When it comes to creating healthy meals, you may be fooled into thinking it’s all monotonous salads piled high with wilting green leaves or flavourless grains mixed with “health foods” that bring little joy to our stomachs. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Healthy food doesn’t need to lead to a restrictive diet where you can’t enjoy your favourite foods - we’re talking carbs and cheese, of course. Instead consider nutrition and everything in moderatation.
It also need not be costly, time-consuming or complex - and in fact, should be the opposite. Most tasty nutritious meals require very few ingredients and, as they are usually packed with fruit and vegetables, are likely to be cost effective, especially when batch cooked.
To give you an example of a homemade meal that’s both delicious and nutritious, that takes just .. minutes to cook and feeds a family of four, we made …. From Mindful Chef’s …. Range.
So, whether you’re looking to incorporate more veggies into your diet, cooking nourishing meals for the whole family or simply want to expand your cooking repertoire, check out our roundup of healthy cookbooks.
Freeze: Super-nourishing meals to batch cook, freeze and eat on demand
If you find cooking to be a chore, especially after a busy day at work, then master the art of batch cooking with Freeze. Offering plenty of delicious and nutritious recipes that are also super speedy, this cookbook will teach you everything there is to know about convenient cooking.
It’s also great for those starting off in their chef journey as there are endless tricks and tips as well as suggestions on how to alter ingredients based on dietary requirements. We love the Easy Midweek Meals chapter that includes Wild Mushroom Risotto, Keralan Vegetable Curry and the most heart-warming Thai Sweet Potato Curry. There are also chapters on essential sides and condiments - so replace that shop bought pasta sauce with a homemade one that takes minutes to make and contains no nasties.
With smart meal-prep solutions, you’ll be able show off your packed lunch to the whole office that’s more than a measly sandwich (much to your colleague’s envy).
Buy now £11.99, Amazon
Pinch of Nom: 100 Slimming, Home-style Recipes
Embarking on a weight loss journey doesn’t have to mean saying goodbye to foods you once loved and replacing them with dull salad leaves. Instead, with Pinch of Nom, you can tuck into mouth-wateringly good recipes that are so delicious you won’t notice they’re slimming. Every meal we tried was satisfying, tasty and we never felt like we were missing out - there’s even a chapter on fakeaways for when we’re craving Chinese noodles.
For a healthy family meal try out the Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta and if you’re craving something sweet, then the Apple and Apricot Oaty Crumble is perfect. So, whether you’re trying to shed some pounds or just looking for easy meals that work for the whole family, this cookbook is a must have.
Every recipe comes with a substitute ingredients list that is great for helping you use what components you already have.
Buy now, Amazon
Rice & Grains: More than 70 delicious and nourishing recipes
There’s no better cookbook out there for providing us with an education on the surprisingly large world of rice and grains. Whilst most of us can only name a few grains, Kathy Kordals provides us with 70 recipes featuring all sorts from speciality varieties of rice and the likes of quinoa, rye and bulgar.
Each dish is relatively simple, yet incredibly creative and we adored the Harissa Chicken, Carrot and Barley Couscous that the whole family tucked into on Sunday lunch. For a healthy dessert, try out the Peach, Quinoa and Almond cake - perfect for a guilt-free treat post dinner. If you’re feeling adventurous then substitute your normal weekend brunch meal with Corn & Quinoa Fritters with Crispy Bacon and Beet Yogurt.
The photography to accompany the recipes is also astonishing - we never thought rice and grains could look so appetising.
Buy now, Amazon
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love
Intuitive cooking can be hard. You will have likely spent more time than you care to admit in front of your kitchen cupboards or fridge staring absentmindedly at the tin of tomatoes in the corner or the block of half eaten cheese and wonder how this can be turned into a nutritious and tasty meal. If there was ever a cookbook to help with this age old problem, it’s Shelf Love.
These evocative Ottolenghi recipes are exactly what you would expect from the creative chef, but this time they offer us greater flexibility to use what we have to hand to edit and alter these dishes. Each recipe features a ‘make it your own’ box which allows you to substitute various ingredients or simplify the process if you’re short on time.
We made the Creamy Dreamy Hummus with a can of chickpeas and leftover peppers from the fridge and followed it up with a tomato salad to use up other veggies we already had.
Buy now £16.99, Amazon
Fresh India
Home chefs know the secret to flavour is often slow cooking. Leaving sauces to simmer and spices to roast for hours brings out notes that are practically impossible to replicate in a quick meal. Unless you have Sodha’s tome Fresh India to hand. It somehow manages to recreate these depth of flavours in just a fraction of the time.
The 130 recipes in this book are quick, simple and designed for everyday cooking. What’s more is that all the recipes are vegetarian and ingredients can be substituted to make meals vegan too. Our favourite dish was the roasted cauliflower korma and we loved trying out puddings like peanut kulfi and pistachio cake.
Buy now £14.40, Amazon
Deliciously Ella Quick & Easy: Plant-based Deliciousness
British food writer and viral sensation Deliciously Ella herself has finally released a cookbook featuring a host of recipes that are truly perfect for every and any meal.
If you’re after something simple in the evening after work, check out the 10 minute recipes chapter that proves plant-based eating isn’t complicated or time-consuming. With a little more time on your hands, tuck into delicious pastas, noodles or vegetable dishes from the 20 minute section.
After crowd-pleasing dishes for friends and family that suit every dietary requirement? The weekend chapter has you covered with recipes such as Spinach & Chickpea Curry and Mushroom & Walnut Ragu - guaranteed tobe devoured by hungry mouths.
The information pages on nutrition are a particular standout feature as it explains how to consume all the essential minerals and vitamins such as protein, calcium and B12 on a vegan diet.
Buy now £16.91, Amazon
Mind Food: Plant-based recipes for positive mental health
Eating healthily isn’t just good for your body, but your mind too, which is why this revolutionary cookbook “helps you reimagine the way you think about mental health in parallel with food”, according to author Lauren Lovatt. Sharing her mental health journey, Lovatt presents a host of plant-based recipes that are creative, informative and most importantly: delicious.
We’re big fans of the seasonal ingredient pages that help us align our mind and body to what we eat. The recipes encourage you cook with freshly-grown produce and we were blown away by the Pumpkin Arancini - packed with healthy fats and vegetables. Her creative approach to holistic eating is nothing like we’ve seen before and we love the number of superfoods we’re feeding our bodies thanks to these great meal ideas.
Buy now £14.05, Amazon
The Last Bite: A Whole New Approach to Making Desserts Through the Year
What award-winning pastry Chef Anna Higham doesn’t know about baking is not worth knowing. This revolutionary dessert cookbook covers everything from skills and seasonings, to techniques and tasting. With over 150 recipes set alongside beautiful illustrations and photographs, this cookbook will soon become your baking bible as you learn more about the food you cook with and how to construct your own desserts - all with healthiness and balance at its core.
Split seasonally, there are berry recipes in summer, apples and pears in autumn, citrus fruits in winter and nuts and grains in spring. Absolute must makes include the Sage Meringues, Burnt Butter Cakes and Blackcurrant Leaf Oil. Prepare for your culinary skills to be taken up a notch, or five, with this cookbook.
Buy now £16.76, Amazon
The Easy Gluten-Free Cookbook
The Easy Gluten-Free Cookbook is perfect for those short on time but still wanting to cook tasty and satisfying meals. These recipes are simple and fuss-free with many of them being perfect for a whole family, catering to a whole host of dietary requirements. They also take on average 30 minutes, require just one pot or pan and can be made with five or less main ingredients - ideal if you’re looking to throw a meal together quickly after work with just store cupboard essentials.
Buy now £12.16, Amazon
