I don’t know why, but I always want to try new recipes. Even if I make something and it tastes great, I usually only make it a few times before getting bored with it and wanting to move on. While this makes planning a cycle menu more complicated, I enjoy perusing recipe websites and cookbooks, so the challenge of discovering a different recipe is fun for me. For today’s post, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite recipe websites from around the web.

Magazines/periodicals with online recipes

• The Old Farmer’s Almanac – I only recently started visiting this website, but they have some great introductory resources if you’re new to cooking. If you sign up for their email list, you can also download their “Handy Kitchen Charts” guide, which includes lots of substitutions (a great list to have in case you run out of an ingredient). They even have a guide for starting your own sourdough starter; this has become a really popular search lately with Coronavirus impacting grocery store inventories. 
• Kitchn – A web-based magazine. Try their mixed bean masala recipe – I did and I felt like I made a restaurant-quality meal.
• EatingWell – This magazine merged with Cooking Light in 2018. EatingWell offers both print and digital versions of their magazine, and their recipes are both nutritious and tasty.
• Delish – Another web-based magazine with a large variety of recipes.

Independent food bloggers

I have a ton of respect for those in this crowd; they do their blogs and their recipe development solo.

• Spend with Pennies – This site is a great place to find classic, comfort-food recipes.
• Predominantly Paleo – I’m not into the Paleo diet, but Jennifer Robins, the site’s author, does have some really creative Instant Pot recipes. I tend to modify them back to non-Paleo, but it’s easy to do, and her recipes are delicious.
• Bless this Mess – So far I have just tried out her mason jar make-ahead snacks, but her website is extensive and I am looking forward to exploring it.

Vegetarian/vegan food bloggers

Even though I am not currently a vegetarian myself, I have been in the past. I try to eat vegetarian options whenever possible, and I love experimenting with vegan cooking and baking too. Here are a few great plant-based recipe websites to get you started. Note that these are also independent food bloggers.

• Cookie and Kate – A great place to look for vegetarian options.
• Post Punk Kitchen – For vegan options – this is the website of cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I love her and have two of her cookbooks – my favorite is Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. She is super fun and her recipes are fantastic (and not in the they’re-fantastic-for-a-vegan-recipe sense. They’re good, period.)
• The Full Helping – Another vegan option. Full disclosure: this website falls into the “I am excited to try” category. I haven’t made anything from the site yet, but all of her recipes look really yummy.

RD food bloggers

• Food Confidence/ Danielle Omar Nutrition – I am partial to Danielle Omar because she was my professor when I went back to school to take intro nutrition so I could start down the road to become a dietitian. Her recipes are very clean and she offers several programs you can sign up for – with support from her along the way. A great place to start if you are looking for fresh and nutritious recipes.

Baking

• Sugar Spun Run – This is just a fun one. Baking is good for the soul!

Recipe websites for cooking for (or with) kids

Recipe websites aren’t just for adults. Here’s a selection of sites that will help you to cook healthy meals that your kids will actually want to eat.

• Weelicious – What I love about this site is that the recipes are fun and healthy, and Catherine, the author, isn’t afraid to get crazy and try some creative things (like muffins made with spinach!).
• ChopChop – I recommended this site all the time when I worked at the children’s hospital. Their goal is to get kids cooking and to teach them how to eat and enjoy a variety of healthy foods. They have a print magazine too, and they recently expanded their offerings to other age groups, including adults. A great starting place if you want your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, but you don’t want to be deceptive about it.
• Champions for Change – These recipes are from the California Department of Public Health and are family-friendly, easy to make, budget-friendly, and nutritious.

Recipe websites that start with one healthy ingredient in mind

As a dietitian, I am given a lot of information from food companies that want to share the health benefits of their particular food products. This includes promotional materials, recipes, links to websites, etc. Although their websites aren’t as glamorous as the food bloggers’ are, the recipes they provide are healthy, and the sites are educational too. A few of my favorites are:

• Almonds – from the Almond Board of California
• Avocados – from the Hass Avocado Board
• Lentils – from Saskatchewan Pulse Growers in Canada
• Florida orange juice – from the Florida Department of Citrus

Final thoughts

With Coronavirus shaking up the normal way we live, work, play, and even eat, knowing where to find new recipe websites is a useful skill to have. I hope you find something here that resonates with you.

What’s your favorite place to find recipes?
Share it in the comments below.

This post originally appeared on the site coronavirusmealplans.com on April 14, 2020.