Danielle Walker's Against All Grain Celebrations (Hardcover) by Danielle Walker

Love all Danielle Walkers previous books and so excited to tryout all these recipes.

I LOVE all of Danielle's cookbooks. They are very informative, easy to follow and all of her tips and tidbits are so helpful! This is a must buy!

This cookbook has tons of delicious meals that are made with wholesome, gluten/grain-free, and paleo ingredients! Perfect for anyone starting out on a paleo or gluten-free journey, but the recipes can be enjoyed by anyone! There's also a section dedicated to kid-friendly foods and the photos will leave you salivating. I've made a ton of recipes from this cookbook and my family loves them! In fact, the Spanish frittata, pad see-ew, cauliflower rice, chocolate chip cookies, and jello are staples at our house. HIGHLY recommend this book!!

I own Danielle's first two cookbooks, and they are the most used cookbooks in my kitchen. I reach for them multiple times a week. My family eats mostly Paleo, with the occasional raw dairy for my kids and husband. I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of Celebrations from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Celebrations does not disappoint! It is categorized by events throughout the year rather than categorize by type of recipe, but a recipe index is included in the back in case you wish to look up by type of recipe- breakfast, appetizers, soups, etc. So far I've made the Lemon Bars (p 117), Knife and Fork Pork Ribs (p 124), Heirloom Tomato, Watermelon and Basil Salad (p 168), Salad Skillet Corn Bread (p 131), and the Blackened Salmon with Stone-Fruit Salsa (p 177). My pictures are of the Lemon Bars, Corn Bread, Salmon with Salsa and Heirloom Tomato Salad. If I had to pick a favorite, it was definitely the salmon with the fruit salsa... I lost count of how many times I said "wow" while eating it. The flavors were fantastic. :) I wasn't sure what to think about the tomatoes combined with the watermelon - in my head it just didn't seem to work, but again, it was delicious!! Not a combination I would have thought of, which is why I buy cookbooks! :) The lemon bars were perfect for our labor day picnic... in complete honestly, I could have eaten the pan myself :) The crust was perfect. I will be making all of these recipes again and am really looking forward to the fall and thanksgiving recipes. Especially the pumpkin pie!

For the past 2 years or so my husband and I have been eating mostly gluten/grain free. We just feel better eliminating gluten from our diets. Eliminating gluten/grains from our lives meant going in search of new recipes. I first checked out Danielle's first book "Against All Grain" from the public library. I loved it so much that I returned the library book and purchased my own copy. When her second book came out, "Meals Made Simple", I immediately bought it as well. Her recipes are easy to follow and tasty! Now she has released her third book, "Celebrations" which is full of amazing recipes to share with your family and friends on holidays and special occasions. The best thing about all these recipes, besides being easy to make and tasty, is that EVERYONE loves the way the food tastes! You don't have to label it gluten free, because everyone will want to eat it ALL! So far I have made the following recipes from the new book: -Cauliflower Buffalo Bites (Page 54) - Great alternative to buffalo chicken wings -Green Chile Chicken Soup (Page 58) - Starting to feel like fall in Colorado, made this 2 nights ago, it is ALL GONE. Everyone LOVED it! -Lemon Bars (Page 117) - Delightfully lemony. -Knife and Fork Pork Ribs (Page 124) - Made these for Labor Day. Super easy to make and were a big hit. -Skillet "Corn" Bread (Page 131) - The corn is in quotes because there is no corn in the recipe. This bread is delicious! Goes with everything. Tastes like dessert! You will not be sorry when you take this out of the oven! -Peach Cobbler (Page 132) - Who doesn't love a good peach cobbler, and this one is gluten free. (no one will know the difference!) -Heirloom Tomato, Watermelon and Basil Salad (Page 168) - This salad screams summer, it is light and tasty. Perfect side dish for any BBQ! - Ginger Ale (Page 181) - Who knew you could make your own gingerale so easily? I sure didn't, but now that I do, I'll be making it all the time! Love ginger, so this was right up my alley! - Deviled Eggs, Four Ways (Page 187) - I only made them one way, with the Pesto Filling! I've made these twice now and everytime they disappear. I was hoping for a leftover to put in my lunchbox, guess I'd better make 2 dozen next time! -Herb Ranch Dressing (Page 326) - I made this to dip the buffalo cauliflower bites in. It was so good and I made a big batch, so served it up with cut up veggies. Every veggie was eaten and the dip bowl was wiped clean! -Pumpkin Spice Latte (Page 263) - Made this for my daughter last weekend when she came to visit, fall in a cup. So comforting to drink on a fall day! I cannot say enough about Danielle and her books. They will literally change your life. You'll feel better and your family and friends will love you for it! Treat yourself to all three, I promise you will not regret it!

I have been gluten free for four years, grain free for two, and paleo for just over a year, because of food allergies and thyroid issues. I have always been in charge of holiday meals for a large number of family (just this Labor Day we had 17!). In the past it has been a struggle to find foods that were safe for me and my girls, while making sure our extended family had comfort foods that they would enjoy. We would scour the internet and test a bunch of recipes, and usually came back to Danielle Walker's recipes from her previous books. When Celebrations came out, I was quick to jump on a pre-release trial! I have already made a bunch of the recipes, and I can say with confidence that every recipe we've tried has been delicious, and not terribly difficult to make. If you are not used to cooking with paleo-friendly ingredients, it may seem a little foreign at first, but trust the recipes, they work! I am looking forward to each of the coming holidays, knowing that I have a selection of items, from appetizers to entrees to desserts, for each and every holiday. And not only are they holiday friendly, they make great every day meals, too! The recipes I have tried and loved: -My Heart Beets for You Smoothie p. 67 -Eggs Benedict Strata p. 113 -Sweet and Sour Meatballs p. 50 -Cauliflower Buffalo Bites p.84 -Pesto Deviled Eggs, p.187 -Green Chile Chicken Soup p.58 (LOVE this recipe - and crockpot easy!) -Heirloom Tomato, Watermelon, and Basil Salad p.168 -Skillet "Corn" Bread p.131 (family favorite, we have made it many times already) -Knife-and-Fork Pork Ribs p. 124 (this didn't last long at our Labor Day cookout!) -Burger Bites p.140 (my children enjoyed helping to make these) -Mini "Corn" Dog Muffins p. 143 (great Friday night family meal) -Chicken Salad Biscuits p. 192 (best chicken salad I have ever eaten) -Lemon bars p. 117 (tangy, sweet, and absolutely mouth watering) -Peach Cobbler p. 132 (unbelievably delicious!) -Christmas Fudge p, 312 (I meant to take this in to work to share, but kept it for myself! Shh, don't tell the girls at work!) -Ginger Ale p. 181 -Pumpkin Spice Latte p. 263 (HEAVENLY, and clean ingredients!) -Gingerbread Latte p. 272 (DIVINE, and ditto on the clean ingredients. Both lattes were surprisingly easy to make) -Barbecue sauce p. 321 (yum!) -Blender Bread p.323 -Herb Ranch Dressing p. 326 (DELICIOUS. I think this recipe by itself has tripled the number of vegetables I eat!)

This book is gorgeous and filled with so many awesome recipes and perfect holiday meal plans!!! I'm so excited to try them all because I have already tested so many that were absolutely perfect!!!! Gingerale, my kids and I both love this and I can feel good about giving them this "soda" for holiday treats, special occasions and as their special tonic when they are sick!! Witches fingers (which would be awesome bread sticks for normal non-Halloween days!) Peach cobbler- even my non gluten and dairy free family members gobbled this up!! Nut free vanilla cupcakes- not only did I serve these to an entire preschool class (gluten, dairy and nut allergies!!!) but I froze them so my dairy free son could take them to birthday parties and not be left out during cake time!!! Bacon jam Brussel sprouts were also huge hits!!! So excited to try everything in this cookbook!!!! Thanks for making gluten and dairy free living so easy Danielle!!

The Celebration Cookbook is amazing. The recipes are so varied and easy to make especially with her extra tips. Even though the recipes are listed under a holiday these recipes can be used every day. The book is very organized, beautiful photos, and something for everyone. I want to make every recipe in this book....I will enjoy working my way through this book. It's nice to eat healthy and have so many wonderful flavorful choices. This book is great weather you are Paleo, Gluten Free or just want to eat healthier. I have made the salmon with the fruit salsa, heirloom tomato salad and the incredible cornbread. The recipes were not difficult to make and were delicious. My non Paleo husband loved the recipes also.. An added advantage is that the book lies flat while you are working with it. This book will not leave my countertop. Thank you so much for writing this book and helping us eat healthy.