10 New Health Books To Keep You Motivated This Year

Whether you’re giving Dry January a shot or looking for more ways to go meat-free this year, there are plenty of health-focused tomes hitting the shelves this month which – refreshingly – aren’t diet books. Here are SL’s ten favourites to read this January…
Eat It Anyway, Eve Simmons and Laura Dennison
Eat It Anyway, Eve Simmons and Laura Dennison

Eat It Anyway by Eve Simmons and Laura Dennison

The definition of 'healthy eating' has been chewed up, spat out and re-digested enough times to make us give up and seek out their nearest branch of McDonald's. Our mindless obsession with eating 'right' is such that we're now more concerned about what our Instagram followers think of a poorly lit picture of our dinner than we are of its effect on our own palate. Eve Simmons and Laura Dennison (the brains behind Not Plant Based) are on a mission to help you love food again. The principle is very simple: eat what you like and don't worry about it. Throughout the book, the authors call on experts to debunk myths and provide a balanced exploration of our attitude towards food, with some delicious recipes thrown in along the way. As well as discussing their own experiences of eating disorders, the pair offer personal tips and coping mechanisms to help rid you of anxiety linked to food.

Jackfruit And Blue Ginger: Asian Favourites Made Vegan, Sasha Gill
Jackfruit And Blue Ginger: Asian Favourites Made Vegan, Sasha Gill

Jackfruit and Blue Ginger: Asian Favourites, Made Vegan by Sasha Gill

Jackfruit and Blue Ginger isn’t just a vegan recipe book, it’s a collection of Asian favourites with a vegan twist. When Sasha Gill turned vegan, she didn't want to miss out on the vibrant flavours of her favourite Asian dishes, so she got to work 'veganising' them. Studying medicine in the UK, far from her childhood home in Singapore, Sasha is a student who understands what it is to be short on time and budget; most of her recipes don't take long or demand expensive ingredients. Through constant experimenting, she has created dishes as delicious and satisfying as her street-stall favourites and family dinners; only using plants in place of meat and fish. Highlights include recipes for jackfruit biryani, fluffy peanut pancakes, 'butter chicken' and Peking jackfruit pancakes. Perfect for fans of books such as Plenty, Bosh!, and Eat Vegan.

Just Eat It, Laura Thomas
Just Eat It, Laura Thomas

Just Eat It by Laura Thomas

Just Eat It isn’t just a book. It’s part of a movement to help us take back control over our bodies. To free us from restrictive dieting, disordered eating and punishing exercise. To reject the guilt and anxiety associated with eating and, ultimately, to help us feel good about ourselves. This anti-diet guide from registered nutritionist Laura Thomas PhD can help you sort out your attitude to food and ditch punishing exercise routines. As a qualified practitioner of Intuitive Eating – a method that helps followers tune in to innate hunger and fullness cues – Thomas gives you the freedom to enjoy food on your own terms. There are no rules: only simple, practical tools and exercises including mindfulness techniques to help you recognise physiological and emotional hunger, sample conversations with friends and colleagues, and magazine and blog critiques that call out diet culture.

Veggie Lean In 15, Joe Wicks
Veggie Lean In 15, Joe Wicks

Lean in 15 – Veggie by Joe Wicks

This is the first vegetarian cookbook from fitness sensation Joe Wicks, aka The Body Coach. This new edition is Joe's meat-free take on Lean in 15: The Shift Plan, the bestselling diet book of all time. Inside you’ll find numerous food-prepping tips, plus 100 vegetarian recipes (many of which are also vegan), as well as three exclusive Body Coach HIIT workouts and an abs workout. From smoky sweet potato chilli to 'creamy' butternut pasta, the book features a range of meat-free dishes, all prepared in 15 minutes or fewer. The recipes are ideal for full- and part-time veggies, as well as those wishing to cut down on eating meat in a healthy way.

Leon Fast Vegan, Rebecca Seal, Chantal Symons, John Vincent
Leon Fast Vegan, Rebecca Seal, Chantal Symons, John Vincent

Leon Fast Vegan by Leon

From the team behind healthy fast food chain Leon comes Leon Fast Vegan – a book all about delicious food, which just happens to be vegan. The cookbook contains more than 150 recipes. Divided into three sections, it kicks off with ‘The Main Event’, with easy recipes for everything from breakfast and brunch to sharing plates, via quick suppers and slow-cooked one-pot dishes. Part two, ‘On the Side’, features sauces, dressings, nourishing side dishes and breads, and part three, ‘Sweet’, gives vegan options for desserts and cakes. Expect globe-spanning recipes for everything from vegan sushi to Mexican tacos, Vietnamese pancakes and American burgers.

So Vegan In 5, Roxy Pope and Ben Pook
So Vegan In 5, Roxy Pope and Ben Pook

So Vegan In 5 by Roxy Pope and Ben Pook

Don't let anyone tell you vegan food is bland, boring or complicated. Roxy and Ben, creators of 'So Vegan' – one of the world's leading vegan recipe channels – will show you how to create fun and tasty vegan recipes using just five ingredients. Whether you're a full-time vegan, a curious carnivore or somewhere in between, So Vegan in 5 is your go-to guide for eating more plants, packed with budget-friendly and time-saving recipes for the everyday cook. The book contains over 100 all-vegan, low-cost and low-ingredient recipes for the time-poor cook. You'll find quick and easy breakfasts, simple and healthy light meals, classic dinners and indulgent desserts. As well as recipes and foodie tips, the book also contains helpful advice on how to live a more sustainable life.

The Alcohol Experiment: 30 Days To Take Control, Cut Down Or Give Up For Good, Annie Grace
The Alcohol Experiment: 30 Days To Take Control, Cut Down Or Give Up For Good, Annie Grace

The Alcohol Experiment by Annie Grace

Whether you think you drink too much and want to quit, or whether you just want to cut back for a while, Annie Grace’s book is for you. The Alcohol Experiment is a 30-day programme with a difference. Each day, it will show you a new way of thinking about booze and ask you to look a little closer at why we drink, what we get out of it, and whether it’s really the alcohol that’s giving us what we want. In the bestselling This Naked Mind, Annie offered a completely revolutionary solution to dependency, and a path to sobriety. Now, Annie gives you the tools you need to understand alcohol – whether or not it’s a problem. Packed with humour, patience and the latest research, The Alcohol Experiment in an intriguing read – particularly after the excesses of Christmas.

The Clean Plate: Delicious, Healthy Recipes For Everyday Glow, Gwyneth Paltrow
The Clean Plate: Delicious, Healthy Recipes For Everyday Glow, Gwyneth Paltrow

The Clean Plate by Gwyneth Paltrow

No healthy book roundup would be complete without a bit of Gwyneth, and whether you love her or loathe her, there’s no denying her influence in the wellness world. In The Clean Plate, she’s back with what she calls her most ambitious cookbook to date: a collection of 100-plus recipes and customisable meal plans that offer taste, simplicity and targeted health benefits. Her recipes bring everything to the table – from smoothies and soups to bowls, mains, snacks and desserts – with the ease and flavour that continue to put her on bestsellers lists. Highlights include turkey meatball pho, butternut squash tacos, and sweet treats like cashew turmeric iced lattes. Beyond recipes, The Clean Plate includes meal plans, detoxes and cleanses to address the reader's specific needs and desired results.

The Vegetarian Option: Simple, Vegetarian, Delicious, Simon Hopkinson
The Vegetarian Option: Simple, Vegetarian, Delicious, Simon Hopkinson

The Vegetarian Option by Simon Hopkinson

Now more than ever, people are turning to vegetarian food. But how to know when to really eat a tomato, or the best way to get flavour from a marrow? Here, one of Britain’s best chefs, Simon Hopkinson, shares classic, simple recipes will solve any dilemma, accompanied by beautiful essays on subjects from the joy of bay leaves to the enlivening zippiness of a lemon. The key to Hopkinson's cooking is using seasonal ingredients and good-quality produce. With recipes for everything from a quick supper to the perfect cocktail and accompanying snack, The Vegetarian Option is not written exclusively for vegetarians, but as a fresh source of inspiration for all genuine food lovers.

Tom Kerridge’s Fresh Start: Kick Start Your New Year. Eat Well Every Day, Tom Kerridge
Tom Kerridge’s Fresh Start: Kick Start Your New Year. Eat Well Every Day, Tom Kerridge

Tom Kerridge’s Fresh Start by Tom Kerridge

Recycle that takeaway menu, step away from the microwave and make the most of British produce with some real home-cooked food devised by Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge. Released alongside his new TV series, this book will show you how to make a quick peanut chicken stir-fry or flavour-packed butternut squash and chickpea curry. Tom Kerridge's Fresh Start is not a diet book, but it is about taking control. If you cook from scratch, you know exactly what is going into your food and can take responsibility for everything that you and your family eat. And with Tom's guidance, you know it will taste great too. Inside, expect over 100 recipes for breakfast, quick and easy meals, lighter dishes, veggie suppers, batch cooking, weekend feasts and sweet treats.

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