I believe there’s nothing more important than taking care of yourself when you work in a demanding profession where you help people everyday. There are long days and difficult clients, but tons of beautiful moments of communication and connection. But if you don’t give yourself a break, you won’t be able to perform at a high level and enjoy all the good parts of this profession.
I love to cook. That’s a good thing because I have two small kids and we have keep costs down so real food cooking is the best way to save money. Since it’s fun for me to create in the kitchen, getting time in the kitchen not only feeds my soul, but eating good food is a form of self-care too.
I’ve accumulated a collection of cookbooks of at least 50. I love choosing a recipe and cooking something fun and new. I want you to experience this so I have a brand-new cookbook for you to win. It’s The Happy Cook by Daphne Oz — and it’s still in the wrapper! No, I didn’t steal it: the publisher sent it to me directly to give away to one lucky reader!
Enter to win below. I’d love to mail it to you to help you start the year off right 🙂
My husband (then boyfriend) bought me the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for our first birthday together (we are a week apart so we celebrate in the middle :)). It is hands-down the best cookbook I’ve ever used. The recipes are clear, easy to follow, and delicious ( and a lot of gf options for you! :))
I don’t have a favorite cookbook, but I love those cooking videos on Facebook! I have a notebook filled with recipes that I have “viewed”!
I’m definitely a blog/Pinterest kinda girl for finding recipes. My absolute favorite blog is Iowa Girl Eats – her recipes are simple, delicious, and pretty healthy (and are/can be adapted to be gluten and dairy free, too!).
Try Mollie Katzen’s books (The Moosewood Cookbook). Totally old-school vegetarian, but solid, good, real food!
The only cookbook that I have is a Campbell’s Soup one. Quick and easy recipes, but not very exciting!
I recently read a book called “It was Me All Along” by Andie Mitchell. Her story of her unhealthy relationship with food her whole life and her journey later in life to lose over 100 pounds, and what she learned along the way, was incredibly inspiring. She has a food blog called “Can You Stay for Dinner?”, and I’ve been utilizing recipes from it for the last few weeks, since I finished the book! Lots of creative, healthy, yummy recipes!
My favorite cookbook is an old church cookbook that has all the recipes that remember growing up on at church functions. Anytime I use a recipe out of it I’m brought back to when I was a kid and I love that feeling! My next favorite is Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood. Not only does it have great recipes, but I enjoy reading the stories that are included as well.
I like to bake. So, I do a lot of vegetables with potatoes poured on olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s easy e quick to prepare. You just need to keep it on oven for around 30 minutes at 420 F. Yummy!
I agree that you can save a lot of money by cooking at home. I find it a great way to connect with my family and unwind after a long day at work. My favorite cookbooks are the Quick Cooking Annual Cookbooks from Taste of Home. My favorite recipes though, are the ones that have been passed down by family members.
My favorite cookbook at the moment is “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi and Jonathan Lovekin. Every dish I’ve made has been amazing. I made the cover page dish which was Eggplant with Pomegranate and let my 10 year old daughter have a taste, she ate the whole thing so I had to make it again so I could have some.
Indian Food is my favorite, second only to cheese!
I love Deceptively Delicious cookbooks. The idea is to hide healthy items in foods we/our kids already eat so they are getting goodness without knowing it. I don’t like the deceptive aspect, but I love the recipes. My kids know I use this and know what they are eating–in my opinion how will they ever learn to make responsible food decision without knowing what they are really eating–and they request a lot of the recipes over and over. Some our favorites are squash noodles (dubbed as mac & cheese in the book), chocolate pudding made from avacado (this is a big hit with kids, adults and generally anyone who like chocolate/pudding/frosting), the mac & cheese with cauliflower. Cooking more is one of my new year’s resolutions–I love it but struggle to fit it in as often as I’d like. Thanks!
My favorite cookbook is not really all that healthy. I had attended some cooking classes by a local chef who was a former pastry chef at a theme park. He had some great baking recipes for pies, cakes, cookies, brownies, etc. The book grew to nearly 300 recipes and he jokingly referred to it as “The Big-A$$ book of Baking” during the classes. When the book came out, it had a slightly different title, but that’s still what I call it, and he signed my copy with that title! Whenever I need to make a special treat for an event, I go to that cookbook.
My favorite cookbook is the Silver Palette!
My favorite cookbook is “Great Easy Meals.” I love this cookbook because it has pictures of all the recipes and they are normal, but delicious meals that are actually easy!
I love Bethenny Frankel’s recipes! All of her recipes are easy, healthy, and can be adapted to use what you have on hand.