Nuts - quick and easy recipes - page 55

For many, being a teenager in the ’80s meant hanging at the mall and consuming as many cups of Orange Julius as possible. As a nod to this frothy, orangey drink, which remains one of the best takes on a smoothie ever, we created this recipe, a fancier homemade version of the original. For more healthy inspiration, check out our Fruity Smoothie, Healthy Blueberry Smoothie, and Apple-Lemon-Ginger Juice.

Greek yogurt gives this healthy smoothie a gently tangy edge, a great boost to your morning. To make it vegan, use almond milk in place of regular milk and replace the yogurt with coconut milk. We suggest making with our Granola recipe as a more filling option with an added crunch.

Super-healthy antioxidant açaí berries are the beautifully purple center of this delicious breakfast bowl or afternoon after-yoga pick-me-up. It’s actually a two-part recipe. First, you blend up a straight-up smoothie, with unsweetened açaí purée (we like the one from Sambazon), frozen banana and peach slices, apple, honey, coconut milk, and—for extra body and protein—a bit of natural almond butter. The second part is what goes on top, a freestyle mix of whatever texture.

A home-churned frozen dessert is the most comforting of simple pleasures. Here, things get a healthy twist with peanut butter–flavored frozen yogurt. All you do is whisk together some plain yogurt, a bit of heavy cream for body, sugar, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Scrape it into the bowl of your ice cream maker and churn about 20 minutes. Like all frozen desserts you make yourself, you need to let this recipe set up in the freezer.

Who doesn’t love a big bowl of fried rice? Unfortunately, the traditional fried rice recipe can be high in sodium and saturated with greasy cooking oils, making it a far from healthy dinner option. If saying no to fat-filled take out, and yes to adding more vegetables into your diet, is on your list of cooking priorities, this is the recipe for you. Cauliflower Rice is a popular Paleo alternative to carb-heavy grains.

For a kinda fancy, totally different sweet treat, these chocolate-covered ice cream bites will grab you at the first nibble. The recipe only requires three to four ingredients, and no cooking is required, besides a little microwave action. The hardest part is the time it takes to freeze and refreeze these little delectables. Well, and making sure it doesn’t melt as you work could prove a little tricky. You know what would make these bites even better? Homemade ice cream instead of the store.

An Indian-inpired dish for your chicken makes a bright, summery idea for a cookout or barbecue besides the usual burgers and hot dogs. Tumeric is such a healthy spice, and it’s softened, sweetened, and refreshed by the cilantro, lime, and coconut dip. Serve your turmeric chicken skewers with Coconut Rice and Cucumber and Mint Raita.

Apple dumplings are an early American food stemming from the Northeast, especially in Pennsylvania Dutch towns. Of course, you could trace it even further to Britain and other parts of western Europe too. It’s a great dish during the apple harvest in the fall. And, you can serve apple dumplings for breakfast or dessert. Game Plan: First, you’ll need to make a pie crust. Use our Basic Pie Crust recipe.

Embrace fall with a fluffy, warmly-spiced pumpkin layer cake. This versatile recipe doesn’t have to be for a three-layer cake, though. You can use the same measurements to fill two 9-inch cake rounds or one 13-by-9-inch sheet pan for a sheet cake. You might want to double the frosting recipe if you want to ensure that there’s more than enough to go all around the cake.

My husband, Jack, isn’t the biggest fan of avocados. I prep this one while he’s not looking, and he’s yet to realize that this decadent chocolaty dessert is made from pureed avocado.

This way of making popcorn will change your life. Well, not really, but it will change the way you make popcorn! No need to buy those overpriced (and not to mention wasteful) prepackaged microwave popcorn bags. You can do it yourself with much more healthy and enjoyable results. Top off your popcorn with some nutritional yeast for an added protein boost and cheese-like flavor.

These polenta pizzas work equally well as a great appetizer or main course and are dead easy to make to boot! You just need some precooked polenta tubes, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and walnuts (and whatever other toppings you’d like to add to the mix). Simply slice up the polenta tube into rounds, lay them out on a baking pan, pile on the toppings, and bake. The caramelized red onions mixed with the sun-dried tomatoes add a subtle sweet flavor and the walnuts add texture and some bitterness.

This recipe from Marcel Vigneron, Chef & Owner of LA’s WOLF and Beefsteak is a great option if you want something light and fresh, but bursting with flavor from the pomegranate seeds and apples. Apples and pomegranate seeds are in the peak of their season right now, so it’s a really great salad that celebrates the end of winter. The brussels add texture, and the pine nuts add sustenance, which makes it absolutely delicious!

Are you surprised to see such a fancy dessert? Don’t be! Christina Lane made this one dairy-free and naturally sweetened so that she doesn’t feel badly about eating it for breakfast. And she tops it with fruit soaked in honey just because it tastes good. (Honey is acidic and it breaks down the fruit while it rests.) Lane used figs because summer was in full swing when she perfected this recipe, but mango and raspberries are great here too.

Granola and banana bread, separately, are easy crowd pleasers, so it seemed obvious (to me) to combine them. This granola recipe bakes up in big batches and can be jarred and stored for weeks, if not eaten by the handful first. I like to use dehydrated banana slices in this recipe, as they’re softer and more tender than crisp banana chips. If you prefer them crisp, banana chips are the way to go.

When it comes to healthy dips and spreads, hummus gets all of the love and attention. But it’s the mighty lentil that packs a higher protein punch with less fat and calories per serving. The simple, albeit delicious recipe from Baba Cool‘s executive chef Gabriella Mann highlights the velvety texture of the legume as it’s paired with refreshing mint, lemon juice, and garlic. Subtle notes of nutmeg round out the dish to create an appetizer that’s perfect for any summer gathering.