Alas, I am but a poor blogger. That is to say that I don’t get any compensation for recommending things to you. Some of you do find it in your hearts to send me stuff and I try it and pay it forward by reviewing it here. All this is a prelude to something that is very near and dear to me…

My cookbook collection.

I don’t use cookbooks in the traditional way. I have many of them though. I use them to learn methodology. The science behind how food works. Why you add baking soda to some things and baking powder to others. How sweet and salty tastes work together? What vegetables can replace starchy carbs?

I also get inspired by ideas that I see. If “Hungry Girl” can make over something from Cheesecake Factory, perhaps I can make over something I love from P.F. Changs! So, to that effect, here are the five cookbooks I think are worth investing in and why:

Hungry Girl – 200 recipes under 200 calories

This book is NOT written for post-WLS, however, it gives great swap outs. One of my favorites is using butternut squash in place of potatoes for hash browns. Hungry Girl’s recipes are fun, easy to make, don’t cost a lot, and are easily adaptable (most of the time) to our food plans. And if you like the book, you’ll love the website with constant recipe updates!

Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery

This is a good book to have on hand, especially if you like to entertain. This book has a lot of higher end recipes that go well for a dinner party or simply an evening of self indulgence. Add to that the fact that they give you tips on kitchen staples and how to adapt recipes across surgery types AND surgery stages, and you’ve got yourself a winner!

Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for the Food 2.0

Anyone who has EVER watched “Good Eats” on Food Network knows that Alton Brown knows food – from the inside out. I have learned more about how food works from this guy than in all my years of home economics! His easy-to-understand explanations have helped me avoid many a pitfall. So if you’ve ever wanted to know the “why’s and how’s” of what you eat, definitely add this one to your collection!

Fantastic Food with Splenda

Y’all know I am a Splenda crackhead. I like dessert as much as the next person but I also like sauces and other things that would ordinarily involve sugar. This book teaches how to successfully swap out Splenda for sucrose in easy to understand instructions. I have actually made cake from this recipe book. Real cake. Not flattened out cake. Not…”something tastes off about this cake…” cake. Real, moist, buttery, sweet cake!

BONUS:

Weight Watchers Complete Cookbook

I have never gone on Weight Watchers but a friend once gave me their complete cookbook as a gift and I’ve been using it for years! Delicious recipes in almost any variety you can think of! Chinese, Italian, Greek…appetizers, brunch, dessert, it’s all there! And much of it is easily adaptable to our food plans.

So these are the cookbooks that often inspire my eating and cooking. Which are your favorites? Drop a note in the comments so I can check them out!