Experts Tell Us the Best Cook Books

This edition restores the personality of the book, reinstating popular elements such as the grab-bag Brunch, Lunch, etc

Every year there are a slew of cookbooks covering the latest diet fads which people follow for a few weeks before giving up when they see little or no results. The one unifying problem all of these healthy eating guides have is they don’t teach the fundamentals about calories, macronutrients, how to create the ideal weight loss meal. This is where the Ultimate Performance Cookbook is different. It comes from Nick Mitchell, the founder of Ultimate Performance, the world’s leading personal training business. The book brings together the nutritional know-how of Nick and his elite training team with the flavours and finesse of U.P.’s team of professional chefs with 190-plus delicious recipes that can help anyone achieve real results. The 320-page hardback cookbook is packed with recipes inspired by cuisines from around the world, including Thai, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Middle Eastern and many more. There are ideas and inspiration for main meals, breakfasts, desserts, salads and side dishes, shakes, as well as plant-based and vegan dishes. Every recipe in the book is under 500 calories with exact macronutrient calculations that can be tailored to your specific diet requirements. Nick sets out his Rules for Healthy Eating which have laid the foundation for tens of thousands of successful U.P. clients to eat and live as healthily and enjoyably as possible, for life. It lays out the tried-and-tested formula for creating the optimal ‘body transformation meal’ which for each and every recipe in the book. There are also detailed meal plan examples showing how you can create your own ideal macronutrient-calculated weekly meal plan using the recipes. This book is the antidote to archetypal ‘diet fare’ and the scores of recipes that claim to support healthy weight loss but are nothing but abstract without the right macronutrient and calorie profiles

This cookbook makes it easy to not only find the freshest seafood in the market, but prepare it like a fine restaurant chef.

A cookbook to celebrate family and friendships. With recipes for breakfast, desert, lunch, small snacks and more,you have the opportunity to feel Joanna’s warmth and passion. Recipes have been inspired by family favorites and some are selections from her restaurant Magnolia Tale.

A book dedicated to 50 different varieties of everyone’s favorite comfort food, mac ‘n cheese. As a bonus, it also has beer and wine pairing suggestions for each one!

If you didn’t go to cooking school, you don’t have to because you can just read this book. Wonderful detailed recipes on cooking techniques along with solid recipes. We did actually use and study from this book at the Culinary Institute of America!

For true blue Vietnamese food, I look no further than Charles Phan. The proprietor of the famed Slanted Door restaurant in San Francisco shares recipes and beautiful photos from his homeland.

I have always been a huge fan of Momofuku and dreamed of making ramen like they do at home. Although its not the easiest recipe book, the recipes in the cookbook are friendly enough to use them at home. So far, I have cooked ramen and slow-cooked pork belly which tasted amazing! You should definitely look at this book if you are interested in learning how to cook a mix of Japanese and Korean food.

Discover a new approach to a sustainable healthy lifestyle with this user-friendly cookbook. Written by nutritionist, Sarah Adler, Simply Real Eating provides you with 100 anti-diet recipes that make being healthy in the kitchen as simple as can be. All the recipes in this must-have cookbook are gluten-free and contain back-to-basics ingredients so you can customize as you wish.

I love this cookbook. Not only are the recipes great, especially for anyone plant-based, but Kris is an inspiration and used these recipes while battling and ultimately surviving cancer.

Sally divides the book up between recipes and education. The recipes are based in paleo principals like soaking nuts, sprouting, fermenting, and of course properly preparing meats. The recipes are very easy and can be made by any level of cook.

This book tells you how to reinvent more recipes from leftovers and extend your menu with more options. So be wise, read this book, and learn ways to feed more.

Cookbooks for kids often focus on bland child-friendly fare, but the authors of Chef Junior, five young cooks between the ages of 11 and 14, challenge that assumption. Instead, they teach kids like themselves to make healthy, whole foods recipes and pull out all the stops in raising expectations both on what kids can DO and what they will enjoy eating. As a kids cooking teacher myself, I applaud these kids for doing something most adults don’t manage to do — if other kids aren’t inspired to cook and eat better, at least they can be inspired that kids can do big things, like publishing a real book! One of these authors is my son, yes, and I’m proud to have raised a teenager who values healthy food and was able to see a huge project like this to completion. My children have also made many recipes in the book, and they’re quickly becoming family favorites!

While there are a lot of freezer-friendly foods, not /all/ foods freeze well, which is why this cookbook is such an amazing resource. These recipes are specifically designed to be frozen. Simple instructions are provided on how to prepare/thaw them on serving day. I love that each recipe also shares the measurements to make 3, 6, or 9 times the original recipe. We’ve tried freezing several of these meals, as well as eating them the same day we made them, and either way they turned out great!

How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson is an accessible, beautifully written, and above all mouth-watering guide to some unforgettably tasty recipes, even the pickiest eaters will love. An early pioneer of modern, vegetable-forward comfort cooking, Lawson breaks down her food and life philosophy while outlining recipes for every holiday, weekday night, and anytime in between. This book will most certainly become a mainstay of your kitchen, and the tips, tricks, and techniques will stick with you for life.

The Posh Pescatarian: My Favorite Sustainable Seafood Recipes focuses on eating seafood sustainably and with moderation, adding spices and creativity to every dish. The cookbook is filled with delicious, adventurous and easy to follow recipes, with international flavors: from Spicy Yucatan Fruit Salad to Caribbean Salt Cod Fritters to Ethiopian Berbere. Stephanie is also the producer and charismatic host of the popular travel-cooking-adventure series Appetite for Adventure! The show airs in over 15 countries and is set to debut in the US this year.