10 Spa Cookbooks We Love
- Published: Monday, July 30th 2012
- in Nutrition
Sometimes there’s nothing better than flipping through a cookbook and taking it to the kitchen to cook the old-fashioned way. It’s obvious we love spa recipes, so we decided to spotlight 10 classic spa cookbooks that have fed spa and wellness enthusiasts worldwide with deliciously healthy recipes. Do you have a favorite?
Image courtesy of Rancho La Puerta
Rancho La Puerta: Cooking with the Seasons
A finalist for a James Beard Award—the “Oscars” of the food world—Rancho La Puerta’s Cooking with the Seasons is a gorgeous cookbook full of 120 seasonal recipes using fresh, local ingredients. The book wants users to remember how to taste, which will hopefully spur a change in the way people look at food, how they shop and how they cook. “It’s a reminder to slow down and enjoy one of life’s great pleasures,” the intro says. “And it’s a plea to save real food before it’s too late.”
To order a copy direct from Rancho La Puerta, signed by founder Deborah Szekely and her co-author, please call the Reservations Department at 800-443-7565. Orders of five or more books can be signed and personalized with your message—a great gift idea. $35 plus shipping and tax, if applicable.
Image courtesy of Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat
Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat…from garden to gourmet
A collaboration between Head Chef Hermann Shafellener, Dr. Libby Ellis and Gwinganna’s staff, Gwinganna…from garden to gourmet is not just a book containing 100 delicious recipes; you’ll also find beautiful images and helpful tips throughout the 148 pages. Now in its second edition, the cookbook is available in soft cover.
$59.95 AUD, plus postage and handling
Image courtesy of Canyon Ranch
Canyon Ranch Cooks
Separated by meal and dish type, Canyon Ranch Cooks from the well-known Canyon Ranch health resort includes 214 recipes spanning a variety of dishes to suit varying tastes and cooking styles. Easy-to-follow recipes and techniques combined with handy eating and shopping tips make this much more than just a recipe book.
$29.95 on CanyonRanch.com
Image courtesy of Chiva-Som
Chiva-Som’s Thai Spa Cuisine
Voted four years in a row for various SpaFinder Readers’ Choice Awards, including 2007 Best Cuisine and 2011 Best Cooking Classes and Best Cuisine, Chiva-Som is known to cook up a storm. The Thai wellness resort’s cookbook, Chiva-Som’s Thai Spa Cuisine offers refined recipes from appetizers and salads to main courses and desserts. The health-conscious recipes are guided by a few simple principles: reduce fats and avoid cooking with oil; reduce the intake of salt; and add as many raw food and complex carbohydrates into the diet as possible. To achieve these objectives, the chefs have developed a few simple techniques that people can easily adopt at home.
1,200.00 THB at chivasomproducts.com
Image courtesy of Cal-a-Vie
Cal-a-Vie Living, Gourmet Spa Cuisine
Cal-a-Vie Living is a beautiful coffee table-style book that features glossy photos and over 100 flavorful and healthy recipes from Cal-a-Vie Health Spa’s Chef Jason Graham and his team of culinary experts. Dishes such as Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Cabernet Sauce, Lobster Mashed Potatoes, Spa Pizza and Spicy Rock Shrimp Won Tons are just a few examples that prove healthy eating can be surprisingly enjoyable and seemingly indulgent.
$34.95 at cal-a-vie.com
Image courtesy of Red Mountain
Red Mountain Adventure Cuisine
While Red Mountain Resort’s Adventure Cuisine Cookbook isn’t a coffee table style-book, nor does it even have any images, we love how simple yet tasty and healthy the recipes are. With over 100 recipes ranging from dinner entrees to spa cocktails, this cookbook features cuisines from all over the world, with recipes like Red Mountain Vegetarian Chili and Sweet Potato Salad to Thai Green Curry Paste and Prickly Pear Syrup.
Please contact the spa about where to purchase copies.
Image courtesy of Mii amo
The Six Senses Cookbook
The Six Senses Cookbook features 144 pages of recipes and beautiful photos from the Six Senses Spas: Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili Resort & Spa in the Maldives; Thailand’s Evason Phuket Resort & Spa, Evason Hua Hin Resort & Spa and Sila Evason Hideaway & Spa at Samui; and Ana Mandara Resort & Spa in Vietnam. The recipes represent both modern and traditional dishes of each region, and are presented in categories such as Bites, One Two and Three Courses, Family Style, Vegetarian and Spa.
Request the price and/or order the book here.
Image courtesy of Kamalaya Koh Samui
Kamalaya Koh Samui: Inspired Healthy Cuisine
Half full of healthy eating information and tips, half full of amazing recipes, Kamalaya’s Reconnect…Inspired Healthy Cuisine cookbook is one to keep. Over 30 unique recipes are accompanied by mouth-watering images. We love how this little book also tells you the health-promoting benefits of each recipe, too. As if we needed any more reasons to cook up these delicious-looking recipes.
435 THB, plus postage and packaging, at kamalaya.com.
