Book Review: Luke and Scott Clean Living Cookbook

The Paleo diet has generated worldwide interest in recent times. Described as the “caveman’s diet” or primal eating, the concept is based on eating only what you can hunt or catch, and forage from nature.

Luke Hines and Scott Gooding of the TV show My Kitchen Rules have published a second book, Luke and Scott Clean Living Cookbook. Described as “delicious paleo food to help you change your life”, the cookbook follows from their book, Clean Living which was released late in 2013. Their latest expands on the healthy living lifestyle with a series of recipes to help you make the change.

Luke and Scott’s Clean Living Cookbook

The recipes are fully illustrated with a light and bright colour scheme that goes well with the theme of clean eating. The 144 page book is divided into five sections. Breakfast is somewhat limited to ten recipes which require time to prepare and are likely to be skipped if you’re on the run. They include Bacon and Zucchini Muffins, an Open Omelette with Chilli Onion Jam, Bircher Muesli and the Perfect Egg with Asparagus.

Lunch is geared towards weekends and people working from home with some free time. Many involve a few steps.  They require pre-planning and cooking which is not helpful if you’re time-poor. The flip side is that they can be used as recipes for dinner. Highlights include Coconut Mussels with Chilli, Baked Fish in a Bag, Broccoli Soup and Asian Style Ceviche.

The Dinner section is varied with some inspiring dishes such as Baked Snapper with Chilli, Slow-cooked Beef Cheeks, Tahitian Poisson Cru and Chargrilled Scampi with Herb Butter. Salads, Sides and Smoothies are only given a cursory look with some useful albeit basic recipes in favour of the more elaborate Sweets section. For a book that purports healthy eating, it seems to promote the sweeter side of life with Coconut Chocolate Fudge, Raw Raspberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Mousse with Raspberries and Coconut Cream. The paleo diet forbids refined sugars and grain but there are substitutions and they result in a high calorie intake.

I was inspired by Luke and Scott’s Clean Living book which I reviewed in December and have since delved deeper into the Paleo Diet. Consequently, I was looking forward to more recipes from their new book. But I found the lunch recipes to take up too much time to prepare and the focus on sweets and desserts disappointing.

Luke and Scott’s Clean Living Cookbook  is available at bookshops at RRP $29.99.