This collection of the greatest healthy cookbooks includes a range of alternatives for all dietary requirements, as well as diverse cuisines, to make healthy dining accessible to everyone. Most of the alternatives on this list focus on basic, whole foods and don't require too many sophisticated ingredients, making it easier to feel less overwhelmed while attempting to eat healthier.
Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables
When it comes to eating healthily, vegetables are generally the first thing that spring to mind, and they are at their freshest and most delicious when they are in season. Author Joshua McFadden walks you through the seasons, highlighting when and how to create the most wonderful vegetable meals. Soon, you'll have a cause to seek out fava beans at the farmer's market while also building on the vegetables you already have on hand.
Good Housekeeping Quick and Easy 28-Day Mediterranean Diet
Nutritionists and licensed dietitians frequently praise the Mediterranean diet as one of the healthiest diets, so it's a wonderful place to start if you want to eat better. Our 28-day program might help you get started on your path to this way of eating. Fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, seafood, and heart-healthy fats are all highlighted in the book. There are four weeks' worth of meal plans and grocery lists to take the guesswork out of the diet, and with over 60 dishes, you're likely to find a few favorites you'll return to.
Skinnytaste Simple: Easy, Healthy Recipes with 7 Ingredients or Fewer
Eating healthy does not have to be difficult. Skinnytaste's newest cookbook is jam-packed with nutritious meals that all call for seven or fewer ingredients. Talk about easy! There are quick variations on traditional staples, such as Sheet Pan Eggplant Lasagna, as well as recipes that need little cleaning, such as One Pan Shrimp and Saffron Orzo. For easy meal planning, each dish contains nutritional information.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
Knowing the components of a whole meal — and what makes food taste delicious — makes cooking with confidence simpler. Samin Nosrat, a chef and author, teaches home cooks how to master the four essential ingredients of food: salt, fat, acid, and heat. You'll discover this basic theory and the science behind it as you make your way through the book's 100-plus dishes.
The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook: Wholesome, Indulgent Plant-Based Recipes
Though vegan cuisine isn't necessarily nutritious, Nisha Vora of Rainbow Plantlife created this cookbook with nourishing meals that are very easy to make owing to your Instant Pot's pressure cooking option. Everything from Miso Mushroom Risotto to Double Fudge Chocolate Cake (which, yes, is dairy-free and can be cooked in an Instant Pot) is available. If you already have an Instant Pot, you'll appreciate having this book on hand.
The Complete Salad Cookbook: A Fresh Guide to 200+ Vibrant Dishes Using Greens, Vegetables, Grains, Proteins, and More
Salads are an excellent way to get more greens into your diet, and they don't have to be boring. There are over 200 salad recipes, ranging from a sweet peach and burrata salad to a robust Southwest Beef Salad with Cornbread Croutons. There are also entertaining twists on classics like the Caesar, and you'll feel empowered to prepare a salad from scratch with tips on what to include to keep you happy and how to make a flawless vinaigrette every time. Simply turn to any page and you'll find a different salad to taste.
Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi
Yotam Ottolenghi is a name you should be familiar with if you're interested in vegetarian food. He creates restaurant-quality meals with Middle Eastern inspirations that may radically shift your perception of what an eggplant may become. Some of the recipes in this book are a little complicated, so it's better if you have some cooking expertise. You'll discover delicious sides to go with your meat dishes, or you may experiment with some new dinners for Meatless Mondays. Check out Ottolenghi's second book, Simple, for more easy recipes. It focuses on foods that can be produced in 30 minutes or less.
Love and Lemons Simple Feel Good Food: 125 Plant-Focused Meals to Enjoy Now or Make Ahead
Preparing ahead of time and understanding what to do with leftovers are two of the most difficult aspects of cooking and eating properly. This plant-forward cookbook by Jeanine Donofrio of the Love and Lemons blog covers both, with 125 ideas for meal planning and repurposing leftovers. You'll discover quick and easy recipes that can be whipped up quickly, as well as dinners that can be simply prepped ahead of time and tossed together at the end of a hectic day. Every type of chef will discover a cooking method that suits them.
Everyone's Table: A James Beard Award Winner
Gregory Gourdet, a chef of Haitian heritage who featured on two seasons of Top Chef, wrote this James Beard Award-winning cookbook. The book parallels Gourdet's personal path of sobriety and eating meals that help him feel better. It's full of foreign food inspiration and gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, legume-free, and refined sugar-free dishes. Each dish contains nutrient-dense ingredients to encourage healthy eating and feeling well.
The Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook: 200 Healthy Recipes to Help Reverse and Manage Pre-Diabetes
It might be difficult to reverse or manage pre-diabetes, but simple dietary adjustments can help. This cookbook focuses on keeping blood sugar levels low, with 200 simple dishes that show you don't have to starve yourself to improve your health. For filling lunches and snacks, there are doughnut, spaghetti, and taco variants. For an easier approach to feel more in control, try recipes that only take 30 minutes to make.
Good Housekeeping Low-Calorie Big-Flavor Cookbook: Delicious Meals with 500 Calories or Less
If you're attempting to reduce your calorie intake, you'll be relieved to know that every dish in this book is under 500 calories - and they don't sacrifice on flavor. Good Housekeeping experts also advise easy ingredient changes to make meals lighter, as well as how to equip your kitchen with healthy essentials to grab for while cooking. There are recipes for a variety of dietary requirements, including gluten-free, dairy-free, high-fiber, and others.
Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients That Fuel Brainpower, Boost Weight Loss, and Transform Your Health
This cookbook, created by Dr. Drew Ramsey, M.D., who specializes in Nutritional Psychiatry, is filled with 100 nutrient-dense, delectable meals that seek to promote both physical and cognitive health via food. It focuses on making healthy cooking accessible by utilizing basic products that you may already have in your cupboard. Dr. Ramsey hopes to educate as well as entertain by presenting the 21 nutrients most necessary for brain health and well-being with the tasty meals.
Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow.: Quick-Fix Recipes for Hangry Athletes
After walking double-digit kilometers, you may find it difficult to inspire yourself to prepare a meal to adequately nourish yourself. Run Fast instead than settling for power bars. Cook quickly. Eat Slow. contains pre-run snacks, post-run recovery breakfasts, packable lunches, and supper meals that can all be made in 30 minutes or less. These simple meals, created by Olympian Shalane Flanagan and chef Elyse Kopecky, can help you and your fitness objectives go the distance.
Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook
This hilarious (and a little vulgar) cookbook is a no-nonsense approach to eating healthier. All its recipes are completely vegan, using only whole-food ingredients, but you’ll healthier versions of fan favorites like Roasted Beer and Lime Cauliflower Tacos and Silky Roasted Bell Pepper Lasagna. Some of the recipes are a bit time-intensive, but if you’re looking for a comfort cookbook that will give you a chuckle or two, this book is for you.
