My husband was always the 'creative one' in the kitchen. As a matter of fact, he's the one who taught me to cook. Like, really cook. He would just 'wing it' and get all innovative, throwing in this spice and that herb (and honestly, not always tasting too good). And me? I was the one who stuck by a recipe, word for word, ingredient by ingredient. I was too scared to go off the beaten track incase the meal ended up tasting horrible - and I hate it when a recipe doesn't turn out (I LOVE my food).
I honestly tried to develop new recipes but found it stressful and time consuming. At the end of the day there are many others who do this much better than me (see below for my top picks).
And do you know what? It turns out you don't need to create recipes from scratch. Often a little tweaking is all you need. Getting deeper into my whole food way of eating, I discovered that tweaking a recipe is not only essential, it's also super easy.
You may just be starting out in your whole food journey and you're not quite ready to buy new cookbooks, so just use the ones you've already got! Simply swapping out a few key ingredients can make your meal so much healthier.
This to me is what nourishing through whole food is all about. It's not about following strict recipes, it's about educating yourself enough to be able to think about the ingredients and then make the right choices for you and your family. By arming yourself with the knowledge you need to nourish, you can take on any food situation (parties, dinners out etc) and make the right choices for you.
I'm here to help you take this information and begin to make conscious food choices that will not only benefit your family but also the environment and those around you.
If you are a sucker for a good cookbook though (like me), check out my top picks below.
COOKBOOKS I LOVE
- Anything by Jude Blereau. I have 3 of her books and use them obsessively! She is an amazing Whole Food Chef with so much passion to educate others in nourishing whole food.
- Jamie's 15 Minute Meals. Or anything Jamie Oliver. While I don't agree with ever ingredient he uses, I love that he is encouraging people to get back into home cooking while making it fun and easy.
- Family Food by Pete Evans. Love these recipes and love the message Pete is spreading about wholesome, sustainable, healing foods.
- Janella's Super Natural Foods by Janella Purcell. Again, lots of delicious, nourishing recipes. Janella is also a qualified Naturopath and knows her stuff!
- Make Peace with Your Plate by Jess Ainscough (The Wellness Warrior). An inspiration read plus amazing, easy to create recipes.
Do you have a favourite nourishing cookbook? Please share in the comments below or on our Facebook Page.