My Cookbooks - Part 1

I know I say this about every blog post that I do but this blog post is genuinely my favourite one ever oh my god I'm obsessed with it ehehe!

I was going to do a 'Favourite Cookbooks' blog post but I didn't want to leave anybody out because I love them all so much for different reasons, so I said I'd have to say something about all of them!

In case you can't tell already, I love cookbooks. So much. Like no joke.

I just think there's something so cool about them, obviously they have good recipes but they're just a source of inspiration for me I suppose! I love all the different styles, the different textures, the different styles of photography, all that jazz!

Also, I promise I'm not trying to brag and be like "Oh look at me with all my cookbooks." I'm genuinely not trying to be like that, I just didn't want to leave any books out ahaha!

This is going to sound so cheesy but I'd love to get all of the cookbook that I have signed by the authors that wrote them! Is it sad that I have that on my bucket list?!

I have a few signed already and it genuinely makes the book so much more special and chatting with the author is so so special and inspiring and just amazing like!

Just to warn you, this blog post is quite a long blog post but that's because I didn't want to leave anyone out and because I wanted to explain everything properly!!! But if you get bored while reading this blog post then I won't be offended ahaha!

Also: The amount that I typed for each book doesn't reflect how much I love the book, i.e if I typed more for one book than another it doesn't automatically mean that I prefer the book that I typed more for ahaha. Ya see when I was typing this blog post, not gonna lie, it was a bit of a trek and I went through a lot of different moods and a lot of different songs with different vibes ahaha so sometimes I wasn't feeling as inspired as other times, hence the slight variation in my chatty-ness about the books! I love them all so much!

With each book I'll mention...

• The name of the book
• The author(s)
• The website for the author/their book
• About the book, like the type of food (vegan, veggie, health-focused, etc), why I like the book, the style, photos, content, etc
• My favourite recipe
• My favourite picture

Also, I have to say that picking my favourite recipe and picture was ridiculously difficult ahaha! I genuinely love pictures so much and literally all of the cookbooks have such beautiful photos but I got there in the end and picked my favourite pictures!

Anyway, here we goooooo!

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Name: The Happy Pear

Authors: David and Stephen Flynn

Website: https://thehappypear.ie

About: This is by far my favourite cookbook oh I love it! I'd say I nearly know it off by heart at this stage, I've used it that much! THP is a 100% vegetarian cookbook with loads of vegan recipes and basically every recipe can be veganised anyway so it's fab!

Dave and Steve focus on creating food that not only tastes amazing but is healthy too. You’d be halfway through one of their desserts before realising that it’s so much healthier than the ‘normal’ version of it! This book is so much more than just a book with recipes, it has stories and tips and tricks and it’s just such a beautiful collection of joy! It’s genuinely my favourite cookbook and every recipe is top class! If you’re ever thinking about getting a new cookbook I’d say go for this one, 100%!!!

Dave and Steve if ye’re reading this I love ye!!!

Favourite Recipe: Happy Pear Dahl (Page 104) - This dahl got me hooked on all things Happy Pear-related and really gave me the inspiration to explore flavours and textures in the kitchen! Thanks to this dahl I’m now obsessed with lentils and all types of curries mmmm.

Favourite Picture: Page 207- I think this picture sums up The Happy Pear, two lads inspiring people to live happier and healthier lives by eating more fruit and veg. I love it!!!

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Name: A Modern Way To Eat

Author: Anna Jones

Website: http://annajones.co.uk

About: This was my first cookbook so it’ll always have a special place in my heart! I bought AMWTE after turning vegetarian and I needed to learn how to cook! It’s a totally veggie book and a lot of the recipes are vegan or can be veganised so that’s good! This book is beautifully organised oh my god it’s such a beautiful book! There are loads of tips and tricks in this book too and there are loads of really good pages where Anna shows you how to build a dish, i.e soup, and gives you all the options to make whatever soup you fancy, i.e what veg to use and what spices to throw in! All of the photos are absolutely divine and it’s such a good book for veggies and  the veggie-curious alike!

Favourite Recipe: Overnight Bircher With Peaches (Page 20) – This recipe got me interested in overnight oats, all things porridge-related, and made breakfast my favourite meal of the day!

Favourite Picture: Page 181- This picture of all the plates and candles and everything is the feeling I get throughout this book, a feeling of warmth, a cosy atmosphere, and bringing people together.

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Name: Nom Yourself

Author: Mary Mattern

Website: https://www.nomyourself.com
About: Nom Yourself is a 100% vegan cookbook written by the amazing Mary Mattern. It’s a class book with so so so many amazing recipes, ridiculously tasty flavours, and incredible food! Mary went on tour with Ellie Goulding when Ellie was in America so of course I love her! Her incredible recipes are so good and whenever I cook something from  this book, none of my non-vegan friends can tell that it’s vegan! This is such a good book for mouth-watering recipes that’ll please vegans and non-vegans alike, and it’ll probably turn a lot of people vegan too because the food is so nice!
Favourite Recipe: Fat Mint Chip Cookies (Page 184) – This is my go-to recipe whenever I’m making someone a present or if I’m bringing some baked goods to a party or an event of some kind. I need to thank Mary for this incredible recipe, the cookies are insanely good and I think they’ve converted a few people to veganism too they’re that good ahaha!!!
Favourite Picture: Page 86 – This chili is beyond divine oh my god it’s delicious. It’s my favourite chili recipe ever mmmmm. No words, just yummmmm.

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Name: Deliciously Ella

Author: Ella Mills

Website: https://deliciouslyella.com

About: I’ve loved Ella since the day I found Deliciously Ella! Her approach to food, healthy eating, life, self-love, and everything in between is so inspiring and she has helped me so much! This is her first book and it really got me interested in health and the power of good food. All of the recipes from Deliciously Ella are plant-based which is fab, it’s so cool how she can use so many different flavours into the recipes which really bring them alive! This is such a fab book that got me started on the road to healthy eating and I would highly recommend you getting it too if you’re interested in that sorta thing! Brilliant book from such a genuine, enthusiastic, kind, caring human! Fab fab fab!!!

Favourite Recipe: Berry Cheesecake (Page 193) – I remember this was the first big healthy dessert that I made and oh it was delicious! It was during the summer too so the berries were gorgeous, the colours were amazing, and of course most importantly it tasted delicious too!

Favourite Picture: Page 231 - I love this picture so much! I love eating food outside and I love picnics so much. The shot is class and the food looks absolutely fab! I think it really captures Ella’s approach to food; good, healthy food that tastes delicious and that’s shared with friends!

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Name: Green Kitchen Smoothies

Authors: David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl

Website: http://www.greenkitchenstories.com

About: I never really follow recipes when I’m making smoothies but when I saw that Green Kitchen made a smoothie recipe book I just had to buy it! I don’t have their other books yet but I’ve added them to my ‘To buy’ list! Oh my god I’m in love with anything David and Luise make, they’re such creative, inspirational, talented people, I literally just want to hug them both and thank them for inspiring me so much about all things food-related! This book is beyond divine. Everything about it is amazing; the recipes, the pictures, the style, the font, even the book itself (because it’s a lovely size and it’s a hardback and I loooove a cookbook with a hardback ehehe). The book has far more than just smoothies too, it’s an unreal book with recipes for nut butters, granola, smoothies, fancy smoothies, desserts, and so much more! The whole vibe of the book is so so creative and inspiring and it gets your creative juices flowing! Like, literally after flicking through the book you want to make a smoothie straight away, I’m not even joking! This is such a good book if you’re mad about smoothies, want to start smoothie-ing, or if you want to up your smoothie game! Every recipe is vegetarian and every recipe can be veganised too so it’s brilliant! Such a good book, I love it!

Favourite Recipe: Morning Mocha Buzz (Page 41) – This was actually the first smoothie I made from this fab book! I love anything coffee-related and this smoothie did not disappoint oh my god it’s divine! It’s quite a filling smoothie too so it’s great for breakfast or at any time of the day!

Favourite Pictures: Page 59 and Page 155 – Green Kitchen’s pictures are far too beautiful for me just to pick one as my favourite! I’m obsessed with the picture of the ‘Purple Performance’ smoothie, I just think it’s class! You’re not going to believe this but this picture is actually one of the reasons I bought this book! I just love everything about this photo, the smoothie in a groovy jar, the Nike Flyknit runners, the phone, the earphones, and the gym bag, I just think it’s unreal! I absolutely adore the picture on page 155 of David and Luise with all their smoothies! The two of them are just so creative about passionate about what they do it genuinely inspires me so much. I love their style and their approach to food, I think they’re incredible people! Also, I love both of their clothes ehehehe they’ve got very good style!

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Name: Natural Born Feeder

Author: Roz Purcell

Website: http://naturalbornfeeder.com

About: Roz is literally the coolest person ever, no joke. And her book is just as cool! Everything about it is class, the recipes are divine, the photos are beautiful, and the whole vibe of the book is just so cool like! I love Roz’s approach to food, using whole-foods to fuel and nourish the body. It’s not a veggie/vegan cookbook but so so so many recipes are vegan and veganise-able, it’s brilliant! All the flavours in this book are ridiculously tasty, like you can make one of the healthy desserts for your family and they wouldn’t be able to tell it’s healthier than a ‘normal’ dessert. If you’re only going to buy a few cookbooks in your lifetime then defo make this book one of them! It has so many fab recipes, brilliant tips and tricks, and the photos are divine! Big love Roz, you’re a starrrrr!

Favourite Recipe: Whatever You’re Into Granola Bars (Page 272) – These granola bars got me hooked on granola bars ehehe! I love that you can literally throw in whatever you want, so whatever mood you’re in you can do whatever flavour you want! These bars are so handy for lunches, as a snack, or even as a dessert, they’re that good!

Favourite Picture: Page 163 - Literally all of the pictures in this book are beyond divine, it was so hard to just pick one omg! These beetroot, balsamic and basmati rice burgers are on my ‘to-make’ list but omg they look divine!!! I feel that this picture really captures Roz’s approach to food: a table filled with whole, good, tasty food ready to be shared with family and friends! I’m going to sound like such a cooking nerd but I genuinely love the enamel bowls and dishes in the picture ehehe they’re unreal!

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I don't know why, but Blogger isn't allowing me to put all the cookbooks in one blog post. Maybe the file is too big or something, I don't know??

Anyway, click here to read Part 2 of this blog post and click here to read Part 3!

Big love,

Darragh