Summer is the perfect time to give your diet a little reset and experiment with some healthy, new recipes and foods.
The warmer, brighter weather makes it so much easier to stick to meals that are lighter and more plant-based, as I find winter and the cold, dark days often has me reaching for comfort food and starchier options.
Farmer's markets are brimming with in-season goodies like strawberries, watermelon, tomatoes and lettuce, and I don't know about you, but I always feel so much better in my skin and about myself when I feel like I am feeding my body lovely, healthy foods – which is always handy as you're heading into summer and bikini season.
I am a self-confessed obsessive cookbook collector, and love nothing more than to get my hands on a new release, a fresh, new cookbook, choc-a-block with recipes just begging to be tested and tried over the next few weeks.
And right now I am loving how many amazing new healthy food cookbooks there is to choose from. Gorgeous, clean-eating, glow-inducing foods that'll make you feel lighter, happier and far, far healthier.
My absolute favourites right now? These five:
1. California Living + Eating
I love cookbooks who are so pretty they also double perfectly as glossy, gorgeous coffee table books that I can leave sitting out in stacks on my table. And the brand new
California Living + Eating is just this. The book is a glorious celebration of Californian food, looking at its history and origins and journeying through the state's varied landscape, from Sonoma's rolling vineyards to the deserts of Palm Springs, via the foodie hotspots of San Francisco and Los Angeles.
I love the imagery as well, making me want to hop on the first plane and head over to sunny California right this minute.
And for foodies, especially health-obsessed ones, you are going to want to hit up your local farmer's market this weekend and get started on creating some of the delicious dishes like Breakfast Burritos with Cheddar Scramble and Coriander Salsa, Salmon, Citrus Kale and Black Rice Salad or the crowd-pleaser that is the Roast Chicken with Grapes, Onions and Sourdough.
Yum.
I also love how the recipes aren't too complicated or require ingredients that are hard to get your hands on, Instead, these dishes are designed to be accessible to all home cooks, with a focus on seasonality and good-quality produce
£16, Amazon.co.uk
2. The Beauty Chef Gut Guide
Unless you have been living under a rock of late, you will be aware that there is an awful lot of talk about gut health these days and the importance of a healthy gut for everything from your skin to your mental wellbeing.
Experts are now calling our gut our second brain, saying that it really is the basis of your entire health and immune system and that we really need to start looking to how we can eat to fuel and rebalance our gut.
Australian Carla Oates is a pioneer in the area of linking gut health to skin health and beyond, and here is what she had to say about her latest book:
"It doesn’t sound very glamorous, but the gut is truly where the seeds for optimal health, beauty and wellbeing are planted. Our gut is where 70% of our immune system lies, it’s where we make nutrients and detoxifying enzymes, metabolise hormones and neutralise pathogens. Not only does this have a huge impact on the health of our skin, but our immunity, metabolism, brain function and mood."
What I loved most about this book is that it is a compelling resource for people who want to improve their gut health, as well as better understand the science underpinning the link between gut and skin health. Beautifully photographed, it features over 90 recipes with weekly meal plan guides in a 28-day program for repairing and reprogramming your gut, to improve your skin and your general wellbeing.
Sample recipes across breakfast, lunch and dinner include Baked salmon, tomato and fennel; Coconut crepes; Chicken sage and buckwheat risotto; Lemongrass kaffir lime salmon cakes; Panfried cauliflower gnocchi; Swedish meatballs; and Tamarind fish curry; and Vanilla cardamom chia puddings.
£15, Amazon.co.uk
3. Well + Good Cookbook
Having been a long-time fan of the wellness website Well + Good, let's just say I was more than a little excited when I found out they were now launching their very own cookbook.
And when it arrived in all its glossy gorgeousness, it did not disappoint.
Chock-a-block with more than 100 tried-and-true recipes curated from trusted voices in a variety of fields, including Gabrielle Bernstein (spirituality), Bobbi Brown (beauti), Joey Gonzales (fitness), Elle Macpherson (nutrition), and more, this book is such a great buy for anyone looking to add more healthy recipes to their weekly food roation.
I also love that whether readers are searching for vegan, paleo, gluten-free, or keto meals, or for foods that promote better skin, better sleep, better sex, better moods, better focus, better digestion, or better energy, this book is the ultimate resource to feel their best and glow from the inside out.
£18, Amazon.co.uk
4. Little Green Kitchen
When it comes to food blogging, the Swedish/danish duo of David Frenkiel and Louise Vindahl were what you can call pioneers in what was to become a huge, booming business.
The couple started their vegetarian food blog,
Green Kitchen Stories, back in 2009, and having amassed an impressive amount of readers only a short time later, Frenkiel and Vindahl went on to launch several cookbooks with their delicious and inspiring recipes.
In the years that followed since starting their blog, the foodie couple went on to have three children, and have in their blog and social media channels been vocal about their passion for preparing healthy foods for their kids – that they will actually eat.
It was only a natural next step, then, you might say, that they bring out a cookbook focused on just this – simple, healthy vegetarian recipes for kids and families – based on what they themselves eat at home.
Having raised three kids while writing their acclaimed vegetarian cookbooks and having experienced a fair share of food tossed on the floor and soup bowls left untouched. But they have also learned ways around this. In this book, they share their passion for cooking fun, modern, wholesome meals with kids' palates in mind, but that also is interesting enough for adults to enjoy. Take your own inspiration from their quest to bring joy back to the dinner table: whip up a batch of Dino Burgers (made with spinach, quinoa, oats and peas), Spinach Waffles, or Stuffed Rainbow Tomatoes with black rice, feta, raisins and cinnamon.
£11, Amazon.co.uk
5. Love & Lemons Every Day
Another veggie food blog I have been following for years, both because of the recipes and also because of the stunning photography.
When food blogger Jeanine Donofrio brought out her first cookbook, I literally had it pre-ordered on Amazon before I had finished reading her announcement about it, and this second one, Love and Lemons Everyday, landed in my cart immediately too.
From quick weeknight dinners to bright weekend brunches, whether you are a full-on vegetarian or just looking to add more greens to your plate, you will find inspiration for every meal in this gorgeous book.
I also love how this book will give you great options for using up every scrap of vegetable, minimizing food waste and saving you money on your weekly shop too.
£19, Amazon.co.uk
