5 New Recipes for Your Healthiest Year Yet

Thanks to Oprah.com and Kathy Freston, author of Clean Protein, we’ve found some amazing recipes, some new, some familiar, for you to try out in 2018. Whether it’s using smarter ingredients, such as zucchini pasta, for lasagna, or having fun preparing cauliflower in unique ways, let this year be a year of experimenting in the kitchen, and cooking up healthy meals that you’ll absolutely love, minus the guilt.

Lasagna

Lasagna is known as one of the ultimate comfort foods out there. But did you know just how easy it is to substitute a few key ingredients (we’re looking at you, meat sauce and sausage), and make a lasagna you could enjoy every week?

Check out Oprah’s Turkey Lasagna Recipe, which incorporates turkey breast (which cuts down on calories and fat), and zucchini and summer squash for the pasta! Trust us, you’ll love this, and perhaps it’ll even inspire you to start making zucchini pasta to use in any favorite recipes like spaghetti!

Crispy Cauliflower

You and your loved one may love vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower, but let’s be honest. Haven’t you become pretty bored of preparing them the same old way? Forget steaming or boiling your veggies, and try a technique that has gained popularity – “steam-searing”. Simply add some olive oil in a pan, heat it up, and add a cup of raw veggies and water. Cover the pan for five minutes to let it cook, and remove it to let it

Try this amazing cauliflower recipe, paired with bread crumbs, black olives and onions for a delicious lunch or side dish at dinner.

Rice and Beans with a Twist

Gallo pino. You may have tried this dish before if you are or know someone from Costa Rica or Nicaragua. If you consider a dinner incomplete with a side of rice or beans, you’re in luck, as this delicious dish is packed with rice, beans and onion and peppers. You can actually even enjoy it for breakfast to mix things up!  Try adding avocado like in this recipe from Kathy Freston’s Clean Protein and hot sauce for more flavor!

Noodle Bowls!

Noodle bowls are all the rage now right now, but it’s easy to get swept up in its common ingredients, like oils, soy sauce and additives found in lo-mein or pad tai for example that are high in fat and cholesterol. This recipe incorporates healthy oils such as sesame oil, with a sauce made with water, coconut milk, maple syrup, soy sauce, peanut butter, chili-garlic sauce, ginger and garlic that you can toss with brown rice noodles. Just add some green onions and carrots and you’re in for a treat!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Squash can be a pain to cut, but one of the easiest ways to enjoy this nutrient-rich food is to roast it in the oven! This great recipe from Clean Protein for stuffed acorn squash incorporates rice, quinoa, blood oranges and cranberries for a delicious, home-cooked meal that you can enjoy all year round!

Cauliflower and Corn Soup

Now, a great dinner isn’t complete without a great soup as a starter. For this, we recommend skipping canned soups and going all out with the kinds of veggies you usually use to make quick and easy stews, broths and vegetable soups. Try this recipe that you can prepare using a slow cooker. Use broth as a base, add veggies like corn, potatoes, peppers, and cauliflower, and mix in almond milk and cilantro later.