Our Top Cookbook Picks for This Winter

Food as Medicine

Research continues to demonstrate how food can positively impact a variety of health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. In Eat to Beat Illness (HarperOne, 2019), Rupy Aujla, M.D., shares 80 recipes to support your brain and heart, boost immunity, ease inflammation, improve your mood, and more. As he writes, “health starts on our plates.” Flavorful recipes include Speedy Gazpacho, Herby Cauliflower Steaks and one of Aujla’s favorites, a plant-based take on Jambalaya.

Try:

Herby Cauliflower Steaks

Plant-Based Jambalaya

Be Social on the Whole30

When you’re following a special diet—like the Whole30—socializing can be a challenge. That’s why Melissa Hartwig Urban, co-creator of the Whole30 diet, developed 150 diet-compliant recipes in her new book, Whole30 Friends & Family (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019), for Whole30 get-togethers with friends and loved ones. You’ll find everything from Pork Chili Verde for an office potluck to Spicy Pumpkin Power Bites for a road trip and Sweet Potato–Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Prosciutto for a kid-friendly family dinner. 

Try:

Spicy Pumpkin Power Bites

Ketogenic with a Twist

What if you could follow the keto diet with one day to “treat” yourself? It’s called “keto cycling,” and it’s what nutrition consultant Lindsay Boyers covers in The Everything Keto Cycling Cookbook (Adams, 2019). Boyers’ new book includes 300 recipes—like Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Thyme Cauliflower Rice and White Chocolate Blueberry Fat Bombs—plus meal plans in which you alternate six days of keto recipes with one day of higher-carb meals to get the ongoing health benefits of the low-carb foundation yet still enjoy nutritious carbs from time to time.

Try:

White Chocolate Blueberry Fat Bombs

Fast and Healthy Gluten-Free

For many people, cooking healthy is intimidating and can take time. In her latest book, Cook Once Eat All Week (Victory Belt, 2019), Cassy Joy Garcia, founder of fedandfit.com, has created 26 weeks of gluten-free dinners for busy people like parents. With her tried-and-true method of batch cooking, Garcia shows how to transform a few ingredients each week into several delicious meals. For example, cooking chicken, cauliflower and avocado one week can turn into Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Avocados, Balsamic Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner and Loaded Cauliflower Chicken Bake.

Try:

Loaded Cauliflower Chicken Bake