Food

Crumbled tempeh provides incredible texture to this crowd-pleasing (and serving!) chili. It freezes well for a healthy heat-and-serve weeknight meal.

Makes 16 bars

Too cold to have a salad? Here’s your answer in a cup of cozy soup. You can use any variety of baby greens in this Many Greens Soup—spinach, watercress, baby beet greens, et cetera. Just be sure not to include lettuces, which don’t heat well.

Did you know?

Apples and squash go hand in hand as BFFs (best flavor friends) … and of course curry makes everything just a little bit better. This is a wonderfully complex soup you’re bound to make time and time again.

Long, long (I mean, like, embarrassingly long) before it hit the mainstream health scene in North America, quinoa enjoyed a storied history in Central and South American kitchens as an inexpensive, nourishing and environmentally friendly protein. One of quinoa’s many famous uses is in sopa de quinoa, a recipe that varies from region to region (and cook to cook), but is usually made with quinoa, potatoes, squash and any other vegetables that might be on hand.

Superfood boost

This is a veggie-powered, peanut-free version of the popular stir-fried Thai noodle dish. Experiment by preparing it with buckwheat noodles, black bean noodles, mung bean noodles, rice noodles or veggie noodles and a variety of veggies—but really, it’s all about the sauce here.

Psst …

Get saucy

Play with it

The sweet, honey taste of fresh figs is magic when paired with caramelized onions and cashew cheese.

Figet about it

Sometimes the best way to spend a Sunday is making an incredible pot of homemade chili to serve with fresh bread. With each day that goes by throughout the week, the flavors meld, becoming better and better. This recipe requires a bit of effort, but it’s really worth it.

Bean there, done that

Up in smoke

Roasting brings out the natural flavours of veggies in this vegan entertaining platter. Switch up beans and herbs to transform this dish into something new. Turn this platter into pizza: spread cooked flatbreads with hummus, chop vegetables to add on top, slice, and serve.

Quick curries using a handful of fresh ingredients and pantry staples get dinner on the table in under an hour. Instead of apple and tofu, try peeled and diced sweet potato and chickpeas. A superb base recipe, this curry can be easily adapted to what’s available in your kitchen. For additional creaminess, a scoop of natural peanut butter or almond butter makes this curry taste even more luxurious.

Whole grain (and gluten-free) sorghum adds a nutty chew to this warm salad. You don’t have to sear the lettuce, but it adds a smoky char and elegance to make it a touch more extraordinary. A herbed, creamy coconut and tofu dressing holds it all together. If you’re crunched for time, use quinoa or cooked chickpeas in place of sorghum. Add any extra dressing to potato salad, crudité platters, and avocado toast.

A substantial, complete meal salad that’s as simple to plate as it is to pack: scoop and dive in. Perk up leftovers with a squeeze of fresh lime to bring back the just-made flavour. Tempeh is a high-protein fermented soybean cake with a nutty, slightly acidic flavour and hearty texture. Find it refrigerated or frozen at your natural food or grocery store.

Heart-healthy ingredients such as whole grain flour, oats, and olive oil easily replace the typical white flour, refined sugar, and butter often found in this classic cookie. Try making your own chia jam by mixing 2 cups (500 mL) cooked berries with 2 Tbsp (30 mL) chia seeds and some lemon and maple syrup, to taste.

Berries are rich in a particular type of antioxidant known as polyphenols. Studies have shown that eating these polyphenols (also found in red wine and dark chocolate) may lower one’s risk of heart disease. In the spring and summer, feel free to use any antioxidant-rich fresh berry in this recipe, from black currants to strawberries.

Avocado adds a rich and creamy base to this pudding, which is rich in monounsaturated fat. Eaten in moderation, monounsaturated fats can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and may help decrease one’s risk of heart disease. Feel free to taste and add a touch of maple syrup if desired, or for natural sweetness, try adding a banana to the mixture before blending.  

Adding beans to your baking is a great way to increase the fibre as well as adding a cholesterol-lowering ingredient to more of your meals. If you don’t have almond butter, try substituting any other type of nut butter.

While a cake is still a cake, simple substitutes such as whole grain flour, maple syrup, and olive oil help turn this traditional Wacky Cake recipe into a more heart-healthy treat. To make these extra special, chill a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight. The next day, open the can and scoop out all of the hard, solidified coconut cream (save the coconut water for a smoothie). Beat coconut cream with a little vanilla and maple syrup, as you would whipping cream. Top each cupcake with a dollop of coconut cream and sprinkles.

Chef Luptak includes kelp for a little seaside tang in this dish that will make you fall in love with tiny Brassica vegetables in a big way. If you can’t find kelp, use nori instead.

If you think pumpkin is best trotted out twice a year as a pie filling, think again. Chef Luptak prefers using Rouge vif d’Étampes pumpkin, a French heirloom variety, when he makes this salad. “Rouge vif d’Étampes” means “bright red from Étampes”—an old commune in France. These flat pumpkins were a fixture in Paris’s central market in the late 1800s. If you have ground spices on hand instead of seeds, they’ll work fine in the pumpkin seed crust as well. Toast them in the frying pan, but skip the grinding.

Nothing beats fresh ratatouille made from your own garden-fresh vegetables. There’s something profoundly flavourful when the products are fresh picked and immediately turned into a recipe.

Zucchini steaks

Make the dressing first ... it’s a cooked one. Vary the recipe by adding arugula or other greens, but it definitely requires the sturdiness of kale to stand up. You can use thawed frozen peas or even chopped fresh snap peas, but if you use your own homegrown freshly shelled peas, look out—you might just perish from pleasure. Choose Cambozola or Roquefort or a “mild gorgonzola”—an oxymoron? If you’re not a fan of blue cheese, substitute goat cheese. Reprinted with permission from The Book of Kale & Friends: 14 Easy-to-Grow Superfoods, 130+ Recipes by Sharon Hanna and Carol Pope (Douglas & McIntyre).      

Borlotti beans, also known as cranberry beans, are native to Italy and can charm any number of dishes with their smooth texture; mild, sweetish flavour; and versatility. Cook as per instructions below and use in soups, salads, or stews. Satisfyingly delicious. Switch out tuna with organic boneless chicken breasts, if preferred. The bigger the beans, the longer the soaking and cooking time. Cover with enough cold water to extend above beans by 2 in (5 cm). Set aside at room temperature overnight for no longer than 12 hours. For a shorter soak, place beans in a pan of cold water with 2 in (5 cm) to spare. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside for 1 hour. Thoroughly drain and use as per recipe. Dried beans will keep for 6 to 9 months in a lightly sealed container at room temperature. To have beans ready to go for quick dinner plans, soak and cook up a generous-sized pot. Strain and cool. Then store in small containers and freeze. Simply add frozen to soups and stews or thaw and toss into salads or stir-fries.

If green is the colour of well-being, then this soup is a health bomb. Roasting the vegetables serves to infuse each spoonful with smoky flavour, beans add body, feta offers salty richness, and microgreens provide a sense of spring freshness. Other little greens such as mustard, arugula, clover, and radish will also be most welcomed in this blend.

Into the fire

If you’re going to serve a salad as a main dish, it had better impress. As a celebration of enticing textures and awakening flavours, this one certainly does just that. You can use one type of microgreen for the pesto (try basil, mustard, kale, or radish) and another for the salad, such as sunflower, red cabbage, pea shoots, or arugula.

Dark delight