Favorite "old" healthy cookbooks

[frugal-one]

I love to look through old health food cookbooks. I find things that I would never think of that are healthy and yet easy to make. Here are a few that I enjoy:

The Joy of Eating Natural Foods by Agnes Toms (1962)
The New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook by Jean Hewitt (1971)
American Wholefoods Cuisine by Nikki & David Goldbecks (1983)
A number of books by Jane Brody
Also enjoy looking at More-with-less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre (1976, Mennonite cookbook)

Many of these are at the library too.

Any you'd like to suggest?

[catherine]

I love Helen Nearing's Simple Food.

[herbgeek]

Cooking with Whole Grains by Mildred Ellen Orton c 1951. Bought this in a used bookstore many years ago.

[JaneV2.0]

Anything by Julia Child--she whipped up a mean chicken liver mousse, and had no fear of butter and cream.

[Jilly]

I cannot vouch for the healthy part, but my favorite old cookbook is a reprint of a 1879 cookbook and general household reference is Housekeeping in Old Virginia. I have had it for more than forty years and I still go to it for useful things, as well as just plain of entertainment. Some of the stuff is amazing, some is pretty gross.

It seems to be lost right now, but I have a link to it at Michigan State University's library of Historic American Cookbook Project. http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_34.cfm The link allows you to read the entire book.

I think it is available on the Library of Congress site, too.

I also like Jeff Smith's Frugal Gourmet. I learned how to use ingredients in the most personally responsible way.

All of Molly Katzen's books, especially the Enchanted Broccoli Forest. And the Kripalu Cookbook. They helped me to appreciate scrambled tofu. :) Their site has many of the book's recipes and I love them all. http://kripalu.org/article/270

Not healthy at all, but I still love Alice's Restaurant Cookbook, Alice May Brock of Arlo Guthrie legend. Lots of cool, hippie recipes, but the most important thing I learned from it was how to avoid the caffeine jitters from Irish coffee. You just take swigs from the bottle whiskey and follow with a chaser of whipped cream shot straight from the spray can into your mouth.

[Jilly]

Oh, Julia Child. Melon chicken. Such a mess to make, but so delicious.

[Florence]

Laurel's Kitchen. Love just to read it.

[pinkytoe]

I too use Goldbeck's American Wholefoods Cuisine quite a bit. So much that the pages are falling out.

[happystuff]

I have two really old ones that I have started reading again -- Physical Culture Cookbook by Bernarr MacFadden 1924 and One Thousand and One Vegetarian Recipes The Health Cookbook by Mrs. Henry Lindlahr 1930

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Laurel's Kitchen. Love just to read it.

My vote was going to be for Laurel's Kitchen - such a reference. Florence are you talking about the original? I have The New Laurel's Kitchen and love it but I haven't actually seen a copy of the first one. I would love to however.

[Florence]

My vote was going to be for Laurel's Kitchen - such a reference. Florence are you talking about the original? I have The New Laurel's Kitchen and love it but I haven't actually seen a copy of the first one. I would love to however.

I have the 1978 paperback edition of the original Laurel's Kitchen. It is yellowed and battered but like a dear friend.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

I have the 1978 paperback edition of the original Laurel's Kitchen. It is yellowed and battered but like a dear friend.

Thanks Florence. I kept the New Laurel's Kitchen checked out of the library so much it began to seem like mine! So I eventually found one in a used bookstore and snatched it up. It is a soft back and getting that nice worn/loved look, with notes inside that I have made while making some of the recipes.

[frugal-one]

Thanks for ideas! I am going to order a few from the library. Another thing to be grateful for.... people such as you for inspirations!!!

[KayLR]

I have an old Laurel's Kitchen (80's version) too. My favorite go-to is an old La Leche League wirebound cookbook also circ. 1981, all submissions are from LLL members from all over. It's called Whole Foods for the Whole Family. Man, is it ever beat up. I don't know if LLL still publishes its' cookbooks anymore or not.

[Florence]

Kay, I have a LLL cookbook from the 1970s, Mother's in the Kitchen. It has the world's best banana nut bread recipe.

Another oldie but goodie is Diet for a Small Planet by Francis M. Lappe.

Remembering times from way back when!!

[Gardenarian]

I have one called the KISS cookbook. It is made for people who are cooking on boats - I can't remember where I got it. It has a lot of recipes that use only a few ingredients, and a great recipe for "dump cake" (it's so unhealthy we rarely make it - but so yummy!)

this is pretty much the same recipe: Dump Cake (http://homecooking.about.com/od/cakerecipes/r/blc142.htm)

(it also has many healthy recipes...)

[Gregg]

Moosewood.

[leslieann]

Wow, now I am regretting my cookbook declutters. I loved Whole Food for the Whole Family by LLL; I lived with that book when my kids were babies. And Laurel's Kitchen and the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. Now I can't even eat bread....sigh...I learned so much about LIFE reading those books. And Recipes for a Small Planet. I wished so hard to be a hippie but wasn't one. Now I probably would qualify but it isn't a meaningful category any more.

Anyway, all of those cookbooks got decluttered years ago except Laurel's....the new cookbook and the Bread book. I am too attached to them with all my markings. And I'm not, nor have I ever been, vegetarian. Whole food is whole food.

Thanks for the memories!

[frugal-one]

Just got a few LLL cookbooks from the library. Interesting on how they change as the years progress. Also, went back to my bookcase and looked at some of the Moosewood and Laurel's kitchen cookbooks. Thanks for reminding me of those "oldies but goodies."

[frugal-one]

I too use Goldbeck's American Wholefoods Cuisine quite a bit. So much that the pages are falling out.

Have you tried any of the salads? I have a recipe group and the next meeting is for salads.

Especially enjoy the Frozen Apple Cream and other frozen desserts. About 100 calories per serving.