Luke Hines and Scott Gooding (Hachette Australia) 2014, 160pp, RRP $29.99
This is the “Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals” book of the paleo-clean-living exercise‘n’food world. Personal trainers Luke Hines and Scott Gooding from My Kitchen Rules have realised that time-poor people still have aspirations to live a fit‘n’clean life and so have devised a book which is half-exercise, half-recipes – and zero excuses!
Indeed, you don’t need a gym – just motivation… and there’s an inspiring pep talk to help you. Copious pictures and descriptions show how you can use basic equipment like steps and park benches and the pair demonstrate basic exercises such as planks and squats. 
In short, wherever you can squeeze out 30 minutes – home, office or weekend – there’s some exercises for you. (I was slightly concerned about the instruction to ignore any post-workout soreness, which they say is just part of working hard…)
As for the food, leaving aside public debates over the merits of paleo – beyond the scope of this review – every single recipe looks amazing, which is rare for a cookbook. The food photography is uber-droolsome, the vibrant colours of healthy goodness burst off the page…
Wait… can all that orgasmic-looking really be that good for you? The ingredients (quinoa, coconut oil, kale) scream yes!!
So, it’s all the more a shame that the book contains only 27 recipes. Nevertheless, while I would’ve liked to have seen more of a focus on the food and less on the exercises, chances are you’ll find heaps of recipes in here you’d like to make, whereas with some food-only recipe books often there’s only two or three. I think it’s worth the investment on that basis alone. Now all you need to add is willpower!
Jenny Thompson
This title is available from Hachette Australia. Click here to purchase your copy.
