Eating leftovers day after day can also get old. And having one or two ingredients left after preparing a dish feels like a waste as it creates extra work in figuring out what to do with those scraps. So, what are some tasty and easy-to-implement ways to use up those holiday leftovers to prevent food waste?

First Off, Wasting Food Is, Well… A Waste!

Food waste is a big issue in the US and other industrialized countries. According to the USDA, food waste is estimated to be 30–40% of the food supply in the United States, increasing by 25% during the holidays. And in China, household waste is 10% of all food purchased, with the largest category being fruits and vegetables.

That being said, there they are, those leftover food scraps staring you right in the face on your plate, or in your fridge. Maybe you took more food than you could eat at once. Or you didn’t end up using an entire fruit or vegetable for a recipe. So what do you do with those food scraps before they go bad? Don’t throw them away! You can save those scraps in a bin or airtight container in your refrigerator. Or check out our article How to Use Food Scraps for all the know-how on making the most of those bits and pieces.

Another tip to avoid food waste is to not leave perishable food out for longer than two hours. If you’re planning on having a buffet-style meal with people coming and going throughout the day, consider placing cold, perishable food over ice or hot food over warming plates to keep everything at the proper temperature.

Or, if your party is more of a sit-down dinner, consider taking perishable food out of the refrigerator just before your guests arrive and putting it away immediately after they leave. If friends or family members still have food on their plate, or you have a significant amount of leftovers, consider providing eco-friendly to-go containers.

Store Leftovers Efficiently

Properly storing food and consuming it within a safe time period is key when it comes to perishable foods. The USDA recommends consuming refrigerated leftovers within four days. And storage containers should be airtight. You’ll want to practice first in, first out for prepared food — use up what you have on hand first before opening something new.

Another option is to freeze vegetables or whole meals. Portioning them into individual serving containers makes it easier to grab and go as needed.

Leftover dry goods and pantry staples can continue to be stored in a cool dark place (like a cabinet or pantry) in airtight containers. Things like whole grains, legumes, and flour do have expiration dates. Therefore, make sure to store them properly, use them before they expire, or consider freezing them to extend shelf life.

Visit our blog posts Healthy Plant-Based Pantry Food Essentials for tips on setting up a plant-based pantry and 10 Easy Pantry Meals to Make Using Minimal Ingredients for ideas on how to use those staples.

Get Creative and Think Outside the Box

When it comes to reusing leftovers, allow your creativity to shine. Think beyond what they were intended for. For example, “dinner food” doesn’t only have to be eaten at dinner. A savory breakfast can be delicious, or you can split meals up into snacks.

For an additional bit of flavor and nutrition, add a plant-based sauce to veggie dishes. Cauliflower Squash Cheese Sauce is a house fave, or try one of these homemade sauces.

Have ingredients left over that you tend to only use during the holiday? Try googling (or Ecosia-ing if you like to plant trees while you search) the name of your leftover ingredients along with the word “recipe” and see what pops up. You just might find yourself a new favorite dish, like Green Bean Casserole or a twist on mashed potatoes!

Ideas for Using Up Holiday Leftovers

Watch the video below for more creative ways to use up leftovers and create new recipes.

Leftovers Recipes

Need fresh ideas on how to use up your holiday leftovers? Even if you don’t have leftover food scraps from the holidays, you can still give new life to batch-cooked items from your weekly meal prep. These highly adaptable and delicious plant-based leftovers recipes will spark new life with whatever you have on hand!

1. Harvest Grain Breakfast Bowl

If you love the idea of leftovers for breakfast, this is the recipe for you! Harvest Grain Breakfast Bowl is a wonderful way to use up leftover veggies you may have been holding on to as well as batch-cooked grains you may have on hand. Those leftover ingredients will come straight to life once you give them a try with this recipe’s creamy orange tahini dressing, crunchy pumpkin seeds, and sweet dried cranberries. The fall flavors add a pop of freshness and zing that makes even the simplest leftover ingredients into a winning recipe.

2. Energizing White Bean and Kale Soup

This soup has it all — lots of colors, tons of flavor, and the ability for customization based on whatever you have on hand. Perhaps you have some leftover collard greens from your family’s latest gathering. Or maybe you have leftover homemade vegetable broth from the food scraps you saved up during the week. Taking full advantage of any unused ingredients is a wonderful way to explore kitchen creativity, prevent food waste, and create a tasty meal, all at the same time. We think you’ll love this nourishing beans-and-greens leftover soup!

3. Green Bean Casserole

Casseroles are one of the easiest ways to use up any leftovers, especially if you have a leftover condiment or two. Just throw all the ingredients in a casserole dish and bake it in the oven. This Green Bean Casserole is seemingly indulgent but loaded with nutrition, and makes using up leftover mushroom gravy and cashew sour cream a breeze. Plus, the crispy (baked) onions on top take this recipe from good to great!

Eat Your Leftovers!

Don’t let leftover conundrums add to any holiday stress. With some proper planning and storage, a bit of curiosity, and a little creativity, you’ll be able to give those leftovers a second and third (tasty) life.

For starters, give some of the ideas in the video a try, or make one of the recipes provided. Let us know what you think. Or, if you have your own favorite way to use leftover dishes and ingredients, please share!

Tell us in the comments:

• What’s your favorite way to use up leftovers?
• What’s currently in your veggie scrap bin, and how will you use those veggies?
• What’s the first tip you’ll try to reduce food waste this holiday season?

Featured Image: iStock.com/KoliadzynskaIryna

Read Next:

• How to Cook: How to Keep Produce Fresh to Avoid Food Waste

The post How to Cook: What to Do with Holiday Leftovers appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Millennia later, walnuts have seamlessly transitioned from “the food of gods” to modern superfoods, thanks to science-backed research proving their remarkable nutritional benefits. Beyond taste, walnuts boast an exceptional nutritional profile, containing one of the best vegan sources of omega-3 fatty acids. They’re also good sources of vitamin E, B vitamins, and minerals like magnesium, potassium, copper, and zinc.

A 2023 analysis of recent US dietary patterns found that many people are not consuming enough nutrients such as magnesium, fiber, and potassium. For kicks, the researchers asked their computer what would happen if those people added just ¼ cup or about 12–14 halves of walnuts a day to their usual diets, with no other changes. Even that tiny change improved their diet quality and brought their levels of under-consumed nutrients into the “adequate” range.

So what types of walnuts are out there? And if you want to add walnuts to your daily diet (and eat like a Roman god), what are some of the best ways to do so?

Types of Walnuts

There are two main types of walnuts you may encounter in stores and farm stands: English (aka Persian) walnuts and black walnuts. The walnuts you find in the grocery store are almost certainly the English kind. They’re also the ones most often used in cooking, especially in baked goods. They have a soft shell that’s pretty easy to crack with a regular nutcracker.

Black walnuts are the Fort Knox of nuts. They have an extremely hard shell and require industrial-strength tools to open. A friend with a black walnut tree harvests them by spreading them on his driveway and running his truck back and forth over them until the green hulls split open. (He says you can also use a grout mixing bit attached to a corded power drill, but the truck is more fun.)

While there are traditional walnut recipes that include black walnuts or their flour, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch Black John cake, black walnuts are now mainly used in complementary medicine. They’ve been shown to reduce inflammation, which is an underlying cause and contributor to many chronic diseases.

You can also buy or make black walnut oil for sauces and dressings. Handle with care, though; the oil can stain your skin, and the stains can last for weeks, regardless of how much you scrub.

You can easily find shelled English walnuts in most grocery stores. But the unshelled ones are a bit harder to find, especially black walnuts (unless you have your own tree). Look in the bulk bins of natural food stores or in specialty and farmers markets.

How to Store Walnuts

Because walnuts are high in oil, they can go rancid when exposed to warm temperatures for a long period of time. If you’re unsure if they’re still good, give that walnut a sniff. Fresh walnuts smell mildly nutty and have a slightly sweet taste. Rancid walnuts, on the other hand, smell like paint thinner (I’m happy to report that I don’t know what paint thinner tastes like); please don’t eat them.

To keep your walnuts from turning into turpentine, keep them cool, cold, or even frozen. After buying a bag of walnuts, store them unopened in their original packaging. Once you’ve opened the bag, or if you got scoops of them from a bulk bin, keep them in an airtight container. (Here’s a set that we recommend.)

Keep walnuts whole until you’re ready to use them. The happy life span of a chopped walnut is quite short as rancidity is caused by oxidation, and the more exposed surfaces, the quicker the oxygen in the air will turn the oil into something akin to an industrial solvent.

Frozen walnuts can last up to a year or even longer. When you’re ready to use them, transfer them to a refrigerator to thaw, where they’ll remain fresh for up to three months. (Unless, of course, that refrigerator is in a spaceship traveling at the speed of light, in which case something weird happens to time, according to this movie I watched in middle school.)

In the fridge, keep your walnuts separate from strong-smelling foods to prevent them from taking on unwanted flavors. (“Hey, who wants a Fudgy Chocolate Chip and Walnut and Garlic Pesto Brownie?”)

How to Toast Walnuts

Raw walnuts are awesome, and I would never argue with anyone who says that. At the same time, toasting your walnuts can enhance their natural flavor and impart them with a satisfying crunch that goes really well in many dishes.

There are a couple of techniques you can use to toast your walnuts. One is to place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350° F (175° C) oven for 8–10 minutes until just starting to turn golden brown.

Here’s a short video demonstrating this process, courtesy of the folks at the California Walnut Board:

If you want a more intimate and hands-on experience of walnut toasting, you can toss them in a pan on your stovetop for 2–5 minutes. Since they burn easily, toss and stir often and use medium heat (or even a bit lower, depending on your stove). Do not get distracted, even if your child or significant other comes in, puts on oven mitts, and pretends to be a lobster. Also, make sure not to overcrowd the pan to ensure even roasting.

Walnut Uses

Walnuts just want to be your friend, and they’ll happily fit into both sweet and savory recipes. Here are some sweet ways to include walnuts in your diet:

• Baked goods
• As a topping for oatmeal, yogurt, or smoothie bowls
• Nut and seed butters
• In granola

And if it’s savory you’re after, here are a bunch of options:

• Mixed with lentils for fillings in tacos or veggie burgers
• As a topping for salad
• Blended into dressings, sauces, and spreads
• Stuffed into vegetables
• In a vegan charcuterie board
• In homemade crackers

Walnut Recipes

Walnuts are so much more than just your average tree nut. They’re a delicious and crunchy topping to add to your morning oats or salad. They make an excellent base for sweet or savory sauces and spreads. And they add a bonus bit of texture and nutrition to delectable baked goods. From dressings to brownies to porridge, there’s something for everyone in this walnut recipe roundup!

1. Walnut Apple Amaranth Porridge

Walnut Apple Amaranth Porridge is a harmonious blend of naturally sweet apple, nutty amaranth, and buttery walnuts creating a warm breakfast that is equal parts cozy and nutritious. Plus, the satisfying crunch of walnuts in your porridge not only adds a delightful texture but also offers a healthy source of fats and protein. This fall-themed porridge will keep you full and satisfied, making breakfast time an autumn delight!

2. Roasted Fig and Walnut Arugula Salad with Wheat Berries and Vegan Feta

Walnuts are the pièce de résistance in this Roasted Fig and Walnut Arugula Salad with Wheat Berries and Vegan Feta. With so many delicious ingredients, walnuts not only tie all of them together but also manage to stand out in the crowd, too. They add a significant helping of omega-3 fatty acids along with essential minerals, including magnesium, manganese, and copper. Meanwhile, you’ll also experience a sweetness from the roasted fig, bitterness from the arugula, and tanginess from the vegan feta. This walnut salad recipe is a veritable feast for your taste buds!

3. Apple Walnut Sage Dressing

Plant-based dressings like this sweet and savory Apple Walnut Dressing are incredibly versatile — and much healthier than a store-bought salad dressing. You can easily make this dressing with whole foods and without oil (thanks to walnuts!). This walnut recipe is also super fast to make, usually coming together in minutes. Plus, it’s nutrient-packed, making plant-based meals extra scrumptious. The versatility of walnuts never ceases to amaze!

4. Walnut Pesto Angel Hair Pasta

Introducing Walnut Pesto Angel Hair Pasta! The combination of kale, avocado, basil, garlic, and nutritional yeast makes the pesto super nourishing. And it’s even more elevated when you add omega-3-rich walnuts to it. Walnuts offer the perfect balance of nutty flavor and buttery texture, which makes them a fantastic addition to plant-based sauces and dressings. Altogether, with warm angel hair pasta, you’ll get a comforting, wholesome, and flavorful dish the whole family will love!

5. Vegan Walnut Parmesan

This Vegan Walnut Parmesan offers a similar flavor profile to traditional parmesan cheese, thanks in part to walnuts’ healthy fats carrying the nutritional yeast’s umami flavor! Seasoned with umami flavors from the nutritional yeast, onion powder, and garlic powder, this walnut and sunflower seed parmesan is an easy-to-sprinkle and delicious-to-devour plant-based condiment. It’s a wonderful complement to many dishes, including pasta, steamed vegetables, casseroles, and stews — or anything that calls for a crumbly cheese topping.

6. Cashew Walnut Butter

Making homemade nut butter can be one of the most simple yet rewarding things you can do to better your health. Plus, it’s fun and delicious! This recipe combines cashews and walnuts, resulting in a creamy, slightly sweet, and buttery spread. You can also stir in chia or hemp seeds or add cacao powder for a chocolate-infused nut butter.

7. Fudgy Chocolate Chip and Walnut Brownies

What’s better than a warm fudgy brownie? If you guessed a warm fudgy brownie with walnuts, you’d be correct! These Fudgy Chocolate Chip and Walnut Brownies may seem too good to be true, but you certainly can have your (plant-based) brownie and eat it, too. Made with fiber-rich oat flour, fair-trade dark chocolate, applesauce, and mashed banana, these brownies will have you coming back for more with their dense, fudgy texture. Make these walnut brownie recipes anytime for a naturally sweet treat you’ll be excited to sink your teeth into!

Go Nuts with Walnuts!

From ancient Rome to contemporary kitchens, walnuts have stood the test of time. Their impressive nutritional profile makes them an easy choice for health-conscious people, and their nutty, earthy taste ensures that even gourmands will enjoy dishes that feature walnuts. In a nutshell — ha! — whether you’re cooking sweet or savory recipes, consider walnuts as a lovely addition to everyday and festive meals.

Tell us in the comments:

• Have you ever eaten a dish made with black walnuts?

• What are your favorite ways to eat English walnuts?

• Which walnut recipe will you try next?

Featured Image: iStock.com/Gokcemim

Read Next:

• You Won’t Believe How Healthy Nuts Are for You
• Healthy Crunchy Snacks to Beat Those Potato Chip Cravings

The post Nuts About Walnuts: 7 Tasty Recipes to Try appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

The October 31st holiday has a storied history, with its roots in the ancient Celtic tradition of Samhain, a pagan festival marking the end of the fall harvest season. Today, it’s a globally celebrated occasion where costumes, decorations, and, of course, delicious treats take center stage.

While Halloween often conjures up visions of sugary confections, we’re here to prove that you can have a ghoulishly good time while keeping things healthy, too.

In this article, we’ll explore a range of vegan Halloween recipes you can whip up for kids and adults alike. So ready your cauldron of creativity for a culinary adventure exploring seven nutritious and delicious Halloween treats.

Halloween’s Relationship with Candy

Believe it or not, candy has not always been synonymous with Halloween. Trick or treating is a relatively recent phenomenon that didn’t become commonplace in the US until the 1940s. And early treats received by trick-or-treaters actually included much healthier fare like fruit and nuts, along with baked goods, money, and small trinkets.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that candy became the preferred “treat” associated with Halloween and trick or treating. Amid fears of potential poisonings, and urban legends like razor blades hidden in candy apples, parents began to turn to commercially packaged candy.

Nowadays, Halloween is a major profit driver for candy companies, raking in billions of dollars every year. But with that comes the consumption of “monster-ous” amounts of sugar. On average, Americans celebrating Halloween consume 3.4 pounds of candy during the holiday season. And most of that is added sugar.

Aside from rotting your teeth and scaring your dentist, eating that much sugar isn’t good for your overall health. Added sugar has been implicated in contributing to a number of chronic conditions including obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. Not to mention it’s also addictive. So how can you still enjoy the Halloween holiday without damaging your health — especially if you (or your family members) have a sweet tooth?

Healthier Alternatives for a Sweet Halloween

If you want to keep the sweetness in Halloween, you can swap out the refined sugar with natural sweeteners. Date paste or date sugar can be used to create confectionaries at home or to sweeten homemade baked goods.

Of course, the best natural sweetener is fruit. If you’re craving something sweet and chewy like gummy candies, opt for treats using dried fruits like apricots, raisins, or dates. These natural alternatives provide that delightful sweetness without the added sugars.

Another trick is to create your own “candy” by dipping fruit in dark chocolate. Try using bananas, strawberries, orange slices, or pineapple chunks. Dark chocolate is not only decadently delicious but also offers some health benefits (just watch for added sugar!).

As many Halloween candies and sweets use nuts, if no one in your household is allergic, you can make your own nutty creations with whole or crushed nuts and seeds, as well as nut and seed butters.

And in keeping with a more salty, savory flavor profile, you can also make Halloween treats — or even whole meals — out of veggies and veggie dips. Try crafting foods and meals in the shape of creepy creatures like ghosts, bats, jack-o-lanterns, and characters like Frankenstein. You could even try your hand at a “char-spook-erie” board!

And don’t forget to incorporate well-loved flavors and spices associated with Halloween and the fall season. Using nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, pumpkin, and apple in your treats will keep your culinary creations both seasonal and nutritious.

7 Healthy Halloween Recipes to Trick or Treat Yourself!

Indulge in a bewitching array of homemade Halloween treats that are not only scrumptious but made with plant-powered goodness! Make your Halloween kooky and spooky with these creative, holiday-themed recipes. From Mini Mummy Pizza Toasts that are perfect for Halloween parties to a Char-Spook-Erie Board brimming with spooky delights, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

1. Mini Mummy Pizza Toast

Mini Mummy Pizza Toast is a fun and spooky treat that’s perfect for a Halloween get-together or any time you want to add a little whimsy to your day. These adorable mini pizzas are designed to look like mummies, complete with “bandages” made from creamy Cashew Mozzarella Cheese and eyes made from green olives. What’s more, this is a fun recipe to create with your kids or grandkids as you get into the Halloween spirit. You may even hear the kiddos say “Mummy dearest, you’re the best!”

2. Char-Spook-Erie Board

Bat’s Blood, Witch Fingers, and Mummy Eyes — oh my! Healthfully celebrate all that spooky season has to offer with our veggie-riffic Char-Spook-Erie Board! The creamy bat’s blood hummus, nutty green witch almond fingers, colorful mini jack-o-lanterns, and savory green olive mummy eyes are a sight to behold. Make this dish the centerpiece of your Halloween party tablescape, and get ready to enjoy some wholesome spooky fun!

3. Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Chili

Savory treats are just as magical as sweet ones, and we think you’ll agree when you serve up this delicious pumpkin chili inside a pumpkin jack-o-lantern! Sweet pumpkin, robust tomatoes, protein-rich beans, and fragrant spices create a melting pot of comforting flavors, rich texture, and, of course, a surplus of plant-powered nutrients. Whether you are having a Halloween-themed dinner party or just want to serve up a cozy fall meal to your family, this festive and nourishing Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Chili might just be the talk of the town this spooky season.

4. Witch’s Brew

“Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog.” Just kidding! No cuddly animals were harmed in the making of this fantastical witch’s brew. Let’s try this again: “A dash of Chaga and a pinch of spirulina, A sprinkle of cinnamon, and a splash of” — well, you get the point to make this incantation complete. Serve up a warm and frothy cup of our homemade Witch’s Brew on a chilly Halloween night, and enjoy the magical flavors and benefits of this wholesome plant-based potion.

5. Mini White Pumpkin Pops

These festive Mini White Pumpkin Pops are the perfect sweet treat to celebrate the season’s transition into fall. Juicy mandarin oranges are coated in creamy plant-based yogurt icing and dipped in white sesame seeds to create a cool and creamy pop that is out of this world! Not to mention, they are a lovely (adult- and kid-friendly) addition to a Halloween party menu.

6. Ghostly Puffed Millet and Amaranth Peanut Butter Treats

Have a ghoulishly good time while keeping things healthy, too, with these Ghostly Puffed Millet and Amaranth Peanut Butter Treats. Crunchy puffed whole grain cereal, nutty peanut butter, and creamy vanilla icing create a fiber-packed, mineral-rich, and naturally sweet peanut butter treat that is to un-die for! These treats are easy to make, fun, and frighteningly delicious — the way Halloween treats ought to be!

7. Chocolate Pumpkin Oat Bats

These bat-shaped bites are perfect for any festive occasion when you want to enjoy chocolaty treats with the magic of wholesome plant-based nourishment. Low in sugar and high in fiber and flavor, these Chocolate Pumpkin Oat Bats are naturally sweet and a treat to eat! What makes them even more special is the dark chocolate-dipped dried orange slices (I mean, wings!) that make these energizing bites the perfect treat to celebrate all things Halloween!

It’s Sweet to Have a Healthy Halloween

Halloween is the perfect opportunity to reimagine traditional sugary indulgences with healthier plant-based alternatives. From fruit-filled delights and nutty creations to savory veggie-based snacks, there’s a wide array of options to satisfy the spirit of Halloween without compromising on flavor or nutrition. So this Samhain, let your creativity run wild in the kitchen and discover the magic of crafting wholesome, vegan treats that are sure to bewitch your taste buds and leave you with a hauntingly delightful Halloween smorgasbord.

Tell us in the comments:

• Do you celebrate Halloween?

• What are your favorite healthy Halloween snacks or treats?

• If you try these recipes above, we’d love to know what you think!

Featured Image: iStock.com/Azurita

Read Next:

• Does a Good Sweetener Exist? A Review of 15 Popular Sugar Substitutes
• Proven Health Benefits of Pumpkins and Pumpkin Seeds & How to Use Them in Your Diet

The post Vegan Halloween Treats That Won’t Scare Away Your Health appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

For many of us, summer means hot weather and plenty of sunshine. It also often means get-togethers and outdoor activities, sometimes over a shared meal. But as sweat beads our brows and our core temperatures rise, we often look for ways to cool off. Maybe that means jumping in a body of water if you’re near the ocean or a lake or pool. Or maybe it means chilling in the shade during a cookout, or enjoying an ice-cold beverage and bringing the cool glass to your forehead as a simple way to beat the heat. But it could also mean enjoying a cooling and refreshing dessert at the end of your meal.

Many favorite summertime desserts are frozen or chilled treats designed to cool us down. But most of these summer favorites, especially when store-bought, aren’t exactly what most of us would call healthy.

So, what can you eat if you want a sweet, cold treat after a healthy summer meal?

Luckily, just as there are whole food, plant-based alternatives to many popular breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes — there are also healthful, plant-powered summer desserts. And many of them taste pretty darn good! So, whether you have a bit of a sweet tooth or just want a fun and healthy way to eat more whole foods, we’re going to look at ways to make traditional summer dessert recipes more healthful and provide you with seven different treats to try yourself!

Hot Weather Desserts

Hot weather calls for light and refreshing desserts that can help cool us down. There are many different types of cold desserts that are summertime favorites.

• Sorbet
• Ice cream
• Frozen yogurt
• Popsicles
• Snow cones or shaved ice
• Cheesecake
• Icebox cake
• Fruit tarts
• Pies
• Fruit and fruit salads
• Cookies

But aside from their shared status as summer treats, what else do the majority of these desserts have in common?

Not-So-Sweet Ingredients in Summer Desserts (and How to Replace Them)

Aside from cooling us down, many summer desserts are also made with similar ingredients. But many of those ingredients can do more harm than good for your health.

Sugar Is Sweet Until It Isn’t

Sugar seems to be almost everywhere in the modern industrialized food system. Even foods that are naturally sweetened with fruit sometimes have additional sugar added to them. But all that added sugar is wreaking havoc on many of our bodies.

Too much sugar, without the absence of fiber, elevates insulin to levels beyond what our bodies are equipped to handle. As a result, it’s one of the biggest contributing factors to chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease — never mind contributing to food addiction and unhealthy cravings.

To replace refined sugar in your summer dessert recipes, there are some sugar substitutes to consider. But in many cases, you can leave out sugar completely and just let nature’s candy — fruit! — sweeten the dessert for you.

Dairy Can Be Scary

Many cold desserts are made with dairy, which gives them their creamy consistency and rich flavor. But those very qualities hide a much more sinister side due to their saturated fat content.

One ⅔-cup serving of the popular Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream contains 14g of saturated fat. That’s 70% of the recommended maximum amount for an entire day.

Saturated fat, especially when it comes from animal products, has been directly associated with inflammation and the development of cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.

And dairy is no picnic for cows or the environment, either. The vast majority of cows, especially those raised on feedlot farms, never even see a blade of grass — despite how dairy farms are often portrayed on packaging and in advertisements. Cows are subject to constant impregnation and little space, as well as antibiotic and hormone treatments to ensure they’re producing as much milk as possible.

Industrialized animal agriculture is also a huge water hog and contributes to the pollution of air, water, and soil.

You can replace dairy products easily these days with the rise in plant-based milks, creams, cheeses, yogurts, and butters. Make your own to save money and to avoid processed and unhealthy ingredients. Find out more in our Vegan Substitutions for Cooking & Baking article.

Food Additives Don’t Add Up to Health

Additives are used to thicken, preserve, flavor, or color food — among other things. But they’re not present in natural, whole foods. They’re often used in packaged and processed foods to mimic elements of real food or create something that doesn’t even resemble food.

Just take a look at the ingredients of a popular popsicle that looks like a firework, and you’ll be greeted with natural and artificial flavors, additives, and food dyes that are known to cause or increase hyperactivity in children.

The truth is, over 40% of the approved food additives in the United States are not even regulated or reviewed by the FDA. And many of those additives or ingredients are banned in other countries.

To thicken desserts, you can use tofu, beans, or nuts. Whole grain flour, starch, or a meal like almond meal or corn meal are also good thickening alternatives.

You don’t need any artificial or natural flavorings when you can let the real flavor shine through in a freshly made dessert. You can also always rely on herbs and spices (either fresh or dried) for additional whole-food flavor.

And there’s no need to add any food dyes or artificial colorings to a dessert when it’s homemade, especially when using fruits, vegetables, and spices. Many food pigments act as natural dyes, so don’t be afraid to eat the rainbow!

7 Healthy Summer Desserts that Are Powered by Plants

Punctuate a plant-powered meal with these healthy summer desserts. They’re full of whole foods like nuts, seeds, fruit, spices — and even legumes. Summer never tasted so sweet!

1. Cherry Cheesecake Smoothie

Can a smoothie that sounds like dessert be healthy? You bet! Cherry Cheesecake Smoothie is a one-stop smoothie shop for when you’re craving something decadent and don’t want to sacrifice nutrition. This fruit-based blend melds cherries (which are high in fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants to fight inflammation), creamy plant-based yogurt, and a surprise guest — just a touch of miso paste. Miso lends an umami, cheese-like flavor to this smoothie which makes this recipe one of a kind and a pure delight to enjoy as a fruity and creamy dessert on a hot summer day. The cherry on top is that miso also provides probiotic goodness!

2. Creamy Vanilla Cinnamon Chia Pudding

This pudding is the right amount of silky, creamy, and naturally sweet, and absolutely hits the sweet spot on a warm summer evening. Creamy Vanilla Cinnamon Chia Pudding is so scrumptious that it might remind you of homemade rice pudding from childhood. Create lasting summer memories with your own family by making this wholesome, everyday recipe!

3. Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Ice Cream

Stay cool and energized this summer with Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Ice Cream, which gets its creaminess from coconut milk and bananas and natural sweetness from dates and bananas (wow, bananas are doing double duty!). You can adjust the sweetness to your liking, so no more, “This is too sweet,” or, “It’s not sweet enough.” Just taste and adjust as you go!

4. Mango Chili Pops

Add a little spice to your summer, or shall we say, popsicles, with these nutrient-dense and fiber-filled Mango Chili Pops. Bright, juicy, and naturally sweet, they scream refreshing summer treats. Fresh and naturally sweet mango combined with creamy avocado and bright lime with a dash of chipotle chili powder makes for a culinary delight that’s both cooling and warming. Don’t love spice? You don’t need it! Make it a tasty three-ingredient recipe with just the mango, avocado, and lime juice.

5. Plum Cobbler

As berries and stone fruits begin to ripen during warmer months, it’s time to break out summer’s quintessential warm dessert — cobbler! Our warm and sticky Plum Cobbler does just the trick. While you can use your favorite summer berries, cherries, or other stone fruits like peaches, we highly recommend you try this cobbler with rich, sweet, and slightly tart plums. If you’re on the fence, we think this recipe might make you hop right off into a plum tree orchard! When combined with maple syrup (or date paste) and baked in the oven, the plums transform into a nectarous, ooey-gooey delight. Topped with oat crumble, this yummy treat is full of wholesome goodness and sweet summer memories in the making.

6. Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

There’s only one thing better than a homemade pie during the summer — a homemade pie made with fresh fruits (strawberries!) and veggies (rhubarb!) that is actually good for you! If you’re a fan of strawberry rhubarb pie then you’re going to love this glorious Sheet Pan Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. All you need are two bowls, a baking sheet, some mixing utensils, and a hungry belly ready to taste test as soon as it comes out of the oven. Pair it with vanilla n’ice cream for an extra special summer treat.

7. Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chickpeas are one of the most versatile plant-based foods and transform into seemingly decadent baked goods with a few simple ingredients. High-protein and high-fiber garbanzos create the most delicious chocolate chip cookie dough to enjoy as is or bake into soft and chewy treats. In fact, these cookies are an ideal treat to pack up for your next summer road trip or to share with friends and family during a festive (plant-based) barbecue.

Look to Nature for the Best Summer Desserts of All!

Of course, for the healthiest summer dessert of all, you can simply reach for a few pieces of fruit. Try mixed berries in a bowl, watermelon and fresh mint, or sliced apples with a bit of nut butter.

Or grab some frozen slices of peach or mango right out of the freezer, and munch away!

Enjoying nature’s candy also has the benefit of giving you a belly full of fiber. And evidence suggests fiber aids weight loss and control, helps prevent certain chronic diseases, and assists with overall mental and physical wellness.

So, don’t desert fruit — or these healthy summer desserts!

Tell us in the comments:

• What do you think of these healthy summer desserts?

• What are some of your favorite summer desserts?

• Which fruits or fruit-filled desserts will you enjoy next?

Featured Image: iStock.com/wmaster890

Read Next:

• Summer fruits: What’s in season, and why are they healthy?

The post Healthy Summer Desserts to Sweeten the End of a Nourishing Meal appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

In my house, the phrase has a totally different meaning. While we’ll miss ripe berries and freshly shucked corn for a few months, we start looking forward to consuming the crops that are harvested in late fall and beyond. Although many fruits and vegetables stop growing when it gets colder, winter is a prime season for many root veggies, greens, and legumes.

Some thrive in cooler air and soil, and actually taste better when harvested in winter. Others, harvested earlier, store well in the cooler months and can last well throughout the winter and into early spring.

Also, eating seasonally can help you get in touch with the natural world, which is important when so many of us spend our days and nights in climate-controlled, human-made environments that attempt to be unaffected by nature’s cycles. Not only that: Eating local foods in season can be good for you and the environment.

So what are some of the best winter vegetables to add to your diet? What are their benefits? And how can you prepare them for ease and deliciousness?

Winter Vegetable Benefits & Best Qualities

Most things slow down in the cold. Winter veggies keep for a long time in storage (think piles of potatoes and turnips in root cellars). Many can be preserved through processes like pickling, lacto-fermenting, dehydrating, or freezing. Some root veggies can even be stored in the soil where they grow — the sweetest carrots and parsnips you’ll ever taste might have been pulled out of frozen ground.

Other veggies thrive in the frigid air even without the benefit of being tucked in all snug under the soil. And some varieties of leafy greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and turnip greens can survive in medium to heavy frost temperatures and be ready for harvest during the winter months. Kale and collard greens are the chilly cruciferous champions, staying viable down to 20 degrees F. And they don’t need mittens or balaclavas (though they’d sure be cute)!

Winter veggies are a versatile bunch — you can use them in a variety of ways and feature them in all sorts of recipes. They’re also nutrient-dense. Roots serve to sustain the plant for long periods of time when photosynthesis is offline, and they sustain the animals and humans who eat them in a similar fashion.

Since winter veggies can be harvested over a wide time frame, it may be possible to pick them on a just-in-time basis, which optimizes their nutrient profile. And like pretty much all vegetables, the winter ones are, in general, good for you, and the more of them you include in your diet, the better. And in a society in which so few people consume enough fruits and vegetables, the winter ones can help provide critical nutrients, including that all-important fiber.

Why Eat Winter Crops in Season?

The whole idea of “eating out of season” would be a pretty wild concept to any human who lived more than 150 years ago. With the exception of spices and certain foods preserved through dehydration, fermentation, or freezing in ice houses, eating locally and in season was pretty much the only option.

It’s only through technology and global trade that it’s become possible to eat foods that weren’t grown within a few hundred miles of where you live. If you like tomatoes in January in New Hampshire, or guavas in August in Cape Town, you can get them thanks to an incredible network consisting of logistics, transportation, preservation, storage, marketing, and supply chain management (plus a growing number of greenhouses). But long-distance schlepping frequently necessitates compromises when it comes to flavor, freshness, and nutritional value.

In general, locally grown food contains more nutrients since it tends to be fresher, and therefore it’s healthier for you. It’s also better for the environment since it doesn’t require the burning of fossil fuels to get it from Point A to Point B.

Eating locally also supports local farmers, which provides a measure of resilience against the kinds of supply chain problems we’ve seen during the pandemic. And if you are your own local farmer (or gardener), you can save money by eating from your own patch of soil. That’s as true for winter crops as it is for spring and fall crops.

If you want to grow your own winter vegetables, many resources can help you get started, from YouTube gardening channels, to your local agricultural extension agent or master gardener, to books like The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener and The Winter Harvest Handbook.

And since eating locally whenever possible imposes a voluntary constraint on your consumption, you have a chance to get creative with new foods and recipes.

Winter Crops List

Depending on your climate, not all of these vegetables will grow and be available during the winter where you live. Often there are specific regional winter varieties. But this is a basic list of winter vegetables you may find at markets, CSAs, farm stands, and grocery stores.

• Winter Squash
• Carrots
• Lettuce
• Winter Cabbage
• Peas
• Dark Leafy Greens
• Brussels Sprouts
• Potatoes
• Alliums
• Beets
• Turnips
• Broccoli

Ways to Prepare Winter Vegetables & Best Enjoy Them

Winter Squash

Winter Squash has winter right there in the name! Full of nutritional benefits and also wildly tasty, this family of what are technically fruits (with seeds inside) can last a long time, and even manage to be adorably decorative while doing so. Butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkins, and dozens of other varieties will keep for months (as long as you can resist carving faces into them), and lend their wonderfully organic textures and colors to your pantry, sideboard, or dining table centerpieces.

Plus, they’re ridiculously good for you. They are rich sources of A, C, and B vitamins, high in antioxidants, and provide crucial minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and manganese. If you’re into cardiovascular and metabolic health, winter squash make powerful dietary allies. They’re also good for the health and radiance of your hair and skin, and contribute nutrients that support vision, as well.

Your average butternut or acorn squash will live happily (I assume) on a kitchen counter for up to three months, and twice that (or more) in a cool environment such as a cellar.

You can use winter squash as a base for soups and stews, bake or roast them for a side dish, enjoy them stuffed as a main dish, and even cooked and blended into sauces or toppings for pasta and grain dishes.

For more on squash, see our article here.

Carrots

Carrots are perhaps the best-known of all winter produce. As long as they’re kept from freezing in the ground, they just get sweeter as the temperature drops. Carrots are high in beta carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, as well as other antioxidants. They’re also rich in B vitamins, vitamins C and K1, and minerals such as potassium. Carrots are your friend when you’re looking to support your immune system, prevent cancer, and take care of your eyes.

You can store carrots in the fridge for a few weeks, or for up to half a year in a well-regulated root cellar. They’re great raw in salads and slaws, as edible utensils for dips, and blended into smoothies. Cooked, they add flavor and color to soups and stews, provide sweetness when roasted as part of a veggie side, and can star on their own in carrot bacon and carrot dogs, providing texture and a vehicle for smoked flavor without the need for processed meat and its harmful dietary nitrates.

For more on carrots, see our article here.

Lettuce

Lettuce likes cool weather, so you’ll likely be able to add green salads to your winter menu. If you’re doubtful about lettuce’s nutritional value thanks to childhood exposure to iceberg lettuce, rest assured that many lettuce varieties are chock-full of important nutrients. Depending on the type and leaf color, you can expect to find vitamins C and E, carotenoids and flavonoids, and folate in your salad greens. Lettuce’s rich array of health-promoting compounds are anti-inflammatory; consuming it may also help lower cholesterol, improve insulin sensitivity (a primary driver of type 2 diabetes), and reduce risk of cancer.

And hey, even iceberg lettuce contains fiber, beta carotene, and water. If you need further convincing to add lettuce to your diet, remember that the plant’s Latin name is the deliciously gothic Lactuca sativa — who wouldn’t want to try some of that to kick off a hearty winter meal?

Store lettuce in the crisper drawer of your fridge and use it within a few days of purchase. It’s not only good in salads, but also shredded in tacos and burritos, and as a topping in sandwiches and on plant-based burgers. You can use leaf varieties as wraps or “cups” for fillings and dips.

Winter Cabbage

Winter cabbage is lettuce’s tough cousin. It can grow in very cold conditions, and once harvested in early winter, it’s happy to sit in a cool dark place until you’re ready to serve it. Winter cabbage is high in vitamins C and K1 as well as folate. And as a proud member of the cruciferous family, cabbage is also a great source of sulforaphane precursors. So equipped, cabbage may be protective against liver and cardiovascular disease, as well as cancer progression.

Cabbage lasts longer than other leafy greens. Neglect a head in the crisper drawer, and it should be perky and ready to eat even several weeks later (or simply peel away and compost the degraded outer leaves until you reach the crisp stuff again — not that I’m speaking from personal experience!). You can eat it raw or cooked. Raw cabbage is awesome when shredded in salad, coleslaw, and tacos, or fermented into sauerkraut or kimchi. Cooked, cabbage adds body and flavor to stir-fries, soups, and casseroles. Or give it costar billing in its own side dish, such as the British potato-and-cabbage classic known as “Bubble and Squeak.”

Peas

Peas can be the first garden food you plant and enjoy in the spring, and also a great winter crop in warmer climates (or greenhouses). Rich in copper, manganese, and phosphorus, as well as in B vitamins and in vitamins A, K1, and C, peas boast a host of health benefits. They’re anticancer and good for heart health and diabetes management. They can also help you build muscle (Popeye might have been squeezing the wrong can) and support a healthy gut microbiome.

Store fresh peas in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer for up to a few days. If you get them in the pod, either from a store or from your own winter garden, you can freeze them after shelling. Fresh or frozen peas are great as a side dish. (If you’ve never tried the British dish “mushy peas,” I predict you’ll either become a huge fan or a staunch foe). You can also blend them into dips, soups, and homemade veggie burgers, and add them to casseroles, pasta and rice dishes, and stir-fries.

For more on peas, see our article here.

Dark Leafy Greens

Dark leafy greens love it when the temperatures drop close to freezing (and in the case of collards, well below). If you’re a gardener, these greens are among the easiest crops to produce, partly because they grow in the off-season when most pests are hibernating or pupating or whatever they’re doing before they awaken and start chomping on your plants.

Many of the healthiest and heartiest greens belong to the cruciferous family. These include kale, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, watercress, arugula, and more. Arguably some of the healthiest foods you can eat, dark leafy greens are typically high in vitamins A, C, K1, and folate, as well as fiber. Per calorie, they’re also rich sources of protein, as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus. All these goodies, in addition to a pharmacopeia of antioxidants, render dark leafy greens powerful anticancer, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, blood-sugar-stabilizing foods.

Dark leafy greens will last at least a few days in your refrigerator. Maximize their life and freshness by storing them unwashed in produce bags or an airtight container. You can consume them raw, in salads, as wraps, or pureed in sauces, dips, or green smoothies. Cooked, they’re at home in pasta dishes, curries, stir-fries, soups, and stews. You can also dehydrate them into chips (kale is the most common one to use in this way), or simply steam the greens for a heart-healthy dish.

For more on leafy greens, see our article here.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts can defy winter in your garden, showing off their decorated stalks even when the ground is covered with snow. They’ve become something of an “it” vegetable, which is nice considering how they used to be maligned as something kids had to eat before they got dessert.

How good are Brussels sprouts for you? Let us count the ways. They’re high in potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin A, and vitamin K1. They’re also a good source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium, as well as sulforaphane and other antioxidants. Eat your Brussels sprouts because they’re delicious, and also reap their benefits for your heart and brain, as well as their anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties.

Brussels sprouts separated from their stalk will last for a week to 10 days in the refrigerator, and for about 2 weeks if you keep them in cold storage while still on the stalk. Loose sprouts do well in the freezer, where they can last for up to a year.

You can eat Brussels sprouts raw and shaved in coleslaw and over salad and pizza. Cooked, they make an excellent side dish, appetizer, or ingredient in grain bowls, stir-fries, and breakfast hashes. One thing I do not recommend is coating the sprouts with chocolate and nuts, and wrapping them in foil to disguise them as fancy hazelnut candy. (Yes, thanks to the Internet, it’s now a thing.)

For more on Brussels sprouts, see our article here.

Potatoes

Potatoes are a prime example of winter produce and are cold storage superstars, remaining stable and fresh for months when stored in a cool dark place with sufficient humidity. Dark is important, as light turns them green and triggers the growth of shoots (called “eyes”), which can produce unhealthy compounds that also don’t taste very good. Potatoes, far from being “empty carbs,” are in fact among the healthiest of plants. They’re high in many nutrients, especially B vitamins, Vitamin C, potassium, manganese, magnesium, and phosphorus. Their sweet potato cousins (actually not really related at all, except for the name) are also rich in vitamin A precursors and other antioxidants, depending on their skin and flesh color.

Potatoes have been shown to help prevent the progression of cancer, their resistant starch helps with digestion and weight management, and their mineral content makes them good for bone and heart health.

You can store potatoes for a week or two on a kitchen counter (remember, they like it dark), or in cold storage. The classic farmhouse technique is to pack them in sand, being careful not to bruise the flesh. If you grow your own, scrape off most of the dirt but don’t wash them, and avoid storing any bruised or cut tubers (use these up first).

Don’t eat potatoes raw. Instead, prepare them in many wonderful ways — boiled, steamed, baked, grilled, roasted, air-fried, sautéed, mashed, smashed (yes, smashed), stuffed, in sheet pan meals, in soups and stews, chilis and curries (I think you can probably sing that last sentence to the tune of “My Favorite Things”). Breakfast potato hash, for example, can be a filling and comforting way to start your day.

For more on potatoes, see our article here, and for more on sweet potatoes, see our article here.

Alliums

Members of the allium family, garlic and onions, are great year-round. As ground-dwellers, they can handle pretty cold temperatures, and certain varieties that get planted in the fall can remain in the soil until harvesting in winter. Both garlic and onions provide immense health benefits to most people. They’re rich in soluble fiber and antioxidants, as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, vitamin C, folate, potassium, selenium, and manganese.

Long prized as folk remedies and now with lots of scientific studies to back up their potent health-boosting properties, alliums display antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antibacterial effects. They have also been shown to help prevent blood clots, regulate the immune system, and may even slow aging.

Both garlic and onions keep well on the kitchen counter; just use them before they start sprouting. For longer-term storage, that cool dark place is your best bet. Don’t store onions with potatoes, because onions give off ethylene gas that gets potatoes sprouting.

Garlic and onions can flavor just about any savory dish. You can use them raw in salads, dips, and dressings, or cooked in soups, casseroles, grain bowls, stir-fries, pasta dishes, and as pizza toppings.

For more on alliums, see our article here.

Beets

Beets are a great leave-’em-in-the-ground winter crop, largely because of all their sugar, which acts as a potent antifreeze for the beets and makes them taste delicious to us. High in vitamins A, C, K1, and B2 as well as folate, manganese, and copper, beets also deliver huge health benefits. They’re good for the heart, support athletic performance, reduce inflammation, support digestion, and promote brain health, cancer prevention, a balanced immune system, and healthy eyes and liver.

Although they’re so tasty you might want to consume them right away, beets are very comfortable in the fridge, where they can last for months. In ideal cold storage conditions, they might go up to a year and still taste great when eaten raw or cooked. Pickling and fermenting beets are other ways to make them last.

Beets go well raw in cold soups, salads, smoothies, and dips. You can also roast them with other root vegetables in a sheet pan meal, and slice or cube cooked beets into grain bowls and other hot dishes.

For more on beets, see our article here.

Turnips

If you’re a fan of Russian folk tales, you may recall the story of the gigantic turnip that required the entire community to work together to pull it out of the ground. Pro gardening tip: if you harvest your turnips before the ground freezes, they’ll come out pretty easily. And once you’ve extracted the root, it can last long into the winter if you store it well.

Turnips are high in fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and various antioxidants, including the phenolic compound kaempferol 3-O-sophoroside-7-O-glucoside, which I tell you only because typing all that felt like a worthwhile challenge. Thanks to that and other compounds, turnips are anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial, stabilizing of blood sugar, and protective of the kidneys.

Store turnips in the fridge or in cold storage — like beets, they can last for months under the right conditions. You can consume them raw in salads and dips; fermented; or baked, stir-fried, roasted, boiled, mashed, or to flavor and provide body for soups and stews.

Broccoli

Broccoli reaches maximum flavor and nutrition when planted in fall and harvested in late fall (or, in warmer climates, early winter). Broccoli is high in sulforaphane precursors (sulforaphane is one of the most potent anticancer compounds ever studied) and other antioxidants, as well as micronutrients including phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C, folate, and vitamin K1. In addition to its cancer-fighting ability, broccoli is also antimicrobial, helps build strong bones, and supports the immune system, brain, and heart.

Because it’s more of a fall-harvest vegetable, you can enjoy it during the winter by cutting it into florets and then freezing them. Stored in an airtight container or baggy, the florets can keep for 6–8 months. Try to eat at least some of your broccoli raw, as that’s the way it provides the most sulforaphane precursors. Raw broccoli goes well in salads, cold soups, blended into dips and sauces, or as crudité. Cooked, broccoli stars in stir-fries, pasta dishes, soups, casseroles, and veggie sides. Pro tip: add a little mustard powder to cooked broccoli to fully activate the sulforaphane.

How to Eat Winter Vegetables in Season

If you’d like to give seasonal eating a try, you can start with just a couple of winter vegetables, or go deeper and see how far you can get on a locavore diet. Depending on where you are in the world, one of the following seasonal food guides will help you on this path:

• Seasonal Food Guide — US & Australia
• Eat the Seasons — North America & UK
• Sobey’s Canadian Produce Guides — Ontario, Western Provinces, Atlantic Provinces
• Farm Africa
• EUFIC — EU countries
• PROFECO — Mexico

Winter Vegetable Recipes

Maximize the nutrition and flavor of your meals by using in-season, winter produce ingredients, and perhaps even some of your own homegrown veggies! Creating nourishing and satisfying plant-based dishes using vegetables grown with the season can be a lovely way to keep you warm and comforted — no matter how cold it gets.

1. Supergreen Mushroom and Potato Soup

Supergreen Mushroom and Potato Soup has not one, not two, not three, but five winter vegetable superstars! Each one — broccoli, Swiss chard, potatoes, garlic, and onion — is packed with nutrition and flavor, making this one of the best soups to keep you warm, happy, and nourished.

2. Crunchy Kale Slaw

Carrots, kale, and cabbage make up this Crunchy Kale Slaw (talk about alliteration!). It requires no cooking, just a little shredding (which may be therapeutic for some!) — making this dish one that gives back tons of nutrition in exchange for very little preparation effort. Enjoy it solo, as a side dish, or on top of tacos and wraps.

3. Quinoa, Lentil, and Mushroom-Stuffed Acorn Squash

As you’re making and enjoying this fiber-filled and nutrient-dense winter vegetable recipe, you’ll likely notice the warm and comforting aromas and flavors that embody the winter season. And, if you’re tending to a winter garden, you may have three of the ingredients — garlic, onion, and acorn or butternut squash — on hand. Quinoa, Lentil, and Mushroom-Stuffed Acorn Squash is packed with protein, carotenoids, and vitamin C — nutrients to help support your health during the winter months.

4. Beet Burger with Smashed Avocado and Pickled Red Onion

This burger is simple and delicious! Beets are rich in natural compounds called nitrates, which are converted to nitric oxide, a compound that dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow. This can lower blood pressure and support heart health. Top the burgers with avocado (which are a winter veggie in some parts of the world!) and pickled red onions (another winter veggie!) to make this a meal high in nutrients like vitamins C, E, and K, as well.

5. Drunken Broccoli in Thai Almond Sauce

Garlic, green onions, and broccoli are the winter veggie stars of this simple and scrumptious side. (The other star being almonds which store well — although, unless you live in California, Spain, or Italy, you’re probably not growing almond trees in your backyard.) Broccoli has vitamin C, zinc, and iron, which help support your immune system. Garlic and onion have prebiotic fiber, which supports gut health. How cool that such a simple dish can offer so much, helping our bodies function at their best!

Winter Veggies Are Cool!

Just because the days are short and gardens are resting doesn’t mean you have to wave goodbye to fresh veggies. Winter is a great time to eat more hearty vegetables. Some are actually in season, while others just store well in cooler temperatures. We’ve looked at a number of highly nutritious foods that can satisfy your taste buds, fill you up, and support your health. Create delicious and satisfying winter meals by mixing and matching while you wait for the first shoots of spring. That way, the next time you hear, “Winter is coming,” you’ll think “Yum!”

Tell us in the comments:

• What’s one of your favorite winter vegetables?

• Do you crave different kinds of food in winter vs summer?

• Do you store any veggies over the winter?

Feature Image: iStock.com/FlyParade

Read Next:

• How to Cook & Use Root Vegetables + 7 Root Vegetable Recipes
• 11 Healthy Vegan Winter Soup Recipes (Comforting and Immune-Boosting Ideas)

The post Healthy Winter Vegetables & the Best Ways to Enjoy Them appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Indeed, some holiday sides are so ingrained in our cultures that they’re considered “must haves” — as if it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan (after sunset), or another holiday celebration without that particular side dish. Thanksgiving in the US without mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, classic stuffing, or whatever your go-to sides happen to be? As Wallace Shawn says with such emotion in The Princess Bride: “Inconceivable!”

But you know what else many people find inconceivable? That holiday side dishes can be both delicious… and healthy. After all, many of the most popular side dishes during the holidays are made with artery-clogging pounds of butter, oil, milk, eggs, white flour, or sugar — not exactly health-promoting foods.

Can we keep our holiday side dish traditions and just make them kinder on our bodies, and the planet? Can we perform substitutions that maintain that delicious taste and satisfying mouthfeel, and still wake up happy the following morning?

In this article, we’re going to answer these questions (spoiler alert: the answers are all “yes!”), as well as share a variety of autumnal, plant-based holiday sides that are popular in the US. Side dishes that will love you back — and that you can feel good about sharing with family and friends.

What Is a Side Dish?

A side dish is just what it sounds like — a dish served on the side of a main meal or entree. (Of course, that means that technically the main dish is served on the side of the side — but that’s probably not important.)

What is important is that side dishes typically incorporate foods and flavors that complement or balance the main dish. If the main is heavy, the sides can be light — and potentially veggie-based.

With all the deliciousness that sides can confer, some people bring out a bunch of side dishes and consider them a full meal — no main dish required.

Many conventional side dishes already consist of vegetables and other plant-based foods, so it’s easier to make them without animal products or added sugar than some typical main course dishes. Yet, many conventional holiday side dishes are still swimming in these ingredients, so we have some work to do to create healthy versions. Luckily, there are plenty of whole foods, plant-based substitutions for ingredients like milk, cheese, eggs, butter, meat, added sugar, refined flour, or excess salt.

Popular Holiday Side Dishes

Let’s see how the principles of healthy, plant-based substitution play out with some of the most popular and iconic holiday sides. After that, I’ll share some of our favorite recipes that take a holiday side dish and use plant-based substitutes to make something healthier, yet still delicious and festive.

Mashed Potatoes

Your typical mashed potatoes go heavy on the dairy. For a healthier version, skip the butter, milk, or sour cream. Instead, use a plant-based milk or a tofu or cashew sour cream. Season with salt (unless you’re sodium-free), and add in generous amounts of pepper and herbs like chives or garlic.

Dinner Rolls or Biscuits

These steaming buns can get healthified by choosing rolls made with 100% whole grain four — if you’re buying premade. If you’re baking from scratch, you can use organic whole wheat flour, or even try a gluten-free flour. And these days, there are plenty of vegan substitutes for milk and eggs.

Corn on the Cob

When it’s sweet, corn on the cob is fine by itself. Just leave off the butter. Instead, try seasonings like salt and pepper, or a spice mix like chili and lemon or lime (which tastes amazing!) or Middle Eastern za’atar.

Green Bean Casserole

Green beans are great on their own or drizzled with a dressing. But casseroles often include ingredients like canned fried onions and a cream-based, canned soup. You can create a creamy sauce using tofu or a plant-based milk and top the casserole with sauteed onions and mushrooms. If you’re hankering after a crunch, try some slivered almonds, or oven-roasted chickpeas.

Stuffing

Many stuffing recipes include meats like sausages. With all the “I can’t believe this isn’t meat” plant-based sausages and meat analogues available these days, this is an easy swap. You can also make stuffing sans sausage and instead create that hearty texture using whole, plant-based foods like walnuts, lentils, or mushrooms. Vegetable broth substitutes beautifully for chicken broth. And for the bread cubes, try a sprouted whole grain or gluten-free bread.

Cranberry Sauce

The classic holiday cranberry sauce, for many people, is the one that comes out of a can. While the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth in 1621 almost certainly didn’t include cranberries (and most assuredly didn’t require a can opener), the sharp and sweet sauce became a family tradition thanks first to advertising by the Eatmor Cranberry Company, which sold whole berries, and then later Ocean Spray, which popularized the cranberries-in-a-can phenomenon.

The top concern with many conventional cranberry sauces is that while cranberries can be plenty healthy, added ingredients like sugar or high fructose corn syrup are not. Also, many commercial cranberry growers engage in environmentally damaging farming techniques. Instead, make your own cranberry sauce from scratch with healthier whole sweeteners and organic whole cranberries, either fresh or frozen. You can also add orange juice and zest for extra sweetness and ginger for a bit of spicy zing.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potato holiday side dishes often include marshmallows (which contain sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup, as well as gelatin) and more sugar added to the sweet potatoes. The key word in “sweet potatoes” is “sweet.” They’re already sweet — it’s right there in the name!

The simple tweak is to leave out the marshmallows and added sugar. You can substitute a whole food sweetener, enjoy the sweet potatoes’ natural sweetness, or try a savory take and top the casserole with herbs and spices. If your recipe also calls for eggs and butter, you can replace them with plant-based, whole food substitutes. For more on the awesome health benefits of sweet potatoes, check out this article.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Brussels sprouts are not the Jerry Maguire of food, telling Renee Zellweger’s bacon, “You complete me.” Cook them well, and they stand on their own. You can roast them with garlic, or combine them in the roasting pan with sweet potatoes and other root vegetables. If you still want a bacon-y vibe to the dish, try a plant-based whole food like tempeh, or a vegan bacon substitute, to mimic the smoky, salty, and sweet taste.

Macaroni and Cheese

In the last few years, the internet has exploded with healthy vegan mac and cheese recipes. In fact, a simple Google search for “healthy mac and cheese” leads to 139 MILLION results. An uninformed observer might even think that, sneezing pandas and milk crate challenges aside, the internet was created for the express purpose of disseminating vegan mac and cheese recipes.

To make a healthy holiday mac and cheese side, you can use a commercial cheese analog or make your own nut cheese cream sauce. The options vary in healthiness from “hey, at least it doesn’t come from a cow” to “this is basically an entire day’s worth of blended veggies.” And many pastas now come in gluten-free, legume-based, and/or whole grain versions. If you want to be hardcore healthy, you can also shred a whole food like potatoes or cauliflower to mimic the texture of noodles, or use a spiralizer to make veggie noodles.

5 Plant-Based Holiday Side Dish Recipes

After making the side dishes below, you might find yourself wondering why you ever made traditional dishes with meat, sugar, and dairy. The plant-based versions have some delicious flavors and textures, but with healing ingredients that are comforting and nourishing.

Serve the Broccoli Mac ‘N Cheese if you want to wow your guests. Make the Tempeh Sausage Stuffing for a hearty and satisfying side that’s good for you and your holiday guests. Create a thick and naturally sweet Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce using fresh cranberries and pomegranate juice. Provide a bright, yet earthy side with the Lemon Thyme Brussels sprouts. And add even more veggies to the holiday table with the Slow Cooker Cauliflower Mash (without anyone knowing that it’s made with veggies!).

1. Broccoli Mac ‘N Cheese

What if you could get all the creamy and delicious comfort of mac and cheese without all the unhealthy ingredients? Well, we have good news — you absolutely can! Not only will you get all the comforting feels with this recipe, but this Broccoli Mac ‘n Cheese also comes with long-term health benefits from the fiber, phytonutrients, and healthy fats that replace saturated fat and processed ingredients. This dish is made with whole foods like cashews, nutritional yeast, and miso, and is as creamy and satisfying as the fun mac ‘n cheese holiday side you might have enjoyed as a kid.

2. Tempeh Sausage Stuffing

Substituting plant-based foods for meat can lead to enormous health benefits. Research shows that organic soy products may lower LDL cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation, and, in tempeh’s case, improve digestive health due to its high fiber content. In this holiday-worthy side dish recipe, tempeh adds a rich texture when cooked with the whole grain bread. And the fennel and other spices give it a delectable, aromatic flavor.

3. Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

Using whole cranberries, phytonutrient-rich pomegranate juice, and fresh cinnamon and ginger, Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce will change the way you think about cranberry sauce. This sauce side has all the zing of traditional cranberry sauce, plus lots of nutrition from the cranberries, pomegranates, and spices. What’s more, no gelatin was necessary to create a sauce that’s perfectly thick! (Read: plants are magic all by themselves!)

4. Lemon Thyme Brussels Sprouts

Bright lemon paired with earthy thyme make these Brussels sprouts shine on their own as a holiday side. This simple dish will tempt your taste buds, satisfy your belly, and nourish your body. Pair it with the Mushroom Gravy for an extraordinary holiday side experience that will make a big (plant-based food) imprint on your guests!

5. Slow Cooker Cauliflower Mash

Oh so silky, creamy, and bursting with nutrition, you might want to plan on doubling this batch of cauliflower mash before you head to the grocery store. It’s a nice alternative to traditional potato mash and a yummy way to get some cruciferous vegetables onto your holiday dinner table. Make it complete by drizzling Mushroom Gravy on top!

Let Your Holiday Sides Shine

Many people love holiday meals, and side dishes are a big part of that love. There are many to choose from, including some popular side dishes that many of us have come to expect thanks to familial and cultural traditions. But they’re not always full of ingredients that are good for us. Luckily, since so many of them are already vegetable-based, we can easily make them healthy additions to our holidays with just a little tweaking. Through substitutions, seasonings, and different combinations, we can turn plant-based holiday sides into enduring and beloved hits.

Tell us in the comments:

• What holiday side dishes do you love that you can make healthy this holiday season?
• Are there any side dishes you haven’t tried but are curious about?
• What other holidays do you celebrate and would like to find whole-foods, plant-based recipes to sub for traditional favorites?

Feature image: iStock.com/AlexRaths

Read Next:

• Healthy Starters and Appetizers for All Occasions
• Meal Planning Tips and Recipes for Healthy and Happy Holiday Gatherings

The post 5 Plant-Based Holiday Side Dishes So Good You’ll Actually Want Leftovers appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

What if you’re vegan? Or you eat a whole food, plant-based diet free of processed food, oil, and sugar, and your friend is gluten-free; your sister is Paleo; your nephew is allergic to nuts, and your in-laws love sausages and donuts?

The sources of stress can go far beyond food, of course. One of the things about family is, well, we can’t choose them. Holiday gatherings can bring together people with widely different political and social views. It can be enough to make you want to skip the holidays entirely.

But, don’t despair.

You can bring people together over a shared meal and shared values — whether you observe Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or just want to share time with friends and family.

In this article, we’ll focus on planning and preparing delicious and healthy holiday food, while also looking at how to extend those strategies to present a loving and welcoming table for all your guests.

8 Holiday Meal Planning Tips to Bring Your Guests Together

Even if the thought of hosting a holiday meal intimidates you, a bit of advance planning can ease your stress and create a better experience for everyone.

I’ve been to gatherings where the food was great, but the hosts were so stressed about getting everything perfect, nobody was enjoying themselves. And I’ve also attended plenty of parties where the food was so-so, but the vibe was relaxed and fun. Luckily, with these holiday meal planning tips and recipes, you can take some of the pressure off yourself while also maximizing both the food quality and festive atmosphere.

1. Consider your guests.

Considering your guests’ tastes, lifestyles, and allergies can go a long way towards having a pleasant experience at a holiday gathering. Hopefully, your guests will communicate their needs upfront. But if they don’t, or you don’t already know their preferences, ask before the gathering, so you can prepare.

With your invitation, consider asking these two questions:

1. Do you have any dietary restrictions? (Allergies, sensitivities, religious or ethical considerations, etc.)
2. What are your food preferences? (We can’t promise, but we’ll do our best to serve food you’ll enjoy eating.)

2. You don’t have to please everyone.

While it’s helpful to know about your guests’ dietary preferences, and considerate to do your best to accommodate them, you don’t have to twist yourself into knots trying to please everyone. Don’t undermine your own health and well-being while worrying about everyone else. There are a couple of ways you can simplify a meal so that everyone can have something they want to eat.

First, consider making “neutral” dishes. It’s always easier to add an ingredient to a dish than remove it once it’s already in. If you have your heart set on that wild rice salad with dried cranberries and toasted pecans, but a couple of your guests are allergic to nuts, go ahead and make the salad without the nuts, and serve them in a separate bowl on the side.

Second, don’t be shy about asking someone with a particular dietary preference or restriction to bring a dish that they will enjoy. Many vegans, for example, love to contribute something to omnivorous gatherings (and are often used to doing so!). And gluten-free eaters may happily bring some gluten-free stuffing for themselves or even to share with the whole crew. Keep in mind that most folks who have dietary restrictions appreciate the heads-up that the menu may not include enough dishes for them, so they can come prepared.

3. Think outside the box.

Holiday meals often have meat like turkey, ham, or goose as the centerpiece. But you don’t need to feel obligated to prepare something just because it’s traditional — especially if it doesn’t align with your values or diet. Consider starting a new tradition when you’re the holiday host. You can serve up a plant-based, holiday centerpiece dish like Tofurky. Or take a more whole food approach with a luscious, whole grain risotto or mushroom Wellington.

You can also make a variety of holiday side dishes instead of an entree, so guests can try a bit of everything (this is also a great way to accommodate a range of tastes and dietary preferences!). Or mix it up completely and serve something unique! If meat-eating friends or family insist on having their animal-based foods, you might invite them to bring their own, or you could offer it as more of an optional topping.

4. Consider hosting a potluck.

Take the “please bring a dish” strategy global by making your holiday gathering a potluck. This can be an excellent choice if you’re hosting a large crowd with diverse diets. In this scenario, everyone now has options they can eat and enjoy — while also taking some of the pressure off you as the host.

To facilitate the process, you could ask attendees to add what they plan to make to a shared document. Or if you don’t want to manage the process so closely and are ok with the “luck” part of potluck, assign types of dishes (mains, salads, sides, desserts) based on the first letter of the guests’ last names or some other randomization scheme. Then, ask your invitees to post a note on the dish they bring listing the ingredients, also noting if the recipe doesn’t meet the dietary needs of someone who will be attending.

5. Don’t take things personally.

Try not to take it personally if your friend or family member doesn’t eat all the food you made. Each person needs to be in integrity with their own health and values; it’s not an insult to your cooking. Instead, try focusing on what they did like or were able to eat, or the non-food aspects of the holiday gathering like the conversation, decorations, sports games, holiday songs, or whatever else you’re sharing.

6. Focus on building bonds.

If you’re chomping on kale with resentment in your heart, you’re not doing your health any favors. The two Vitamin Gs (Gratitude and Generosity) are arguably as important as fiber and phytonutrients.

A lot of research shows that positive feelings and moods are health-promoting. The holidays may be a good time to relax your own dietary rules — for the sake of goodwill with your family and friends. For example, if you typically avoid oil or certain processed foods, a holiday meal with family can be an instance where you can stretch a little if you can do so without damaging your well-being or your integrity.

After all, the holidays are about spending time with loved ones and building fond memories. And sometimes that means being flexible and practicing compassion towards others — especially where there are differences. This doesn’t mean you have to compromise your values or your health. It just means that the holidays are an excellent time to be particularly thoughtful and generous.

7. Discuss topics that may unite, rather than divide.

Here are some ideas you can use for your holiday event:

• Ask about what’s going on in people’s lives.
• Talk about hobbies and interests.
• Ask about the best things that have happened in the last year, or about your hopes and dreams for your life in the year to come.
• Ask for recommendations for favorite TV shows, movies, music, podcasts, and books (including cookbooks!).
• Have each person to say three things they are grateful for.
• When possible, focus on gratitude, humility, and being thankful for having food to share, as well as things like family, friends, and a home.

8. Remember that it doesn’t have to be all about the food.

Because our gatherings and celebrations typically include food, we have a tendency to make food the centerpiece of the whole experience. If you play a word association game and say “Thanksgiving,” what will people say in response? Probably “turkey,” “stuffing,” and “cranberry sauce.” The historical and spiritual significance of the holiday typically takes a back seat. Some people even call it “Turkey Day,” which is unfortunate for many reasons, including that it ignores the central idea of giving thanks.

While food is a pleasurable aspect of holiday gatherings, it doesn’t have to be the make-or-break element of the whole experience. Include rituals that highlight the meaning of the holiday. Focus on togetherness, on building memories, and on weaving community together. And try to leave any judgment behind with the understanding that not everyone will have the same dietary preferences as you or even the other guests.

Ideas to Consider for Easy, Stress-Free Holiday Meal Planning

1. Send invitations early. People can get very busy around the holidays.
2. Plan your holiday menu well in advance and prepare what you can ahead of time (certain dishes freeze well, and no one will know you didn’t make it that morning!).
3. Do as much of the grocery shopping as makes sense — things like spices, grains, legumes, and frozen ingredients — earlier rather than later (you know what grocery stores and markets are like right before a holiday).
4. Then save your produce-buying for a few days before your gathering, but before the selection is picked over.
5. Plan a schedule for when to serve food.
6. Clean the house before the gathering. As you clean, play music you love, and focus on making your home welcoming and calm.
7. Set the table early — perhaps even the day before.
8. Alcohol is often an expected part of holiday gatherings. If you don’t have anyone wanting support in recovery, you may want to consider serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (like mocktails) for kids, drivers, and those who prefer not to imbibe. However, if you don’t want to serve alcohol, consider asking guests to bring their own or not bring it at all (and let them know it will be a sober celebration).
9. Choose festive and relaxing background music ahead of time.
10. Delegate tasks, including grocery shopping, chopping and prepping food, dishes, and clean-up, and setting the table, to willing friends and family members. Make it part of the experience that everyone shares.

For more tips on maximizing meal prep, check out this article.

Holiday Menu Ideas: Healthy Holiday Recipes for a Festive Feast

Whether you’re looking for healthy holiday recipes to create a memorable and successful Christmas dinner, or you observe another holiday, these menu ideas will help you create a gathering everyone can enjoy.

It’s a good idea to plan for a variety of dishes at a holiday gathering. But if you’re trying out new recipes like the ones below, it’s best to make them at least once before the event, so you can be sure you like the dish or to make any necessary tweaks.

Festive Holiday Beverage Ideas

Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider

Open your home and create a feeling of warmth as soon as guests arrive with the natural aroma of cinnamon, apple, and cranberry through this Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider, made with 100% cranberry and apple juices (no sugar added!)

Pomegranate Sangria

There’s no need for alcohol when you have this antioxidant-charged beverage on hand that will naturally lift spirits with its powerful phytonutrients and festive flavor. Sip on it while you toast the holidays and celebrate your loved ones.

Spicy Aztecan Sipping Chocolate 

Spicy Aztec Sipping Chocolate originates from the ancient Mesoamerica tradition over 3,000 years ago that used “xocoatl,” or chocolate, as a symbol of strength and health. What perfect symbolism when looking forward to the new year. Cheers!

Holiday Appetizer Ideas

Sweet Potato and Kale Bites

Adding a pop of color to your appetizers with these Sweet Potato Kale Bites will not only pique the interest of your holiday guests, but these bite-size nuggets will also intrigue their palates. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, this festive appetizer is sure to be a crowd favorite.

Walnut and Lentil Stuffed Mushrooms

The aroma of toasted walnuts is warm and comforting, perfect for the fall and winter holiday season. When you combine the toasted walnuts with warm lentils, and then add the nutty mixture to baked mushrooms, you get a hearty, flavorful, and exquisite appetizer that will enchant your holiday guests.

Jalapeño Poppers

Spice up your holiday party with this festive and tasty pop-in-your-mouth appetizer.  Cashews serve as the base for cream cheese, and chickpeas pose as a crunchy breadcrumb topping in this dish. Get ready! Jalapeño Poppers might just turn your holiday guests on to plant-based eating!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Something magical happens when you blend spinach with artichokes and cashews — they create an ooey-gooey sea of synergistic deliciousness packed with nutrition. This seemingly indulgent dish is also very simple to prepare. Serve it as a veggie dip, spread it on flatbread, or layer it with potatoes, then bake as a casserole.

Spiced Sweet Potato Hummus 

Hummus might seem too ordinary to serve at holiday gatherings, but homemade hummus made with spiced sweet potatoes promises to be a new and irresistible dip for your guests (plus, who doesn’t love hummus?). Creamy and sweet with a bit of tang from lime juice, there’s just enough chili powder and cinnamon to give it flavor without too much spice!

Wintery Soup and Salad Ideas

Sweet Potato Carrot Soup with Toasted Sunflower Seeds

Warm the hearts and bellies of your holiday guests by serving this creamy and comforting soup that uses nutrient-rich carrots and sweet potatoes as its base. The root veggies get their vibrant orange colors from carotenoids, compounds that act like antioxidants in the body, scavenging free radicals and protecting you from lifestyle diseases. They’re also both packed with fiber, making this soup gut-loving and satisfying.

Apple Spiced Carrot Ginger Soup

This nourishing soup tantalizes with flavors of apple, ginger, onion, and spice — it’s delicious and healing. Prepare it before guests arrive, so its aroma greets them as they walk through the door. And serve it before your main meal to whet their appetites in the best way possible!

Warmly Spiced Quinoa Chickpea Stew

If you’re feeding a large group of people for the holidays, then there’s nothing better than making a dish that’s easy to serve, tastes delicious, and takes minimal preparation for many people. This dish is a cross between a casserole and a stew. It’s cooked on the stove-top, much like a stew, but is much more like a casserole in texture. The quinoa and chickpeas are simmered with warm, earthy spices, and balanced with the sweetness of dried figs and sautéed fennel. It’s perfect for the holiday season!

Warm Energizing Einkorn Salad with Winter Vegetables 

Warm grains mixed with winter veggies create a hearty salad that is both satisfying and nourishing to the body and soul. Not to mention, the array of colors brings lots of holiday cheer — this meets our definition of festive!

Carrot and Cabbage Slaw

Versatility is the name of the game with this savory slaw that has versatility as a side, an appetizer, or perhaps as a topping on plant-based “cheese” and crackers. No matter how your holiday guests enjoy it, the flavors pop, and the crunch is super satisfying. Don’t be surprised if they ask you for the recipe!

Kale Pomegranate Salad with Chopped Walnuts and Sliced Apples

Vivid green kale leaves paired with vibrant red pomegranate arils make for the most festive salad of the year that also tastes incredibly delicious. Kale lends earthy flavors, pomegranate brings juicy brightness, walnuts provide nutty goodness, and apples add some natural sweetness. Your holiday guests will rave about this dish!

Holiday Entrees to Wow a Crowd

Lentil and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Nourish your family during the holiday season with these Lentil and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers that will permeate your home with their aroma as you’re making them. What’s more, these delicious beauties are gluten-free and dairy-free, covering two common allergens that can sometimes make it a challenge for families to enjoy meals together.

Mushroom and Kale Pot Pie

Keep friends and family happy and healthy throughout the holiday season by sharing this Mushroom and Kale Pot Pie. It looks, smells, and tastes indulgent and is also super nutritious! Immune-supporting mushrooms, nutrient-dense kale, and pathogen-fighting aromatics bring an irresistible combination of flavor, textures, and nutrition to this tasty pie.

Lentil Flax Loaf

Not to be confused with traditional meatloaf, this lentil loaf is loaded with fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, and omega-3s. Enjoy it alongside mashed sweet potatoes or roasted winter veggies (pro tip: roast the vegetables while you’re cooking the lentil loaf).

Shepherd’s Pie

Turn on the holiday tunes and get ready to feel the festive mood as you’re making this delectable Shepherd’s Pie that the entire family is going to enjoy. The brightly spirited mood combined with the deep comfort of this traditional dish will make your guests feel well-loved!

Creamy Barley Risotto with Thyme and Star Anise

Time to get cozy for the holidays! Similar to how a fat — like whipping cream or butter — is folded into traditional risotto just before serving, a fresh cashew cream sauce adds a lot of body and flavor to this whole-grain risotto. Comforting, soothing, and delightful, this dish will keep you warm from your head to your toes this holiday season.

Holiday Side Dishes

Warm Garlic and Herb Lentils 

Warm lentils mixed with fresh rosemary and healing garlic will bring feelings of well-being and comfort to your holiday table. Serve them as a warm salad, on top of sliced whole grain bread, or as a part of a plant-based charcuterie board.

Three-Cup Vegetables

Three-Cup Vegetables is historically called Three-Cup Chicken and usually calls for braising the bird in rice wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil with plenty of ginger, garlic, and basil. Here, root vegetables take the place of the chicken, making this dish low in saturated fat, cholesterol-free, and high in vitamin C, beta-carotene, and fiber. Serve it as a festive and flavorful side, or make it a full meal by doubling the sauce and adding organic tofu.

Green Beans Almondine

This classic dish gets a healthy facelift by omitting the butter and oil and keeping the fiber (green beans and almonds). This version also adds lots of aromatics (shallots and garlic) and a little crunchy sweetness (again, almonds!). It may just become a holiday family favorite!

Tempeh Sausage Stuffing

Show your holiday guests some love by substituting plant-based foods for meat. It can lead to enormous health benefits! Research shows that soy products may lower cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation, and, in tempeh’s case, improve digestive health due to its high fiber content. In this holiday-worthy recipe, organic tempeh adds a rich texture when cooked with the whole grain bread. And the fennel and other spices give the stuffing a delectable flavor.

Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

Using whole cranberries, phytonutrient-rich pomegranate juice, and fresh cinnamon and ginger, Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce will change your thoughts of cranberry sauce as you know it. This sauce has all the zing of traditional cranberry sauce, plus lots of nutrition from the fruit and spices. Enjoy it alongside roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, and lentil “meatballs.”

Holiday Dessert Ideas

Decadent Chocolate Dusted Cheesecake

If you want to impress your holiday guests, then add Decadent Chocolate Dusted Cheesecake to your menu. This nut-based, cocoa-dusted cheesecake is delicious! Cashews create creaminess, macadamia nuts create richness, and almonds create a naturally sweet flavor. Add that creamy “cheese” to a sweet and salty pecan crust, and you have a recipe that will swoon even the hardest to impress cheesecake aficionados.

Cherry Chia Cacao Pudding Parfait 

These Cherry Chia Cacao Pudding Parfaits are a fun and festive way to celebrate and ring in the new year. And they don’t just look pretty on your table — they serve a purpose by making your holiday guests happy with their creamy texture and rich flavor while helping to keep them healthy with antioxidant-packed ingredients. Cheers to a healthy celebration!

Cinnamon Pear Cranberry Crumble 

Are you looking for a hug this holiday season? Because that’s what this warm and soothing breakfast feels like, with aromatic cinnamon, the sweet taste of pear, and the satisfying texture of nuts and cranberries. Spiralized pear is nestled between the nutty granola before baking into a breakfast that just might become a family staple.

Coconut Cranberry Snowballs

Even if you’re not a fan of winter, this type of snow is sure to delight. That is, edible, naturally sweet snowballs you can enjoy making, and then eating, as a mid-afternoon snack or after-dinner treat. Because coconut is reminiscent of snowflakes, these bite-sized snacks also create a sense of cheer as a display on your holiday table.

Banana Walnut Bread

Our Banana Walnut Bread qualifies as a warm dessert, sustainable breakfast, or delightful afternoon snack, making it perfect for sharing with friends and family. It’s naturally sweet, nutty, moist, and perfectly satisfying. Bonus points for its fiber, plant protein, and phytonutrient content. And a double bonus for its simplicity, especially during the holiday season when things can get busy.

Bon appétit!

Tell us in the comments:

• What holiday meal planning techniques do you use to unite your friends and family?
• What are your favorite, healthy holiday recipes and dishes?
• Please leave a comment below and share your tips for a healthy, happy, holiday season!

Featured Image: iStock.com/Foxys_forest_manufacture

Read Next:

• Practicing Gratitude on Thanksgiving is a Powerful Action for Health & Happiness
• Three Loving Ways to Stick to Your Diet at Social Gatherings

The post Holiday Meal Planning Tips and Recipes for Healthy & Happy Gatherings appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Whether you’re a dedicated vegan, curious, or just someone who likes to explore new tastes and cuisines, you can find much to love from vegan soups.

Of course, many of the world’s great soups are already vegan or vegan-friendly. Italian minestrone, Indian dal, Canadian split pea, and Japanese miso can all be easily made without the use of animal products. A few simple substitutions will produce vegan soups that are indistinguishable, or actually tastier, than their meat-based counterparts.

My goal in this article isn’t actually to share anything earth-shakingly new. Instead, I’d like to remind you of what you already know: soup is awesome. Especially plant-based soup! And you probably would be happier and healthier if you had more of them.

Soup and Weather

Soups are delicious any time of year, but many of them have a special place in our hearts when it’s cold out. Something about the steam rising from our place settings, the way our hands can cradle a bowl or cup, and the chunky, grounding root vegetables that often appear in winter soups. They all combine to warm us up, body and soul.

And some tasty soups can also serve to cool us down in the summer thanks to spicy ingredients that open up our pores and encourage sweating.

Not all soups are served hot, of course. Gazpacho and borscht are two famous examples of soups served cold. Sometimes a cold soup is as simple as blending ripe fruit with some water and adding spices and chunks of other stuff. Nothing is more refreshing on a hot summer day than, say, a chilled watermelon soup. You can even save on washing up by using the rind as a serving dish.

Versatile Vegan Soups

While pancakes are morning food, and sandwiches are typically lunch fair, soups are appropriate any time of day — for any meal. You can reheat a veggie or bean soup in the office microwave for a filling and nutritious lunch. Or start a soup in the slow cooker or electric pressure cooker in the morning and come home to a fragrant kitchen and hearty dinner after work. You can even eat soup for breakfast, as Japanese miso soup, Chinese congee, and Vietnamese pho all demonstrate.

A filling soup can be a meal all by itself. Think of pasta e fagioli, an Italian peasant soup meaning “pasta and beans,” which contains lots of veggies and herbs in addition to the very satisfying pasta and beans themselves. Or take a thick bowl of pea soup and add a chunk of organic peasant bread and a side salad, and you have a hearty meal.

Soup can also be an appetizer or side dish as part of a larger meal. Tomato soup, corn chowder, and creamy squash soup are all lighter soups than can impart flavor and variety to start a multi-course meal off on a warm and satisfying note.

Simple Swaps

Many soups are naturally vegan or plant-based, but it’s also really easy to swap in beans or lentils in soups that traditionally feature meat. Since soup traditionally cooked over low heat for hours and used up the lowest quality cuts of meat that weren’t ideal as main courses, the main purpose of the meat in many soups was for flavor rather than texture. You can approximate the body of a meat soup by varying how long you cook the legumes. You can cook black beans, so they maintain their individuality in a Mexican bean and sweet potato soup. Or cook them much longer for a creamy, Cuban black bean soup.

If you or your dining companions will really miss chunks of sausage in your minestrone or pasta e fagioli, you can always toss in some vegan sausage. The nice thing about having these plant-based meat analogs in soup is that you don’t need a lot; even two or three bites of Field Roast or Beyond Sausage per bowl will provide the mouthfeel and flavor that you might be looking for.

Using Veggie Stock Instead of Meat for Flavor

You can buy bouillon cubes, powder, or paste to impart the same hearty and umami flavor that meat stock provides. However, you’ll want to check the ingredients carefully to avoid excess sodium and hydrogenated oils. It’s actually very easy to make your own DIY bouillon from common spices and some nutritional yeast and powdered mushrooms. And you can also cook up soup stock from vegetables like onions, carrots, celery, mushroom, spinach, leeks, and any herbs you like. To save money, use kitchen scraps like the tops of carrots, onion peels, and the ends of celery. You can freeze the scraps as you generate them and then pull them to cook with when you’ve collected enough.

Here’s a primer on oil-free, vegan soup stock from Simple Vegan Blog. And for oil- and salt-free vegan bouillon that you can freeze in ice cube trays and pull out whenever you want to jumpstart a soup, check out this recipe courtesy of Plant-Based Instant Pot.

The Light and Heavy of Soup

Soups can be light or heavy. A light soup can be an easy and pleasant way to hydrate. If you’re looking to get your water in, focus on soups in the form of broths. These are mostly clear, with the water flavored by veggies, herbs, and spices.

Soups can also be so heavy that your spoon stands straight up in it — a feat apparently easier to accomplish than getting a broom to stand up all by itself. You can make your soup thicker by cooking it long enough to evaporate some water, by pureeing grains and starchy vegetables, or by using legumes such as lentils that naturally thicken as they cook and cool.

The Benefits of Eating Plant-Based Soups

There are more good reasons to include veggie-based soups in your diet than you can shake a ladle at. Hot soups warm you up and give you that nice, cozy feeling. And many of us have happy childhood memories of a family member demonstrating their love for us through soup. Additional plant-based soups are good for:

1. Fighting the Common Cold

Especially when you’re sick, soups can be wonderful sources of nourishment. They’re a great way to get lots of nutrients when you don’t feel like eating all that much. All that water helps to hydrate you almost without your noticing. And the steam and heat can relieve sore throats and decongest clogged sinuses and nasal passages. Add a little grated ginger to the soup to boost its nose-clearing power.

2. Getting Your Veggies In

Soups are also a great way to get your veggies. For veggie-phobes, soup can be an elegant and tasty way to hide carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, beans, lentils, and whole grains. Many folks who “don’t like” vegetables, enjoy consuming them in this stealth manner.

3. Making Your Life Easier

You don’t have to be an amazing chef to make amazing soup. Soups are among the most flexible and forgiving of meals. Unlike baking a bread or a casserole, which you can’t really mess with once you’ve stuck it in the oven, you can keep tasting soup and adding ingredients until you get something you like. They’re easy to make and can be very filling without costing a lot of money.

4. Aiding Weight Loss

Soups can also be helpful with weight loss. Because of all their water content, they can fill you up without necessarily providing a lot of calories. Unlike smoothies, which are less filling than eating the smoothie ingredients whole and therefore can cause you to overconsume, soups are actually more filling than if you just ate the ingredients not in soup form. The critical factor appears to be the fact that soups are generally hot, and therefore, we take our time to eat them. That gives our bodies time to send “I’m full” signals to the brain before too much food has gone down the hatch.

5. Adding in Nutrients

Soups can be extremely high in nutrients, depending on what ingredients you add. Greens, veggies, herbs, and spices can pack a nutritional punch in quantities that would be hard to consume in their raw or simply cooked form.

6. Using Up Produce

Also, soup can be the last stop on the produce train for veggies that have, not to put too fine a point on it, seen better days. Humans have been stretching their produce through soup for millennia. (Soup, archeologists suspect, was invented at least 20,000 years ago, soon after the invention of waterproof and fireproof cookware. Unfortunately, it probably took a couple thousand more years to invent the spoon.)

Droopy carrots and celery, older potatoes, wrinkly bell peppers, and wilted greens can revive in soup like nothing was ever amiss. As Russ Cooper wrote in MAD magazine, “Soup is food’s last chance to be eaten.”

5 Vegan Soup Recipes to Warm You from the Inside Out

Whether it’s the warming spices or the soup temperature, or perhaps a combination of the two, you’re certainly going to feel the warmth from these hearty and nourishing soups. Enjoy Thai Curry Butternut Soup or Fragrant Kidney Bean Lentil Dal when you’re craving Asian cuisine or the Wild Rice and Mushroom Stew when you’re looking for something earthy with umami flavors. Love intoxicating Moroccan spices? Then the Moroccan Bean Stew if for you. Finally, if you enjoy getting creative in the kitchen then you’re going to have fun making a coriander and star anise tea ball infusion that is used to flavor the Orange Lentil Soup with Anise and Coriander. Our suggestion? Try one each day of the week and freeze leftovers so you have warming soup for weeks ahead.

1. Moroccan Bean Stew

This stew offers a heaping serving of black beans, chickpeas, and lentils, along with yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes that simmer in a fragrant, intoxicating broth infused with cinnamon, cumin, coriander, ginger, fennel, and garlic. (Is your mouth watering?) Even though the ingredient list seems long, the stew is actually simple to make and well worth the effort. The Moroccan spices will warm your body throughout, from your head to your toes and everything in between!

2. Thai Curry Butternut Soup

Delicious, comforting, and bursting with flavor, this soup will leave you wanting more! Not only is it simple to make, but it’s also packed with nutrition from the onion, garlic, ginger, and butternut squash. Enjoy it during the fall and winter when butternut squash is at its nutritional peak.

3. Fragrant Kidney Bean Lentil Dal

Allowing the lentils and spices to cook together for a bit results in a soup that is fragrant and flavorful. If you love soups that are delicious and nourishing while creating the most beautiful aromas throughout your home then this dal is for you!

4. Orange Lentil Soup with Anise and Coriander

Coriander and star anise, the stars of this soup, are infused in a tea ball to create beautiful flavors and aromas. The soup has the lingering essence of these enchanting spices, and the tea ball can be left in or removed earlier in the cooking, depending on how much flavor you’d like to impart. Herbs and spices are often heroes in the nutrition world and this soup is no exception.

5. Wild Rice and Mushroom Stew

Simply thinking about wild rice and mushrooms in a stew is mouth-watering, don’t you agree? Not only is this earthy soup warm and comforting, but it’s also super nourishing and healing with the nutrient-packed mushrooms, herbs (oregano, parsley, and  thyme) and spices (clove).

Give Us Our Daily Soup

Soup is one of the greatest gifts bequeathed to us by our ancestors, holding its own right up there with fire, stick figure drawing, and the phrase “Yabba Dabba Doo.” A good pot of soup is practically alchemical, transforming singular and ordinary ingredients into a new thing entirely. Soup has saved many items of produce from the compost or garbage bin and allows us to nourish our families and communities inexpensively and lavishly. And now that the modern era of plant-based innovation has blossomed, soups are being reinvented yet again to be healthier and more delicious than ever.

Tell us in the comments:

• What are your favorite plant-based soups?
• When and how do you like to eat soup?

Featured image: iStock.com/Foxys_forest_manufacture

Read Next:

• Power Bowls: 10 Easy & Nutritious All-in-One Meals
• How to Eat More Vegetables (And Like It!)

The post 5 Fabulous Vegan Soups You’ll Want to Whip Up Straight Away appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Salads are a great way to enjoy more veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, herbs, and spices — the very foods most of us would be healthier eating more of. Plant foods and especially raw plant foods contain essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and nutrients like fiber.

As well as helping you get at least the recommended minimum daily serving of five fruits and vegetables per day, salads are also versatile and easy to make dishes. They can serve as a starter or appetizer, a main course, and in some cases, even a dessert!

Some of the most popular kinds of summer salads are:

• Caesar salad
• Cucumber salad
• Bean salad
• Pasta salad
• Potato salad
• Coleslaw
• Fruit salad
• Kale salad

Any of these can be great choices if you’re hosting or heading to a cookout, potluck, or other get together, whether during the summer or anytime. Salads make a great addition to a healthy table spread, especially when you make them with seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Eating with the seasons is healthier for you and better for the environment. Seasonal produce is more nutritious, fresher, and usually contains less pesticides as well. Buying local also helps support local farmers and your community’s economy.

To find out what’s in season near you this summer, check out the Seasonal Food Guide.

Some examples of what might be in season near you in the summer are:

• Arugula
• Asparagus
• Blueberries
• Carrots
• Cherries
• Green Onions
• Kale
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Summer Squash

You can buy seasonal produce at your grocery store, health food store, or local farmers market.

And when you make your own salad dressing at home, you can also ensure that it has no harmful food additives, excessive salt, GMOs, sugar, or other ingredients you want to avoid.

So, if you’re looking for some ideas for cookout-friendly salads, or just want some new summer salad recipes to add to your regular meal rotation, here are our picks.

12 Healthy and Refreshing Summer Salad Recipes

Enjoy the power of plants this summer (or anytime), and take your pick between these healthy summer salad recipes.

Eggplant & Roasted Tomato Farro Salad

You don’t have to limit yourself to raw ingredients in your summer salads. In fact, a combination of both raw and cooked veggies can give you the most vitamins and minerals from your food.

Take this Eggplant & Roasted Tomato Farro Salad by Love & Lemons, for example. The eggplant and tomatoes are both cooked. Then they’re combined with cooked farro, and chickpeas, as well as raw pine nuts, arugula, and basil for a Mediterranean-inspired salad.

Note: For a gluten-free version, use quinoa instead of farro. And to go oil-free, water sauté the eggplant and just use vinegar or a little lemon for the dressing.

Thai Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing

This light and refreshing Thai Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing, by Cookie and Kate, is bursting with summery colors and flavors. The combination of sweet, spicy, and sour will tickle your tastebuds and leave you satisfied.

Although you may need to purchase imported mangoes for this salad if you don’t live in a tropical or subtropical climate, the green onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and bell peppers are in season for most climates in the summer.

Note: Make sure to choose raw, unsalted peanuts and organic peanut butter without any additives or hydrogenated oils.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

For the perfect summer side dish for a cookout or BBQ, bring this Creamy Cucumber Salad from Ceara’s Kitchen with you. All you need are cucumbers and red onions for the base, which is then tossed with a homemade, preservative-free ranch dressing.

With only eight ingredients and a total prep time of 10 minutes, this healthy summer salad can save the day when you need to whip up something shareable in a hurry.

Note: You can use raw, organic cashew butter like the one mentioned in the recipe, or make your own ahead of time with this recipe from Savory Simple (salt optional).

Simple Potato Salad

Nothing says “summer” like a classic potato salad. It’s the go-to side for outdoor picnics and BBQs. But most potato salads are full of saturated fat from all the eggs, mayo, and dairy. Not this one!

Minimalist Baker’s Simple Potato Salad uses soaked cashews to get that mayo-like consistency minus the harmful health effects. Tossed with crunchy summer veggies and some fresh sprigs of parsley on top, you’ll also get your fill of fiber and antioxidants.

Note: You can omit the oil if you’d like. You can also omit the agave or maple syrup or replace with your choice of sweetener alternatives.

Lemon Mint Fruit Salad (Red, White & Blue Fruit Salad)

In the U.S., Australia, France, or the United Kingdom, and feeling patriotic? Or just like red, white, and blue? Then try this eye-catching Lemon Mint Fruit Salad (Red, White & Blue Fruit Salad) from Veggie Balance.

Even if you don’t take it to an Independence Day BBQ, this crisp and healthy summer salad will delight no matter when you decide to make it.

Apples, blueberries, and strawberries get tossed together with a three-ingredient dressing. And if you’re vegan or want to enjoy the natural sweetness of the fruit, you can easily omit the honey or substitute it with another sustainable sweetener.

Ultimate Protein-Packed Caesar Salad

Caesar salad, one of the most popular salads in the U.S., is typically tossed with an anchovy-based dressing and topped with parmesan cheese and chicken. But you can still have a Caesar salad without the animal products by trying out this Ultimate Protein-Packed Caesar Salad by Delish Knowledge.

Although most Caesar salads contain iceberg or romaine lettuce, this version adds nutrient-packed kale to the mix. You also won’t find any croutons here, but you can still enjoy the same satisfying crunch (and an added dose of plant protein) with the homemade tempeh bacon bits and crispy chickpeas as toppings.

Note: To go oil-free, bake instead of pan-frying the tempeh and chickpeas — and omit oil from the dressing.

Mashed Chickpea “Tuna” Salad

Similar to a traditional tuna or egg salad, this Mashed Chickpea “Tuna” Salad by The Simple Veganista, uses chickpeas along with a creamy dressing mixed with lemon, paprika, carrots, and celery.

While these kinds of recipes usually call for mayo, you can use a homemade vegan mayo (based on tofu) or a tahini-mustard sauce instead.

Serve it on a bed of lettuce, on its own, or use it as a dip or sandwich filling.

Watermelon Salad with Tomato & Avocado

For a hefty dose of heart-healthy antioxidants, namely beta carotene and lycopene, give this Watermelon Salad with Tomato & Avocado by Love & Lemons a go.

Juicy, summery watermelon pairs surprisingly well with tomatoes, avocado, basil, and cashews. And with a sweet, savory, and sour, Asian-inspired dressing, you’ll get a mouthful of interesting flavor profiles that come together for a refreshing take on a summer salad side dish or main course.

Taco Salad

For all the fun Mexican flavor of a taco, without all the mess, try this delicious, meat-free Taco Salad from Homegrown Provisions.

Mixed greens, tomatoes, avocado, black beans, and radishes form the base of this festive, summer (or anytime) salad.

And with the addition of Mexican street-style corn, a cashew-based chipotle crema, and walnut taco “meat,” you’ve got the makings of a healthier, plant-based twist on taco night.

Note: Grill or steam the corn for an easy way to omit the oil from this recipe.

Carrot Slaw

Another classic summer salad that gets a healthy, Asian-inspired makeover, is this Carrot Slaw from Peas and Crayons. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next summer cookout or BBQ!

Radishes, shredded carrots, and cabbage get topped with green onions and sesame seeds — and tossed with a tangy lime-ginger dressing.

Not only is this carrot slaw tasty, but it’s also a potent cancer-fighter. Radishes and cabbage are cruciferous veggies, which contain the anticancer phytochemical sulforaphane, and as part of the Allium family of vegetables, green onions also contain organosulfur compounds, which have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and antibacterial properties.

Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad

Warm, pleasant weather calls for eating outdoors, and for many people that means grilling on a barbeque. With this Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad by Simply Quinoa, you can still have that backyard cookout without endangering yourself and your loved ones by grilling vegetables — which, unlike meats, don’t release dangerous chemicals in the air or onto your food.

This recipe calls for portobello mushrooms and summer squash. But you can also grill other locally available summer veggies, like asparagus or bell peppers. If you’re feeling adventurous, try throwing some fruit on the grill as well. Or you can make fruit skewers to serve on the side.

Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

For an Asian twist on a classic, cold pasta salad, toss together Vegan Richa’s Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing. Soba noodles cook quickly, usually within four to five minutes, which makes this a prime choice when you’re in a hurry.

With the addition of colorful, raw vegetables like carrots, green onions, and zucchini, you’ll also get almost all your daily dosage of both vitamins A and C in just this single dish.

Note: Most soba noodles are made with buckwheat, which doesn’t contain gluten (despite the name), but also includes regular wheat flour as well. Look for a certified gluten-free option made from 100% buckwheat if you want to be sure to avoid gluten.

Tell us in the comments below:

• What do you think of these healthy summer salad recipes?
• What’s your favorite kind of healthy summer salad?
• Do you have any favorite summer salad recipes?

Featured Image: iStock.com/sveta_zarzamora

Read Next:

• The Ultimate Guide to Hosting or Attending A Healthy, Plant-Powered 4th of July Celebration (Or Other Summer Party)
• 7 Veggie Burger Recipes to Enjoy for a Plant-Powered Cookout

The post Beat the Heat with These 12 Healthy Summer Salad Recipes appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

In the U.S., our most popular cookout day is July 4th, Independence Day — the day we celebrate our freedom and commemorate our rejection of tyranny. The day we reaffirm our commitment to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” So, it’s ironic that many of our 4th of July customs actually shorten our lives, undermine our liberty, and tarnish our happiness.

You may dismiss this article as “Debbie Downer” material, whining about the environmentally damaging consumption that characterizes so many of our 4th of July traditions. Fortunately, I’m not just pointing fingers at unsustainable and unhealthy practices. I’ll also share alternatives that are at least as festive, memorable, and delicious and are much more in keeping with the original intent of the holiday.

But what if you live outside the U.S. or don’t celebrate 4th of July? I’m still confident that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are pretty high priorities. You might even consider adopting some of these tips in your own summer celebrations.

Protecting the Environment

Feeding and entertaining guests at cookouts can be a lot of work. So it’s only natural that we want to make things as easy as possible — like cleanup, for example. Unfortunately, disposable plates, utensils, and cups can just end up in a big garbage bag.

No question that relying on single-use items is convenient in the short-term. And also no question that our disposable mindset is taking a huge toll on our health and on the environment. Even if none of those plastic spoons and cups end up as “litter” on the ground, they all end up somewhere. And they can hang around for tens of thousands of years, polluting the air, soil, and water upon which our lives depend.

Air Pollution

It’s not just the throwaway plastic and paper that can damage the environment. It turns out that the day after Independence Day, July 5th, is one of the days of the year with the worst air quality, due to two of our beloved traditions: grilling and fireworks.

Grilling is a favorite pastime during the summer, all over the world, but it reaches a whole new level of obsession in the United States during 4th of July celebrations.

In 2017, Americans were projected to spend over $7 billion on cookouts and other outdoor celebrations during Independence Day. Sure, that represents a lot of food (more on that below), but also a lot of smoke. Pair that with the heavy-metal-tainted smoke from millions of pounds of fireworks (that contribute to 42% more pollutants in the air after the holiday) and the sparkling allure of a summer cookout or celebration quickly gets tainted by the toxic cocktail of harmful and potentially carcinogenic chemicals floating around.

A Note About Fireworks

Although fireworks are a traditional way to celebrate the 4th of July and other summertime celebrations, they’re really bad for the environment. In addition to contributing to air pollution, the propellants, colorants, and heavy metals in fireworks can end up in the soil or waterways, polluting our drinking water or the ocean. (Fireworks are also notoriously bad for our pets, especially dogs, who are often deeply disturbed by the loud noises.)

Limit your use of personal fireworks if possible. And if you love fireworks, try carpooling with friends and family to a large, organized event. If public transportation can reduce pollution by taking cars off the road, then public fireworks — which, let’s face it, are far more spectacular than the roadside stand variety that not only represent fire hazards, but maim and deafen dozens of revelers each Independence Day — can reduce air pollution too while more than satisfying our desire for bright, pretty lights and things that go bang.

Or, if you’re going for a sustainable party at home, try one of these no-smoke lighting alternatives instead.

• Eco-friendly floating lanterns
• LED candles in glass hurricanes
• Solar powered LED string lights
• Laser light show
• Light projectors

Before you gas up the grill, light up those sparklers, or go shopping for party supplies, think how they might impact your health and the environment, and consider more eco-friendly choices to have a more sustainable 4th of July (or other summertime celebration).

The Trouble with BBQs

One of the more popular ways to celebrate outdoors during the Summer is with a BBQ. However, the food most people typically throw on a grill doesn’t exactly scream healthy or sustainable.

Meats of all kinds, especially hot dogs, steaks, hamburgers, and chicken top the list of most grilled foods.

No matter how it’s cooked, meat has been shown to cause inflammation in the body as well as contribute to chronic disease.

But grilled meat causes additional problems.

Cooking meat at high temperatures, such as on a grill, creates Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) — carcinogenic compounds formed when the fat and juices in meat drip onto an open flame.

These compounds end up sticking to the food as well as being released into the air. (The good news is that HCAs and PAHs don’t form when you grill fruits and vegetables!)

Since most grills use charcoal as their heating source, additional greenhouse gases like carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide are emitted as well. The chef and nearby guests can compromise their health just by breathing in those delicious, evocative aromas — even if they skip the meat entirely.

When you add these local effects to the enormous amount of greenhouse gas emissions, like methane, caused by animal agriculture, you can see why barbequed meat is a recipe for air pollution and environmental harm.

Alternatives to Charcoal Grills

If you have to use charcoal, choose lump charcoal, which is pure wood without additives, chemicals, or infused lighter fluid. Lump charcoal also tends to come from sustainably sourced wood, whereas most briquettes do not.

However, there are other alternatives to charcoal that can help you have a more sustainable 4th of July (or other summertime party). Reduce the amount of air pollution from grilling by switching to one of these energy sources.

Natural Gas & Propane

Although they’re sourced from fossil fuels, natural gas and propane emit about half the CO2 each hour, compared to charcoal.

They’re also more efficient. During the production of natural gas and propane, about 90% of the material is usable, whereas charcoal only produces 20-35% usable product.

And grilling with gas means that you have to keep the grill on only while the food is cooking, unlike charcoal, which will continue to burn until it goes out naturally or you douse it with water.

Electric

Electric grills don’t require the purchase of an additional fuel source, and you can adjust the temperature while grilling. A typical outdoor electric grill has an output of around 1500 watts, or 1.5 kWh, which is about the same as a space heater or hair dryer.

As a result, electric grills are only a more sustainable choice than charcoal if your home runs on renewable energy such as solar, wind, or microhydropower.

Solar-Powered

Purely solar-powered grills are available, although they’re still rare and run on the expensive side. But since you’re relying solely on the sun as an energy source, you’ll likely save money in the long run while also preventing contribution to carbon emissions. Here’s one that sounds promising.

Tip: To go even further with increasing the sustainability of your BBQ or cookout, you can even DIY a reflector or box solar cooker.

Plant-Powered 4th of July (or anytime) BBQ recipes

Give these plant-powered recipes a try for a healthy spin on BBQ classics.

Smoky Black Bean Burger by The Simple Veganista

These grillable veggie burgers are low-fat, high-fiber, and full of healthy grains, seeds, and spices.

Grilled Vegetable Fajitas by Karyl’s Kulinary Krusade

Colorful red, yellow, and green bell peppers, red onions, baby bella mushrooms, and zucchini make up these delicious veggie fajitas topped off with a smoky and spicy seasoning. Omit the oil for a heart-healthier version.

Smoky Carrot Dogs by Brand New Vegan

You won’t find any ground up animal parts in these hot dogs. Simply boil, marinate, and then grill whole carrots and pile high with your favorite condiments and toppings.

Honey Lime Grilled Fruit Skewers by Love & Zest

Who doesn’t love food on a stick? Try this sweet, grilled fruit skewer recipe for a fun take on a kabob. It’s perfect for a summer cookout appetizer or dessert.

Tip: Although grills are typically greased up with unhealthy and environmentally unfriendly cooking spray or processed oils to prevent sticking, you can get the same non-stick effect by rubbing a potato, onion, or lemon on the grill surface. Delicious!

Reduce Plastic Use This Summer

When shopping for food and other summer cookout supplies, consider buying in bulk to cut down on plastic packaging consumption.

Around 40% of all plastic produced becomes packaging that’s used just once and then discarded.

All of this waste has created more than 6.9 billion tons of plastic trash, with more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic currently polluting our oceans.

In addition to ending up in the stomachs of fish and other wildlife, plastic also kills over 100,000 marine animals annually.

And research has shown that many of the chemicals in plastics, such as BPA and BPS, are harmful to human health — disrupting hormones and contributing to chronic disease.

So, what else can you do during summer parties to reduce your use of plastics?

Use Biodegradable or Reusable Cutlery

Before throwing that box of plastic spoons, knives, and forks into your shopping cart, consider that it may take over 100 years for them to begin breaking down and over 1,000 years for them to decompose completely.

Instead, try a more sustainable cutlery alternative at your 4th of July or other outdoor, summertime celebration.

Option 1: Silverware

The best option would, of course, be just to use silverware from home and take the time to wash everything afterward. (The same goes for plates and cups.)

Silverware is safe to reuse, and the only additional resources it requires is a little soap and water.

Don’t have enough for a big event? You might be able to shore up your supply from a local thrift store or ask some of the other participants to pitch in with their collections.

Option 2: Bioplastics

Bioplastics have been a popular eco-friendly option for utensils, especially in the food industry.

There are two types of bioplastics, PLA (polylactic acid) and PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate). The former is made from fermented plant starches like corn, cassava, sugarcane, or sugar beets. The latter uses microbes which produce a plastic-like chemical made from organic materials.

While bioplastics aren’t without their own problems, more sustainable versions made with non-GMO corn, organic food waste, and even blue-green algae are worthwhile alternatives to consider.

Option 3: Wood

Birch and bamboo varieties are eco-friendly alternatives to plastic that are compostable in either backyard or industrial facilities, and in some cases, reusable as well.

While there can be deforestation entailed in their production, birch and bamboo are fast-growing trees making them a more sustainable and renewable source of wood.

Bring Food and Beverages in Reusable Containers

It’s always nice when friends and family offer to bring food or beverages to summer parties, like potlucks and picnics. Unfortunately, most store-bought foods come wrapped in plastic packaging. Or it’s stored in plastic containers that could be leaching harmful chemicals into the food.

Encourage your guests to instead bring homemade food and beverages in non-plastic, reusable food storage containers. And make sure they have lids to make the transport of leftovers easier.

Stainless steel and glass food storage containers or water bottles are safe alternatives to plastic. Both are non-porous and don’t include chemicals like BPA or phthalates.

Want to make your 4th of July or other summer BBQ plastic-bottle-free? Fill up a large, glass drink dispenser with water — either plain or naturally flavored with fruit slices.

If you do choose to use plastic containers, don’t store highly acidic foods such as tomato products in them (which can break down the plastic further), and never expose them to direct sunlight, put them in the dishwasher, or add hot foods to them.

Recycle Bottles, Cans, and Paper

Some single-use may be unavoidable, especially if party guests bring their own beverages. But that doesn’t mean they all need to end up in the landfill. Aside from having trash cans outside, set up a recycling station for guests to deposit their recyclables.

Important: Make sure to rinse out all containers before putting them out for your recycling service to pick up or if taking them to a recycling center.

Other Ways to Dine Sustainably Outdoors

Use Cloth Napkins

While they may seem like a less significant problem than plastics, paper products have a major effect on the environment too.

Worldwide, nearly 4 billion trees are used for the paper industry. That’s 35% of the total cut trees used for manufacturing.

And a single paper napkin can cause 10 grams of greenhouse gas emissions and use 0.3 liters of water.

“But what about napkins and towels made from recycled paper?” you might ask.

That’s a helpful step. It means the napkins or paper towels were made from recycled paper, but not from recycled napkins. Unfortunately, napkins themselves can’t be recycled. Each time recycled paper products are run through the process, the paper fibers get shorter, making them susceptible to disintegration.

Plus, if you’re using them during a BBQ or outdoor picnic, they’d likely have food and other contaminants on them that would make them unsuitable for recycling anyway.

Instead of contributing to deforestation, you might want to provide a stack of cloth napkins for your guests to use.

Compost Your Food Scraps

Around one-third of food produced for human consumption gets lost or wasted every year. In order to prevent unnecessary food waste, consider composting the food scraps from your 4th of July or summer parties.

If you already have a compost pile or bin at home, save your food scraps and add them to the mix.

Many cities across the U.S. also offer composting services and will pick up food scraps from your home.

Even if your city doesn’t offer compost pick up, there are independent companies who pick up food scraps for a fee from your home, or in some cases, even from a party or event location.

Or you can even give your compostables to someone with an existing compost pile via ShareWaste.

If you’re new to composting, here’s a basic list of what you can and can’t compost:

Click here for more about composting and a full list of what you can and can’t compost.

Last But Not Least… Don’t Litter

If you’re dining outdoors, whether in your own backyard, at a park, or at the beach, make an effort to leave the area as clean as you found it (or cleaner!). Deposit all trash and recyclable items in trash cans or take them with you; leave nothing behind but footsteps and happy memories.

Tell us in the comments below:

• Do you do any of these things already?
• How will you keep your 4th of July (or other summer celebration) sustainable?

Featured Image: iStock.com/monkeybusinessimages

Read next:

• The ultimate guide to hosting or attending a healthy, plant-powered 4th of July celebration (or other summer party)

The post How to Have a Happy (and Healthy and Sustainable) 4th of July (or Any Summer Celebration!) appeared first on Food Revolution Network.