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I’ve read a lot of cookbooks in my day, and I always mean to review and share my favorites.

Then I forget or get distracted. Or stop writing for 2 months.

So this week and next, I will me sharing 2 big posts about the best cookbooks in my opinion. This week will include some nutrition books on top of general cooking books.

Best Cookbooks

Joy of Cooking – Because obviously. Joy of Cooking is considered by many to be the Bible of cookbooks. Aim for an older version. We chose to bring our 1953 version as opposed to our 1990’s version to Germany because it has many traditional and food preservation recipes in addition to the general recipes and substitution instructions of the newer versions. Joy of Cooking contains not only hundreds real food recipes, but you can also learn a ton about cooking from this book.

Cook’s Illustrated – My husband and I brought every Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen books and magazine that we own to Germany. They are that good. The recipes are foolproof and delicious. The cooking techniques, ingredient tips, and equipment reviews are incredibly helpful. Most is real food, but as taste is their primary goal, pay a bit of attention. They also have many speicalty books, such as vegetarian, slow cooker, etc. They even have 2 gluten-free cookbooks (find them here and here) and a paleo cookbook coming out in December.

Whole Life Nutrition and Nourishing Meals – I have a soft spot for these, as they were my first introduction to real food. They are 100% gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free, with many grain- and egg-free recipes. Filled with simple and delicious healthy recipes, these cookbooks are wonderful for those with food sensitivities.

Nourishing Traditions – The WAPF Bible, this book contains not only information about why one should eat a real food diet, but recipe to show how to do it. The yogurt dough pizza crust tastes like mac and cheese. Seriously. It is a great resource for getting started with real food and improving the digestibility of foods.

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Best Nutrition Resources

The Omnivore’s Dilemma – This was an incredibly eye-opening book. Michael Pollan really did his research and got up close and personal with various options omnivores have for feeding themselves – from the factory to the forest. His writing is surprisingly neutral in much of the book. I admire his open mind going in.

It Starts With Food – Written by the founders of the Whole30, this book covers the good and bad – and the why. It also gives information about how to complete a Whole30, with recipe suggestions to boot. It is a great starting place for people learning about real food and paleo.

The Paleo Approach – If you have an autoimmune disease, this book is for you. It gets into the nitty-gritty of autoimmune diseases and how our lifestyle and diet plays a roll. This is basically a textbook, making it great for scientific-minded types. But it is also a valuable resource for those who are not so inclined. The details are there, but so are thorough instructions on how to modify your diet and lifestyle to conquer your autoimmune disease. It is the book for the why’s and how’s of AIP.

What are your favorite cooking and nutrition books?

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