kind words and support cannot be thanked enough.
This book is full of family friendly, super healthy, and may I say, super delicious, recipes. And I am proud to say that I wrote the forward to it.
In case you missed it, she also links our video preview where you can hear our totally embarrassingly dweeby voices tell you what the book is about!
Ancestralize Me
The very first person to receive her copy was Laura from Ancestralize Me. She must live next door to the post office from which the books were shipped, because she got it practically the next day! If you want to read about the perspective of a paleo/ancestral diet practitioner actively attempting to become a registered dietician, this is the place to go. Laura is a very good and accessible writer who wades right into the active topics of the day. Her review really got the ideas behind the book and really encouraged us.
I really love that the Paleo Parents have information for each recipe about how kids can help make the food. This is one of the most important parts of the book, because getting kids involved in food preparation is one of the best ways to get them to accept their new way of eating. Not to mention, its a great way to bond with your children AND to teach them crucial food preparation skills that they’ll be using for the rest of their lives.
And this was our favorite idea we incorporated, truly. Our boys love to help in the kitchen and we really hope that our book encourages other families to bring their children into the kitchen. Read Laura’s review as it is a very thorough overview of the contents AND includes some delicious chocolate chip cookies straight from the T-Rex’s mouth!
Wellness Mama
First off, if you want a comprehensive site about living naturally by a woman who truly lives it, Wellness Mama is where you ought to be. She covers all the topics we believe in, but don’t necessarily always blog about (such as cloth diapering). She also has an active forum where she routinely answers questions on all kinds of topics. So we were honored when she agreed to review our book.
The best feeling in the world for us is hearing that children overcome their skepticism and try our recipes and enjoy them. Particularly awesome was this:
My oldest was a little skeptical at first since he helped put the ingredients in and knew that the recipe included avocado, but after his siblings quickly threatened to drink his milkshake, he got over his new-found disdain for avocados (he eats them in food all the time without knowing it!) and decided to try it. He loved it and told me that while he still doesn’t like avocado (he does) that he does like them in smoothies!
How cute is that? Not to be all celebrity/athlete about it, but we are, in fact, doing it for the kids. Seeing kids cooking from, smiling with and eating happily from our book is the greatest gift we could get. Go check out her review, as she embarrasses us with praise!
Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations
You ever have someone abruptly appear in your life and, in short order, endear themselves to you so thoroughly you forget what it was like before you knew them? Well, that’s how we feel about George from the excellent and entertaining CCCC. You probably already know George, after all he happens to have almost 20,000 Facebook fans, but if you’ve been missed, I recommend checking him out and his outstanding recipes and thoroughly amusing writing style. Also, he has a tendency to giveaway thousands of dollars worth of stuff in his giveaways. You know you want in on that!
George, despite having no children of his own, reviewed the book and tried out the butternut squash puree (which I don’t think anyone else has yet tried). Then he gave us this amazing, overwhelming capper:
Stacy and Matt’s hearts shine through on every page of this book. It is not a pieced together recipe book to try and make a buck, you can feel the sweat, tears, and many pounds shed on every page of this book. They truly want to share their journey with everyone to touch as many lives as possible and I can do nothing but fully support that.
But don’t stop reading there! Stay reading to hear the story of George, 10 year Marine veteran, four-pound-of-meat-per-day-eating, muscle bulging tough guy, curled up a couch crying as he eats our Monster Cookie Dough Dip!
Spunky Coconut
When we were first starting our paleo journey and didn’t know what to do to make when our vegan (egg-free) brothers were around, one of the best resources we found to help us was Spunky Coconut. We found that many of her recipes could be easily adapted. Kelly also cooks with her kids and inspired us to keep in mind people with allergies when we wrote our recipes, one of the reasons we note egg-free and nut-free when possible. So, it was really exciting to have someone who literally inspired us be excited to read our work.
Kelly wrote about how her children actually made one of our recipes by themselves without much assistance! This was so completely outstanding to us — exactly where we want all children to find themselves: in the kitchen cooking food and learning about healthy habits. You should definitely check out the adorable pictures of her girls working in the kitchen!
A lot of people have been taking note of some of the little features of the book, making it more interactive and easy for children’s use. Not surprisingly, Kelly’s girls found one feature they loved!
What is Zoe most excited about before they make another recipe from Eat Like a Dinosaur? Writing her own notes in the yellow notes box provided for you on every recipe page. Can I just say, that idea was genius.
Prana PT
When we started this blog, we had no idea how far reaching paleo was and how it could come back around and be local as well. By chance (by tracking the top ten referrers to the Eat Like a Dinosaur page) we found out that the paleo approach to nutrition was also a part of the local Prana Physical Therapy group. Apparently, a few people from the blog section found us. Being neighborly, we offered Ann a copy, which she, in turn, reviewed.
Stacy and Matt have lost a combined total of over 200 pounds in less than 15 months, and transformed the health of their children as well. They accomplished all of this by eating real, whole foods and by getting their kids excited about the food choices they have.
Which is exactly the tone we tried to strike in the book; diet change, for kids, is best approached as what you do get to eat, rather than what you can’t.
Five Questions with Balanced Bites and a Giveaway
If you are, as we are, a fan of the fantastic media empire of Diane Sanfilippo, then you’ll be just as excited as we are that we were featured as a participant in her five questions series. We got to answer her questions with new information and enthusiasm and we hope you check it out!
Upcoming Media and Events
We’ll soon be appearing in a city near you! Or at least Stacy might sneak in in the middle of the night all ninja-like and pay you a visit.
Wednesday – Friday March 14-17, 2012 at PaleoF(x) Ancestral Momentum – Theory to Practice – in Austin, TX. Join Stacy in attending the 2012 PaleoF(x) Symposium and get an early copy of our book – signed!
Book Signings
Sunday March 25, 2012 2 PM at Salt & Pepper Books in Occoquan, VA – The entire family will read Eat Like a Dinosaur, the illustrated children’s story, answer questions and sign books. Snacks made by Matt with recipes from Eat Like a Dinosaur will be provided!
Saturday March 31, 2012 10:30 AM at Barnes & Noble in Fair Lakes, VA – The entire family will read Eat Like a Dinosaur, the illustrated children’s story, answer questions and sign books.
You Can Listen To Us
We’ll also be featured on a few upcoming podcasts and radio shows, including Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Show on March 20th and on the Latest in Paleo Podcast March 19th.
Many more announcements coming this month, so follow our Facebook Events or Press & Events to keep up to date!
Seminar Coming Soon!
We’ll also be launching the Eat Like a Dinosaur: Paleo Parenting for Healthy & Happy Kids seminar series soon! If you run a cross-fit kids program or want us to come talk to people you know, please send us an e-mail through the contact form. We’ll be keeping it local for a while with all the stuff we have going on, but eventually we’d love to help spread the word to whomever is interested in hearing it!
p.s. Don’t forget to enter our GET KIDS EXCITED giveaway this week. On Monday 3/12 we’ll be kicking off another!
