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30 Minutes or Less

Asian Cucumber Salad

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spiralized cucumber being lifted off a plate of asian cucumber salad

Cool and refreshing Asian cucumber salad! Full of flavor, and easy to throw together in a few simple steps. The perfect side dish or healthy lunch recipe.

overhead image of asian cucumber salad on a plate with a spoon

What You’ll Need To Make Asian Cucumber Salad

Mini Cucumbers – Six mini seedless cucumbers are the star of this recipe. I cut mine into fun little spirals for my salad, but you can simply slice them instead. If slicing, I recommend a mandolin to help slice the cucumbers as thin as possible.

Fresh Ginger – Fresh ginger goes a long way in this Asian cucumber salad! Start by cutting about a 1-inch piece from a knob of whole ginger. Then, peel your ginger with either a spoon or a vegetable peeler. Once peeled, run the ginger along a microplane or the fine side of a box grater.

Rice Vinegar – For a hint of acidity, rice vinegar tastes best. However, if you don’t have any, feel free to use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar in its place.

Sriracha – While optional, I recommend a tiny drop of sriracha to round out the flavors in this recipe. For a mild version, start with just 1/2 teaspoon. Or, for a spicy Asian cucumber salad, add upwards of 1-2 teaspoons.

close-up image of asian cucumber salad on a plate

How to Cut Cucumbers

  1. Cut 1/4-inch of each end of a mini cucumber.
  2. Place two chopsticks on either side of the cucumber.
  3. Then, make thin (about 1/8-inch) diagonal cuts along the cucumber, stopping when your knife hits the chopsticks.
  4. Flip cucumber over and make the same exact cuts, in the same direction, on the other side.
  5. Lastly, cut each the cucumber in half, then add them to a bowl for this recipe!

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Gluten-Free: For a 100% gluten-free Asian cucumber salad, use tamari in place of the soy sauce. Tamari tastes just like soy sauce, but unlike soy sauce, is certified gluten-free!

Make it Vegan: Use maple syrup in place of the honey for a completely vegan side dish.

Asian Cucumber Salad
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Asian Cucumber Salad

3 from 45 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: SidesCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Total time

5

minutes

Cool and refreshing Asian cucumber salad! Full of flavor, and easy to throw together in a few simple steps. The perfect side dish or healthy lunch recipe.

Ingredients

  • 6 mini cucumbers, spiralized (see Notes) or thinly sliced

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and grated

  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

  • 1 teaspoon sriracha, optional

  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced

  • pinch of sesame seeds

Directions

  • Place cucumber in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt, then let sit for 10-15 minutes while you make the dressing.
  • Whisk together the ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, maple syrup, and sriracha in a small bowl.
  • Check on the cucumbers, and drain the water that’s gathered at the bottom of the bowl.
  • Add dressing, scallions, and sesame seeds to the cucumbers and toss to coat. Either serve immediately or let marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

Notes

  • How to Cut “Spiralized” Cucumber: Cut off each end of a cucumber, then place two chopsticks on either long side of the cucumber. Then, make thin diagonal cuts along the cucumber, stopping when your knife hits the chopsticks. Flip cucumber over and make the same cuts on the other side. Last, slice each cucumber in half, now they’re ready for this recipe!

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Desserts

Easy Peach Crisp (One-Bowl!)

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overhead image of peach crisp in a pie dish with ice cream on top and milk on the side.

A delicious peach crisp loaded with fresh fruit, and an easy crump topping. Loaded with simple, good-for-you ingredients, a dessert so healthy you could even eat it for breakfast! Perfectly sweet, best served warm with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream – YUM.

peach crisp in a pie dish with vanilla ice cream on top.

What You’ll Need To Make Peach Crisp

Peaches – Use fresh, not frozen peaches for this easy crisp recipe! Slice each peach in half, remove the pit, then slice them into 1/4-inch pieces. Either leave the skin on or peel them before slicing, it’s up to you!

Corn Starch – Corn starch, arrowroot starch, or tapioca starch will all work in the filling of this recipe. A tablespoon of either thickening agent will help the filling stick together.

Rolled Oats – Any type of rolled oats will work! The only oats you should avoid are steel-cut and/or Irish oats. Or, for a paleo version of this recipe, replace the oats with extra almond flour and chopped nuts!

peach crisp in a bowl with vanilla ice cream on top.

Tips and Tricks

  • Let the peach crisp cool for 5-10 minutes before serving! This’ll give the filling enough time to set, and prevent those peach juice from running out when served. Also, don’t forget to serve it with a big ole’ scoop of cold vanilla ice cream – it’s simply the BEST!

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Paleo: For a paleo fruit crisp, use arrowroot starch instead of corn starch in the filling, and replace the rolled oats with an extra 1/4 cup almond flour plus 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans.

Make it Gluten-Free: This recipe is already gluten-free! However, to ensure no traces of gluten in your peach crisp, be sure to use a gluten-free certified corn starch as well as gluten-free certified rolled oats.

Easy Peach Crisp (One-Bowl!)
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Easy Peach Crisp (One-Bowl!)

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

35

minutes

A delicious fruit crisp loaded with fresh peaches, and an easy crump topping. Loaded with simple, good-for-you ingredients, a dessert so healthy you could even eat it for breakfast! Perfectly sweet, best served warm with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream – YUM.

Ingredients

  • For the filling:

  • 4-5 peaches, pitted, pitted, cut into 1/4-inch slices

  • 1 tablespoon corn starch

  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • small pinch cinnamon

  • For the crumb topping:

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats

  • 1/2 cup almond flour

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

  • pinch of salt

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, solid

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
  • Add all filling ingredients to a bowl and toss to coat peaches, then transfer to an 8×8-inch baking dish.
  • Add all crisp ingredient to a bowl and mix together until combined.
  • Sprinkle topping over filling and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

Recipe Video

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30 Minutes or Less

20-Minute Mongolian Chicken

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mongolian chicken in a skillet

Quick, easy, and insanely delicious 20-minute mongolian chicken! Inspired by the flavors in your favorite dish from your local Chinese restaurant – comes together in less time than it’d take you to order takeout.

overhead image of mongolian chicken on a plate over cauliflower rice

What You’ll Need To Make Mongolian Chicken

Chicken Breast – Thinly slice two large, boneless and skinless chicken breasts against the grain. Once sliced, it’s ready to use in this recipe! And for extra crispy chicken pieces, we start by coating them in corn starch before cooking. However, if you don’t have any corn starch, you can use arrowroot starch or tapioca starch in its place. Or, you can skip this step altogether!

Scallions – Slice three whole scallions (white and green part) however large or small you’d like. I typically slice mine in 2-inch pieces, since I love biting into large pieces of sautéed scallions in my mongolian chicken.

Ginger – If using fresh, whole ginger, slice off a 1-inch knob of ginger and remove the skin. Then, run your piece of ginger along a microplane grater until its finely grated. Or, to save time, I recommend buying a jar of minced ginger, and using that in this recipe instead!

Soy Sauce – Soy sauce is the classic addition to this Chinese-inspired recipe. However, if gluten-free, use tamari in place of the soy sauce. Or, for a slightly healthier version, use reduced sodium soy sauce instead!

close-up image of mongolian chicken in a skillet

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Paleo: Turn this into an easy paleo dinner recipe by replacing the corn starch with tapioca starch, and using coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce. Then, serve your cooked chicken over cauliflower rice – yum.

Make it Gluten-Free: For gluten-free mongolian chicken, make sure the corn starch you use is entirely gluten-free, and replace the soy sauce with an equal amount of tamari. Tamari is the gluten-free equivalent to soy sauce, and tastes exactly the same!

overhead image of mongolian chicken in a skillet.

Interested In More Chicken Recipes? Try These!

20-Minute Mongolian Chicken

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes
Total time

20

minutes

Quick, easy, and insanely delicious 20-minute mongolian chicken! Inspired by the flavors in your favorite dish from your local Chinese restaurant – comes together in less time than it’d take you to order takeout.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, thinly sliced

  • salt, to taste

  • 1/4 cup corn starch, or arrowroot starch

  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil

  • 3 scallions, sliced

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated

  • 1 tablespoon corn starch

  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce, or tamari if gluten-free

Directions

  • Season chicken breast with salt, then toss in corn starch to coat.
  • Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, once hot add in the chicken – cook until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
  • Lower heat to medium and add in the garlic, ginger, and scallions. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  • Whisk the corn starch into the vegetable broth, then pour into the skillet along with the soy sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has thickened.
  • Once thick, add chicken back into the skillet and toss in sauce, then serve.

Recipe Video

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30 Minutes or Less

2-Ingredient Pineapple Ice Cream

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overhead image of pineapple ice cream in a loaf pan

Fresh, creamy, and irresistibly delicious pineapple ice cream! Made with just two ingredients, and in under 5 minutes. This non-dairy frozen dessert is the BEST healthy summertime treat.

hand holding a cone of pineapple ice cream

What You’ll Need To Make Pineapple Ice Cream

Frozen Pineapple Chunks – Either cut, then freeze a fresh pineapple yourself, or buy already frozen pineapple chunks. For tips on how to cut a pineapple, check out my step-by-step blog post here. But if you’re looking to save some time, buy two bags of frozen pineapple chunks from the frozen aisle at your local grocery store.

Coconut Milk – Thick and creamy full-fat coconut milk tastes best in this pineapple ice cream! However, you can certainly use a light coconut milk instead, or really any kind of milk you’d like. And if you don’t have milk, use a couple tablespoons of water. The liquid is introduced at the very end of this recipe and should be used sparingly, just until you achieve a thick and creamy consistency.

Food Processor or High-Speed Blender – While food processors work best to make this non-dairy frozen dessert, a high-speed blender will work as well. I made my pineapple ice cream with this (super cheap!) Hamilton Beach food processor. But I’ve also tried this recipe in my Vitamix, and it worked as well – just required more stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender.

overhead image of pineapple ice cream in a loaf pan

Tips and Tricks

  • Start with 1/4 cup of coconut milk, then slowly add in more to blend. The frozen pineapple mixture will start out icy and crumbly, but slowly turn smooth and creamy as more liquid is introduced. It’s important to start small here, as to not risk “watering down” your ice cream!
  • Swirl in some toasted coconut or fresh pineapple chunks! Right after blending, transfer the pineapple ice cream to an airtight container and stir in any mix-ins you’d like. Or, serve this healthy dessert with your favorite ice cream toppings!
  • Depending on how solid you’d like your ice cream, either serve it right away or freeze for a few hours before eating. How solid it is may also depend on how warm it is outside. During the summer months, I certainly have to freeze this for at least an hour before scooping and serving!

This Pineapple Ice Cream Is…

2-Ingredient Pineapple Ice Cream

2 from 8 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: Dessert, SnacksDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Total time

5

minutes

Fresh, creamy, and irresistibly delicious pineapple ice cream! Made with just two ingredients, and in under 5 minutes. This pineapple ice cream is the BEST healthy summertime treat.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 cups frozen pineapple chunks, about 2 10-ounce bags

  • 1/4-1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions

  • Add frozen pineapple chunks to food processor and pulse until crumbly.
  • Slowly add in coconut milk, starting with ¼ cup and adding more as necessary, and pulse until smooth.
  • Either serve immediately, or transfer pineapple ice cream to a parchment-lined loaf pan and freeze for 2-3 hours.
  • To serve, remove from freezer and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before scooping and enjoying.

Recipe Video

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30 Minutes or Less

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

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chickpea cookie dough in a jar with a spoon

The healthiest raw cookie dough you’ll ever eat, made from chickpeas! Lightly sweetened with maple syrup, and loaded with extra chocolate chips. This chickpea cookie dough is vegan, gluten-free, super healthy, and totally delicious.

overhead image of scoops of chickpea cookie dough with extra chocolate chips

What You’ll Need To Make Chickpea Cookie Dough

Chickpeas – An entire can of chickpeas is the base to this healthy cookie dough recipe! Drain and rinse your chickpeas well before adding them to the blender. And for a smoother cookie dough, remove the skins off your chickpeas.

Nut or Seed Butter – I used almond butter, but any nut or seed butter will work in this recipe. Peanut butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower seed butter! Though whichever nut/seed butter you use, make sure it’s unsweetened.

Maple Syrup – This unrefined sweetener add sweetness, but keeps this vegan dessert recipe extra healthy. Though if you’d like, you can use honey, agave nectar, or even date syrup instead.

chickpea cookie dough inside a cookie scoop

Tips and Tricks

  • This chickpea cookie dough is high in plant-based protein! However, if you’d like to add even more protein, throw in a scoop of your favorite vanilla plant-based protein powder. I recommend the Aloha Vanilla Protein Powder, it’s not too sweet and won’t throw off the flavor of this healthy dessert recipe.
  • Enjoy it however you’d like! By the spoonful, over ice cream, as breakfast, a snack, or dessert.
  • Taste and adjust the flavor of this edible cookie dough however you’d like. For more sweetness, add in a touch more maple syrup. Or, for a thicker consistency, blend in an extra tablespoons of almond flour.
chickpea cookie dough in a jar with a spoon

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Nut-Free: For a nut-free version of this chickpea cookie dough, replace the almond flour with 3 tablespoons of coconut flour, and use sunflower seed butter.

Make it Sugar-Free: For an entirely sugar-free healthy dessert, use your favorite sugar-free liquid sweetener in place of the maple syrup. Also, replace the chocolate chips with cacao nibs!

Chickpea Cookie Dough

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: Snacks, DessertDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Total time

5

minutes

The healthiest raw cookie dough you’ll ever eat, made from chickpeas! Lightly sweetened with maple syrup, and loaded with extra chocolate chips. This chickpea cookie dough is vegan, gluten-free, super healthy, and totally delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

  • 1/4 cup nut or seed butter, I used almond butter

  • 1/4 cup almond flour, see Notes for nut-free option

  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup

  • 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk, unsweetened

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • pinch of salt

  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions

  • Add all ingredients except chocolate chips to a food processor or high-speed blender, then pulse until super smooth.
  • Fold in chocolate chips and enjoy!

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Make it Nut-Free: Replace the almond flour with 3 tablespoons of coconut flour.

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