Smoothies are one of the best foods to include as many healthy ingredients as possible. They often blend right in and meld beautifully with all the other ingredients. Adding avocados to my smoothies is one of my most favorite and secret smoothie hacks. Not only is the avocado adding a healthy fat, it provides the smoothie with the most creamy and luxurious texture.

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Spinach Avocado Smoothie

A creamy and delicious smoothie!

Course Breakfast, lunch, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword avocado, breakfast, healthy, plant-based, Smoothie, Smoothie bowl, vegetables

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 Avocado, ripe
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp freshly ground flaxseed
• 1 cup unsweetened oat milk
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/4 cup frozen mango or pineapple

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend.
• Enjoy!

When grocery prizes keep rising, healthy snacks aren’t immune to the increase in cost. Making better-for-you snacks at home like these gogi berry almond butter granola bars are a great way to cut cost and create delicious snacks you can feel good about! Granola bars are a great anytime snack, but can often be high in added sugar and lower in important nutrients like fiber and protein. These granola bars only use a small amount of honey to keep added sugar to a minimum while still providing a delicious flavor!

Make it gluten-free

For gluten-free granola bars, make sure you use gluten-free oats!

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Gogi Berry Almond Butter Granola Bars

Better-for-you granola bars for the perfect anytime snack.

Course Breakfast, lunch, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Almonds, Gluten free, Granola, Granola bars, healthy, Healthy snacks, Oats, plant-based, Snacks

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 34 minutes

Servings 12 bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/4 cups chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cups chopped almods
• 1/3 cups gogi berries
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/3 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a large bowl combine oats, coconut, walnuts, almonds, gogi berries and salt. Mix to combine.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix.
• Pour the liquid mixture into the dry and mix until evenly combined.
• Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the oat mixture over the sheet pan and press to firmly pack together until about 1/4 inch thick.
• Bake for about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, slice into bars.

The butternut squash is a favorite seasonal vegetable when the temperature drops and fall approaches. While you can prepare butternut squash as a classic side vegetable, in a soup, or even in salad, presented on a crunchy and hearty piece of sourdough is a unique and oh so tasty way to incorporate butternut squash into your eating pattern.

Make it dairy-free if you’d like!

In a world of delicious toasts like avocado toasts, fried egg toasts, and peanut butter banana toasts, this butternut squash toast stands out as a sweet and savory delight topped on creamy ricotta. You can opt for dairy-based or dairy-free ricotta depending on your preferences – either will make a delicious base for your butternut squash toast. While this recipe is developed for single-serv, meal like toasts, it can also be repurposed on to toasted crostinis to create a one-bite appetizer style dish.

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Butternut Squash Ricotta Toast

A sweet and savory, flavor-packed toast.

Course Appetizer, lunch, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword appetizer, avocado toast, bread, breakfast, butternut squash, sourdough, toast

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 2 cups butternsquash, diced in 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• pinch salt
• 1 loaf sourdough bread
• 8 ounces ricotta cheese (dairy or dairy-free)
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, minced

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.
• In a large bowl combine butternut squash, oil, garlic powder, and salt. Toss until combined and then spread along a large sheet pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
• Once butternut squash is baked, slice the sourdough loaf into slices and toast.
• Spread bread slices with a layer of ricotta, top with baked butternut squash, and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and sage. Enjoy!

This raspberry smoothie bowl is packed with tangy and sweet flavors and plenty of nutrition. A smoothie bowl like this is perfect as a quick breakfast, lunch, or snack and is versatile  to ingredient preferences and nutrition needs. If looking for more protein in a smoothie, you can add a plant-based protien powder to this recipe for a protein boost. If you’re looking to get more vegetables in to yours or your family’s eating pattern, adding cauliflower or zucchini to this smoothie is an easy way to incorporate some veggies with little impact to the flavor. For a “superfood” boost, consider adding freshly ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, or even a bit of wheatgrass.

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Raspberry Smoothie Bowl

A sweet and tangy smoothie for raspberry lovers!

Course Breakfast, lunch, Snack

Keyword banana, raspberries, Smoothie, Smoothie bowl

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 1

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
• 1 cup milk of choice
• 1 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter
• 1 tbsp hemp hearts

Instructions

• In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend
• Top with shredded coconut, raspberries, hemp hearts, or drizzled peanut butter

Pesto offers a savory and fresh flavor to almost any food it’s paired with. Whether mixed into a warm heirloom tomato summer pasta dinner, topped on crostinis and served as an appetizer, or spread on salmon fillets, pesto brings a zestful life to food.

While pesto traditionally uses pine nuts, they can often be expensive and even hard to source. Most nuts can easily be substitiuted for pine nuts in pesto for more accessible options – including walnuts! In this recipe, walnuts bring a nutty earthy flavor as well as health-promoting and anti-inflammatory nutrients like omega-3 ALA.

Tips for getting more out of your pesto

When making pesto, if I want to boost the nutritional and overall quality even more, I like first add some spinach to incorporate a nutrient-rich vegetable. For this recipe, adding about 1/2 cup of packed spinach could lend a nutritional boost while not changing the flavor. Secondly, when consuming olive oil that won’t be heated, I like to use extra virgin olive oil that uses young olives, which then contain even more polyphenols (plant-compounds that act as antioxidants). Currently, my favorite brand of extra virgin olive oil that I’d use in this recipe is Graza’s Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil. However, if you’re cooking on a limited budget, any olive oil will do just fine!

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Perfect Walnut Pesto

Pesto offers a savory and fresh flavor to almost any food it's paired with. Whether mixed into a warm heirloom tomato summer pasta dinner, topped on crostinis and served as an appetizer, or spread on salmon fillets, pesto brings a zestful life to food.

Course Appetizer, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword basil, dinner, garlic, Pasta, Pesto, plant-based

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 14 minutes

Servings 4

Equipment

• 1 Food processor or blender

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil, packed
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

• In a food processer, combine all ingredients besides the oil and pulse until finely chopped.
• While processing, slowly pour in olive oil and continue to process until fully combined.
• Enjoy!

Nothing says anti-inflammatory like colorful food! In the world of nutrition we often say the more natural color the better as it usually points to the antioxidant content of a food. This tropical smoothie bowl nails the color requirements when looking for an antioxidant packed recipe.

For breakfast, lunch, or even a snack, this plant-based meal option is refreshing, hydrating, loaded with plant-based goodness!

What should I be including in my smoothies?

When making smoothies or smoothie bowls, I like to prioritize a balance of macronutrients. This means making sure each smoothie contains some source of complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats to help keep me full and energized for where the day make take me. It’s also a great rule of thumb to always aim to include at least one vegetable in your smoothies for an extra boost of nutrition! Then of course – because I’m me – I also then usually toss in some “superfood” ingredients whether it be chia seeds, a mushroom powder like reishi powder, maca root powder or a greens powder. **To have a nourishing and delicious smoothie you do not need to add these types of “superfood” ingredients. You can keep it simple if that feels right for you, I just can’t help but go over the top!

The aim of a smoothie is to provide a nurient-packed meal in a delicious way!

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Tropical Smoothie Bowl

Nothing says anti-inflammatory like colorful food. In the world of nutrition we often say the more natural color the better as it usually links to the antioxidant content of the food. This tropical smoothie bowl nails the color requirements when looking for an antioxidant packed recipe.

Course Breakfast, lunch, Snack

Keyword plant-based, Smoothie, Smoothie bowl

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 1 smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 banana, frozen
• 1/4 cup mango chunks
• 1/2 cup spinach
• 1/4 avocado
• 3/4 cups unsweetened coconut water
• 1 tbsp chia seeds

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend.
• Pour smoothie in a bowl and top with desired ingredients like sliced banana, gogi berries, granola, chia pudding, shredded coconut, a sprinkle of turmeric, or sliced almonds.

Notes

For breakfast, lunch, or even a snack, this plant-based meal option is refreshing, hydrating, loaded with plant-based goodness!