Wellness Wednesday: 10 Healthy Cookbooks I Love!

You would think that in the digital age cookbooks would have gone completely out of style, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. There’s something about holding that book full of cherished recipes in your hands; to get crumbs and grease stains over the pages. Cookbooks can easily become your go-to cooking resource for when your party planning, impressing a date or just baking up something sweet.

Yes that’s right, I believe cookbooks are here to stay for quite some time. I love paging through all of mine and being enticed by all of the gorgeous, mouth-watering photos and stories that go along with each recipe. They challenge and inspire me to try something new in the kitchen AND get me excited about what I’m going to be creating. I also have learned to expand my culinary expertise and become a better cook/baker along the way.

This Wellness Wednesday post is a little bit simpler as I’m traveling this week to a Health and Wellness Retreat in Hilton Head, South Carolina. I wanted to take a step back and share with you some of my biggest healthy cooking resources as I know the holidays are coming up and it will be gift giving time. All of the cookbooks below have inspired me to eat healthier and think about food in new forms. All have different approaches to eating, but I know you’ll find a few that you’ll enjoy or of course, a few for some friends/family who love cooking and baking.

Andddddd if you’re wondering if cookbooks are worth the purchase, the answer is YES! You have the chance to own these book for the rest of your life, to pass them down and share with others. You can put it on a shelf and come back to it time and time again. So… here we go!

1. The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out by Angela Liddon: This cookbook was created by Angela, the founder of Oh She Glows, a popular vegan food blog. And guess what? This cookbook has become my vegan bible (even though I’m not vegan). I swear it’s one of the most delicious cookbooks on the planet and Angela provides both sweet and savory recipes that will have you in disbelief of how delicious they are. I love her lentil loaf and salad recipes.

2. The Skinnytaste Cookbook: Light on Calories, Big on Flavor by Gina Homolka. Another blogger turned cookbook author, Gina from SkinnyTaste is a lightened-up food genius. Her blog is my go to resource for lightened up meals and I couldn’t help but buy her cookbook immediately when it hit the shelves. I was so impressed by the layout and options for vegetarian and gluten free items. Best yet, Gina includes nutritional information and the photos are stunning. You guys are going to love her lightened up pancake recipes!

3. Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great by Danielle Walker. This was the first paleo cookbook that I purchased. To be honest, I’m not paleo myself but I’ve always wanted to make some paleo meals and treats just to experiment. This cookbook has never failed me; the recipes are simple, gorgeous and deliciously healthy. It’s great for gluten free people, too! Check out the Against All Grain blog for more tasty paleo recipes!

4. Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I was pacing the aisles at Whole Foods when I stumbled upon this gem and it has become one of my favorites. It was so good I had to buy it again for my Mom’s birthday present (she loves it)! The recipes are mostly savory and I believe wonderful for both vegetarians and vegans. There are also a TON of gluten free options. I would say that 95% of the recipes are clean and healthy. LOVE THIS COOKBOOK you guys! LOVE.

5. Whole-Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons by Megan Gordan. If you’re looking to create some delicious recipes for the morning using whole grains, then you need this book in your life! I think this would be a wonderful gift for a Mom who loves to bake or who is experimenting with food for her kids. LOVE the pancakes (actually obsessed).

6. 100 Days of Real Food: How We Did It, What We Learned, and 100 Easy, Wholesome Recipes Your Family Will Love by Lisa Leake. Alright I admit that I haven’t purchased this one yet, but I really want to! I browsed through it recently at Target and thought that it would be wonderful for a family who is trying to eat cleaner and eliminate processed foods from their diet.

7. YumUniverse: Infinite Possibilities for a Gluten-Free, Plant-Powerful, Whole-Food Lifestyle by Heather Crosby. Yes to this book! There are so many helpful answers and tips in this cookbook for those who need some nutritional advice. Heather does a great job of introducing whole foods and clean eating. Best of all this cookbook has a TON of recipes (150!) and they’re all meatless, dairy free, gluten free and soy free. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for an overall lifestyle change in your eating habits.

8. Absolutely Avocados by Gaby Dalkin. So you love avocados? Me too! Gaby from What’s Gaby Cooking came out with this book last year and not only is it beautiful but incredibly refreshing and unique. Plus, avocados are healthy so basically this cookbook is everything.

9. The Clean Eating Cookbook & Diet: Over 100 Healthy Whole Food Recipes & Meal Plans by Rockridge Press. I want this cookbook so much you guys! I haven’t ordered it off Amazon yet but I’m convinced that it’s going to be amazing. Perhaps Tony will see this and buy it for me. HINT HINT. I’m actually really excited about this book because it explains the basic principles of clean eating and also delivers recipes and a meal plan. WANT!

10. Superfood Smoothies: 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-dense Recipes by Julie Morris. Tony got this book for his sister last year and I had the opportunity to page through it; frankly it’s the most delicious smoothie book on the planet. There are a lot of ingredients that you’d probably have to special order off of Amazon or head to Whole Foods, but trust me when I say it’s worth it!

I hope you guys enjoyed some of my favorite healthy cookbooks. Let me know what your favorite cookbooks are in the comments below so I can check them out!

Also I’ve been toying with the idea of calling this Wellnesday (Wellness + Wednesday). What do you think of it?

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