The River Cottage Family Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
This is a fairly simple, straightforward book, but a great way to learn the basics without feeling patronised. You find out how to produce a surprisingly tasty supper and comfortingly old-fashioned food that you come to put together off the top of your head. We love its pancake recipe and swear by it every Sunday morning!
Little Green Kitchen: Simple Vegetarian Family Recipes by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl
The authors’ website https://greenkitchenstories.com/ is brilliant for alternative recipes that you wouldn’t normally think of but that just seem so obvious once you’ve put them together. The recipes all seem carefully tested and are easy to follow. There are some great ideas for main meals, and a few good examples of lunchboxes that we like.
Feeding the whole family by Cynthia Lair
Lair, once a nutrition counsellor, writes simple recipes that every member of the family can enjoy. At the same time, she also provides valuable nutritional information for healthy eating. In every recipe, there are suggestions on how to prepare the dish so that younger children can enjoy the meal while there is a more sophisticated version for the parents – quite a relief when you have several age ranges to cater for!
Super Food Family Classics from Jamie Oliver
He does have five children. And he has Jools. Jamie Oliver for sure knows his stuff. This book looks at helping you make your own version of things that you think might be naughty: Sneak in extra veg with Squash Mac ‘N’ Cheese; freezer-friendly Jumbo Fish Fingers; and Proper Chicken Nuggets.
Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi
If you want Ottolenghi’s big-on-flavour dishes but with a focus on simplicity and time, this book will meet your needs. Its useful classification – from ‘Short on Time’ to ‘Pantry’ to ‘Lazy’ – allows you to choose what to cook according to the time and ingredients you have available that day.
Given the Mediterranean roots of LoLA, THIS is our all-time family favourite… it encourages our kids to try new foods and tastes, and at the same time it reminds us of “home”!
