Cookbook Gift Guide

Give the gift of new recipe ideas for your foodie loving family members and friends. I am sharing some of my favorite cookbooks in my Cookbook Gift Guide. I am very excited to share so many cookbooks from my fellow dietitian colleagues that are not only packed with delicious recipes but also nutrition education.

For more foodie inspired gift ideas, head over to my shop page!

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks
Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

Plenty More

Yotam Ottolenghi is one of the world’s most beloved culinary talents. In this follow-up to his bestselling Plenty, he continues to explore the diverse realm of vegetarian food with a wholly original approach. Organized by cooking method, more than 150 dazzling recipes emphasize spices, seasonality, and bold flavors. From inspired salads to hearty main dishes and luscious desserts, Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London’s Ottolenghi’s a must-have for vegetarians and omnivores alike. This visually stunning collection will change the way you cook and eat vegetables

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

You Have It Made

Ellie KriegerNew York Times best-selling and multi-award-winning author, has written a cookbook devoted to the kind of recipes that her fans have been waiting for—make-ahead meals. For those who are always short on time when it comes to cooking, Ellie is here to help. Her recipes—which include breakfast bakes, soups, salads, casseroles, and more—can all be prepared ahead of time, making putting food on the table that much easier. Each recipe includes instructions for refrigerating and/or freezing as well as storing and reheating directions. With exciting dishes like the Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats in Jars and the Herbed Salmon Salad, you’ll be able to have meals ready days in advance. As with her other books, all of Ellie’s recipes are healthy and come complete with nutrition information. But that doesn’t mean they sound like diet food! Just look at the Creamy Tomato Soup, Chicken Enchilada Pie, and Smoky Smothered Pork Chops, to name a few. You Have It Made helps you turn your fridge and freezer into a treasure chest of satisfying, good-for-you meals.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

Momofuku

Never before has there been a phenomenon like Momofuku. A once-unrecognizable word, it’s now synonymous with the award-winning restaurants of the same name in New York City (Momofuku Noodle Bar, Ssäm Bar, Ko, Má Pêche, Fuku, Nishi, and Milk Bar), Toronto, and Sydney. Chef David Chang single-handedly revolutionized cooking in America and beyond with his use of bold Asian flavors and impeccable ingredients, his mastery of the humble ramen noodle, and his thorough devotion to pork.  

Chang relays with candor the tale of his unwitting rise to superstardom, which, though wracked with mishaps, happened at light speed. And the dishes shared in this book are coveted by all who’ve dined—or yearned to—at any Momofuku location (yes, the pork buns are here). This is a must-read for anyone who truly enjoys food!

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The Mindful Glow Cookbook

In over 100 recipes, Abbey Sharp, of Abbey’s Kitchen,  shows us how she eats: healthy and nourishing meals that are packed with flavor like PB & J Protein Pancakes, Autumn Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, Stuffed Hawaiian Burgers, Chicken, Sweet Potato and Curry Cauliflower, Chocolate Stout Veggie Chili, Chewy Crackle Almond Apple Cookies, and Ultimate Mini Sticky Toffee Puddings. Many of her recipes are plant-centric and free of dairy, gluten, and nuts. Others contain some protein-rich, lean beef, poultry, eggs, and dairy, so there are plenty of delicious recipes for everyone and every occasion. 
Featuring gorgeous photography throughout, The Mindful Glow Cookbook is perfect for anyone looking to fully nourish their body, satisfy food cravings, and enjoy every snack, meal, and decadent dessert in blissful enjoyment.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

Thug Kitchen

Thug Kitchen lives in the real world. In their first cookbook, they’re throwing down more than 100 recipes for their best-loved meals, snacks and sides for beginning cooks to home chefs. (Roasted Beer and Lime Cauliflower Tacos? Pumpkin Chili? Grilled Peach Salsa? Believe that sh*t.) Plus they’re going to arm you with all the info and techniques you need to shop on a budget and go and kick a bunch of ass on your own.

This book is an invitation to everyone who wants to do better to elevate their kitchen game. No more ketchup and pizza counting as vegetables. No more drive-thru lines. No more avoiding the produce corner of the supermarket. Sh*t is about to get real.

Note Thug Kitchen freely drops the f-bomb, so gift wisely. 

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook

The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, written by Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD and Serena Ball, MS, RD of Teaspoon of Spice, offers fresh, flavorful, and FAST recipes for lifelong health.

Bowls of pasta, abundant seafood, roasted vegetables, bread dipped into olive oil, and even a glass of wine―the Mediterranean diet is easy to follow because it’s also a lifestyle. The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook makes it easier than ever to get your fill of the Mediterranean diet and all of its health benefits with quick, satisfying recipes for health and longevity.

Table-ready in 30 minutes or less, these classic Mediterranean diet meals combine easy-to-find ingredients with quick prep and cook times, so that you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your food. From Breakfast Bruschetta to Baked Chicken Caprese to Chilled Dark Chocolate Fruit, The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook makes the Mediterranean diet a staple for everyday schedules.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The Pescatarian Cookbook

The Pescatarian Cookbook, written by Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, LD, of Streetsmart Nutrition, is the definitive kitchen companion to the pescatarian diet with fundamental information, recipes, and healthy meal plans.

Rich in fish and seafood, hearty vegetables, and wholesome grains―pescatarianism is a varied and balanced diet. The Pescatarian Cookbook is a complete reference to reap all benefits of this naturally nutritious diet with essential information, recipes, and healthy meal plans.

From Zucchini Pancakes with Smoked Salmon for breakfast to Grilled Swordfish with Chimichurri and Roasted Vegetables for dinner, this pescatarian cookbook offers perfectly portioned pescatarian plates for every meal. Complete with 3 weeks’ worth of meal plans―that include shopping lists and tips for meal prep―The Pescatarian Cookbook is your go-to reference to make the pescatarian diet a sustainable and satisfying lifestyle.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

Taco! Taco! Taco!:

Make every day Taco Tuesday! Tacos are the perfect food–uniquely versatile and incredibly delicious! Taco! Taco! Taco!, written by Sara Haas, RDN, LDN, features 100 taco recipes that are as easy to prepare as they are to love.

Who doesn’t like tacos? Simple to make, tacos can be prepared in many different ways, and provide the ideal platform for tons of nourishing foods. Taco! Taco! Taco! features 100 taco recipes, each providing delicious and fun ideas for your next meal. 

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The 30-Minute Thyroid Cookbook

The 30-Minute Thyroid Cookbook, written by Emily Kyle, MS, RDN, CDN, CLT, offers the fastest, everyday recipes to take control of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s symptoms for long-term relief.

When you’re dealing with symptom flare-ups, the last thing you want to do is spend hours cooking. The 30-Minute Thyroid Cookbook offers quick recipe solutions to manage hypothyroid and Hashimoto’s symptoms, so that you can get in and out of the kitchen and back to your life.

From Crispy Baked Tempeh Fingers to Rub Roasted Pork Tenderloin, these no-fuss recipes combine quick and easy prep and cook times for table-ready meals in 30-minutes or less. Complete with a guide to setting up a thyroid-friendly kitchen, plus tons of tips and tricks to make home cooking easier, The 30-Minute Thyroid Cookbook is an everyday solution to get long-term symptom relief.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club

Whether for weight loss, managing prediabetes or Type II diabetes, or a healthy, fit lifestyle, The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club, written by Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN is filled with delicious, easy to make recipes containing 300 calories or less and packed with a minimum of 20 grams of protein. Power up your morning with protein! You’ll find recipes featuring dairy, protein powders, nuts, seeds, eggs and ancient grains including hot trends like overnight oats, smoothie bowls and mug cakes. Discover healthier versions of classics like pancakes and French toast. Many recipes are also vegetarian and gluten free. In a hurry in the morning? Don’t worry! Prepare your breakfast in the evening or on the weekend to save precious time during the morning rush while ensuring you begin the day with an energizing, protein-packed breakfast!

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The 28 Day DASH Diet Weight Loss Program

Achieve your weight loss goals with the comprehensive diet and exercise plan from The 28-Day DASH Diet Weight-Loss Program, co-authored by Andy De Santis, RD, MPH, and Julie Andrews, MS, RDN, CD.

The DASH diet offers a path to weight loss that is rooted in balanced eating, but it’s not the only key to your success. The 28-Day DASH Diet Weight-Loss Program offers a holistic diet and lifestyle plan to help you achieve your weight loss goals for long-term health.

The 28-Day DASH Diet Weight-Loss Program begins by tackling critical lifestyle components for good health with guidance for exercise routines, stress management, and a good night’s sleep. With a 28-day meal plan that includes trackers to monitor habits and exercise, this book kick-starts weight loss and sets you on a path of long-term health.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

Whole Cooking and Nutrition

Enough of the dieting and deprivation! It’s time to embrace the joy of eating well with the intention that healthy foods are nourishing, sustaining and delicious. Whole Cooking and Nutrition, written by Katie Cavuto, MS, RD, RYT, shifts the conversation away from dieting to one of positive messages and gratifying intentions. The result is a book packed with information to help readers improve their relationship with food, turning a spotlight on 85 everyday foods that maximize flavor and boast rich nutrient density that will inspire you to live a healthy lifestyle! With more than 150 vibrant, flavorful recipes, this cookbook promotes a mindful, pleasurable approach to eating.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

Fertility Foods

A complete dietary program for women seeking a healthy pregnancy. Created by RDN certified experts, Liz Shaw, RD and Sara Haas, RDN, LDN, Fertility Foods provides you with powerful nutritional benefits and more than 100 recipes.

Struggling with infertility can be one of the most frustrating experiences for women looking to conceive. Rather than juggle multiple prescription medications all while scheduling an endless series of doctors’ visits, Fertility Foods helps you to seek better results—just by changing your diet!

As you prepare to enter one of the most significant times in your life, you owe it to yourself and your future children to make sure that your body has absolutely everything it needs, at the proper times and in the proper quantities. Fertility Foods is more than just a diet plan or cookbook, with over 100 nutritious, satisfying dishes to boost your fertility. It’s a companion, a constant support providing you with the information you need to ensure you receive proper nutrition before conception.

Beyond Cookbooks

Moving beyond your traditional cookbook filled with delicious recipes, I also really love these educational books, which are perfect for anyone who loves to cook. From food pairings to food science, these additional books will be a great gift for your foodie loving family members and friends.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The Spice Companion

A stunning and definitive spice guide by the country’s most sought-after expert, with hundreds of fresh ideas and tips for using pantry spices, 102 never-before-published recipes for spice blends, gorgeous photography, and botanical illustrations.

Since founding his spice shop in 2006, Lior Lev Sercarz has become the go-to source for fresh and unusual spices as well as small-batch custom blends for renowned chefs around the world. The Spice Companion communicates his expertise in a way that will change how readers cook, inspiring them to try bold new flavor combinations and make custom spice blends. For each of the 102 curated spices, Lev Sercarz provides the history and origin, information on where to buy and how to store it, five traditional cuisine pairings, three quick suggestions for use (such as adding cardamom to flavor chicken broth), and a unique spice blend recipe to highlight it in the kitchen.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The Food Lab

Ever wondered how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and an interior that’s perfectly medium-rare from edge to edge when you cut into it? How to make homemade mac ‘n’ cheese that is as satisfyingly gooey and velvety-smooth as the blue box stuff, but far tastier? How to roast a succulent, moist turkey (forget about brining!)―and use a foolproof method that works every time?

As Serious Eats’s culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji López-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don’t work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new―but simple―techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half-dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

The Vegetarian Flavor Bible

Throughout time people have chosen to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet for a variety of reasons from ethics to economy to personal and planetary well-being Experts now suggest a new reason for doing so maximizing flavor – which is too often masked by meat-based stocks or butter and cream The Vegetarian Flavor Bible is an essential guide to culinary creativity based on insights from dozens of leading American chefs representing plant-based whole foods including vegetables fruits grains legumes nuts and seeds the book provides an A-to-Z listing of hundreds of ingredients from acai to zucchini blossoms cross-referenced with the herbs spices and other seasonings that best enhance their flavor resulting in thousands of recommended pairings The Vegetarian Flavor Bible is the ideal reference for the way millions of people cook and eat today- vegetarians vegans and omnivores alike. This groundbreaking book will empower both home cooks and professional chefs to create more compassionate healthful and flavorful cuisine.

Cookbook Gift Guide: A roundup of culinary and nutrition cookbooks and culinary education books that any foodie family member or friend will love! Cookbooks recommendations hand selected from Chef Julie Harrington, RD @ChefJulie_RD #cookbook #cooking #gift #giftguide #culinarynutrition #cookingtips #nutrition #healthycookbooks

52-Week Meal Planner

The 52-Week Meal Planner, created byhttps://jessicalevinson.com/ Jessica Levinson, MS, RDN, CDN, is your complete companion to master meal planning with menus, grocery lists, recipe pages, and more.

A well-made meal planner guarantees that hectic schedules don’t get in the way of healthy meals. More effective than a pen and paper, the 52-Week Meal Planner provides the tools you need to map out exactly how you’re going to shop, cook, and eat, week after week.

This handy meal planner features one year’s worth of weekly templates to plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. With grocery lists, price comparison sheets, and recipe pages, the 52-Week Meal Planner is an all-in-one guide to take control of what you eat and how much time and money you spend.

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Why You Should Be Massaging Kale

Turn the kitchen lights down, light some scented candles, and get your kale ready for a relaxing massage. I know it sounds silly to massage kale, but trust me you’ll never NOT massage your kale again after reading this post.
Why You Should Be Massaging Kale via RDelicious Kitchen @RD_Kitchen #rdchat #kale #howto #cookingtips #salad
Have you ever prepared or order a kale salad and chew on the same bite which seems to last a lifetime? Kale is very fibrous and can leave you chewing until your jaw starts to numb. This happens when the kale hasn’t been treated properly. This treatment comes in the form of a massage. While it might seem a bit odd to massage your food, you’d be amazed at what a quick five-minute rubdown can do to transform this green from being bitter and tough to turning silky and sweet.

Kale is a strong, sturdy, and bitter green that can withstand growing in the cold winters. Kale was once only used as a garnish but then labeled as a “superfood” in recent years. It was used as a garnish because of its structure. The bright green leaves would withstand long hours on the buffet table, while still looking fresh and providing that pop of color. Why? Because of its tough cellulose structure.

Massaging kale is easy to do. Remove any thick fibrous ribs of the kale leaves. Take bunches of kale leaves in both hands and rub them together. Work your fingers on each leave. You’ll start to notice a visible change right away. The leaves will darken and yield, softer, shinier, and tender sweet pieces of kale.
Why You Should Be Massaging Kale via RDelicious Kitchen @RD_Kitchen #rdchat #kale #howto #cookingtips #salad

Nutrition to know:

Kale is high in fiber, antioxidants, and carotenoids (lutein and beta-carotene), with more than 45 flavonoids, particularly kaempferol, and other phytonutrients like quercetin, which helps combat inflammation. Kale has twice the vitamin K as other cruciferous vegetables.
Did you know? Kale has more vitamin C than an orange! One cup of chopped kale has 134 percent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C, while a medium orange has 113 percent. Kale is also packed with vitamin A! A one-cup serving of kale contains over 200% of our vitamin A recommendation in the form of beta carotene.

Meal prep tip:

Since kale has such a sturdy structure, wash, trim, and massage kale for the week. Fresh kale can stay fresh for about 1 week in the refrigerator.
Ever notice the yellow/orange color on the edges as kale ages? It’s not necessarily going bad, but chlorophyll green color is breaking down and shows the rich vitamin A & C color along the edges.

Kale recipes to try:

Kale Salad with Sweet Shallot Vinaigrette via RDelicious Kitchen @RD_Kitchen #salad #dressing #homemade #shallot #vinaigrette #saladKale Salad with a Sweet Shallot Vinaigrette

Balsamic Kale and Vegetable Saute via RDelicious Kitchen @RD_KitchenBalsamic Kale and Vegetable Saute

Butternut Squash & Kale Pita Pizza via RDelicious Kitchen @RD_KitchenButternut Squash and Kale Pita Pizza