If you or a family member have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you may be wracking your brain, trying to come up with delicious, healthy meals. Instead of getting frustrated, how about investing in some cookbooks? Now, while there are cookbooks written and specifically for people with type 2 diabetes, there are many general cookbooks that have recipes that are flavor powerhouses and still conform to your new needs. In fact, they are filled with dishes everyone will enjoy. Here are several from both categories:
Diabetes specific:
The Complete Diabetes Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen: ATK is one of the country’s most revered cooking brands, and this cookbook offers more than 400 recipes that reflect their rigorous testing to improve the nutrition of favorite dishes.
Prevention’s Diabetes Diet Cookbook: These fiber-rich recipes—from Almond and Mixed Berry Muffins with Flax Seeds to Autumn Harvest Minestrone—are easy to make and delicious.
Here are a wide range of chefs and cookbook writers who produce recipes that you’ll enjoy because they’re so creative with healthy ingredients like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and lean proteins. Not all recipes are totally diabetes friendly, so skip those, make ingredient adjustments, or use portion control. And do the same with other cookbooks that focus on cuisines you’re keen to cook.
In My Kitchen: A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes by Deborah Madison: Madison is a vegetarian rockstar, who understands the magic of a simple salad or a roasted cauliflower with romesco sauce.
Plenty and Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi: These books have rightly become classics for their bright and original veggie-forward recipes.
Whole Grains for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff and Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck: Need coaching on how to eat whole grains beyond oatmeal? With these two books you’ll discover amaranth, teff, buckwheat, quinoa, barley, and others—and how to enjoy them.
Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters: The doyenne of contemporary California cuisine focuses on simple, local ingredients. If you’re not sure how to use a veggie, look it up here for imaginative, delicious recipes. (Then go on to Chez Panisse Fruit!)
The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weil, M.D. and Rosie Daley: Weil is an acclaimed nutrition advocate; Daley, a spa cuisine expert known for her collaboration with Oprah. Together they created a classic cookbook grounded in nutritious foods inspired by the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Middle East.
Cool Beans by Joe Yonan: Try the black chickpea hummus. Or the mushroom-kidney bean burgers. Or the lentil meatballs in tomato sauce. The beans take center stage here.
Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat: This is a joy of a cookbook. Not all recipes here are for diabetics but learning how these four elements influence cooking will make you a better, more confident cook.
