My Current Top Five Cookbooks

You lot probably know by now that I’m a bit of a bookworm. Our front room is home to a ‘his and hers‘ colour-coordinated unit of various different science-fiction novels and beauty books and our kitchen has its own multi-shelf library full of books with batter-smeared front covers and pages stuck together with egg. OK, it might not be library-proportions just yet, but me and the Amazon delivery guy are practically on first name terms as I have a habit of using the ‘one-click’ service on cookbooks almost weekly. I come from a family of cookbook lovers, so it’s in my blood. My mum’s most-used recipe book is actually a M&S one from the ’80’s and I must say that I’m still partial to the an Oaty Biscuit or two from it. Thanks Mum! 

Today I thought I’d share with you my current five favourites (along with a bonus book at the end) that I end up reaching for whenever I need a bit of inspiration for all things food from snacks to suppers. All of them feature recipes so easy to make that you’re fooled into thinking that you’re the next Delia by the time it comes to serving. Prepare to salivate…

‘The Lean Machines: Eat Well, Move Better and Feel Awesome’ by John Chapman & Leon Bustin. What a surprise, eh? If you’re a regular of my ‘What I Eat in Day’ videos or Snapchat (‘theannaedit‘ if you’re interested in following), then you’ll know that this is the book that I use for cooking from 90% of the time. Mark and I have made almost all of the recipes out of here and it’s the dinner ones in particular that tickle my fancy. The Slow-Cooked Beef Chilli (P.133) is something that we make almost weekly, the kebabs are all delicious and the Cod Parcels with White Beans (P.116) are a favourite whenever we want to up our fish intake. My top pick of the bunch.

‘Ready, Steady, Glow’ by Madeleine Shaw. I’m a big fan of Madeleine’s first book and her second is equally good. It’s split into sections so it’s easy to find the quicker recipes to rustle up on weekdays and then the ones that require a bit more love and time which suit more for the weekends. Everything is fresh, there’s not too many fancy ingredients to source and I find a lot of the recipes to work well as leftovers for the next day’s lunch. The Aubergine Stew with Cauliflower Rice (P.123) is always a crowd-pleaser and I love the Beauty Buddha Bowl (P.113) for lunch whenever I need to get some veggies into my diet.

‘Eat, Drink, Paleo’ by Irena Macri. I’m not strictly-paleo myself, but this book kept being recommended for me on Amazon and in the end I caved hoping that it would be full of protein-dense recipes and give me some ideas of how to up my intake at mealtimes and basically, it’s done exactly that. There’s a huge chapter on fish as well and the Macadamia-Crusted Fish Fingers (P.122) are my favourite recipe that I’ve made so far from the whole book. There’s also a decent sweet section at the back. Thumbs up.

‘The Body Bible’ by Clean Eating Alice. If you’re a bit of a beginner to the whole fitness scene and fancy a book that covers everything from the fundamentals of healthy eating to recipes and workouts then this is the book you need to pick up. The recipes are the real stars of the show for me though. Remember that Butternut Squash, Chilli & Feta Frittata (P.79) that I kept going on about? That’s from this book. Although I have to say that I’m partial to a serving or two of the Prawn Masala (P.119) as well.

Women’s Health Magazine. Now I know I’m cheating here because this isn’t a recipe book per se, but  I have a subscription to Women’s Health magazine and whenever it arrives on my doorstep I drop everything to have a read. Off out to do the weekly shop? It’s fine we can have Beans on Toast tonight. Not only is it good for articles on food, fitness, beauty and fashion, but there are always some decent recipes in there that I end up cutting out and slipping into my ‘miscellaneous recipes’ folder. Oh dear. I’m turning into my Mum aren’t I? 

I do have a little bonus book to add here, which is the newly-released ‘Eat Smart’ by Niomi Smart. This only arrived last week so I’ve yet to have a chance to have a real dig in and make any of the recipes, but I’ve had it on my nightstand and have been having a flick through before bed and everything looks seriously delicious. The breakfasts in particular look like they’ll float my boat. I’ll see if I can crack on with some of them this week and I’ll be sure to snapchat the results on my plate over at ‘TheAnnaEdit‘ before I dig in. Cherry Bakewell Porridge? Count me in.

Photos by Lauren Shipley