Featured Recipes

Simple Corn Soup

This is wonderful as a simple lunch soup or part of a more elaborate meal plan. This may be served plain or with steamed vegetables added to the soup before serving.

Preparation Time: 1 minute
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2-4


1 16 ounce package frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 cup vegetable broth

Place the corn in a saucepan with 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly, cover and cook about 5 minutes, until corn is tender. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Pour into a food processor and process until smooth. Gradually add the broth while processing and continue until soup is quite smooth. Return to saucepan, heat through and serve.

Variations: Broccoli florets, sliced red pepper, mushrooms, asparagus and pea pods are good choices to add to the soup as a surprise vegetable. Each bowl only requires 3-4 vegetables. Prepare the vegetables you plan to use before you start cooking the corn. Then while the corn is cooking, steam the vegetables over boiling water for 5 minutes. Add the steamed vegetables to the pureed soup and stir together well.

Creamy Beany Soup

I used to demo this soup in stores to show just how easy and delicious healthy food can be. The original name of the recipe was "Your Kids Will Love This Soup". And they always did, along with everyone else!!

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

¼ cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup water
2 16 ounce cans nonfat refried beans
1 ¾ cups water
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1/3 cup mild salsa
½ teaspoon ground cumin

Place the water in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir until onion is very soft. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Serve over whole grains or baked potatoes, or in a bowl by itself. Delicious! And Easy!!

In a Flash Black Bean Soup

Here is another simple recipe that I have been making for years. It is very easy to prepare, yet it tastes like you have been in the kitchen all day preparing this crowd-pleaser.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

3 15 ounce cans whole black beans (no oil or salt added) drained and rinsed
1 ¾ cups vegetable broth
1 cup fresh mild salsa
¼ teaspoon chili powder
several dashes of hot sauce to taste (optional)

Drain the beans and set 1 ¼ cups aside for later use. Place the remaining beans, broth and salsa in a blender jar and process until fairly smooth. Pour into a saucepan. Mash the reserved beans slightly with a fork and add to the pan along with the remaining ingredients. Cook gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Serve with a loaf of hearty whole grain bread to dunk into the soup. Or serve as a topping over whole grains or baked potatoes.

Baked Yams or Sweet Potatoes

This is another simple starch that only takes a few minutes to prepare and can be used as the base for many delicious meals. As long as you are heating the oven to bake a yam or two, you might as well make more and save them for another meal. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Servings: variable.

Garnet Yams or Sweet Potatoes of your choice

Pierce the yams or sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Prepare baking pan by covering with aluminum foil and then a layer of parchment paper. (This makes clean-up much easier.) Lay the yams or sweet potatoes in a single layer on the baking tray. Bake until the tines of a fork slip in easily, usually about 1 hour. Let cool slightly, then eat as they are or use as a base for another delicious topping. Since they are slightly sweet they pair very well with broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables.

Michelle Robbins, Michelle works as Executive Assistant for the McDougall's. She grew up in New Hampshire and has a BS in Environmental Conservation Studies as well as a BA in Paralegal Studies. Michelle moved to California in 2013 to pursue her dream of working in the field of plant-based nutrition. She is a certified yoga teacher and reiki master who enjoys creating her own whole-food, plant-based dishes on her site, PlantBasedEmporium.com. Her free time is spent thrifting, reading the latest nutrition literature, and petting bunnies at the local animal shelter.

Noah's Pie

Luckily, you can keep your exercise régime the same while enjoying this sweet pie because Noah's Pie is not only free of cholesterol but also virtually fat-free and just so happens to contain one of the healthiest vegetables.

Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Cooking Time:  30 minutes
Servings:  6

Ingredients:

4-5 sweet potatoes, cubed
1 large red onion, chopped
2 cups carrots, diced
4 cups water/homemade vegetable broth
2 cups red lentils
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 package frozen corn (10 ounces)
1 package frozen asparagus (10 ounces)
1 tbsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp parsley

Technique:

Boil sweet potatoes, until mashable.  Steam the onions and carrots until mostly tender. Set aside. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups water or broth to a boil in a large pot, add lentils, and simmer lentils until soft, about 20 minutes. Mix into the lentils the corn, asparagus, carrots, onions, thyme, marjoram, oregano, basil, and black pepper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Strain the sweet potatoes (reserving the water) and mash with a little of the boiling water. Stir the paprika and parsley into the mashed potatoes.

Fill the bottom of a large casserole dish with the lentil and vegetable mixture and top with the mashed sweet potatoes. Cook covered at 350°F for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with dry (without oil) roasted Brussels sprouts which cook in the same amount of time.

Mind Your Peas and Curry

Although you can survive on an all potato diet it is important to eat a varied diet. If spinach is your go-to leafy green, substitute the recipe's spinach with kale, collards, or Swiss chard to increase the diversity of your diet. Rather than using your standard apple variety, select a type of apple new to you.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  30 minutes
Servings:  4-6

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tbsp cilantro
2 tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 cups water/homemade vegetable broth
1 cup red lentils
2 cups snap peas, de-stringed and chopped
1 pound fresh organic spinach, chopped
1-2 organic apples, diced

Technique:

Crush and mince garlic and set aside. Cook onions in a dry, uncovered pot over medium heat until soft and fragrant, 10-15 minutes. Stir in minced garlic, ginger, mustard seeds, cilantro, curry powder, and black pepper. Add water or vegetable broth and lentils. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat until lentils tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pot from heat and stir in snap peas, spinach, and apple. Serve spooned over wild rice blend or brown basmati rice.

Corn, Beets, and Collards

This dish replaces the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage. With spring in the air, exercise is on the mind and this tasty spread will help improve your athletic performance.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  30 minutes
Servings:  4

Ingredients:
2 red onions, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 medium beets, cubed
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 package frozen corn / 1 1/2 cups fresh corn
1 bunch organic collards, cut into ribbons
1 lemon, juiced

Technique:

Cook onion on high heat in a large skillet with a splash of water for 1-2 minutes covered. Lower heat and cook, covered, until onions begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add beets, pepper, and apple cider vinegar. Cook on medium heat, covered, until beets are tender, about 20 minutes. Add corn, collards, and juice of one lemon. Cook a couple minutes longer until collards turn bright green.

Lose Your Mustache Mash

Preparation Time:  10 minutes
Cooking Time:  10 minutes
Servings:  2

Ingredients:
4 cups organic potatoes, peeled and cubed
7 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp sage
½ tbsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme

Technique:

Boil potatoes and garlic until mashable. Place herbs in the bottom of a large bowl and top with freshly boiled potatoes and garlic. Mash everything together and add some of the boiling water to achieve a creamier mash.