The 10 Most Exciting Healthy Books to Read in 2016

Grab a blanket, whip up a hot matcha latte, and get cozy. You're going to need (and welcome) some serious downtime to flip through this collection of healthy books hitting shelves this year.

All of them are written by superstar authors with something valuable to share—from an inspiring memoir to yoga and decluttering advice to recipes and healthy eating tips that will shake up your kitchen habits.

Listed in order of their release date, here are our 10 most exciting healthy books to read in 2016.

(Photo: Alexander Solodukhin via Unsplash)

 

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up
Marie Kondo
January 5

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up introduced the world to Marie Kondo's now insanely famous KonMari Method for decluttering, and Spark Joy is its natural follow-up. The appropriately teeny book is a detailed guide for implementing the method, complete with super cute illustrations to help you visualize processes like "how to fold panties."

 

Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life
Kelsey Miller
January 5

As the creator of the wildly popular Anti-Diet Project column on Refinery 29, Kelsey Miller has become a poster girl for the movement away from fad diets and body shaming and towards balanced, holistic living and body positivity. Her new book details the personal journey that inspired the column as well as the struggles and triumphs she encountered committing to her new, no-diet, balanced lifestyle. It's written in a witty, relateable voice that makes it feel like your best friend telling you a story (or many).

 

Always Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently
David Ludwig, MD, PhD
January 5

Renowned endocrinologist and Harvard Medical School professor Dr. David Ludwig lays out a diet and lifestyle plan that he says can reprogram fat cells to diminish hunger and cravings and speed up metabolism, leading to lasting weight loss. This is likely to be this year's Wheat Belly.

 

The Nalini Method: 7 Workouts for 7 Moods
Rupa Mehta
January 5

New Yorkers have been loving the Nalini Method's unique approach to fitness (yoga meets barre meets philanthropy) for a long time, and founder Rupa Mehta is now bringing her philosophy to the masses, with a mood-based fitness plan that applies workouts to emotions like anger, happiness, and doubt for mind-body transformation.

RETOX: Yoga*Food*Attitude Healthy Solutions for Real Life
Lauren Imparato
February 2

Wall Streeter-turned-cool girl yogi Lauren Imparato, the creator of Manhattan's I.AM.YOU. Yoga, details her philosophy for the first time in this guidebook. It's her outline for how modern people can apply simple, actionable yoga principles and techniques to everyday life—to solve for issues like stress and anxiety, insomnia, and, of course, hangovers.

 

Bowl: Vegetarian Recipes for Ramen, Pho, Bibimbap, Dumplings, and Other One-Dish Meals 
Lukas Volger
March 8

Plant-based burger chef-guru Lukas Volger wrote Veggie Burgers Every Which Way and created Made by Lukas, all with the aim of making vegetarian food tasty and hearty (he's also behind Vegetarian Entrees That Won't Leave You Hungry). Now, he's applying that same expertise to an of-the-moment healthy food trend: bowls., with smart, simple recipes that range from Fennel Pho to Summer Squash Dumplings and a Black Rice Burrito Bowl.

 

Aim True: Love Your Body, Eat Without Fear, Nourish Your Spirit, Discover True Balance!
Kathryn Budig
March 29

Renowned yogi Kathryn Budig's mantra, "Aim True," encompasses her fun-loving, no-barriers approach to yoga, all of which she's now committing to print in a lifestyle book. Expect pose sequences, recipes, meditation tips, and self-care and beauty advice, all presented with a nod towards authenticity.

 

The I Quit Sugar Cookbook: 306 Recipes For a Clean, Healthy Life
Sarah Wilson
March 15

Sugar was 2015's dietary evil of the year, and Sarah Wilson was one of the first to sound the alarm on the sweet stuff, with her popular tell-all and how-to guide, I Quit Sugar. Now, she's back with a straight-up cookbook that shows you how to make the low-sugar lifestyle a reality in your kitchen, from Thai Coconutty Cabbage to Beet Red Velvet Cheesecake. It helps that the photography is gorgeous and recipes come with "handwritten" notes that make it feel like she's there as your sous-chef-in-spirit, cheering you on.

 

Meditate Your Weight: A 21-Day Retreat to Optimize Your Metabolism and Feel Great
Tiffany Cruikshank
April 4

We generally skip weight-loss books, but this one is super interesting for its unique approach to the topic: using meditation (rather than unhealthy diet tricks!) to reach an ideal weight, which smart yogi-author Tiffany Cruikshank says will help those who want to shed pounds do so in a healthy way, while decreasing stress and improving body image.

 

Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients That Fuel Brainpower, Boost Weight Loss, and Transform Your Health
Drew Ramsey, MD
May 17

Dr. Drew Ramsey is the only highly trained psychiatrist we know of who can be found offering up Mussels with Garlicky Kale Ribbons as a prescription for better brain health. And he's following up The Happiness Diet and 50 Shades of Kale with a new, more comprehensive guide to his overarching philosophy: a healthy diet (MORE KALE) equals brainpower that lasts.  To that end, Eat Complete focuses what Dr. Ramsey identifies as the 21 nutrients most important to brain health and overall wellness and how to incorporate them into your life, with 100  easy, tasty, gluten-free recipes.

If you're behind on your reading, don't forget to check out the best health and wellness books of 2015.