Who couldn’t use more delicious and healthy veggie recipes? In honour of Canada’s birthday, and the abundance coming out of everyone’s garden these days, here are delicious salads and meals featuring greens and in season veggies to spice up your meal plan for next week.
I don’t have a garden of my own (a combination of condo living and what can only be described as a “black thumb”), but I have been loving the fresh lettuce, beets, kale, swiss chard and other seasonal veggies so generously donated by friends. Veggies just seem to taste better when they’re grown with love!
On top of that, in season and local veggies tend to be more nutritious thanks to being picked at the peak of freshness (instead of under-ripe) and delivered to you the eater in a relatively short amount of time. For a rundown of what’s in season in BC by month, check out this resource from BC Farmers’ Markets. Healthy recipes to add in to your meal prep below!
Salads
- Healthier Broccoli Salad: Broccoli is packed full of phytonutrients and anti-aging sulforaphanes. This is a very prep-worthy and crunchy way to get your cruciferous veggies in.
- Kale, Swiss Chard, and Butternut Squash Salad: It looks fancier than it is, and uses all the nutrient rich local veggies you could ask for. An interesting twist on the usual greens.
- Balsamic Roasted Veggies and Quinoa Salad: Lots of local veggies, and a fun twist on the usual raw veggies. You could even do the veggies on the grill to keep the house cool on warmer days!
- Blueberry Spinach Salad: Combining two nutrient packed and delicious local foods! A hint of sweetness from fruit really livens up a salad. I’d double the greens in this recipe but it’s a great base to work from.
Other ways to use greens and veggies
- Swiss chard-tahini dip (hummus-esque): What a great way to sneak in some greens and use up the plethora of greens in the garden! This would be delicious as a dip for veggies and crackers, or spread on a wrap.
- Collard wrapped “burritos” (this recipe is vegan, but sub whatever taco meat suits you!): I find the bigger swiss chard and even beet leaves work great here as well!
- Roasted sausage, swiss chard and cannellini beans: This dish does not look fancy, but is delicious and simple to throw together on a weeknight!
- Fall apart caramelized cabbage: Cabbage is cheap, in season and delicious when done right! Cooking it makes it easier to go through a whole head, and this method brings out delicious roast-y, sweet flavours.
- Braised red cabbage with apples: This is a classic dish that is ultra cozy, and tastes even better the next day. Not to mention full of antioxidants and phytonutrients with that deep purple pigment.
- Easy skillet kale with garlic: Sauteed until a little crispy with garlic, S & P is one of my favourite ways to squeeze in veggies at breakfast, but this is also a great side with a steak.
I hope you find a healthy recipe on here that brightens up your weeknight dinners! I’m feeling especially grateful to live in beautiful BC this year, and it feels more important than ever to support my local businesses and families by buying local where I can. If you have a favourite farmer’s market, produce stand, or even veggie recipe I’d love if you could share it. Just click on the email address below!
Looking for cozier healthy veggie recipes? Find them here.
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