5 Family Cookbooks You Need In Your Life

I love to say that I’m the kind of gal who can rustle up a culinary delight with just a few ingredients, rather than reaching for the takeaway menu or visiting the Colonel when the fridge is looking a bit sparse. But I’m not. I love to cook healthy food from scratch but for the most part I’m a recipe planner. I also love nothing more than a good cookbook. My happy place is flicking through my faves with a cup of tea, comfortable in the knowledge that I’ve become quite easy to please.

So I thought I’d share with you my favourites, all of which are packed with healthy recipes the whole family can enjoy. I can tell I love a book when all the pages are stuck together…steady… I mean with food splashes.

Everyday Superfood – Jamie Oliver

So I had to resist the temptation to call this post ‘I love Jamie Oliver’ and a list of all his recipe books as I have ALOT. I just don’t think I’ve ever been let down by a Jamie recipe. Anyway, there are some real treats in this book. It’s healthy food that doesn’t taste healthy and the fish tacos are incredible, as is the kedgeree and the butternut squash lasagne. It’s easy to follow, nothing takes forever to make and Henry started eating recipes from here as soon as he started eating solids.

Ready Steady Glow – Madeleine Shaw

Oh-em-gee I just love Madeleine. I discovered her beautiful blog when I was trying to eat foods that would help my skin in preparation for my wedding and so I was quick to pre-order her first book – Get the Glow when it came out in 2015. She followed it up with Ready Steady Glow last year and while both are incredible I think the healthier chocolate chip cookies tip the scales in second book favour. She’s gorgeous, she oozes positivity and she’s recently announced she’s pregnant so I’m excited to follow her baby journey as well as her foodie journey. I’ve also met her and she’s just as lovely in real life – I just had to get that in there.

Superfood for Superchildren – Tim Noakes, Jonno Proudfoot and Bridget Surtees

This is my favourite book for lunch ideas that aren’t sandwiches. I’ve made cheese muffins, cauliflower tots and dips which have gone down a storm with both me and Henry. There’s not a focus on carbs in this book and while it’s an interesting read I’m not into excluding food groups altogether so I like to litter some recipes from here into our weekly menu to try and make sure we’re eating a diet as varied as possible. There’s sections on first foods, foods for teenagers, packed lunch ideas and breakfasts but we’ve eaten from every chapter regardless of what it’s aimed at.

Superfood Family Classics – Jamie Oliver

After eating out of Everyday Superfood every week for about six months I just had to add this to my collection after my friend Hannah made us the fish pie. It’s my most used at the moment and my go to when I’m planning what we’ll eat. The section on pasta and risotto has some corkers and there’s even a healthy take on doughnuts for breakfast which I can’t wait to try.

Deliciously Ella – Ella Woodward

So I know this isn’t really aimed at families, but I’ve been a Deliciously Ella fan for a while and there’s a few really good recipes in here that we all really enjoy. We have a few meat free days a week to keep costs down and Ella is vegan so it’s a good book to get some recipes from. The bean chilli is my favourite. It’s quick to make, delicious, healthy and has minimal fresh ingredients so a good one to throw together when the ‘big shop’ day is looming. As all of her recipes are free from refined sugars, I often whip up a batch of something sweet to nibble on which I’m happy for Henry to eat too.

I’ve included Jamie’s Fifteen Minute Meals in the picture as I love the recipes but have a little bit of an issue with that they don’t take fifteen minutes for me to make them – I need to work on my chopping skills!

I hope you enjoyed my list. I have a bit of a cook book addiction so I’d love to hear any recommendations.