6 cookbooks that made me a better cook.

I think we could even call them life changing cookbooks.We all know that all cookbooks aren’t made equal and it’s hard to sift through them all at the moment with so many being released by anyone who has picked up a knife. There’s a lot of repetition, there’s a lot of ‘fad’ stuff which I know you’re like me and don’t buy into that. Here are 6 cookbooks that made me a better cook.

Nourishing Traditions By Sally Fallon
All things nourishing! Food that your grandma knew as food. This book celebrates fat and animal fats. It distinguishes the difference between good and bad fats, grains, processed food and focuses on ‘ancient’ preservation methods that increase nutrients.In short: it’s a book about REAL FOOD. If you’re new on your health journey and the concept of real food is new to you, this book in wonderful to help see what the world was like before fad diets. Better yet, it was published way back in 1995. It’s old! and it’s delicious.Favourite recipes: All of the soups (and there are a few), Kombucha, Kvass.

My New Roots By Sarah Britton
Sarah’s blog, My New Roots has been an inspiration of mine since around 2010. Long before Lunch Lady Lou was a thought in my brain. I love her writing style, her story telling and her educational non-preachy posts which are based around introducing you to a healthier way of cooking and new ingredients.Favourite recipes: Loaded Breakfast Bars, Lentil Soup, Pear Apple Blackberry Crumble and Raw Chocolate Night Sky.

Super Natural Everyday By Heidi Swanson
The best cookbook that’s ever been gifted to me. Ever. Like ever ever.I’ve drawn so much inspiration from this book, it’s local fresh booking wrapped up in a big bow.Favourite recipes: chickpea bombs, quinoa patties and wild rice casserole.

I Quit Sugar: Simplicious By Sarah Wilson
There’s no doubt you’ve heard of Sarah. She’s been a focal point of bringing awareness to the amount of sugar that sneakily placed in foods, not to mention sweets, I mean savoury food. The way packaged food is manufactured means a whole host of nasty and average ingredients (including sugar) are thrown into food to make it last on the shelf.Sugar aside. Sarah’s mission is about getting back to real food, eating with the seasons and reducing food waste. This book was released at a time when I was feeling a little less motivated with my home cooking. Reading it, there weren’t many new ‘aha’ moments, but a big realisation of how far I’ve come on my cooking and health journey. What Sarah had detailed was EXACTLY how I’d come to work and manage my kitchen. The book is a bible of just eating real food. It’s pretty simple. Which at the end of the day is exactly how food and cooking should be.Favourite recipes: Good for your Guts Garlic and any of the fermentations. But more importantly, the weekly meal prep steps that Sarah talks about is where the magic is. These are the steps and skills that can transform your week to one of ease and save you hours in the kitchen.

Plenty By Yotam OttolenghiI walked in the door one day and our house was full of plants. Now if you’ve read any of the older blog posts, my husband is THE plantman, so it’s no exaggeration when I say that our house was already full with plants. Except there were extras, succulents and all these random things, he’d graciously accepted to keep them alive while one of his friends went travelling… for a year. I thought it was truly random, there were plants on tables, on book shelves, anywhere there was a spare space. It actually looked very beautiful.So one year later this girl returns, takes back the plants and we’re gifted this book. Plenty is a collection of Yotam’s recipes published in the Guardian.Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi is a celebration of vegetables!Favourite recipes: Semi-dried Tomatoes, Very Full Tart, Sweet Potato Pancakes and Hummus.

Wholefood Baking By Jude Blereau
Jude is a wholefood queen. I first stumbled across her 6 month Wholefood Chef certification based out of Perth. The class has been on my wishlist since 2012, I haven’t made it there yet.Wholefood Baking is exactly that wholefood baking. The thing I love most is that Jude believes in cake and sweet treats, just in moderation and of course making them with love.“This is not unhealthy, this is not excessive – this is celebrating special moments and tucking a bit of delicious comfort into an everyday life.” – Jude Blereau This quote on the inside cover gets me every time. This book goes into DETAIL about flour substitutes, gluten free baking, baking techniques, sugars and sweeteners and so much more. Instead of a book just with wholefood recipes, you’re being educated on how the healthier ingredients actually react in baking giving you a great base to build on each time you get in the kitchen.Favourite recipe: the shortcrust pastry and tart recipes, just everything. It’s like stepping into an exquisite bakery.