Now that winter has finally melted away, check out three bright, springy recipes to enjoy with the sunshine and warmer weather! Try these for a tasty breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
Green Smoothie Bowl:
Ingredients:
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 frozen banana
1/2 avocado
Ice, for thickening
Toppings of choice (I like to use strawberries, blackberries, and slivered almonds)
Directions:
Add the spinach, almond milk, chia seeds, banana and avocado to the pitcher of a blender and blend. Depending on the power of the appliance, you may need to stop it, stir the ingredients and then continue blending. If the consistency is too thin, blend in some ice cubes. Transfer to a bowl, add toppings, and enjoy with a spoon!
Veggie Sandwich with Dill Sauce:
Ingredients:
½ cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon wine vinegar
Salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
8 thick slices multigrain bread
8 lettuce leaves
½ pound sliced provolone
2 tomatoes (sliced)
1 cucumber (peeled and sliced thin)
1 small red onion (sliced very thin)
1 ripe avocado, preferably Hass (sliced)
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, dill, mustard, oil, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
Spread a tablespoon of the dill sauce on one side of each of four slices of bread. Top each slice with lettuce, provolone, tomatoes, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, the cucumber, onion, avocado, and sprouts. Drizzle another tablespoon of dill sauce over each sandwich. Cover with the remaining four slices of bread.
Vegan Asparagus Risotto:
Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus spears (15 to 20), trimmed and chopped into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
5 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (you may not use it all, but have it handy anyway)
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Directions:
Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Add the asparagus spears and blanch for about two minutes, or until they’re tender but still have some crunch. Remove them from the pan and run under cold water to stop them from cooking further. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the shallots and onions and cook for four minutes, or until the onions are getting soft. Add the garlic and cook for another three minutes.
Add the rice and heat it in the saucepan, stirring constantly, for about two minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the white wine, lemon juice, and lemon zest, and cook, stirring gently and vigilantly, till the white wine has been absorbed.
Add a cup of stock to the pan and cook, stirring as needed, till the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding stock in 1/2- to 3/4-cup amounts, stirring each time until the stock is absorbed. You may not need all five cups of broth to make the rice creamy and soft, but you can expect to use most of it. When the rice is tender but still has some chew, stir in the nutritional yeast and thyme, along with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir the blanched asparagus into the rice and heat through. Serve.
Spring is a great time to explore new recipes and foods. Enjoy!