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This is a refreshing spring salad that is easy to make and has a fun “do it yourself” feel. Set out bowls of diced pear, chopped roasted almonds and lettuce. Mix individually in bowls and drizzle with poppy seed dressing.

Diet – Dressing is high in fat, but no saturated or transfats. To reduce fat content, use a half-serving or make your own with low-fat yogurt and poppy seeds or olive oil, lemon juice and poppy seeds.

Vegan – Yes!

Ingredient List: Bartlett or Bosc pear, lettuce (your choice), roasted chopped almonds, Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing.

This is a really easy, crustless recipe. Making pie crusts is one of my biggest cooking dislikes, so I love this recipe! The leftovers are great for breakfast because it’s low in sugar and really quick to reheat.

Diet – This recipe is already pretty healthy!

Vegan – Leave out the eggs, add another pear or two and make it more of a crisp with an oats/brown sugar topping.

Ingredient List: Bartlett pears, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, eggs (I use cage free), milk (I used vanilla soy milk), salt, powdered sugar.

Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

I’d been eyeing this recipe since I got my new cookbook, but they were out of frozen puff pastry at Safeway. I finally found some this week, so I decided to make it. This is definitely not a low fat, healthy recipe! The main offender is the frozen puff pastry, but it’s what makes this recipe simple. Gruyère is a super expensive Swiss cheese. I didn’t feel like spending $15 for a small brick of Gruyère cheese, so I substituted it for sliced aged Swiss (found in the cheese aisle with sliced deli cheeses) that was only $2.50. Since the cheese will be melted anyway, this actually made it quicker since you just have to lay the slices out over the pastry. I love asparagus, and after my last asparagus disaster, I was really happy to have found a good recipe this time.

Cookbook: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart

Diet – Consider this a splurge or pass on the whole recipe! :(

Vegan – I’m not sure how great vegan cheese would melt with this recipe, but it’s worth a try, because the asparagus is so good. Instead of using puff pastry, make a vegan pastry pie crust recipe.

Ingredient List: asparagus, frozen puff pastry, Gruyère cheese (substitute with sliced aged Swiss), olive oil, salt.

I usually make black bean burritos or tacos at least several times a month. It’s one of my staple recipes, so finding a new twist on this recipe was really cool. Here’s my original recipe:

Black Bean Burritos (or Tacos)
Serves: 2
1 garlic clove, minced
olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 can of black beans, drained
1 tablespoon cumin

Serve with: avocado (best mixed with cilantro & lime) and whatever else sounds good to you: olives, sour cream, tomatoe. I usually just stick with the avocado mix.

1. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on med-heat. Add minced garlic (this is easiest with a garlic press). The garlic should take about 2 minutes. It burns quickly, so keep an eye on it.
2. Pour in water and immediately add the drained black beans and cumin. Let it simmer for 3-5 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated and the beans are soft, but not completely mushy.
3. Warm tortillas (6 inch corn tortillas for tacos, or larger flour tortillas for burritos) and prepare toppings.
4. For avocado / guacamole: Chop 1 avocado, mix in 1/8 cup of chopped cilantro, several teaspoons of fresh lime juice, salt to taste.

Now the Everyday Food recipe was for Beef Tacos with Radish and Avocado Salsa. So I adapted it by just using the Radish and Avocado Salsa recipe with my black bean tacos recipe. Thinly sliced radishes are a really interesting twist to this recipe, and they look amazing with the avocado.

Diet – Use corn tortillas instead of flour. Don’t skip on the avocado, this is the GOOD fat that you need.

Vegan – No changes needed.

Ingredient List: black beans, olive oil, garlic, cumin, corn tortillas, avocado, lime, salt, cilantro, red radishes, jalapeño chili (optional).

Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast for the radishes idea, & my own recipe for the black bean tacos.

It’s been a while since I’ve made a soup that requires this many ingredients! Hot and Sour Soup is usually served at Chinese restaurants as an appetisers, a little definitely goes a long way for me. This soup is best with a bread to dip in or another main dish like noodles. To make it vegetarian I just used chik-style seasoning (found in bulk in the health food section or with seasonings & spices) mixed with water, instead of chicken broth. I also substituted the soy sauce with Bragg Liquid Aminos, and used portobello mushrooms instead of shiitake mushrooms.

Diet – No changes necessary, this soup is already pretty healthy, so it’s “diet” friendly.

Vegan – Leave out the egg.

Ingredient List: chik-style seasoning with water, soy sauce (substitute with Bragg Liquid Aminos), red pepper flakes, shiitake mushrooms (crimini or portabello work too), rice vinegar, cornstarch, egg, tofu, fresh ginger, scallions (green onions), toasted sesame oil.

Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart