19 Real Food Recipes Every Gal Should Know

Learning how to cook can be a weird process. I grew up with a mom who rarely spent time in the kitchen. Her specialities were chocolate chip cookies, birthday cake and the occasional cheesy casserole. Dinner was a lot of which can should we open tonight?

So, of course, when I had kids, I swung to the complete opposite end of the spectrum. The yogurt and bread makers started seeing a lot action. I discovered new vegetables like butternut squash and that roasting them is genius. Getting over the ‘I have no idea what I’m doing here’ hump takes a bit of effort, but once you’re on the other side, life gets a whole lot easier. Recipes start to make sense, you’ll graduate to not needing them for your favorite dishes. Now I’m confident in my sans-recipe frittata and taco and guac skills.

19 Real Food Recipes Every Gal Should Know

After a few years of real food living, you realize your repertoire of recipes doesn’t have to be huge. Mine definitely wouldn’t even fill up a recipe book! Read on for our must-have recipe staples that should be in every gal’s healthy kitchen. From breakfast to dessert, you should probably know how to make these simple meals.

Breakfast

1. Tasty Green Smoothie

Use smoothies as a quick and easy way to get a dose of protein and fiber-rich veggies, both of which will keep your energy going. To make sure yours is actually healthy (and not a sugar bomb), start with the 13 staples in the modern girl’s smoothie and these 10 smoothie hacks.

Learn how:

The combinations are absolutely infinite (and often overwhelming) so this green smoothie guide is a good place to start. Right now we’re obsessed with this bedtime smoothie and this spring detox smoothie. And to avoid a giant kitchen mess in the morning, consider these make-ahead smoothie options.

2. Avocado toast

This one sounds pretty easy, right? And it is. But a few tips can take this from boring to fancy gourmet. Plus your body will love the good fats and antioxidants in avocado.

Learn how:

We love this avocado toast with kale tapendade, but for a quick snack you can try this equally creamy easy sesame toast.

3. Nutritious Oatmeal (or Pudding)

A warm, comforting bowl of oatmeal will save a morning headed to chaos-central. We’re big fans of prepping it the night before and having a quick breakfast ready to go in the morning. There are infinite ways to top it! You can also forgo the oats and try chia pudding instead of oatmeal.

Learn how:

Try our apple butter ovenight oatmeal and other 4 fall recipes, or try our warm weather versions with blueberries and chia seeds. For chia pudding, just combine chia seeds with your favorite milk and toppings and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. For recipe ideas, we recommend this apple version, chocolate and chai or more recipes perfect for summer.

4. Clean the Fridge Frittata

A no-fail meal that has saved me many times! It’s an easy way to use up whatever veggies are left in your fridge. It tastes great warm and even better cold for breakfast.

Learn how:

Gwyneth taught me how to make the perfect frittata – I still follow these simple instructions each time and just change out the veggies and cheese according to what I have on hand.

Veggies, Sides + Snacks

5. Probiotic-Rich Fermented Foods

Making cultured veggies at home is a great way to make sure you get probiotics in your diet on the regular, and they’re surprisingly easy to make.

Learn how:

Start with this primer on making homemade fermented vegetables and then try kimchi.

6. Roasted Vegetables

Ever wonder how to get your servings of vegetables in a day? Or how you’ll ever get your kids to like Brussels sprouts? My friends, roasting is the answer. It’s a magical process that somehow turns veggies like cauliflower, broccoli and sweet potato into treat-like status. I’m not even kidding.

Learn how:

Roasted broccoli 3 ways or these roasted Brussels sprouts (with a bit of bacon) will get you out of the bland veggie rut and ready for roasting.

7. Oh-So-Good Guacamole

Guacamole really should be its own food group. It’s perfect for afternoon snacking with veggie chips (see below) and it pairs well with easy Mexican meals like tacos.

Learn how:

My super simple method involves just mashed avocado, a sprinkle of kosher salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. I love cilantro in as well but kids tend to get thrown by green flecks. You can also hide other veggies in there, like in this sneaky asparagus guacamole recipe.

8. Baked Fries + Chips

Speaking of snacking, I hope you’re not still buying potato chips and dipping them in those weird jarred sauces! Swap those for easy baked chips and fries! They turn out deliciously crispy, and you can make them from various veggies.

Learn how:

We love these parmesan zucchini fries, but zucchini makes a great chip, too. Or try apple or radish chips, and if you really, really must have potatoes, be sure to bake them in the oven instead of deep frying.

9. Homemade Popcorn

Right now is a very good time to let go of that store bought popcorn and snack healthier. “It’s just corn”, you might say, but it’s really not just corn. Bagged popcorn or the one you buy from the theater is literally packed with salt, as well as tons of fat.

Learn how:

Make your own at home using coconut oil and a good pan and try different flavors until you find what you love.

10. Versatile Quinoa

Quinoa makes a great base for a ton of dishes! It tastes pretty neutral, so you can make a lot of stuff with it. You can have it for breakfast as an egg bake or granola, you can have it as a main dish with this pumpkin risotto and you can make pizza crust with it!

Learn how:

Get the quinoa craze started with a week of easy dinners or go as far as these 50 healthy quinoa recipes.

Entrees

11. A Meal-Worthy Salad

Yes, salad can be an entire meal! And it’s probably one of the easiest thing to put together – you just chop stuff and throw it in a bowl! But everyone needs a little guidance, and you can get that from this no-fail plan to make the perfect salad.

Learn how:

Salads make great work lunches (here are 5 make-ahead salads for every day of the week), whether you make them with spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice or an amazing mango-basil dressing.

12. Actually Tasty Chicken Breast

Nothing is quite as versatile or ubiquitous as chicken breast. But, oh my, it can taste so bland. Just thinking about a plain baked chicken breast with a side of steamed veggies makes me sad. Good news: there are lots of ways to spice things up and a tasty marinade is the first place to start.

Learn how:

Use a marinade, like this ginger one or this balsamic thyme one, to impart flavor. And pesto is awesome with chicken. Make your own pesto and try this slow cooker recipe with chicken, pesto and white beans.

13. A Hearty Vegetable Soup

It’s good to get into the habit of having a few meat-free meals each week. It’s good for you and the environment so a win win! And there’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of hot vegetable soup on a winter’s day. It’s an economical dish that can stretch for several meals, especially if you add in beans to fill you up. If your veggies aren’t at their prettiest, just remember that a puree is your friend.

Learn how:

If you’re short on time, try this make ahead soup. Otherwise, use fresh ingredients for a hearty white bean soup. Give your immersion blender a workout with this butternut pumpkin sage soup, this one with cauliflower and garlic, this tasty caramelized onion version or even some raw, cold versions for summer.

14. Good-For-You Fish

Fish is so good for us, with all those good fats and omega 3s. And it’s fast – it usually cooks in less than 15 minutes. I don’t know why we don’t eat it ALL the time!

Learn how:

I think the absolute easiest to make is salmon. Baked with pesto or just with a little parsley and pistachio, it looks and tastes amazing.

15. Go-To Slow Cooker Stew

If you’re committed to real food, then you must make friends with your slow cooker. I love a homemade meal but I do not want to slave over it every night. Enter the slow cooker!

Learn how:

These 19 make ahead slow cooker dishes are awesome. And with a slow cooker, you can cook once and stretch it out over the entire week.

16. A Nourishing Meal Bowl

Bowls meals are perfect for those situations when you find yourself staring at the fridge with no clue what to make. It’s the end of the week and you’ve run out of ideas and all those leftovers are staring you. Enter the perfect solution: a meal bowl.

Learn how:

Bowls don’t really have a recipe – you just need a few simple nutritional guidelines to construct it with whatever you have left in your fridge.

17. Healthy Pasta

Pasta is super versatile and will save you whether you’re cooking for one or 12. Load up on the veggies and save the cream sauce for special occasions. And don’t forget you can always replace pasta with veggie noodles!

Learn how:

We love this chicken and artichokes recipe, this fettuccine Alfredo recipe and baked rigatoni. And if you’re ready to skip the carbs try these 25 skinny girl veggie pasta recipes.

Desserts

18. No-Guilt Chocolate Dessert

Thick, rich and full of deep, dark chocolate flavor, avocado mousse is actually good for you! Like, you can eat this every day and not feel the least bit guilty about it.

Learn how:

All you need is a blender, a few avocados, a splash of milk, a touch of maple syrup and vanilla to make this avocado chocolate mousse. Berries on top are optional, but they taste great with the pudding.

19. Fancy Fruit for Dessert

Fruit for dessert can sometimes feel like a bit of a let down. Where’s the chocolate?!? But just wait, you can totally make a killer crowd-pleasing dessert with fruit – there are so many options with sorbet, banana ice cream and popsicles. You won’t miss that chocolate one bit!

Learn how:

Ice cream from frozen bananas is creamy and delicious (and you can still add some chocolate on top if you must). Fruit granitas and sorbets are a cinch to make and comes in all kinds of tasty flavors, like strawberry mint and coconut lime. If you go with popsicles, you can make them spa style, super hydrating with hibiscus and watermelon, and even put vegetables inside.

What are your favorite healthy go-to recipes? I was going to include must-make drinks (think kombucha, a matcha latte, homemade energy drinks) but I’ll admit I ran out of steam and this post is forever long anyway. Next time!