Crunchy Parmesan Kale Salad

It’s easy to get stuck in the same old salad routine. It’s time to add some pizzaz to your greens with this crunchy, cheesy kale salad recipe. Kale can be difficult for some people to introduce into their diet. It’s high fiber, which is great for your health, but it’s difficult to chew; it also has a strong, bitter taste. This recipe calls for a technique called massaging. It’s exactly how it sounds. With clean hands, squeeze and squish the kale with your dressing. This does two things. One is that manually squeezing physically helps to break the fiber in the leaves, making the kale more tender. The acidity of the dressing will also help with this. The crushing also impacts the flavor, making the kale less bitter while maintaining its nutrition. You can use this technique on all sorts of bitter greens in your salad. Try this technique with arugula, mustard greens, chard or collards.

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Cucumber Sorbet

Vegetables for dessert?! It’s not as unusual as it sounds. It’s likely you’ve had carrot cake or zucchini bread before. Finding unique ways to prepare vegetables is vital for maintaining interest in what we eat. When relying on the same few recipes, it’s not uncommon to get bored, and then those veggies fall out of favor.

Many desserts include nutrient-rich vegetables such as black bean brownies, chocolate beet cake, sweet potato pie, pumpkin muffins or a rhubarb tart. You may notice that most of these desserts are baked goods, making this cucumber sorbet recipe stand out. It’s cool and refreshing, a perfect way to end a hot summer day — and a way to get a little extra veg in before going to bed. Try making it with a handful of fresh mint too! 

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Lemony White Bean Salad

Arugula is a wonderful and flavorful addition to many dishes. It can be used as a topping from everything, from sandwiches to pizza! Or you can enjoy it on its own as a salad like in this recipe. Its lovely black peppery flavor comes from a chemical compound called glucosinolates. Research has found that these compounds, commonly found in plants from the Brassicaceae family (arugula, cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) may have protective qualities for our heart and brain health.  

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Sweet and Spicy Cherry Chutney

Cherries are delicious on their own, but are you looking for a new and unique way to eat them? Try this tangy topping. Cherry chutney is a great addition to barbecue or spread over some cornbread on the side. Cherries are an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin C and they’re loaded with antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and help our heart health. This recipe has even greater anti-inflammatory power with ingredients like olive oil and ginger. Cherries are also a natural source of melatonin, and some studies suggest that eating cherries may help you sleep better.

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The Best Peas and Pasta

Peas are far more versatile than they’re given credit for. It’s likely you’re used to something like a pile of peas, topped with a little pat of salted butter, rolling away on your plate. But so much more can be done with peas! They can be braised, roasted or pureed into a hummus type dip or a creamy sauce base like this recipe. If you buy whole pea pods, they’re great as a raw snack, sliced and added to salads, or sauteed or even grilled. This recipe features a thick, creamy, garlicy sauce made from pureed peas. Peas are a good plant-based protein high in fiber and they’re an excellent addition to something like pasta. Top this with grilled chicken or shrimp and consider garnishing with some chopped sun-dried tomato to complete the meal.

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Edamame Salad with Citrus Sesame Dressing

Maybe you’ve heard about the health benefits of soy. It’s a protein-packed nutrition bomb, loaded with flavonoids that may help reduce the incidence of cancers and rich in fiber and other vitamin and minerals. But tofu just sounds really unappealing. Try some edamame! This is the whole soybean, which comes in pods similar to peas, with a firm texture that makes a great addition to salads, pastas, casseroles or even just on its own.

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Strawberry Fruit Rolls

It’s strawberry season! Strawberries are a great little package of nutrients like vitamin C, manganese, folate and potassium, along with many other phytochemicals that act as antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. There is nothing quite like a summer-ripe strawberry. Give this fruit leather recipe a try and enjoy those sweet berries for up to two weeks past peak season.

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Berry Oatmeal Muffins

This recipe is a great grab-and-go breakfast or a satisfying snack. Fiber from the oatmeal makes this a filling treat, and the mixed berries are rich in a family of phytochemicals called anthocyanins, among others. Anthocyanins are found in many plant foods that vary in the red/blue/purple color range. Research has shown that these chemicals may have a protective effect on our heart health and on neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, in addition to acting as powerful antioxidants. 

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Citrus Shrimp

Shrimp is a great protein option to keep on hand. They freeze well and cook fast, and their small size makes them a kid-friendly finger food—perfect for busy families. Shrimp gets a bit of a bad reputation for being a high cholesterol food, but overall it is a lean protein. Over many studies and analysis over many years, research has found that dietary cholesterol is not correlated with blood levels and for that reason does not pose a risk to our heart health. The thing to watch is your total fat intake, especially intake of saturated fats. These fats are typically animal-based and solid at room temperature. They are known to contribute to poor cholesterol levels and increase risk of plaque build up in the arteries, increasing risk for heart disease and stroke. However, notice shrimp is very high in sodium, like many other crustaceans and mollusks from the sea, and this may lead to temporary increase in blood pressure and edema. 

Read the Research: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9143438/

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Spinach Feta Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust

This recipe is a healthier—and, honestly, easier—twist on a classic dish. Quiche is typically a decadent, savory treat with a super buttery crust and a creamy egg filling.

Instead of using butter and white flour to make the crust, this version uses simple slices of sweet potato, a nutritious complex carbohydrate filled with fiber and nutrients. The addition of Greek yogurt, rather than cream, to the egg mix still produces a delightful creamy texture but with added protein and less saturated fat. This also works great with scrambled eggs or omelets. If you’re watching your cholesterol or fat intake, substitute half the eggs with their equivalent in liquid egg whites, or 4 whites from whole eggs.  

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