Another MNer on a mission to change family eating habits..... Can you recommend good cookbooks ?

[NomDePlume]

As above really.....

Cookbooks which have a wide variety of flavours but with a good healthy approach to diet.

Our diet isn't that bad, pretty average I suppose, the main problem areas seem to be lunch boxes and coke for the older DSs. We just need a bit of a shake up really.

What sort of things do you like cooking/eating?

I go to the MN recipe threads and copy and paste. Fantastic recipes there.

I've just got hold of a copy of The Dinner Lady, by Jeanette Orrey - see the article about her here

She is a dinner lady at a primary school in Nottinghamshire who took over responsibility for catering and put a lot of energy into sourcing the food locally and, where possible, organically. The book tells her story and also includes a large number of her recipes (with quantities for both 4 and 96!). I haven't tried any yet, but they look like down-home cooking, designed to appeal to children. It's a lovely, inspiring book.

Appetite by Nigel Slater, Nigella's How to Cook are my faves.

I don't really find cookbooks all that useful for helping me do family meals. I tend to think 'what to I want to make' and then look up a few recipes for it and adapt accordingly.
The books I've found most useful for recipes for basics are 'How to Eat' and Delia's cookery course (the big original one, not the 'how to cook' series).
I am still searching for the holy grail though - a cookbook with all my childhood staples in it - will probably by Jeanette Orrey's book too.

Is the Jeannette Orrey book very new? Have looked at our online library catalogue and it's not listed.

yes, might not even be published yet.

Annabel Karmel has some very good recipies.

Here are some on-line JO recipies here

here you go dinner lady

We eat most things, we are not veggies and have no known food allergies between us.

have to recommend teh good old classic dairy cookbook for all the basics - mine's from 1978, but found a new version here

For family meals, Cas Clarkes "Great Grub for toddlers"

I've recently got a subscrition to the Good Food magazine and find that quite helpful, lots of good ideas, reminders of what's in season, recipes from TV cookery programmes, just now Antony Worrall Thompson has a series running in the magazine about cooking for and with your children. Otherwise it's usually Nigella (How to Eat and Nigella Bites are the ones I use most), I've got JO's new book and it looks good (although I've had it for over four months now and cooked nothing from it ).

I bought my DH a subscription to GF mag for his last birthday, we also have loads of mags from 1999 lying around from his last subscription !

I use the savingdinner menumailer - it's great varied and pretty cheap to subscribe too

I've just ordered the dinner lady so looking forward to receiving that now.

BUMP - any more.... ??

Just received Finger food for Babies and Toddlers by Jennie Maizels... Just trying that one

They're not strictly recipe books but there's some good ideas and recipes in 'The food our children eat' by Joanna Blythman and 'dump the junk' by Mary Whiting - they also give good justifications and 'tricks of the trade' to get children used to real food. Esp. good on lunch boxes.

I've just borrowed the finger food book from our local library (due to ds2 refusing anything on a spoon).

I love Nigel Slater's Appetite. Ainsley's Meals in Minutes is also good. And Lucy Burney's book which is mainly about weaning has some lovely easy and healthy family meals in it, but can't remember what it's called. Has pages with 'baked potato fillings' or 'sandwich ideas' too.

Just bought the Jeanette Orrey "The Dinner Lady" book, and I think its brill. There's nothing "flashy" in there IYKWIM in terms of recipes - very funny that the recipes are for serving 4 or 96!

The trick is to go for meals that are quick to prepare because we mums are time poor aren't we..so try:

Ainsley Harriott: Meals in Minutes
or Ainsley Harriott: All New Meals in Minutes

He has kids so his recipes are family orientated so not all aimed at the adult palate

SamN - see you've got the AH book.

Which recipes are your favourites?