Review: Carnivore Diet for Beginners

Amelia Milton, Carnivore Diet for Beginners: Practical Guide for Health, Weight Loss, and Energy (Kindle 2024)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222023966-carnivore-diet-for-beginners

A diet plan, including the science, for those who want a meat and only meat diet

The first chapters go through the science and basic principles of the Carnivore Diet and what sort of mental challenges people face around losing weight. It goes into a practical guide to changing your mindset and implementing new, healthier eating habits.
This new lifestyle emphasises drinking water, replenishing electrolytes and getting plenty of rest.
My motivation is desired weight loss, but people (particularly men) often choose a protein-heavy diet in order to build muscle or to lower cholesterol. A meat-rich diet is also good for improving energy and mental clarity. It is often said that meat is more satiating than plant-based foods, thus making us ‘feel full’.
Homo sapiens is primarily a carnivore species, so evolutionarily, we were meant to live this way.
Of course, it’s primarily beef, poultry, pork, seafood and eggs, but we should also add bone broth, animal fat, organ meats and fatty cuts. Remember, it’s sugar that makes you fat; fat does not make you fat.
This cookbook contains relatively few actual recipes—organised into Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks and ‘Nose-to-tail’ recipes. ‘Nose-to-tail’ recipes are those calling for rogan meats—liver, heart, tail—which we are less used to cooking with. I get ‘beefy marrow bones’ from a butcher who will saw them sideways for you, so the marrow is open to the broth.
And we are talking basic, basic recipes—meat+butter+salt. Each recipe is illustrated by a colour photo. There is a simple meal plan for three meals a day for four weeks and beyond. I prefer one meal a day—the OMAD diet—but I fall down on ‘snacking’ in the evening and drinking wine. For those on the go, there are some portable options like beef jerky, boiled eggs (did we really need a recipe for that?).
One on the go recipe I look forward to trying is Cheese & Meat Roll-ups—simply layering cheese slices with slices of luncheon meat, rolling them up and cutting into bite-size pieces. I’m also tempted by the offal recipes like Braised Beef Heart Stew and Seared Lamb Kidney with Herb Butter. Some of the seafood recipes look easy and delicious, like Seared Tuna Steak with Sea Salt and Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Lemon Butter.
I kind of don’t really feel I’m ‘cooking’ unless I’m making some recipe with loads of ingredients. These recipes are not that. They are for people who want to eat meat! And that’s it.
The final chapters are on health and safety, ‘customising your Carnivore journey’ and answering common questions.
I would say a downside is that meat is more expensive than plant-based and carb-heavy ingredients, but if it gets me skinny, it’s worth it. I will probably not go as whole-hog as this. I’m probably going to slip some vegetables, fruit and dairy in there, but I have been thoroughly won to the no-carb, no-sugar principle. Studies are beginning to show that a meat-only diet is good for us.
For some technical reason I understand not, my PC Kindle wouldn’t open it. But I was able to download it to my Android phone.