Innovative, DASH-friendly recipes to make life tastier!
Hot apple cider is a perfect fall beverage. Enjoy it at a crisp autumn campsite, or in a recliner on a rainy afternoon, or at a cozy gathering with friends. This recipe is exceedingly simple and easy, and I’ve included measurements for adding bourbon, if you’d like it spiked.
This is, in my opinion, the ultimate refreshment for those still, hot summer afternoons when you just want to lie there, unmoving, until the weather changes. Frozen watermelon, when blended, creates a fine, velvety slush very much like a slurpee. Add a little mint and lime and you’ve got an ultra-refreshing, natural slushie. Oh, and a little rum doesn’t go amiss either, if you feel like turning it into a frozen watermelon mojito.
It’s pretty hard to go wrong with freshly baked bread. Add some herbs and garlic? Subtract all of the hard stuff like kneading? Even better. This quick garlic rosemary focaccia makes the perfect side dish and the leftovers are great as a savory snack. The recipe comes together in little more than an hour (most of which is completely hands-off rise time), is made with 100% whole wheat flour, and has little enough salt and olive oil to fit easily into DASH diet guidelines.
Plan ahead and stock your freezer with frozen bananas and DASH cookie dough bites and you could be mere minutes away from eating cookie dough nice cream at all times! In this recipe, you can choose between chocolate chip cookie dough or sprinkle sugar cookie dough. Chocolate chip is my favorite, but I do like them both. The uninitiated may wonder, what is nice cream? Bananas, basically, but keep reading. When frozen and blended, bananas turn into a sweet, creamy delight reminiscent of ice cream, but without all the bad stuff.
Spaghetti squash has a mild flavor and can be dressed up any way you like. Its high in fiber and low in calories, but with the right sauce it can be a satisfying meal unto itself. The sauce here is thick, hearty, and intensely flavorful. Although the roasting time makes this dish take around an hour, the hands-on prep is minimal, and I find spaghetti squash with creamy red pepper sauce makes a fine weeknight meal.
These pomegranate grapefruit palomas taste bright, fruity, and different, and have a gorgeous, deep pink color. Sweet without being sugary, they are delicious as a mocktail; as a cocktail, they are an excellent way to enjoy tequila.
Pesto is among the best things on earth, if you ask me. An unassuming green paste that instantly transforms whatever you put it on into savory heaven! Which is why I had to create this oil-free basil and carrot top pesto recipe. Toss out the cheese, toss in some nutritional yeast and roasted garlic, and you’ve got an bright, herby DASH-friendly pesto that will treat your taste buds right.
Tender, bite-sized potatoes and crisp green beans, dressed with a light, tangy sauce. An simple, satisfying recipe that can just as easily be prepared ahead or enjoyed while the potatoes are still warm. Pair it with some protein for a meal, or add it to a summery picnic spread!
A flavorful Asian-inspired noodle dish that is wonderful served hot or cold. Buckwheat noodles and copious stir-fried vegetables are tossed in a flavorful sesame-ginger sauce with only a moderate amount of sodium. The fact that it’s so good cold also makes it a great dish to make ahead of time for dinner or meal-prepping.
Compote–a dish of stewed fruit–is great with things like low-fat yogurt, pancakes, waffles, etc. This version of fruit compote, is 100% fruit and eschews the traditional sugar syrup. It’s exceedingly easy, and I have formulated the recipe to use frozen fruit, since it’s so convenient to keep on hand, but you could certainly use fresh fruit too!