Phoebe Lapine's Crab Cake Twice-Baked Potatoes Are Pure Comfort Food

Welcome to The Pioneer Woman Cookbook Club! This month, we're featuring Carbivore by Phoebe Lapine. A food and health writer, author, and the personality behind the Feed Me Phoebe blog, Phoebe talks all about carbs and why they belong in everyone's diet. Keep reading to get her knock-out recipe for crab cake twice-baked potatoes. 

In a world where diet trends are ever changing, one steadfast truth remains: everyone loves carbs. Really, who can resist a loaded spud or a scoop of Ree Drummond's famous mac and cheese? But then again, carbs have caught a lot of flack in recent years. For those who adore pasta, bread, and all foods starchy, Phoebe Lapine's newest book Carbivore is a revelation in the carb conversation.

A food and nutrition veteran, Phoebe loves pasta as much as the next person. But at age 22, she had to take a step back from her favorite food group when she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Having left her corporate job to work in the food industry, the diagnosis was even more devastating when she was told to completely change her diet. Phoebe painstakingly went gluten-free and "went through all the stages of grief," she jokes.

But that was just the beginning of Phoebe's health journey, which she chronicled on her blog Feed Me Phoebe, and in her previous books. "There are lot of really extreme voices on the internet that say you have to go paleo or you have to give up all carbs," she says. "When I was dealing with these chronic issues, I felt really confused and also really deprived when I tried to go that extreme." Phoebe wasn't alone.

She heard from people in similar boats who were experiencing unpleasant symptoms from extreme diets, and who were also just "feeling crazy around food," she says. “In the health world, I think we can kind of lose sight of the fact that pleasure is really important," says Phoebe. "I always say food is medicine but it's more than just medicine."

Phoebe gave up on restrictive diets and instead found a more balanced approach to eating, discovering healthful ways to enjoy her favorite foods—French fries included. Now, in Carbivore, Phoebe is reclaiming her beloved carbs once and for all.   

What exactly is a carb and how does it affect your body? That's just a taste of what you'll learn in the first half of Carbivore. Phoebe shares sounds advice on making vegetables the star of the meal and how to layer rice on the bottom of your grain bowls as to not gobble it up all at once. The meat—and potatoes—of the book is 130 recipes that are every carb-lover's dream. It includes dishes like spinach-artichoke dip mac and cheese, a healthy spin on breaded chicken tenders, and imaginative desserts for special occasions.

The recipes are divided by type of carb, so whether your pantry is overflowing with old-fashioned oats or spaghetti, you can easily flip to a chapter and get cooking. Phoebe follows a gluten-free diet, but she calls the book "gluten optional," meaning you can choose your own adventure. The best part is that the recipes aren't complicated, nor do they call for a grocery cart full of obscure ingredients. "I love a quick, one-pan weeknight meal," says Phoebe, and you'll find plenty of them in this book.

The recipe we've shared here for crab cake twice-baked potatoes is an unexpected spin on spuds. Typically, crab cakes are stuffed with breadcrumbs, but Phoebe folds some of the potato flesh into them. Not only does it help stretch the luxurious lump crabmeat, but the potato allows the delicious flavor of the crabmeat to really shine. "You just get this really delicious, soft, tender crab cake in the middle of your potato," she says. And what more could you want in a meal?