Healthy cuisine: 5 new cookbooks – from soul food to longevity
14.10.2026
Translation: machine translated
Whether it's quick weeknight meals, family recipes, or a fresh perspective on nutrition: these five current cookbooks promise healthy cooking without complicated rules. I discovered them at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Last week it was that time again: the Frankfurt Book Fair opened its doors. And among novels, children's books, and illustrated volumes, there were once again numerous new guidebooks to discover. I looked around the great variety of books for ideas for a health-conscious kitchen – and I found what I was looking for.
Source: Anna Sandner
These five current titles show how differently "healthy cooking" is thought about today: from protein-rich vegetarian everyday dishes and recipes for stable blood sugar levels to nutrition for healthy aging. The approaches differ significantly, but the basic idea remains similar: the dishes should fit into everyday life without much effort, taste good, and do you good.
Energy on the plate
"Good Food – Good Energy" by Daniela Schwarz revolves around an obvious everyday question: Why are there days when lunch makes you full, but there is still hardly any energy left for the afternoon? The book collects more than 100 sugar-free and gluten-free recipes for breakfast, snacks, and warm meals. Short notes explain which ingredients are in them and how they can be integrated into everyday life.
Source: Hädecke
In between, Schwarz takes a close look at typical "energy robbers": irregular meals, hectic eating, lack of sleep, or a daily rhythm without real breaks. In addition, there is information about nutrition and fasting as well as short yoga and movement exercises for the workplace or the morning. You will even find meditations and small mindfulness impulses in this special cookbook. The volume is suitable for anyone who wants to observe their eating habits more closely and experiment with small changes in everyday life – such as a prepared snack, a quiet lunch break, or five minutes of movement between two appointments.
Family recipes for stable blood sugar
A quick plate of pasta, a chocolate bar on the go, or an ice cream at the playground: practical, delicious, quickly available. But the energy boost is often followed quite soon by the opposite. If the short-term boosted blood sugar drops again, fatigue, cravings, or the feeling of hardly being able to concentrate follow. "The Blood Sugar Cookbook" by Linn Stokstad focuses on these constant little ups and downs in everyday life.
Source: Dorling Kindersley
The Swedish nutritionist explains why high-sugar foods, white flour products, and many ready-made meals can cause blood sugar to rise and fall so quickly. The book is therefore about meals that are primarily intended to keep you full longer and provide energy more evenly. There are practical tips for everyday life and more than 80 family recipes: from pumpkin waffles for breakfast to stuffed wraps and pasta bake to a no-bake raspberry cake.
Aging healthily, but with enjoyment
"Medical Cuisine – The Great Longevity Cookbook" by Matthias Riedl and Johann Lafer combines nutritional medical tips directly with 100 recipes for everyday life. The focus is on the currently ubiquitous idea of longevity: How can nutrition support health and quality of life in the long term?
Source: Gräfe und Unzer
TV chef Lafer contributes the culinary side, nutrition professional Riedl the medical perspective. The result is a comprehensive cookbook that relies on those foods that appear again and again in many recommendations for healthy aging: legumes, green leafy vegetables, berries, nuts, whole grains, fermented foods, high-quality vegetable oils, and fish. There is also information on the gut microbiome, inflammatory processes, and other topics relevant to healthy aging.
Here you can read into the book.
Guidebooks
Medical Cuisine - Das grosse Longevity Kochbuch
German, Hardcover, Johann Lafer, Matthias Riedl
High-protein from one pot
The assumption that a protein-rich diet necessarily requires meat and fish still persists stubbornly. Nutritionist Laura Merten counters this with an entire cookbook: "One Pot High Protein – High-protein, fast & healthy" contains more than 70 vegetarian dishes with at least 25 grams of protein per serving. Lentils, chickpeas, tofu, and tempeh play a major role, supplemented by eggs, dairy products, nuts, and seeds.
Source: Trias
The principle remains deliberately simple: everything is created in one pot, one pan, or on one tray, with short ingredient lists and as little washing up as possible. In addition to quick lunch and dinner dishes, there are protein-rich breakfast bowls, meal prep ideas, bread, and even cinnamon rolls. In addition, Merten explains how much protein the body needs, which plant-based sources are suitable, and how vegan meals can be combined to provide a complete amino acid profile. Here you can browse through a few pages.
Eating without pressure
Some people stand in front of a full fridge and still don't know what to eat. Others eat almost the same thing for days because only this one dish really works for them. "Neuro Soul Kitchen" by Evelyne Hett takes such experiences seriously: the need for familiar "safe foods," sensitivities to smells, textures, or noises, and the stress that can begin with planning, shopping, and cooking.
Source: Thieme
The book is aimed at neurodivergent people, for example with ADHD, autism, or ARFID – an eating disorder in which food is severely restricted or avoided. It offers pragmatic solutions so that eating becomes less strenuous: without pressure, without the demand for optimization, and without the expectation that every meal must be balanced, varied, and freshly prepared. Here is a first look at the book.
Your favorite cookbook
Which of these five books would land on your kitchen table first? I will take your favorite for a test cook and then report on how the recipes work in everyday life.
And perhaps you have a healthy cookbook yourself that you keep reaching for – because of the quick after-work dishes, the family recipes, or simply because it tastes good. Feel free to tell me in the comments, I look forward to your recommendations!
Header image: Jonathan Borba/Pexels
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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