The Best Cookbooks for Athletes & Health Nuts

by Chris Newport, Nutritionist & Head Coach

I’m often getting asked for good cookbooks, especially when clients are making big dietary changes. So I thought I would share a list of a few of my favorites since I love cookbooks. I also hope that more people will cook real food and eat at home. I could spend hours combing through recipes and “eating with my eyes.” I’m also always on the hunt for recipes that can be modified for specific dietary purposes and improved health and performance. Enjoy!

Cookbooks for Athletes:

Feed Zone Portables: A Cookbook of On-the-Go Food for Athletes (The Feed Zone), one of our favorites if you want to make your own “real performance food,” including rice balls, mini-pancakes and waffles, and more. You can also check out my Pinterest Portable Foods board.
The Feed Zone Cookbook: Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes (The Feed Zone Series), a great sister book to Feed Zone Portables.
Run Fast, Eat Slow: Nourishing Recipes for Athletes, developed by Shalane Flanagan, world class Olympic marathoner.
Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow.: Quick-Fix Recipes for Hangry Athletes: the next book by Shalane Flanagan (a UNC grad!).

General Cooking:

Pretty much all of Williams Sonoma cookbooks, since they are tried-and-true test kitchen recipes. Some of my favorites are Weeknight Fresh & Fast, Weeknight Gluten Free, Good for You, The Spiralizer Cookbook, Spiralizer 2.0 Cookbook, Cooking from the Farmers’ Market, and Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Healthful Cooking.
Joy of Cooking, a timeless collection of recipes (the original came out in the 1930s) that includes healthier versions of old favorites. It’s a stand-by in our household.
Mark Bittman’s cookbooks, including How to Cook Everything The Basics if you’re just starting out in the kitchen, or How to Cook Everything Fast if you’re looking for time savers as well as The VB6 Cookbook, which is great for people who are trying to eat less meat.

Low Carb/High-Fat or Ketogenic Cooking:

Keep in mind that we don’t “subscribe” to any particular diet. Just remember that recipes are guidelines to being able to make food that works best for you. Low-carb/high-fat diets and ketogenic diets are appropriate for some people, but certainly not all.

You can read more information about our low-carb diets for female endurance athletes or our Fat for Fuel Experiment. Or check out our YouTube video on the Benefits of a Ketogenic Diet: Does is Improve Performance?

Quick & Easy Ketogenic Cooking: Meals Plans and Time Saving Paleo Recipes to Inspire Health and Shed Weight, a nice book with ideas for ketogenic cooking or low-carb, high fat ideas.
Bacon & Butter: The Ultimate Ketogenic Diet Cookbook, since who doesn’t love bacon?
The Keto Diet

Gluten-Free and Paleo Cooking:

Paleo assumes gluten-free (and diary-free and soy-free) and generally includes lots of whole foods options, so take it or leave it :)

Anything by America’s Test Kitchen. I’m subscribed to their magazine and online services and LOVE it. I save a bunch of their recipes to my Plan To Eat account (friend me to get all my 800+ recipes!). My current favorite is Paleo Perfected and The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook.
Against the Grain: Extraordinary Gluten-Free Recipes Made from Real, All-Natural Ingredients, one of our favorite gluten-free cookbooks using more whole food ingredients and fewer mixes.

Do you have a favorite cookbook? Share it!