Avery, an imprint of
Penguin Random House LLC
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Copyright 2015 by Abel James Bascom
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Published simultaneously in Canada.
Photographs 2015 by Melinda Bryce
Excerpt : Originally published in the December 1965 Ladies Home Journal magazine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
James, Abel.
The wild diet : get back to your roots, burn fat, and drop up to 20 pounds in 40 days/Abel James.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-698-18516-6
1. High-protein dietRecipes. 2. Reducing dietsRecipes. 3. Prehistoric peoplesNutrition. 4. Cooking (Wild foods). I. Title
RM237.65.J36 2015 2014047008
641.5'638dc23
Neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.
The recipes contained in this book have been created for the ingredients and techniques indicated. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require supervision. Nor is the publisher responsible for any adverse reactions you may have to the recipes contained in the book, whether you follow them as written or modify them to suit your personal dietary needs or tastes.
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DEDI CATION AND A T OAST
This book is dedicated to my grandparents Marion and Horace Bascom.
From Our Family to Yours: Nans Favorite Toast
Heres to thee and thy folks
from me and my folks.
sure there never was folks
since folks was folks,
ever loved any folks
half as much as me and my folks
love thee and thy folks!
Wildadjective (of an animal or plant)
Living or growing in the natural environment; not domesticated or cultivated. Passionate, vehement, unrestrained. Untamed.
Wild with excitement.
Di etnoun
The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.
The native human diet.
AUTHORS NOTE
Earlier this year, my wife, Alyson, and I dined at a farm-to-table restaurant in Florida with twenty leaders in the health movement, a motley crew of bestselling authors, nutritionists, Olympians, cooks, and physicians. After a long week, we were ready for a feast.
Our waiter scribbled furiously as Alyson, my cute-as-a-button, 105-pound wife, and I ordered:
- Bacon deviled eggs
- Two roasted marrow bones with local herbs and spices
- Two hearty farm-fresh salads with aged meat, nuts, and avocado
- Charcuterie board with a trio of duck, lamb, and pork pts; raw artisanal cheese; and a side of homemade sauerkraut
- Sauted sweetbreads
- Wild sea bass with mushroom butter sauce
- Grass-fed sirloin steak (medium-rare, of course) with heirloom vegetables
As others watched in awe, we polished off the lot, including more than our fair share of wine and champagne. One of the health experts said with a gasp, How on earth do you two eat so much and stay so lean?
This book is the answer to that question.
I hope you enjoy it.
In health and happiness,
Abel James Bascom
August 23, 2014
INTRODUCTION: BAND GONE WILD
As we hop aboard Tim McGraws tour bus idling outside a Quality Inn in Austin, Texas, I suddenly realize that being healthy is cool again.
Instead of smoking ashtrays, passed-out groupies, and stale beer, the smell of strong coffee wafts through the country superstars Zen-like tour bus. A veritable cornucopia of fresh produce, organic seaweed snacks, and an imposing 5-pound sack of Brazil nuts fill the mini-kitchen. Despite filming the Today show in New York City twenty-four hours earlier, these road warriors are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Denny, enjoying an unprecedented twenty-year reign as Tims guitarist and musical director, introduces us to the rest of the band.
Fresh off his feature on the cover of Mens Health after losing 40 pounds, forty-seven-year-old Tim McGraw is a specimen of health. He credits his pumped-up biceps and six-pack abs to his bands new routine of clean eating and intense outdoor workouts on the road. His tour bus even pulls a trailer dedicated to unconventional exercise gearhauling heavy chains, sledgehammers, and sandbags across the country.
Whoa, the Fat-Burning Man.... Its so surreal youre here! Deano, the fiddle player, muses, somehow expressing precisely how I feel at that moment. Im not sure exactly when it happened, but more people seem to know me as Fat-Burning Man, the tongue-in-cheek title of my hit health show, than as the road-weary musician Ive been for most of my life. Id taken time away from music to focus on inspiring others to live better by eating real food and breaking a good sweat. As far as I was concerned, I was just a regular guy babbling into a microphone on my computer and doing my best to make my show valuable to whoever happened to be tuning in. It wasnt until I received my favorite thank-you note ever from a musician named Denny that I realized people were actually listening. Better yet, these newfound health nuts were actually getting results that blew my mind.
A loyal listener of Fat-Burning Man, Denny has been following the Wild Diet for more than a year. Enjoying hearty meals that include plenty of butter, bacon, and eggs, hes dropped 46 pounds. Impressed by Dennys transformation, several bandmates came along for the ride.
Billy, our keyboard player, only decided to try the Wild Diet because hes allowed to eat coffee cake. Denny grins. It really isnt that complicatedyou just listen to your body and eat when youre hungry. Its great. Im full of energy and feel fifteen years younger.