Disclosure: I do not own It Starts With Food CookBook: The Low Sugar Gluten-Free & Whole Food CookBook – 40 Delicious & Healthy Recipes Your Family Will Love. And I do not intend to purchase it — for two reasons.
First and foremost, the book violates the copyright and trademarks of the Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, who wrote the real It Starts with Food. The Hartwigs did not commission or grant permission for their title or for their Whole30 trademark to be used, and this attempt to capitalize on their intellectual property is deplorable.
The second reason is that the cookbook is not what it claims to be. Amazon’s preview for this book shows that it contains recipes using ingredients and techniques that are forbidden on the Whole30 diet. Cheese, milk, and baked goods are not allowed during the Whole30. Neither are “look-alike” substitute foods like gluten-free baked goods. Yet the first recipe shown in this book’s preview is for pancakes, and it’s followed by a frittata containing milk and cheese. In fact, ALL of the recipes in the preview contain forbidden or questionable ingredients. If you use these recipes while trying to follow the Whole30 plan, you will fail.
I have done Whole30, have lost weight (30+ pounds lost so far) and improved my health while following it, and recommend it to my friends. If you want to do Whole30, do not buy this book. Buy It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, and use those recipes and instructions for the diet. And use the Whole30 resources on the Whole9 website to ensure that you are eating only compliant foods. Anything else is just setting yourself up for failure.