Eat More Plants This Summer with These 5 Cookbooks

Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen, by Kathy Patalsky
Patalsky is the blogess behind HealthyHappyLife.com, a popular vegan cooking and wellness site, and 365 Vegan Smoothies. In this new cookbook, she spreads the message with recipes accessible to vegans and non-vegans alike (read: fried risotto balls). In her words, “Welcome to the plant-based party.” There are a few special tools and ingredients vegan cooking requires (read: nut milk bag, nutritional yeast), so for newbies, Patalsky starts by stocking the kitchen and pantry. What follows are 220 vegan staples, such as tofu scramble and guacamole, as well as tasty surprises, like the “Jack-o’-Pumpkin” breakfast sandwich with pumpkin butter, peppered mushrooms, and vegan sausage. Each recipe includes nutritional facts, and there’s a special section of kid-friendly recipes. Bright photos and the author’s sunny outlook make for a pleasant read.

My New Roots, by Sara Britton
Bon Appétit magazine has called Britton, proprietor of MyNewRoots.org, the “queen bee of health blogs.” In the introduction to her cookbook, she shares how a four-week workshop on an organic farm inspired a drastic life change, including a degree in holistic nutrition, a move to Copenhagen (home to Noma, one of the best restaurants in the world, where Britton has worked in the test kitchen), and a full-time blogging gig. Britton’s approach to conscious, plant-based cooking is sophisticated, even lyrical, and her book reflects that, with thoughtful commentary and gorgeous photography. The hundred all-new recipes are organized around the seasons, with morning “small measures” (sides and snacks), mains, and sweets for each. All are vegetarian, often with vegan and gluten-free variations. Coconut bacon, anyone?

Clean Green Eats, by Candice Kumai
Model-turned-celebrity chef Candice Kumai has made her career on cooking—and eating—yourself thin. Her fifth book focuses less on calorie-saving and more on eating clean and green, which means seasonal whole foods, more plants, and fewer (not no) animal products. Kumai’s overview of the most nutritious vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and grains will serve as a reminder to those already dedicated to clean eating, but the book’s real value is in the hundred-plus clearly delicious and clearly healthy recipes, including an optional, two-week juice and smoothie cleanse.

The Plantpower Way, by Rich Roll and Julie Piatt
If you were going to run five Ironman triathlons, like in a row, you would prep by eating an Olympic-pool-sized serving of fettuccine, right? Wrong, if you’re Rich Roll, renowned ultra-distance athlete, vegan, motivational speaker, father of four, and, now cookbook author. Eight years ago, at age 40, Roll had an epiphany. He completely overhauled his nutrition and life, lost 50 pounds, and became one of the world’s “fittest men.” Now, with his wife, chef Julie Piatt, Roll offers a peek into his family’s lifestyle and reveals the nutritional route to rocking middle age: a clean, vegan diet. With a foreword by CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the book is truly an inspiration and a wake-up call. More than 120 recipes served in the Roll-Piatt home are rounded out with personal insights, sustainability considerations, and tips on techniques like sprouting and fermentation.

Plant-Powered Families, by Dreena Burton
“Mom, what’s for dinner?” “Cauliflower.” “Yay!!!!” If that exchange sounds to you like a fantasy segment from a new mommy-trials web series, then this book is for you. Getting kids to eat and enjoy their vegetables can be hard, but establishing a solid nutritional foundation is essential for a child’s physical growth, mental development, and sense of well-being. Enter Dreena Burton with over 100 home-tested “weegan” recipes—enough variety to include winners for even the pickiest eaters. Burton herself ate vegan through three pregnancies and now raises her daughters on a plant-based diet, so she speaks from experience (for example, go ahead and add some spinach to that smoothie—but more than a cup, and they might notice). Here are two tips any parent can use: prep in large batches (handy icons alert readers to recipes and ingredients that lend themselves to this) and involve your kids in shopping, food prep, and meal planning.