Best Healthy Cookbook 2019: Hannah Bronfman

If the phrase "self love" were to be physically manifested as a cookbook, it would take the form of Hannah Bronfman's new release, Do What Feels Good. 

If you're one of the millions of people whose New Year's resolution has something to do with eating well or exercising more, the wellness guru-DJ-cook is here with the only book you need to guide you.

Bronfman calls her approach to self-care "holistic, hedonistic, and real." She knows that real isn't sultry Instagram posts of a candlelit bubble bath that's never as relaxing as it seems; real is treating yourself in a way that feels good and right. You'll end up caring more about wage gaps and equality gaps than thigh gaps, and learn a grab bag of new recipes along the way. Here are five wellness habits (of many) we picked up on from the book to give you a sense of what's inside.

Bronfman wisely points out that doing something "strict and depriving doesn't work because it doesn't feel good." If you want the slice of cake, eat the slice of cake—maybe one that's sweetened with maple syrup and made with almond flour, but as long as it makes you feel good, do it. There are also plenty of recipes that teach you how to make swaps to classic recipes, like eggplant Parm that uses an herby ground almond-Parmesan cheese mixture in place of breadcrumbs for coating the eggplant rounds (get the recipe).

There are numerous healthy fats that help your skin, your brain and your digestive system, and they taste good. Bronfman points out that outdated (un)scientific research from the 70s is in large part to blame for our cultural aversion to fat, and recommends adding olive oil, avocado, whole milk yogurt and nuts to your plate—or bowl, as is the case with her Supergreen soup, which starts off with a hearty pour of olive oil (get the recipe). 

Green tea, raw dark chocolate, red wine and coconut oil are just a few of the many ingredients that help you glow. You can also make them yourself, with her section on homemade beauty products that includes hydrating avocado face masks, coffee-cocoa body scrub and a handful of natural bath soak combinations. 

Adding turmeric to a London Mule for a sneak attack of immune support. Giving a frozen margarita a creamy avocado twist, no added sugar needed. Combining an Old Fashioned with tart cherry juice to aid muscle recovery. Those are just a few ideas Bronfman has for spiking your cocktails in a different kind of way—with added health benefits, that is. 

Just see the "Healthy Hedonism" chapter as proof. With recipes for chocolate cherry chunk ice cream, the "world's easiest" almond cookies, olive oil cake and more, there's something for every kind of sweets lover.