by Amie Valpone

Cooking a healthy and delicious meal is all about creativity. Something I taught myself on my journey of 10 years of chronic illness was to include more creativity in my life- especially with my food! Clean eating doesn’t have to be boring or all about eating steamed peas all day. Creating flavor from whole, one-ingredient nutrition is a great way to retrain your taste buds to enjoy the natural sweetness and fresh flavors of real food. 

While many other people can eat gluten, dairy, soy and other inflammatory foods, I had to cut these out of my lifestyle to heal my body without feeling deprived. I made my life (and my recipes) extra beansspecial by using ingredients such as tahini, lemon juice, fresh herbs and brightly colored fruits and veggies to whip up extraordinary meals that made me happy and helped with my healing. Feeling good about what we are eating is a huge part of the eating experience. It’s not about trying to be perfect or dieting or depriving ourselves. It’s about eating whole, fresh foods that make us feel amazing from the inside out. That’s the trick to being creative in your kitchen. 

Whip up a meal tonight using new spices, freshly squeezed fruit juices, fresh herbs and freshly ground sea salt and pepper. You’ll notice the difference and you won’t need processed dressings and condiments. We can eat all the kale in the world and still be unhealthy, which is why it’s so important to focus on the mind-body connection and have fun in your kitchen. This is just the recipe to get you started!

Ingredients

  • 4 baked sweet potatoes
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. avocado oil, divided
  • 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 cup red cabbage
  • 1 head curly kale or 2 cups baby spinach
  • 2 honey crisp apples, thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp. warm tahini
  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon zest
  • 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

    Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pierce the potatoes with a fork to create small holes. Prepare the sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside. 

3. Prepare the cauliflower florets on a separate rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of the oil, salt and pepper.

4. Roast the potatoes and cauliflower for 30-40 minutes or until very tender. Remove from the oven; set aside to cool.  Cut the sweet potatoes into ½ inch-1 inch chunks.

5. Meanwhile, steam the green beans on the stove top.

6. In a large bowl, massage the kale with the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil until the leaves are tender and dark green.

7. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, cauliflower, green beans, cabbage, kale and apples. Drizzle with the tahini and lemon juice. Garnish with the lemon zest and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve. 

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