Food

This is a spinoff of a typical borscht soup common in Eastern Europe. It’s perfect for the end of the cold winter season and provides a flavour step into spring while still holding the flavours of winter roots.

Our rainbow salad pretty much covers all the colours of the rainbow. Chock full of healthy ingredients, it’s a bell ringer that’ll satisfy the fussiest of eaters. Grilled prawns top the dish with a light drizzle of tahini dressing laced overtop. Heart-healthy antioxidants with enormous eye appeal and delicious flavour—what more do you need in a dish?

Skip the drive-thru and turn to everyday pantry ingredients to make your very own plant-based, fast food-inspired burger. Vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike will find something to love at first bite, no matter how you top your patty. Swap the lab coat for an apron and cook up a batch of these crowd-pleasers tonight.

This stir-fry comes together in under half an hour, which makes it the perfect fast food after a workout (especially if you serve it over quinoa!). Feel free to customize the heat level in the dish by adding more chili flakes as desired.

Socca is a savory chickpea pancake enjoyed as a street food snack in Nice, France. Here, we’ve repurposed it as a protein-rich pizza base. You could choose to top it like a classic pizza, but this fresh take makes eating your greens a whole lot more interesting.

Spring is the season for asparagus. The tender green shoots popping out of the soil in early spring are especially prized for their fleeting seasonal appearance. Asparagus is extremely versatile, offering flavour to every recipe. For this recipe, you can make an authentic pizza dough or use a ready-made dough; you can also substitute with a gluten-free alternative base.    

This speedy, yet versatile supper can be on the table in 15 minutes. Lemony fresh and full of new baby spinach and mint, this dish is “pucker-up” tasty. Great as a main dish, it also works well as a starter. You can also easily add grilled asparagus or broccolini to up the green nutrient quotient.  

Our delicious quinoa salad knows no bounds—and it’s a substantial meal in a bowl. Here, we’ve paired it with crisp radicchio, spring radishes, and fresh dill and then topped it all off with sliced avocado and almonds. 

Our healthy appetizer is loaded with goodness. From the creamy pea pesto to tumbled toppings, its eye-candy appeal will lure the fussiest of eaters. Fresh spring herbs coupled with mouth-puckering lemon juice pop with flavour. We’ve suggested scooping into endive leaves, but you can also spread it on crispy baguette toasts for a quick and easy first bite. Dig in and enjoy!  

There’s nothing like a little spring chicken to satisfy the palate in springtime. This lemony coconut broth with sliced, lean chicken breast and fresh, crunchy garden peas is the quintessential warming dish that’s also perfect for boosting your immune system. The ginger and Thai chilies pack a healing wallop if spring showers have slowed you down. 

As spring herbs start to grow, it pays to let a few flower. Most herb flowers are edible and add great eye appeal and flavour to dishes. This savoury flatbread can be thrown together with premade flatbread, but I urge you to try making your own, as it’s easy—and so delicious.

This dish is based on Japanese ochazuke—cooked rice served in green tea, water, or broth. A few extra additions make it a satisfying and filling meal

Eating colorful plant foods—from dark blue and purple to green, yellow, orange, and red—is the key to good nutrition and good skin. Take butternut squash as an example. Its brilliant orange color indicates it’s chock-full of carotenoids and vitamin C, which help protect against UV-induced skin damage.

This glow-getting stew is the ultimate make-ahead lunch. It’s loaded with skin-supportive nutrients, such as beta-carotene, that are thought to promote a healthy complexion. This bowl gets a boost from a simple side of quinoa and a scattering of antioxidant-packed pomegranate seeds.

This elegant grilled asparagus salad with jammy eggs, blistered onions, chewy spelt, and an attention-grabbing creamy dressing is the perfect way to celebrate the spring sunshine. Spelt berries are sold with their hulls intact, which means they’ll take a bit longer to cook but will reward your patience with al dente chewy nuttiness. They can be swapped out for rye berries, wheat berries, or gluten-free sorghum.

Fattoush is the Middle Eastern answer to panzanella bread salad. Crispy pita; grilled, tender zucchini; velvety cheese; earthy lentils; lively herbs; and a vibrant tomato dressing come together in a composed salad that’s jumpy with attention grabbers. If halloumi is not available, some torn fresh mozzarella would be a good stand-in (just don’t try grilling it). Those who are watching their sodium intake can make the salad without olives.

Hold the bun. This deconstructed version of a drive-thru staple replete with a “special sauce” ups the nutritional ante with more veggies and assures your summer burger habit never tasted so fresh. If desired, other ground meats such as pork, chicken, or even bison can replace the beef. Or make it a vegetarian salad by using your favourite veggie burger recipe.

In this easy yet impressive dish, fresh turmeric gives the fish a lovely golden hue. Make this recipe a complete meal by serving it alongside your favourite grilled vegetables.

This buttery salad is a tasty summer dish for any occasion. The butter beans pack a hearty hit of manganese, while adding flax provides omega-3s for a double dose of nutrients for brain health. Punch up the protein in this delicious salad, if desired, by adding chunks of tuna or salmon.

This delicious meal-in-a-bowl is a bright spin on a potato salad favourite. We folded in crisp romaine and paired it with blueberries, noted for their health-giving deliciousness. Drizzled with a fresh lemon dressing, it’s bound to be a steady favourite among even the fussiest of eaters.

You might want to make a couple extra of these. As sweet potatoes cook, their sugars caramelize and ooze through the skins, combining with the smokiness of the fire for a completely addictive side dish.

This paella is the ultimate camping meal. It’s warm and filling, and the smell will have you salivating for that first bite. While you probably wouldn’t make this unless you were car camping, lightweight dried spices and bouillon cubes simplify the packing.

The key to this simple recipe is using incredibly fresh fish so that wine, salt, and lemon enhance its flavour. While you could just cook the fish directly in the skillet or pot, sealing it in parchment paper steams the fish more gently and evenly, making it harder to overcook.

There’s a hint of heat to these baked sweet potato fries. But don’t worry! The spice is muted by baking, leaving just a tingle on your tongue. If you’re concerned about the heat level, serve the harissa as a dipping sauce along with the pomegranate molasses, and increase the salt on the sweet potatoes by 1/4 tsp (1 mL). If you want more heat, add some extra harissa to the pomegranate molasses.