Sorry to break it to you but if you’re looking to make your diet healthier, you’re going to have to cook.
Although there are tons of recipes online, I tend not to use many of them. If I start browsing online for a recipe an hour easily passes and I’ve still not decided what to make.
Using a book (how old-fashioned!) means I’m limited to about 100 recipes so the process of deciding what to cook goes much faster.
Cooking doesn’t have to mean making a feast or having a spare hour to follow a recipe with 25 ingredients. Having a couple of go-to cookbooks with fuss-free recipes takes the overwhelm out of what to cook for dinner.
Use the recipes for inspiration. If the recipe calls for an ingredient you don’t have or don’t like, substitute it for something else. Stick to the quicker recipes during the week and try the longer ones when you have more time.
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Here are my top 5 cookbooks for beginners
A friend gave me this book 10 years ago and it’s still one I come back to again and again. Rachel covers the basics such as porridge, scrambled eggs, toasted sandwiches plus more adventurous dishes like a delicious lamb curry or a full Sunday roast. There are lots of kid-friendly recipes too (the salmon fish fingers are yum) and a bonus baby food section.
I love the almond and lemon macaroons when I fancy a sweet treat.
It doesn’t get any simpler than 5 ingredients. What I love about this book is that Jamie unashamedly uses curry paste, jars of pesto and bottles of chilli sauce. There’s an unhelpful tendency for some people to feel it’s not cooking if they’ve not ground 10 different spices by hand or filleted the fish themselves.
Adding amazing flavour in a quick and convenient way is perfect for the novice, or just busy, cook.
I love the quick Asian fishcakes.
A stir-fry is so easy for anyone that’s new to cooking. You can cook pretty much anything in one wok and they’re great for adding plenty of vegetables to your diet without lots of prep or complicated cooking.
Try the chicken and cashew nut stir-fry with added greens and the noodle soups.
Sarah is the Holistic Nutritionist behind the blog My New Roots. This cookbook is really accessible veggie cooking. It’s a great way of adding extra goodness to your diet with simple ingredients.
One of my food philosophies is ‘cook once, eat twice’. I’ll purposely make more when I’m cooking so I have tomorrow’s lunch or dinner already made or at least a good chunk of the prep done. With many of the recipes, Sarah gives a ‘rollover’ suggestion so you get more than one meal from each recipe. Ideal for those that don’t yet love cooking.
Try the stuffed sweet potatoes for an easy weeknight dinner.
This is the companion cookbook to Dr. Michael Mosley’s The Clever Guts Diet. Many of the recipes are straightforward although there are a few that are a bit more advanced.
What I love about it is the focus on gut health. Many people that suffer from acne, eczema or psoriasis actually have an issue with their gut. The opening chapter gives a great overview of how to boost your gut health, which was certainly one of the key things that helped me to heal my skin.
Try the gluten-free mug bread. Yes, seriously, it’s bread made in a mug.
Get cooking
Cooking really is one of the best ways you can improve your health. If you’re trying to heal your skin, add lots of veggies to whatever recipe you decide to make. They’ll feed your gut bugs and a healthy gut is a key component of healthy skin.
Cooking a new recipe, even once or twice a month is a good habit to get into. It’ll improve your cooking skills and you’ll try food combinations you’ve never thought of before to get you loving healthy, home-cooked food.