One of the easiest and healthiest ways to eat veggies is by making soup. I could eat soup literally every day especially pho, a flavorful Vietnamese noodle soup which is one of my favorite things to eat. I’ve perfected it over the years through trial and error and some help from my friend Jan’s mom who can whip up restaurant caliber food in literally minutes. She’s like a real live cooking show where one minute you’re staring at a bunch of ingredients and the next you’re eating 3 different dishes. Basically, what I’ve learned is the key to your pho is the red curry which you can buy anywhere and then spice the dish to your liking. I let it simmer for hours to really intensify the flavors, then I pour it over rice noodles and top it with fresh veggies (we did lettuce, shredded cucumbers, carrots, and limes,) but jalapenos, bean sprouts, cilantro, and mint are traditionally offered in restaurants alongside your bowl. Pho is one of the most flavorful and versatile soups, ours is of course vegetarian but many varieties are not, and making it at home ensures it’s MSG free whereas most restaurants that serve it add tons of the nasty stuff.
Who doesn’t love a sandwich? For years after we stopped eating meat we really didn’t know how to make great sandwiches because you do associate a sandwich with some sort of meat. Although we don’t make them a lot, when we do it’s because we have some Chilean Pebre Sauce on hand, one of my very favorite all purpose sauces. It isn’t a traditional salsa although it is tomato based, but the red wine vinegar, fresh lemon, and parsley make it so fresh and bright that it could be served with just about anything (and yes we eat it with chips too.) I put a few scoops to the side for the girls before I add the spice because they love it too. You can see it along the bottom of the sandwich that I made with cream cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, smoked gouda, and shredded carrots. We ate these a few days in a row until the sauce was gone.
This no-bake thumbprint ‘cookie’ recipe is one I’ve made so many times I could do it in my sleep. It’s gluten free, sugar free, and has only 8 healthy ingredients. It’s not really a traditional cookie as much as a healthy snack made with oats, dates, and almond butter. You can find and pin it here, but I have it downloaded on the Whole Foods app which has tons of great recipes that are well categorized and easy to make.
