February 2026 Cookbook Reviews

 

Eat Yourself Healthy by Jamie Oliver

I really like Jamie Oliver and I wish I liked his cookbooks better. I was excited to check out this new cookbook but I felt like most of the recipes didn't work for me. I know fish is very healthy and I wish I could eat it, but unfortunately I'm allergic to fish and shellfish and at least 1/3 of the recipes were fish. Honestly, none of the recipes looked that good to me. I like the premise of the cookbook and trying to eat healthier, but this one is not for me.

The Salad Project by Clem Haxby

I love a good salad and I'd love to make more salads at home so I picked up this cookbook. Unfortunately, I didn't really find anything in here I want to make. Other than ranch dressing, I struggle to make homemade salad dressing as good as restaurants. But a lot of the salad dressing recipes in here were just odd and most of the recipes seemed like not a lot of food. This seemed more about the pictures and the look of the food instead of taste. A lot of it looked like what you would get at a high end restaurant that leave still hungry. Not impressed with this one.

Simple Southern Slow Cooker Meals by Hannah Turton

I wasn't familiar with Hannah Turton before this cookbook. But I love Southern food and I love using a slow cooker, so I figured I would check it out. I agree with a couple other reviews I read that a lot of the recipes are pretty basic. And I have no idea why you would cut up a ribeye steak to cook it in a crockpot - get stew meat or some other cut. But I did find a few recipes I'd like to try and I think for a beginner cook or someone newly out on their own this would be a good starting place for some easy meals that don't require a ton of prep/work.