You’re going to love this strawberry smoothie. This recipe is cold, creamy and satisfying, and the nutty strawberry flavor is truly crave-worthy.

In their most basic form, these strawberry smoothies require just four ingredients—frozen strawberries, frozen bananas, almond milk and almond butter.

This smoothie recipe tastes like a strawberry milkshake, and you can make it for breakfast! I’ll be sipping on these pink drinks all summer, and I hope the recipe becomes a staple in your home as well.

If you ask me, smoothies should be super simple. I don’t want to pull a bunch of ingredients out of my fridge and pantry every morning just for a smoothie. I am not a morning person! Plus, these smoothies are easy to whip up in the afternoon or after dinner if you get a craving for a sweet treat.

You can change up the recipe by adding flax or oats for a nutrition boost, or a light drizzle of maple syrup to make them taste even more dessert-like. I’m plenty satisfied with the four-ingredient formula, though, and I think you will be, too!

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Meet my go-to side salad recipe. I hope it becomes yours, too. This simple salad features fresh arugula and the world’s easiest homemade balsamic salad dressing.

This salad truly could not be more easy to make. In fact, it’s so easy that I’ve hesitated to share it with you. It’s hardly a recipe, but one that I make constantly. It’s about time that I bring this method to your attention, you say?

Side salads should be easy to prepare, and this one is so delicious that it doesn’t taste like an afterthought. It goes with just about everything—think Italian entrées like lasagna, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, and even holiday meals.

You can use this salad formula with any type of leafy green, but arugula is my favorite. You’ll eat more healthy greens if you keep this recipe in your back pocket. Here we go!

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This cream of broccoli soup is perfect for a rainy day. It’s creamy and satisfying, yet light and nutritious at the same time. This soup is a lovely side dish for your favorite sandwiches and hearty salads.

You might be intrigued by some of the elements in this cream of broccoli soup recipe. For starters, it’s lusciously creamy with minimal cream—we’ll primarily use butter and just finish the soup with a drizzle of optional cream.

Secondly, this recipe makes use of the broccoli stems and crowns, which is a fun way to maximize broccoli flavor and minimize waste. You’ve seen me use this trick in my Broccoli Cheese Soup. If you’ve enjoyed that soup, you’ll definitely appreciate this one.

This cream of broccoli soup is not a superstar meal on its own, but is a really, really nice component in a springtime meal. I hope you’ll try it!

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How about some pancakes? Like, right now? These are the easiest pancakes I’ve ever made because they come together in the blender! Now you can enjoy pancakes on a weekday morning.

Plus, these pancakes are made with healthy whole grains—oats—and other wholesome ingredients. They’ll actually keep you full until lunchtime. While they are not decadent buttermilk pancakes, they’re entirely delicious in their own right.

More reasons to love this recipe: These pancakes are the perfect use for a lone over-ripe banana, and they’re enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Freeze any leftovers for a super simple breakfast or snack at any time of day. Let’s make some pancakes already!

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Ever roasted cabbage? If not, meet your new favorite side dish! If you enjoy roasted Brussels sprouts, you’ll surely love roasted cabbage, which offers similarly irresistible crispy-caramelized-tender bits.

Roasted cabbage has a lot going for it, and it’s about time I shared my go-to roasting method. Cabbage is easy to prepare for roasting (much easier than Brussels), very inexpensive, and lasts quite a while in the fridge.

Plus, roasted red cabbage adds an eye-catching purple hue to the dinner table. It’s fun, right? This dish would be a vibrant addition to your Easter meal.

Keep cabbage on hand in the vegetable drawer and you can turn it into a simple and nutritious side dish in twenty minutes. I’ll show you how!

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Have you tried cauliflower rice? It’s a perfectly versatile, light side dish. I was skeptical of the concept at first, but now I’ll admit that it can be awesome. I’ll share all my tricks with you today.

If you, like me, are craving lighter meals as the weather warms up, try serving cauliflower rice instead of white or brown rice. It’s similar in texture, with a nice savory flavor, and it’s pure vegetables! I’ve been trying to fill half of my plate with veggies lately, so cauliflower rice is just the ticket.

There is an art to cauliflower rice. If you haven’t enjoyed it in the past, it probably wasn’t prepared optimally. In fact, I just ordered the new cauliflower rice option at my favorite chain burrito place (you probably know it), and I was  disappointed. It was far too salty and way too watery. It can be so much better.

Here is a basic primer on how to prepare cauliflower rice. This recipe is simple and yields perfectly fluffy, lightly seared cauliflower rice. You’ll also learn how to adjust the recipe to suit many different meals. Off we go!

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Do you enjoy tortilla soup? It’s one of my all-time favorites! Tortilla soup is fresh and flavorful, earthy and a little spicy. Topped with a big handful of crispy tortilla strips, it’s a light but satisfying meal for lunch or dinner. As a bonus, it tastes even better the next day.

Tex-Mex tortilla soups most often include shredded chicken, but it’s not unusual to find vegetarian tortilla soups in Mexico. I can’t call this recipe fully authentic, though. It’s a delicious variation on classic tortilla soup (Sopa Azteca) that you can make at home any time you get the craving.

In Mexico, you’ll find tons of regional variations and personal preferences for tortilla soup. For this recipe, I added black beans for some heft, as well as a red bell pepper because I love the flavor and texture it provides. I tried to keep the remaining ingredients in line with what you might find in Mexico, but to be honest, I have more personal experience with the Tex-Mex variations I’ve sampled over the years.

This recipe is a fully reworked version of an old tortilla soup recipe on the blog. Perhaps you’ve made that one and enjoyed it, but I tried it again recently and just knew I could build in more flavor along the way. If you want a copy of the original, I’ve saved a PDF of the recipe right here.

This soup is closer to the spin on tortilla soup in my cookbook, Love Real Food, which features an irresistible sweet-and-spicy interplay between sweet potatoes and jalapeño. Give that one a try, too!

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These roasted beets are for everyone! If you already love beetroots, I think you’ll be a big fan of this foil-free, no-peeling-required roasted beet recipe. If you don’t enjoy beets (yet), this roasting method just might change your mind.

These roasted beets feature lightly caramelized, tender-but-not-quite-crisp exteriors and deep, condensed flavor. I don’t love beets in all applications, but these? I have to stop myself from devouring the whole pan before dinner.

With this method, simply scrub the beets well before baking. No need to peel before or after baking. The skin, which is perfectly edible, just seems to disappear during the baking process.

The trick to pan-roasted beets is to drop the temperature a bit. I always roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much all the other veggies at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

For beets, since we don’t want crispy outsides (tender is nicer), we’ll roast at 375 degrees. Easy!

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These lava cakes are rich and decadent, with cakey outsides and irresistibly gooey chocolate centers. They’re like a warm mug of hot chocolate in romantic dessert form.

These chocolate lava cakes look and taste impressive, but they’re pretty quick and easy to make. You don’t need any special equipment—no mixer, just a couple of bowls and a whisk. Unlike most lava cakes, you don’t even need ramekins to make this recipe. I scaled it down to fit perfectly in your muffin tin!

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten popularized the lava cake in the 1990s, so this recipe concept has been around for a while. I’m excited to report that the ingredients are simple (you probably have them already) and the muffin tin technique works like a charm.

This recipe yields two small lava cakes, perfect for two individual servings. They’re rich enough that you could also serve four people who are willing to share. I never manage to polish one off on my own.

You’ll find step-by-step photos and a detailed recipe below. Let’s make some lava cakes!

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What if I told you there’s a better way to make oatmeal? Forget the instructions on the back of the bag. It’s about time I highlighted my go-to method for homemade oatmeal.

This oatmeal is extra flavorful and fluffy, not mushy. It’s miles better than packets of instant oatmeal or standard stovetop oatmeal. I really look forward to these oats in the morning, and they make great leftovers.

The trick is to toast old-fashioned oats in the pot first, before adding any liquid. This brings out their inherent nuttiness. You’ll find the rest of the details below, but it’s very simple to do and absolutely worth the extra few minutes.

You’ve heard me talk about what a difference toasting oats makes in my steel-cut oat recipe and toasted muesli recipe. Now we’re applying the same principle to rolled oats. Try this delicious and healthy oatmeal for breakfast!

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