I am a big proponent of borrowing books from the library rather than buying new however, there are some books that you just need your own copy of so you can make notes, dog ear pages, etc.
I generally borrow a book from the library first, look through it and decide if it’s worth the expense. Then I’ll buy it.
So, I’ve done the work and these green and healthy living books are definitely must haves. Go ahead and grab a couple (or all, it’s money well spent) now while you’re reading through.
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Reference Books
When I really decided to jump into a ‘greener’ lifestyle, the internet had all kinds of great information, nothing like there is now but still, a decent amount.
Having said that, I knew I would want to have some reference books on hand to refer back to every now and again.
These are three that I found that I have really come to love and check back with fairly frequently.
Healthy Child, Healthy World by Christopher Gavigan
This book is focused on things you can do in the home to create a safer, greener environment for your kids and family. Everything from before the baby arrives to cleaning products to food to toys to body care. Even the pets and the outdoors are covered. It’s a family focused reference book.
Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano
This book isn’t focused on family but it’s a good reference book for women looking to ‘green their routine’. Everything from food to beauty to fitness and gardening and even travel is covered. She shares some natural beauty recipes and some food recipes.
Big Green Purse by Diane MacEachern
This book is all about the power of money. In this book, Diane talks about how to use the power of your shopping choices (or as she refers to it, the power of your purse) to influence change and help create the world you want to live in.
Cookbooks
Cooking for Families
100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake
I followed Lisa Leake on her blog 100 Days of Real Food for quite some time before she came out with this cookbook. She’s very knowledgeable about cutting out processed foods and some of her recipes are definite staples in our house.
My two favorite recipes from this cookbook are the Slow Cooker Whole Chicken and the Chocolate Sauce for hot chocolate.
Weelicious Lunches by Catherine McCord
When my kids were much younger, we used to do lunches for dinner a lot. Their appetites were small and you know kids, they could snack all day. I think we would up minimizing the food waste this way.
The photos in the book are kid friendly so my kids would leaf through and pick out foods they wanted to try.
One year, my husband got me a digital copy of The Weelicious Cookbook but since it’s on my iPad, I didn’t use it quite as much.
Best Homemade Kids Lunches on the Planet by Laura Fuentes
This is another book my kids loved to leaf through and pick their lunches. Most all the ingredients I had on hand so it was super easy to make whatever they liked. Simple, quick, real food ingredients.
Mom 100 Cookbook by Katie Workman
This is like the modern mom’s version of the old Joy of Cooking Cookbook. Anyone still have one of those in their cabinet? I do!
The recipes are all basic, staples that kids love, without all the processed crap.
Plant Based Cooking
Oh She Glows by Angela Liddon
I love the simplicity of this cookbook. Many of the plant based cookbooks I’ve looked through contain recipes with a mile long list of ingredients and 15 steps to make the dish. Total turnoff to me.
The recipes in this book have a relatively small list of ingredients and a manageable number of steps to get the food on the table. Oh, and the photographs will entice you to make everything.
My favorite treat in this book is the Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites, yummm!
Against All Grain by Danielle Walker
This is another one with simple recipes, gorgeous pictures and covers everything from kitchen staples to delicious meals.
DIY Nut Milks, Nut Butters and More by Melissa King
I followed Melissa on her blog My Whole Food Life for quite some time and when she came out with her first cookbook, I was so excited. All the recipes she had shared on the blog were yummy, I was ready to have a hard copy to refer back to over and over.
Snacks
Sweet Treats and Desserts
Chocolate Covered Katie by Katie Higgins
I came across the Chocolate Covered Katie blog year’s ago, right around the time my son was born.
A couple friends and I were all wowed with how easily real ingredients could be transformed into delicious sweets. My favorite was the ‘raw cookie dough’ made with chick peas.
Then I bought her cookbook. The Chocolate Infinity Pie made with tofu was amazing. My kids and husband gobbled it up.
Keto
When I decided to dip my toes into Keto, I knew that I wanted to follow a healthy meal plan, not one with a bunch of processed, chemicals in a can type diet.
The Keto Diet by Leanne Vogel
This book was recommended to me by several people and it’s turned into a wonderful reference book. It’s really a reference book with recipes and meal plans.
Leanne details how keto works, what you need to do to prepare for this type of lifestyle because let’s face it, if you’re going to follow a healthy keto plan, it’s going to take some work.
The Keto Diet Cookbook by Leanne Vogel
This book is more than just recipes but I definitely wouldn’t consider it as much of a reference book as the first book. I pre-ordered this book through Amazon when she announced it because I knew it would be awesome. I wasn’t disappointed.
Comment below and let me know what your favorite reference book or cookbook is. I love checking out new books.
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