Food

Use a food processor for speedy prep. Puréeing the onions and tomatoes with spices helps the flavours blend faster, which means cooking time is slashed.

Heavy cream, butter, Parmesan, and a grand serving of refined pasta team up to make alfredo a dish where the calories can add up faster than snowflakes in a blizzard. This lightened-up whole grain version is just as creamy and rich-tasting without the avalanche of calories. And unlike its restaurant counterpart, it includes vegetables for a splash of colour and some nutritional do-goodery.

This vegetarian meal is teeming with bone-friendly calcium and isoflavones. Its intriguing exotic flavour and delightful creamy texture will transport your taste buds to other worlds and impress even the most demanding gourmand.

This salad is so much more than a side dish. With fresh, vibrant flavours, it is sure to brighten up any winter lunch or dinner. To make it a complete meal, try topping with baked salmon fillets.

A meal in a bowl is comfort food at its finest. Chances of leftovers are rare, but this delicious meal is equally excellent for lunch the following day.

These attractive veggie stacks are a meal unto themselves. Serve as a nice summer lunch with a scoop of quinoa salad on the side.

This delicious granita, a popular treat in Sicily, is a memorable ending to a spring alfresco meal. By making your own almond milk you steer clear of thickeners and preservatives found in most commercial brands.

This easy-to-make main meal is all about assembly. You don’t have to cook anything beforehand; just open one package, one can and two jars; grate some cheese; and voila, dinner is ready. Serve with a tossed green salad.

If the thought of cooking the big bird makes you want to head for the hills, why not try the smaller cousin of the poultry family? Good old reliable chicken—make it organic and free-range, the lifestyle makes the chicken taste much better.

Five spice powder is one of the essential seasonings for much of Chinese cooking and infuses broths with a balanced mixture of sweet, savoury, and peppery flavour.

While cheesecake normally provides an avalanche of calories from cheese and cream, this healthier citrusy version obtains many of its fat calories from nuts and creamy nutrient-dense avocado. Plus, it’s no-bake! Consider sprinkling some coconut flakes on top. Placing a sheet of parchment paper over the cheesecake will also help keep it from browning too much during storage.

• Salmon and Shrimp Pie

The beauty of this delicious soup is that it can be served either hot or cold.

Small triangular-shaped piquillo peppers have a wonderfully smoky, sweet flavour. Native only to northern Spain, fresh ones are difficult to find. Yet bottled roasted ones are available at most gourmet delis or substitute with home-roasted red peppers (see below).

Teff offers an opportunity to make a nutritious riff on corn-based polenta. The teff base along with a tomato sauce and vegetable topping give this dish a definite pizza vibe. If possible, use canned San Marzano tomatoes for the sauce. Low in acid and high in fruitiness, these meaty Italian tomatoes are the gold standard for great red sauce.

This decadent dessert is the perfect treat to cap off your New Year’s Eve celebrations.

I love mushroom and barley soup so much that I decided a pot pie would be a great way to eat this tasty combination. Use your favourite mushrooms or take this opportunity to try new varieties.

Grilling fish wrapped in a banana leaf prevents the fish from sticking to the grill and imparts a smoky sweet flavour. Banana leaves are available at Asian grocery stores, but if you cannot find them, you can wrap the fish with parchment paper and bake in a 400 F (200 C) oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.

A quick marinade readies the firm tofu cubes for a quick turn on the grill with an irresistible Korean-style glaze. Serve alone as an appetizer or as a meal on a bed of steamed brown rice or quinoa.

Bread

This quintessential side dish has its historical roots in the thrifty recipes to stretch day-old dry bread into one more meal. Here we turn tradition once again on its head and give the classic stuffing a whole new dimension by preparing it with homemade cornbread and making it gluten free to boot!