The Cookbook that Changed Your Life!

[ledzepplon]

We're pretty healthy eaters over here, but I'm finding myself less and less inspired lately. I need a good kick in the butt! So tell me, what's your healthy eating bible? I'm looking for something that will satisfy my foodie husband and slightly picky kiddos.

Suggestions, pretty please?

[erin_d_a]

Hands down

Nourishing traditions

Close second is "How to cook everything" by Mark Bittman

[rainyday]

I think Moosewood and Laurel's Kitchen are the ones that really changed how I view and eat food. I got them close to 20 years ago, and the way they (and in particular Laurel's) talk about food nourishing the body and soul really changed how I look at food. Even now, when I get into one of those "sick of cooking" funks, I'll pull out Laurel's Kitchen and read some of her writing about food and meals, and I'll be newly inspired to cook healthful things for my family.

[ledzepplon]

I'm going to have to get that NT cookbook. I'm having a hard time finding anything on Amazon that isn't "diet" when I'm looking for nutrient dense.

[ledzepplon]

Originally Posted by rainyday

I think Moosewood and Laurel's Kitchen are the ones that really changed how I view and eat food.

I just looked this one up on Amazon and I'm definitely adding it to my list!

Keep 'em coming!

[SierraJ]

I love Jane Brody's Good Food Book (it's very educational), Moosewood, and the Tassajara Bread Book.

[texaspeach]

Originally Posted by erin_d_a

Hands down

Nourishing traditions

Close second is "How to cook everything" by Mark Bittman

those two exactly.

[jamie79]

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

&

Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz

[FancyD]

The Culinary Institute's red cookbook.

[gmvh]

I think this falls in the category of whole foods but not necessarily low-fat or vegetarian but I currently love The New Best Recipe by Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen. It has not failed us yet. If you like the science and/or details behind a recipe, this is a great book. I was able to find it at the library before I bought it.

[steph117]

Same as Jamie79 - Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon & Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. Especially Nourishing Traditions. Zow!

[summerlilies]

Changed my life? Nourishing Traditions.

After I read it, I went to my pantry, threw out my canola oil, boxed cereals, rice cakes, and anything else packaged. Then I joined a co-op farm where I could get grass fed meat and dairy. I started taking cod liver oil, kefir, and lacto fermented veggies daily and I have never felt or looked better. I also met my best friend who is a Weston A Price chapter leader in my town.

It was truly life changing - and through this whole transformation, I have become an exceptional cook.

[athansor]

I'll second or third Laurel's Kitchen and Moosewood Garden. I still have my extremely well loved Laurel's kitchen and go there all the time for inspiration, and I've never had a bad meal from Moosewood Gardens. They were the first books that set me on a path of better eating.
Recently, while I still consult them, I have a few new ones, including Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, in part because it explains so many of the techniques - including knife skills, along with having a ton of recipes, and a brand new addition, Vegan with a Vengance, because the recipes are great, the notes are wonderful, and it is a good read even when you are not preparing to make food....it's even got me thinking about starting a Food Not Bombs group here locally.

[Mrshawwk]

If you had asked me a couple years ago about a cookbook that changed my life, I would have thought you were crazy. How in the world can a COOKBOOK change ones' life? That was before I read Nourishing Traditions.
I'm happy to say my life is quite different, and so much better!

[kallyn]

I thought the recipes in Nourishing Traditions were mostly pretty bad.

I would REALLY recommend The Garden of Eating by Rachel Albert-Matesz. It's a huge book and the entire first half is about nutrition and running an efficient kitchen, and the second half are all delicious recipes.

[staceychev]

I actually love books about food--I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, What to Eat, and The Omnivore's Dilemma this summer.

Since your husband is a foodie, maybe you could pick up a copy of The Ethical Gourmet. I haven't used any of the recipes yet, but it's a good & inspiring read.

Although they're not cookbooks, per se, all of the books I mentioned have really helped me along my path of eating food that's closer and closer to being real.

[snowbunny]

Another for Nourishing Traditions.

I agree that they're not really phenomenal recipes, but it wasn't the recipes that changed my life; rather it was the new way of looking at and examining the foods I feed to my family. It's the information in that book, not necessarily the recipes, that changed my perspective on eating.

[mamatojade]

The cookbook from Rebar Restaurant in Victoria.

[rainyday]

Originally Posted by staceychev

I actually love books about food--I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, What to Eat, and The Omnivore's Dilemma this summer.

Since your husband is a foodie, maybe you could pick up a copy of The Ethical Gourmet. I haven't used any of the recipes yet, but it's a good & inspiring read.

Although they're not cookbooks, per se, all of the books I mentioned have really helped me along my path of eating food that's closer and closer to being real.

I'm reading The Omnivore's Dilemma right now, and it's absolutely fascinating! I've heard good things about Ethical Gourmet too, so I think I'll have to add that to my list.

How did you like Animal, Vegetable, Mineral and What to Eat?

[ledzepplon]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm looking into all of these suggestions. We're not vegetarian, but I'm also interested in having more veggie meals in my repertoire, so those are really helpful as well!