If you muttered the words, “I’m going to eat clean in 2017,” toward the end of last year, you’re not alone. It’s a common—and applaudable—resolution. But since January 1st, is it the only thing to have crossed your lips? …or has a burger slid in as well?
If the last few days of 2016 were spent unabashedly enjoying sugar, processed foods, and other ingredients that you typically shy away from, chances are your food party has led to a hangover in 2017. But if this is the case, don’t panic. Resolutions (or goals, or intentions—whatever you want to call them) are nothing without a little follow through—and it’s not too late.
Get the kickstart you need to eat healthily and start cooking more with these gorgeous recipe books. Food porn at it’s finest, these all deserve a spot in your Amazon cart.
7 Cookbooks That Will Inspire You To Be Healthy In 2017
The Food Lover’s Cleanse
If you regularly stop by Bon Appetit for weeknight recipe inspiration, you’ve probably seen the site’s popular “Food Lover” detox plan that’s published every January. Thankfully, the editors at BA expanded the shorter plan into a full year’s worth of seasonal meals that are healthy, gourmet, and downright beautiful. One of the best things about this cookbook is that it tells you everything you need to know about shopping seasonally, so you’ll become a farmers’ market whiz by the end. Plus, it encourages readers to cook in bulk, so you don’t actually spend that much time in the kitchen! This gorgeous tome is certainly worthy of your kitchen.
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It’s All Easy: Delicious Weekday Recipes for the Super-Busy Home Cook
When Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook hit bookstores in April, the food world threw a lot of shade at the actress-turned-health influencer. After all, her first book, It’s All Good, famously included recipes for laughably simple dishes like homemade popcorn and hard-boiled eggs alongside super-complex meals that required special ingredients like Veganaise, daikon, and millet. It’s All Easy is just that—so easy, and so, so tasty. Honestly, every recipe in this book is a gem (Especially GP’s avocado, almond butter, and bacon toast!)
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The Vegetable Butcher
Every once in a while, we’ll bravely buy a piece of produce from the farmers’ market that we’ve never tried before. But then we get home and have absolutely no idea what to do next! This book comes in handy for those exact moments. Author Cara Mangini was the vegetable “butcher” at Mario Batali’s Eataly, where she’d prepare produce for customers to take home and cook. As a result, she’s cultivated years of techniques (because no one ever taught you how to cut an artichoke, right?) and recipes for every piece of produce under the sun.
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At Home In The Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well
Amy Chaplin’s James Beard Award-winning book melds nutrition-focused foods with gourmet cooking—and the results are stunning. Every recipe is carefully crafted to meld together flavours that will honestly blow you away. Completely plant-based (and essentially free of soy and processed foods), Chaplin’s work is creative and innovative. This book is a delight to cook with!
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Plenty
Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook is full of hearty, mouth-watering veggie dishes begging to be cooked and shared with loved ones. Israeli-born Ottolenghi writes a weekly cooking column for The Guardian, has four restaurants in London, and is considered an up-and-comer in the food scene thanks to his Meditteranean-inspired dishes. His book, Plenty, doesn’t disappoint when it comes to flavour—filled with surprising takes on traditional favourites, it’ll make a veggie lover out of even the most discerning eaters.
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Clean Slate
Chock-full of clean eating recipes, Clean Slate is an ideal go-to guide for anyone looking for a fresh start in the new year. At over 300 pages, it’s loaded with tips on everything from how to make a homemade green juice (and why you should) to how to eat mindfully. If you’re trying to consciously slim down and detoxify this January, Clean Slate is a worthy investment.
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Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking
Dana Schultz’s food blog, The Minimalist Baker, became our go-to spot for quick, healthy meals long ago. All of her recipes—which include entrees and savoury dishes, too!—contain ten or fewer ingredients, are plant-based, and are usually gluten-free. Best of all, they’re inventive and uncomplicated. Sure, you could bookmark the site … But this cookbook is one of our favourites of the year.
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