Vegetables and Fruit

Healthy veggies that actually taste good.

Parade.com: Hold the White Rice and Get Your Freekeh On

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The Freekeh Cookbook by Bonnie Matthews

Here’s a typical weekday situation: A recipe calls for rice. There’s only 30 minutes for dinner. Healthy brown rice takes 45 minutes, and unhealthy white rice is 15 minutes to cook. When it comes to time, I’m guilty of choosing the latter. I have tricks for using grains in weekday meals, such as doubling the requested amount and storing the difference in the freezer, or cooking slow-cooking grains—such as barley and farro—on weekends.

One of my favorite healthy and quick-cooking grains is whole-wheat couscous. Quinoa is another favorite, but the rinsing process is time-consuming. My recent discovery is freekeh, a familiar grain in Arabic cuisines with a 15 to 20 minute cooking time.

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Parade.com: Let Them Eat (More) Kale!

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“Let Them Eat Kale” by Julia Mueller

There are kids named “Kale,” and it’s not their nickname. Specialty fast food restaurants prominently feature locally grown kale. Some people are panicking about a pending kale shortage. Other people—unaffected by the news of a shortage—casually blitz kale into smoothies, simmer with smoked meat, toss with salads, and more. People can’t get enough of this trendy green.  Read more →

Parade.com: Make it a Greek Family Affair With Debbie Matenopoulos’ Lemonates Patates

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Lemonates Patates

“To Greeks, food is not just food. It represents love. It represents family,” says Debbie Matenopoulos. She would know. Matenopoulos left her Greek family’s generous and healthy meals to attend New York University, intern at MTV, and work at various television shows, including The View. Life in the fast lane meant eating fast food, which predictably expanded her waistline and increased her acne. Over time, she returned to her family’s traditional Greek recipes, and her health improved.  Read more →

Parade.com: A Worldly Cookbook on the Humble Bean

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Baby Kale Salad with Green Bean Fries and Roast Lemon Shrimp

In our American culture, vegan bean recipes tend to be predictable. Kelsey Kinser’s new cookbook, Vegan Beans from Around the World, offers 75 adventurous recipes we should dare to try. There’s a reason why beans are essential ingredients in many global recipes: They’re cheap and versatile.  Read more →

Parade.com: Bryant Terry’s Fresh Remix of Soul Food

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Bryant Terry’s Smashed Potatoes, Peas and Corn with Chile-Garlic Oil

A national leader for creating southern soul food with seasonal, farm-fresh ingredients, Bryant Terry uses farm fresh ingredients while honoring the cultural heritage of the African diaspora, encouraging individuals and families to buy whole foods to improve their physical and spiritual health. In the words of Alice Waters, “Bryant Terry knows that good food should be an everyday right and not a privilege.”

Terry is the author of two previously published cookbooks: The Inspired Vegan and Vegan Soul Kitchen. In his new cookbook, Afro-Vegan, he gives American southern soul food a fresh remix, with cultural influences from Africa and the Caribbean and a vegan spin. Terry introduces new flavors and provides musical soundtracks, inspiring books, and films connected to each recipe. Along the way, he traces the history of traditional southern recipes while providing relevant cultural information.

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