Food

This hearty salad is a bright combination of the nutty ancient grain farro, crisp mixed greens, lemony chickpeas, sweet roasted grapes, and colourful petals—a meal as pleasing for the eyes as it is for the palate.

These delicious dumplings are incredibly versatile—freely adjust according to your tastes and what is in your refrigerator. This recipe makes a lot, but these dumplings freeze well once assembled and before cooking for a quick meal on a busy night.

This updated take on a classic roast chicken is perfect served at home to your family or as the star of your next dinner party.

These rustic baked eggs are so hardy that they are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! The flavour of pot marigold (or calendula) petals closely resembles saffron, which pairs perfectly with the flavours of this dish.

Apples and roses make a wonderfully exotic combination that is sure to appeal and delight.

These dainty cookies are a whimsical afternoon pick-me-up accompanied by a cup of your favourite tea.

Spice up movie night or lift your spirits during a mid-afternoon energy slump with these popcorn bars full of nutritional goodness. The cardamom and orange zest are the surprise flavour boosters.

Most often caramel popcorn is a sugar and fat bomb. Here’s a much healthier option that will appease anyone with a sweet tooth.

These whimsical treats have great flavour hooks: sweet, salty, earthy. Using silicone muffin cups that you can twist and bend allows for easier extraction of the popcorn cups.

This riff on trail mix provides the ultimate snack satisfaction.

Perk up your popcorn with these flavour mixes. For each, mix the ingredients in a small bowl, sprinkle on popcorn, and stir.

Dried and powdered kale adds an earthy element to popcorn, not to mention a wallop of nutrients.

Even after sprouting, chickpeas, like other unsprouted beans and legumes, can be hard to digest for some people. But steaming the sprouts for just five minutes provides relative digestive happiness while preserving more of the nutrients than traditional boiling. Try adding 1 tsp (5 mL) toasted cumin (heat cumin seeds in a small, oil-free skillet over medium heat until aromatic, about 5 minutes) or half of a red or green pepper to the blender with the rest of the ingredients. The other half of the red or green pepper works well, sliced, as a gluten-free cracker substitute.

Quinoa is also a complete protein, and when sprouted—as opposed to cooked—a 1/2 cup (125 mL) serving contains 21 percent of the recommended daily amount of iron and more potassium than a banana. It also contains large amounts of vitamin B6, thiamine, and riboflavin. More importantly, it’s slightly nutty and bitter, so it pairs well with umami-rich miso and sweet maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar.

Sprouted buckwheat is a complete protein, containing all the essential amino acids. It’s high in iron and calcium, which help prevent osteoporosis, and lecithin, which fights cholesterol and helps cleanse the lymphatic system. When sprouted, the grain softens but retains a nutty flavour.

When the mercury soars, nothing helps keep your cool more than a refreshing ice pop. And now the secret is out that fanciful DIY pops let you beat the heat without the sugar-laden, artificially coloured supermarket offerings. Japanese matcha green tea powder infuses these pops with earthy sweetness and Greek yogourt provides creamy body.

Extra credit

This riff on gazpacho, a traditional Spanish tomato-based cold soup, is super fresh-tasting and good for you. Avocado lends a creamy texture, whereas the flavour of basil makes the soup scream summer. Best of all, it just takes about 10 minutes of knife work and a few whizzes in a blender and you’re done.

Most store-bought frozen yogourt is loaded with added sugars, artificial flavours, and other undesirables. Thankfully, homemade creamy fro-yo sans ice cream maker is far from a high-flying kitchen feat. Simply blend together tangy Greek yogourt with any sweet seasonal fruit, place in the freezer, and mix regularly to prevent ice crystals from forming. A perfect way to beat the summer heat. Chopped nuts provide nice textural contrast.

When you don’t always have the time or energy to gather up all the necessary ingredients to make a smoothie, these smoothie cups are your answer for a quick, refreshing drink. When ready for a creamy smoothie, just drop a couple of the frozen cups into a blender with some additional liquid and you’re good to go. For the easiest extraction of the smoothie cups, it’s best to use bendable silicone muffin cups.

Get the kids involved in making and munching on these sweet skewers. These will also garner many praises if served at a backyard barbecue party. Other stellar fruit additions would be kiwi, pineapple, apricots, and mango.

Granita is Sicily’s rustic take on sorbet. All you need to achieve snowflake-like perfection is a flat airtight container, a fork, and some return visits to the freezer. The key to success is to not let the mixture freeze into a solid block, so watch the clock. Puréed fruits such as watermelon or strawberries are often used as a base for granitas, but coffee makes it all grown up.

This salad has everything—great nutrition, eye-appeal, an explosion of flavours—and it’s so easy to throw together for a casual summer get-together. Crispy seitan slivers are a hearty addition to this full-meal salad. Pesto: 1 cup (250 mL) fresh basil leaves 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup (60 mL) pecan halves 2 Tbsp (30 mL) reduced-fat egg-free mayonnaise 2 Tbsp (30 mL) low-sodium vegetarian broth 1 garlic clove Salad: 6 oz (180 g) farfalle (bowtie pasta) 10 oz (285 g) seitan, cut into slivers 2 Tbsp (30 mL) cornstarch 2 Tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil 6 sun-dried tomato halves removed from oil 1 cup (250 mL) sliced marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed well and drained 1/2 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced 2 Tbsp (30 mL) chopped kalamata olives 8 cups (2 L) baby mixed greens 1/4 cup (60 mL) fat-free vinaigrette or Italian dressing To make pesto, process all pesto ingredients in food processor until very smooth. Cook pasta according to directions; drain in colander. While pasta boils, toss seitan with cornstarch. Heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet over high heat. Add seitan slivers and stir-fry until golden and a bit crispy. Remove from skillet and place on paper towels to drain. Combine cooked pasta, seitan, sun-dried tomato halves, artichoke hearts, red pepper, and olives together in large bowl. Add pesto and combine well. Divide baby salad greens equally among 5 plates and drizzle each with about 2 1/2 tsp (12 mL) fat-free vinaigrette or Italian dressing. Place 1/5 of pasta salad in centre of each pile of greens and serve immediately. Serves 5. Each serving contains: 285 calories; 15 g protein; 8 g total fat (0 g sat. fat, 0 trans fat); 45 g carbohydrates; 5 g fibre; 297 mg sodium source: "Seitan", alive  #358, August 2012

If you have difficulty locating store-bought seitan (generally sold in 8 oz/225 g packages in the refrigerator section of health food stores), you can easily (and inexpensively) make your own for use in these and many other recipes. This recipe uses a little bit of chickpea flour to act as a tenderizer and to add fibre.

Seitan stars in another vegetarian version of a classic and much-loved European stew, this time from France. Though traditionally served with toasted crusty bread, it’s delectable served over linguine or fettuccine pasta, mashed potatoes, or polenta.