Healthy Eating Cookbooks

Anne H

Hope you all are having a great summer and that your training is going well. It is just about at this time in your nutrition plans that you might be looking for something new to incorporate into your weekly meal plan. A new recipe or dish, or a new spice? With the efforts of always trying to keep everything “fresh,” this blog entry is focused on making you aware that there are a number of healthy eating cookbooks (and other ideas) to gather information to help add to your healthy eating repertoire.

I was at a friend's this summer and was envious of her recent purchase of a fantastic cookbook written by Sheryl Crow called If It Makes You Healthy. The book is inspired with healthy recipes co-written with Chef Chuck White. The pair met while Sheryl was battling breast cancer, which for her, was a wake-up call to eat better. Since then, Chuck has taught Sheryl how to cook seasonal foods that are locally grown, and vitamin-rich. Now, Sheryl and Chuck want to bring their nutritious, delicious creations from her kitchen into yours. As I perused this book, I found the variety of recipes to be very wide and the photographs (very important!) to be enticing and inviting. Simple recipes for great food from a great performer. You can’t lose!

Next on my list is The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Segersten and Malterre. This cookbook focuses on an in-depth view of whole foods (foods that are unprocessed and unrefined), and how to prepare them to maintain optimal health. Sections of the book speaks to food sensitivities, how to stock your whole food pantry, recipes for gluten free diets. It looks like this book would serve as a great reference guide as well as a guide to 200 healthy recipes.

The Athlete’s Plate by Adam Kelinson focuses on the endurance athlete and educates us on what type of fuels are best, and how to compose a quick fix for our voracious appetites. Adam, a three-time Ironman finisher, has some experience with endurance (I’d say!), and provides quick and easy recipes, as well and a comprehensive intro section on nutrition basics for the endurance athlete.

Magazine recipes are getting more traffic than I actually expected, so be sure to check these out when you read your copy of Runner's World, Health (Women’s Health, or Men’s Health), Self or Cooking Light. When surveying some of my healthy eating crew last week, most of the responses were targeted around gathering recipes from their very own favorite magazines. This is an excellent way to gather a variety of recipes, and experiment without committing to an entire cookbook. A nice idea is to purchase a nice blank notebook from Papayrus or Staples and paste or staple your favorite recipes in your very own cookbook. This way, you feel more comfortable writing notes in your very own recipe book.

And lastly.... there is an app for healthy eating recipes (but of course!)!! If you are a lover of your smartphone, then you might want to consider the Good Food Healthy Recipes app. I've seen it under an iphone advertisement for runners in the NY Times a number of times.

There are so many healthy eating cookbooks to talk about, that, if I wanted to, I’d be here all day writing this blog post during Hurricane Irene. My goal in this blog write-up is to inspire you to start collecting recipes, experimenting with them, and taking some time at the local bookstore to purchase a cookbook that fits you. I personally find that I typically need just a bit of guidance (what spice do I use, how do I cook this vegetable?), and once I have the general knowledge, I’m on my way. Believe me, not only will your friends be impressed, but you will impress yourself!

Good Luck and Healthy Eating!!!

This blog entry is dedicated to my Aunt Phyllis, who recently lost her battle with lymphoma.  Her inspiration for eating organic, healthful foods will always be heartfelt and a wonderful remembrance, as she had introduced me to many delicious, flavorful foods, grains, fruits and veggies.  Of course, we did need to visit Katz’s Deli on Houston Street now and then to binge a bit on a good pastrami sandwich -- who can resist that??

Anne H.