Healthy Spring Recipes

It's been a while since I've done a recipes post here on the blog. But that doesn't mean I'm cooking any less. In fact, I've been experimenting more in the kitchen with a very pointed focus on food and recipes designed to nourish and heal.

I'm a firm believer that food has the power to either heal our bodies or tear down our healthy internal functions. I've always been sensitive to foods which has cropped up at different times in my life - most recently last year, which resulted in some food intolerance discoveries, such as gluten.

Right now I'm going on 8 months of eating gluten free and I've been working hard - because that's what healthy eating is a lot of time - to ensure myself, my husband and the other people I feed throughout a week or month are also getting nourished and well-sustained by the food I make.

Because I am not a professional chef or a scientist, I rely on other people's recipes - especially when baking - to at least be a starting point for what to eat. There are a few go-to sites I frequent when making a meal plan for the week but my favorite activity is flipping through cookbooks to get inspired for a trip to the market or grocery store.

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Below you'll find my favorite healthy recipes for spring and cookbooks that I use when I'm feeling a bit uninspired in the kitchen.

Healthy Lunch Recipes for Spring

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Lunch is easily the hardest meal to prep for/ make healthy choices for. Because it's so close to breakfast and right in the middle of the day I'm often thinking about lunch last. But I have been trying to have some items prepped through the week to pull out of the fridge for lunches.

Normally in the winter months we'll eat soup leftovers with a half sandwich, but this spring I'm excited to dust off some salad ideas and Mediterranean inspired recipes.

• A quinoa and sweet potato bowl. Using this recipe as the base, I basically just use ingredients in my fridge to make variations of this hearty and healthy bowl.
• Greek yogurt and dill tuna salad. This is less of a recipe and more just a dump and mix of healthy, crunchy items ( fresh dill, celery, radishes, dijon mustard, red onion, and capers typically go in my mix) with tuna as the base. I'll often make an open face sandwich or add it to lettuce cups.
• Salmon burger - again I don't follow this recipe closely because Old Bay seasoning is full of preservatives and unnecessary sodium, but it's a good starting point. I'll usually skip the bun and wrap the burger in lettuce or just add it to the top of a salad
• Veggie Spring Rolls - this is my favorite spring/summer recipe. I use whatever fresh ingredients I have on hand, roll them into rice paper wrappers and have an insanely fresh and crunchy lunch
• If we're in a pinch or just short on time I like to have a Banza - chickpea base - frozen pizzas in the freezer or the Amy's Organic Gluten Free burritos for a quick but still relatively healthy option for lunch.

Healthy Spring Dinner Recipes

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Cooking is a very meditative process for me. I use it as a way to separate my day from my working hours to my down time. Especially since I've changed my view to food as medicine, the process of cooking with fresh, organic ingredients feels like the best type of self care I could possibly do for myself. Dinner is a way to slow down, catch up, and take a breath. It's often enjoyed with other people, outside amongst the chirping birds, or cozy at our island.

• Whole roasted chicken with an assortment of roasted/steamed veggies. I make this about every other week no matter the time of year. I have no magic recipe for this dish because it is the easiest one in the world to make. Simply take your whole organic chicken sprinkle it with salt, pepper, garlic, powder, herbs you like, fill the cavity with halved lemons, fresh rosemary, garlic cloves, pop it into a cast iron skillet and cook at 375 for about an hour or until the thickest part of the meat comes out to 165 degrees or higher.

Note: about every other week I take the bones of the chicken and slow roast my own bone broth. Add chicken bones, any veggies you want, a splash of apple cider vinegar, garlic, lemon, turmeric, herbs, etc. to a crockpot. Fill to the top with filtered water and let it cook for a couple days on low. Simply, healthy, delicious and virtually free.

• Tacos or chicken enchiladas. Normally associated with less than healthy ingredients, I've found some ways to make at-home Mexican food to be actually delicious and healthy. For enchiladas I use corn tortillas and make the filling with shredded organic chicken, black beans, onions, peppers, and the Siete brand enchilada sauce. For tacos I exclusively use the Siete brand ingredients such as refried beans, taco seasoning, and shells.
• Spring Roll Bowl. I started to make this last year based on this recipe and Lee and I both loved it. It's filled with lots of fibrous cabbage and I'll often use ground turkey instead of beef.
• A Spring Minestrone Soup is perfect for those days when the weather is turning but you still want something a little warm and comforting.
• Root Veggies are some of our favorites and they're great for cleansing the liver. So this root vegetable salad is perfect for a filling version of salad. Have it as the main dish or on the side of baked salmon filet, roasted chicken, or even a white fish.