We all know how important it is to consume fruits and vegetables; but how many times have you struggled to find nutritious and delicious recipes to try?! In today’s blog post, I’m sharing some tasty plant based recipes I like to keep on my menu! I hope you try some of these recipes and add your own flair and modifications to suit your specific palate 😉

Warning, I’m not a big fan of long recipe write-ups so the recipes I’m including mostly consist of the ingredients needed to make the meal with light preparation instructions.

*Serving sizes will vary so you can play around with these recipes and gauge how much of each ingredient you will need depending on how many people you are cooking for.

Disclaimer, I don’t promote universal or standardized “healthy diets” for my clients. What we do know from the research however is that healthy, well rounded plant based style diets are best in helping to reverse and prevent chronic lifestyle related diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, chronic inflammation, polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS), endometrioses and MORE! Before making major diet changes, please consult your physician or healthcare provider team. Here are some references for you to check out in your leisure on this topic: ^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,12}

Before I dive straight into the recipes, I want to tell you some additional benefits of consuming more plant based foods. 

Note: Eating a predominant plant based diet doesn’t mean you can’t eat meat or don’t eat meat; but it means that you eat mostly plant based foods like vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fruits, seeds and nuts ⁹

Benefits of a Predominant Healthy Plant Based Diet

Plant forward diets that emphasize less meat decrease the risk of many lifestyle related diseases and conditions like those I mentioned above. 

• Lower incidences of systemic inflammation or inflammation throughout the body⁶
• May reduce medication needs
• Improved weight management⁸
• Improved Immunity 
• Improved Digestion⁹
• Improved Cognition
• Improved Longevity^10,11
• Improved Hormone Regulation

Also, fun fact: Did you know plant based foods like beans, vegetables, and fruits all contain protein? 

Let me know your thoughts on this topic! I’d love to hear your feedback! 

Recipes to Try 

*As a rule of thumb, I do my best to use fresh and organic ingredients to prepare my home cooked meals, this includes the vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, seasonings, etc. With prices and inventory these days, organic may not always be a possibility so with this in mind when I am preparing non organic fruits and vegetables for the week, I like to give them a quick 15 minute baking soda soak. To do this I just fill up a large bowl or several bowls with cold water and sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on top of my produce and I allow them to soak for about 15 minutes. This has been shown to help reduce the herbicide/pesticide residue on the vegetables.

1. Sweet Potato Curry (leftovers can be frozen) 

*Such a great meal prep item! Super tasty and easy!* 

Sweet Potato Curry recipe – Claudia glow YT

• 1 chopped large sweet potato
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 yellow onion
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup frozen sweet peas
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp red pepper

1. Dice onion, mince garlic and sauté both in a bit of water in a medium to large size pot. 

2. In the meantime, cut sweet potato into small cubes and add to pot. 

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and bring to boil.

4. Cover and reduce to simmer. 

5. Cook for about 25 min or until potatoes are done

Enjoy!

I came across this recipe a few years ago when on the search for more plant based style recipes. Here is a link to the Original Recipe: Claudia Glows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TupZjO15HLE

*I am not affiliated or endorsing Claudia Glows youtube channel. I am just crediting this recipe. 

2. Warm Kale and Brussel Sprouts salad

• 1 bag kale
• 1 bag chopped Brussel Sprouts 
• Hot sauce 
• Coconut aminos 
• Roasted Garlic and Herb seasoning

1. Steam Kale and Brussel Sprouts on stove together in medium to large size pot. Then add sauces and season to taste. Let simmer for a few minutes so that the vegetables absorb the flavors!

Steaming tip, if you don’t have a steamer basket, you can add a little water in the pot with the kale and Brussel sprouts and cook on medium to high heat for 5-7 minutes until the kale looks slightly wilted yet still firm. 

3. Beet, Kale, Brussel Sprouts Raw Salad (pictures included!)

I consider this recipe to be a great recipe for helping to restore hormone balance in the body, particularly for the ladies, and contains ingredients (fiber) that is helpful in facilitating healthy digestive function and reducing cholesterol levels. 

To learn more about eating to promote heart health and boost cardiovascular function, check out the book: Reverse Heart Disease Naturally by Dr. Michelle Honda 

• Raw Kale
• Raw Brussel Sprouts
• Beets
• Apples
• Kidney beans
• Capers (optional)
• Almonds
• Seasonings can be whatever you like, I’ve used salt free lemon pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, pinch of black pepper. Note, I no longer use Kinders Salt Free lemon pepper that is shown in picture.

1. Chop and combine all ingredients in a bowl or you can prep them separately and combine at time of eating. 

Homemade Salad Dressing

• 12 tbsp olive oil
• 12 tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1  tbsp almond butter 
• pinch of sea salt 
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger 
• 2 cloves of minced garlic 
• water to thin as needed to get desired consistency
• Store in mason jar and shake to mix before use. Keeps well up to 5 days in fridge. 

4. Zucchini Flat Bread Pizza 

• Non GMO organic naan bread or Ezekiel Bread 
• diced canned tomatoes, drained or tomato sauce
• zucchini
• Baby Bella mushrooms
• onion
• roasted garlic and herb seasoning 

1. Chop all vegetables
2. Layer diced tomatoes on bottom of bread and smash with fork all around
3. Then layer on zucchini, mushrooms, onions
4. Add seasoning 
5. Bake in the oven according to package instructions for the bread you chose or I usually bake my mini pizza at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-7 minutes or until crispy. You could also put this in an air fryer at the same temperature and time. 

5. Mushroom & Sweet Pepper Stir Fry on top of Cauliflower Rice

• Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms
• Sliced Orange and Red bell peppers 
• minced garlic 
• Sliced yellow onion 
• cauliflower or brown rice 
• Seasonings of choice, I usually use coconut aminos, roasted garlic and herb, garlic powder and paprika. When I’m feeling a little extra spicy, I throw some hot sauce in there for a kick! 🙂 

1. Prep Cauliflower or Brown Rice according to package instructions. 
2. Sauté all vegetables and garlic in a pot with a little coconut oil or water. 
3. Add in your favorite stir-fry seasonings, and allow the veggie mix to cook for about 7-10 minutes until softened. 
4. Serve your vegetables on a bed of cauliflower or brown rice

Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoy!

Zoie

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