A super fresh, super summery Lemon Herb Pasta Salad! Packed with tangy marinated chickpeas, chewy pasta, lots of herbs and garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, and a handful of parmesan to top it off.

Consider this your weekly (daily?) reminder that really delicious food does not need to be complicated.

The basics – garlic, lemon, herbs, olive oil – are prepared to deliver. They are usually somewhere in the pantry or fridge, and they are always going to serve us well.

I give you Exhibit A: The Lemon Herb Pasta Salad with Marinated Chickpeas which involves deliciously squishy pasta coated in a silky "sauce" of olive oil and lemon juice (I'm all about no-recipe dressings), tossed with chickpeas that have been soaking in a flavor bath of fresh garlic and herbs and such, and finished with more herbs and lots of salt and pepper and some Parmesan cheese. Is it good warm? Is it good cold? Is it good as a side or a main or a… snack? The answer to all of the above is Y-E-S.

This is all you need:

• Chewy, tender, appropriately noodley pasta
• Hearty little chickpeas
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Basil and parsley
• GARRRRLIC
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Thank you for understanding the amount of effort I'm prepared to give right now (minimal) and the delicious results I am expecting in return (major).

This served me so right on both levels.

"Marinated chickpeas" is how you make it FEEL fancy, but all it really is is giving a shot of big garlic / lemon / herb flavor into the whole thing with very little effort.

First, grab your pantry ingredients. DeLallo all the way.

We're working with fewer ingredients here, so QUALITY MATTERS! Phenomenally textured authentic Italian pasta, good solid olive oil that actually, um, tastes like olive oil, and a can of never-fails-you chickpeas, and you're basically halfway there.

The pasta gets cooked.

The chickpeas get… marinated. Overnight would be ideal, but lol. If you are short on time, I promise your mouth will still be happy with the work that's been done. Just let the chickpeas hang out with all their flavors while you prep the rest. If you are bold, give them a little mashing with a fork so they soak up some extra flavor.

Toss with herbs and cheese and salt and pepper and lemon zest and the other good things you like….

And YOU'RE EATING THIS YUMMY LUNCH.

Or second lunch. Or bedtime snack.

Lemon Herb Pasta Salad with Marinated Chickpeas – it is there for you this week. THERE. FOR. YOU

Loaded up with crunchy veggies, chow mein pasta, edamame and roasted cashews, it'll make you ACTUALLY WANT TO EAT A SALAD! Sesame dressing – OMG!

Let me fire you a question and you can tell me what it's called: you want something that tastes damned good… but it's also basically a high pile of fresh, vibrant, feel good in your body vegetables. That's what you call it, you call it Cashiew Crunch Salad.

This Salad Is Checking All the Boxes.

Lunch rolls around and my internal conversation goes like this:

• I'm hungry.
• What would taste so tasty right now?
• Well then, no, wait, what would really be super healthy right now? Let's face it: because…mocha peanut butter pie?
• No, and what would really fill me up?
• WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT ABOUT THAT SALAD WITH SESAME DRESSING THAT IS FLAVORTASTIC, AND HEALTHY, AND FULL OF SO FAR FRIENDLY FAT AND GOOD STUFF AND MAKES ME FULL?
• Yes! I love salad!
• I love vegetables!
• I love life!

That is actually an actual transcript of my internal dialogue. These are the terms I think in: though it tastes amazing, mostly healthy, and still fills me up.

Ingredients For This Salad – Let's Discuss.

This mix up might be great for the dressing.

It's a sweet, oil and vinegar dressing you shake up in a jar, sweetened a bit with a little sugar, seasoned just a bit with a little sesame oil, … if you are me, then creamified with a dollop of Greek yogurt or mayo. A vinaigrette drenched salad just isn't for me, even if it makes me full. All I really need is some more creaminess in my salads, so I just creamed up my favorite retro dressing (gotta love Kim Harcey from my old First Baptist Church cookbook ♡) a teeny bit.

And the rest of what's a lot of crunch here. Crunchy veggies, crunchy cashews, crunchy chow mein noodles. I mean, chow mein noodles were so absolutely retro. I love this for us so much.

Make This Salad Your Way

• For non vegans – drop the creamy stuff!
• Gluten free-ers, here's what to leave out: the crunchy chow mein noodles!
• If you're a protein lover then add some grilled chicken! Or shrimp! Or… I don't know, tofu?! This makes this a dinner entree salad with juicy grilled chicken cut across the top.

This would be my lunch for the rest of the summer, and I wouldn't be sad.

Gooooo team vegetables!

Whipped Feta and Tomato Salad! Socca! HELLO. All summery, on one plate, creamy, tangy, and crispy.

Let's talk about Socca first. The origin of Socca is heavily debated between France and Italy (known as Farinata there) but one thing is certain: This crispy rich snacker of your dreams is made with just chickpea flour, olive oil, water, and salt—this simple street food is what you've been looking for.

And here is how you make this meal that isn't really a meal but also is everything a meal should be: pull your piping hot, freshly baked socca out of the cast iron, break it up into a few crispy chewy pieces, swish it through a tangy dollop of herby whipped feta and finish it with a scoop of juicy vinegary tomato and cucumber salad above all for a crunchy top.

I am so over this meal that isn't really a meal because that's how I want to eat in the summer time.

Or, if you're add chickpeas or roasted chicken? Do it.

I even want to eat right out of the food processor straight spoonfuls of whipped feta. You're not wrong.

I want to help you make the golden crunchy edges of that socca a part of your regular life routine. I support you.

This whole combo platter meal is low key, summerish and happened to be my favorite (healthyish) thing to eat. The variations are endless. Served it for Bjork's parents out on the deck the other night, they liked it. It works well for people because they make it what they want.

I know you can't even bring yourself to even open your oven now that you don't have to. And personal opinion, oven in the AC > grill outside. It is HOT out there.

Whip that feta, load up your socca, make it your own, go forth.

This Simple Green Salad is necessary for every table! Maple balsamic dressing drizzled on fresh spring greens and topped with whatever crunchies you wish your salad to be made with.

We just want to say thank you so much for listening when we need saving and in a way that saves us, day after day after day, with something as simple as bright spring greens and an incredible homemade maple balsamic dressing. Did you get a vegetable on the table with the meal? Sure did! We have been eating this super delicious, slightly sweet, super flexible, the flavor and texture of which you can add whatever you want, nix whatever you don't, green salad every freaking day with wild abandon and and it turns out that it is such a super delicious thing and I want to also make sure we're not missing it by having this as a staple in our diet.

This little babe is yew'r to meet any ol time. Dinner, of course. Lunch, yes that makes sense. Oh, you just know she's going to be shining along side a quiche next to brunch. It's honestly all so easy and so good.

The BEST Homemade Dressing

Since we can't take any credit for the spring greens, they're just doing their thing, so let's talk about this dressing. It's got all the elements you need to make it really special, even though it couldn't be easier and it's that jar-shake away from being yours all day every day. Maple sweet, some subtle garlic bite, a little bit of deep rich balsamic. All you have to do in the weekend is get everything in a jar and then that magnificence will be ready for you all week long in the fridge.

Here's what you'll need:

• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• maple syrup
• garlic powder
• salt + pepp

That's it, friends! Dressing dreams are yours!

It's Not Super Complicated To Make This Green Salad (And It's Simple!)

A step by step isn't really necessary here just shake up the dressing and throw handful of greens in a bowl and toss them nicely or however you'd like. Method: dressing ingredient jar shake, greens plop donezo. Then after that it's really just the greens plop step since that dressing lives in the fridge right there waiting for you.

1. Mix shake dressing ingredients together in a jar.
2. Instead, plop your greens in a bowl for tossing.
3. Donezo.

So we wrote it out anyway, just in case you weren't sure of us.

What makes this easy wonder a real beauty is it can go with anything! I've made it so much with soup, as a side with a pasta dish, and the pasta dish is one of my favorite places this has been brunch-fare around here and it has been WONDERFUL. Even if it took the effort of a split second (read: not much), it's so fast you can bring it to the table in under a minute to give any meal a little green to finish it out nicely. You won't have to ask how our fridge got stocked with spring greens and dressing swirls this last second — you better believe we've been doing it.

Dress It Up If You Like

This has been a meal plan staple around here just as is, but it's ready for any of your salad making artistry. If you want, you can add goat cheese, or any other, a few nuts or seeds make it as hearty as you like. Something a little dried fruit in there, or a heap more veg if you're chopping. Big hunky croutons? Someone mention it? They would definitely be great, yeah, that was us.

And you have yourself a whole meal outta this guy: get some grilled chicken going on that. But then ta just please stock up on some more spring greens so you can continue to pop those on the side at every meal this week and feel like a d*mn fancy champ with this tangy, barely sweet stunner.

It's just so great with all the things, ugh. Who is that Tina Turner song? The salad…that's lightly dressed …. YOU'RE SIMPLY THE BEST!

I'm not even sure if those lyrics are right, but they feel right.

Tastes like summer! This juicy salad! Pop of sweetness from fresh strawberries, this is served with chipotle chicken, sweet corn, avocado, cilantro vinaigrette and bacon crumbles for crunch.

Here comes summah summah summashhhhhtime!

It really is here (I kinda can't believe it since here in Minnesota we were all "April Blizzard" a minute ago), but you guys, it's totally here. I totally had it for dinner last night and And …

Here's what it tasted like:

• juicy strawberries
• crisp salty bacon
• sweet green lettuce
• bursts of sweet corn
• creamy avocado chunks
• … smoky chipotle grilled chicken! REPEAT: GRILLED!

And today from the What's Gaby Cooking Cookbook, a Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad is coming to our hearts: this dream team of ingredients, otherwise known as a Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad.

I am reminded that I published those BEST EVER chicken tinga tacos, I told you about my friend Melissa's amazing book, and then I started to talk about how I hardly ever promote books? So I turned around and told you how great THIS one was, too, but then? LOL to me. In fact, it's just dumb luck that both of these came out when they did.

I'm not being paid for the cookbook promotions – just the ones we like and let you see a glimpse of their best recipes.

This one is one that I like and that long list goes on. This might be one of its best recipes, and it is and. This salad couldn't not use the cilantro vinaigrette, tied with it was the cilantro vinaigrette. I don't know Gaby says but the salad needs the champagne vinaigrette but GABY COME ON WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO US?! After one good lick of that cilantro dressing, you're done. Goodbye. This is your life now.

Okay, salad ingredients. As mentioned, there is a lot of fresh summery goodness going on here, and it looks like so:

The "involved" part of the recipe if you can call it that, is just plopping your chicken in some spices and a few chipotle peppers and letting it marinate for awhile before grilled.

WORTH IT, you guys! So worth it.

But maybe normaler to take a picture of the grilled chicken than the raw marinated stuff who said nothing about normal.

We ate this salad on a deck on a random Tuesday night, and Bjork and I mega loved every lip licking juicy bite.

It's little spicy, a little crunchy, but the real sweet bite in-between are super, super rewarding.

It's Rainbow Roll-Up time Annnnd…

Of course, Rainbow Roll-Up doesn't immediately bring me thoughts of packaged, garishly colored fruit leather wrapped up in a teeny tiny packet of paper coil, until you ask me who I am. These are pretty comfortably one step away from the single greatest snack food of my childhood.

The rainbow roll-up you see in that photo here is not that kind. This is a rainbow roll-up that's a nutritional powerhouse with foods like: carrots, chickpeas, curry, red cabbage, peanuts, dark leafy greens.

See, mom? So after all, I can eat like an adult.

Inspired by these roll ups which are detox friendly in their own way and just as delicious, but with a little less oomph in the beautiful color department, these Rainbow Roll-Ups were born. I actually made THOSE roll-ups for a blog post, but then realized: I'd like to make a new version of these, give it more color and crunch.

Maybe a bit of curry hummus in there.

And just (A LOT) of peanut sauce so you can dip it.

These Thai summer rolls are different but equally delicious, and I've even been down the rainbow rolls path before with these.

If I had to tell the story of my experience with Detox Rainbow Rolls in photos, it would go like this:

But that would include one thousand heart eye emojis.

The creamy, salty sweet peanut sauce, the crunchy cool veggies, the thick smear of spicy curry hummus and that first bite? Yes. You're thinking it's every bit as satisfying as you're imagining it and you're absolutely right!

You can have Desk-lunch awesomeness!

OK here's my Roasted Broccoli Salad and it's EVERYTHING! The broccoli's perfect fried roasted mess of shape, crisp, bright lemon & tangy feta — everything's around a big bowl. A true hero of a meal!

Here's the thing I want you to know about this roasted broccoli salad:

It is quite possibly my favorite way that I have ever eaten broccoli in my entire life.

This salad was introduced to me by my friend Liz, who got it from another friend, Amanda, which I like to think is just how the best recipes come about. Now to your screen, here, to be eaten in 5 seconds flat, from one food loving person to another, and onto another.

The ingredients here are humble and low-key, but together they make a FLAVOR BANG:

• shallot
• bacon
• feta
• lemon
• broccoli
• sourdough

Now toss in some olive oil, salt, pepper and you are on the beautiful roasted broccoli ride.

It Has Everything You Want In a Salad

The flavors in this are just everything I want in all my meals ever: Roasted broccoli, tangy, crunchy, slightly bitter and bright from the lemon zest, salty from the crisped up bacon, built around a big bowl of roasted broccoli (in and of itself, is a real hero).

Reasons I love this as an SOS meal:

• It's incredibly delicious. Good food, good mood. Instant lift.
• This is actually so minimal hands on prep. It pretty much all happens on a pan, marinating you all the time for… not being in the kitchen.
• This is super customizable. To take an example, perhaps you'd like to really bulk it up; you could add something like some rotisserie chicken or even some more roasted veggies.
• And it actually does keep really well as leftovers. Obviously, just keep those croutons nice and dry in a separate container, and the bread is the one tricky thing that can get soggy. But I promise you that this salad can be eaten garlic and all, hot, cold, room temp – I know you're going to ask, but I've even eaten these leftovers for breakfast. On that SOS train to the very last stop.

I don't mean that you should be jealous, but at this very moment there is a sheet pan of broccoli, bacon, and shallots in my oven.

My house smells amazing, I already am eating this and IT IS A GLORIOUS DAY.

ROASTED BROCCOLI SALAD: FAQS

I'm all out of bacon! What can I sub?

Pancetta would be delicious! Dice it up into tiny cubes – or lots of grocery stores sell pancetta pre-cubed (SOS win!). Fry it up in a pan for a few minutes, and then throw it on the salad.

When do leftovers still taste delicious?

If you can store the broccoli and other ingredients separately from the sourdough croutons, this will keep for 3 – 5 days in a covered container in the fridge. If they go in with the dressing, other ingredients along with the croutons they might breakdown quicker and get soggy the next day. I think I've eaten it as slightly soggy leftovers and it's still really good. 🙂

This looks great! Is this a full meal?

So this salad is extremely filling! Not that this isn't already full of bread, bacon and cheese but if you want something else with it, these chicken meatballs or store bought rotisserie chicken would be good.

Can I use frozen broccoli?

Absolutely! What you should keep in mind is that the oven cooking on the frozen broccoli option takes more time. You can either remove the shallots from the pan after 20-30 minutes or begin the broccoli first, adding the shallots to the pan 10-15 minutes later so that your other ingredients don't overcook.

The BEST Winter Grain Bowl! Earthy grains, dried fruit, dark leafy greens, buttery goat cheese, and lusciously creamy balsamic dressing, all with roasted root vegetables.

What's colorful and nutritious and playful and wakes up your tastebuds? This bowl.

Epoxy-vegan root vegetables, earthy grains and dried fruit. Buttery goat cheese, dark leafy greens and lusciously creamy balsamic dressing.

A) It's certainly a slice of healthy eating heaven, and B) this is the salad / bowl kind of situation you want to see on the shelves of your fridge come this winter!

Like, for days. Because you can meal-prep it! GRAIN BOWLS, thank you for knowing what we need.

So one of things I love about these wintery grain bowls is that they do well with fridge time. Yes, keep the kale, goat cheese and pistachios separate, to keep them fresh. That roasted vegetable, wild rice and dried cherry medley can stay chill in a little bit of balsamic dressing while it languishes in the fridge, and really keeps getting better and better.

This winter grain bowl is:

• really delicious
• colorful
• packed with nutrition
• calorie-dense (in a good way)
• super satisfying
• adaptable (choose your favorite roasted winter vegetables)
• really good with or without protein
• playful
• maybe the best 'salad' format for the winter

Make It Your Own

This grain bowl is one of the most versatile ones you can get.

Eat it warm or cold. Lunch it, on its own, or breakfast hash situation (gah!), some fried egg on it, or dinner, with some grilled chicken or pan fried halloumi (omg yum). Other dressings, for use on everything wintery, or just create the balsamic dressing and use that all over everything.

Don't have wild rice? Switch out quinoa for farro, or your other favorite grain. If you don't have the patience to roast beets, buy pre-cooked ones at the store. I hate pistachios and/or goat cheese? This works with any nut/seed or crumbly cheese.

This rainbowy winter grain salad has your back no matter how you do it.

A simple, low calorie cold Cucumber Soup recipe using Greek yogurt and your choice of fresh herbs. It is cheap, simple to prepare, and does not involve heating the kitchen, which makes it suitable for making on a hot summer day.

Cold Cucumber Soup

A cold soup in a hot season, for example, this cucumber soup is great both as a first dish before a main course and as an appetizer with a sandwich during lunch. It's like a salad in which people are submerged and removed from their everyday lives!

The recipe for cooler cucumber soup can be decorated with many variations but for my recipe I have chosen Mediterranean vegetables, such as cucumbers for base, yogurt for body, shallots for aroma, fresh dill and mint for flavor, and lemon juice as the kicker. Eating it with the cucumber-walnut garnish makes it that much more substantial and it picks up a wee bit of fat to boot. The crunchy texture of the walnuts is a nice contrast to the smoothness of the soup.

It does need a few hours in the fridge to meld but after 24 hours it starts to taste bitter so just chill for as little as needed.

How to Make Cucumber Soup

This is a very simple cucumber soup recipe: You just put all the ingredients into a blender! Please check the following recipe card for detailed preparation instructions.

Prep the Cucumbers:

Slice a 4 inch long part of one of the cucumbers. Cut it in half, take out the seeds and then chop it very finely, to use as the garnish. Remove the skin from the rest of the cucumbers and the seeds and roughly chop the cucumbers.

Blend the Soup:

Place the cucumber (skin removed), yogurt, shallot, herbs, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the blender and process until the mixture is smooth. To make it thick use more cucumber to thicken it and add a bit of water until you get the consistency you want.

Refrigerate the cucumber soup for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Stir the soup before you serve it and taste it to see if you need more salt and pepper, then just add what you need.

Walnut Garnish:

Reserve the cucumber, walnuts, oil and seasons, drain the excess vinegar, and lightly pinch of salt.

How to Serve Cucumber Soup:

Pour the soup into bowls, add garnishing ingredients on top, and then sprinkle chopped fresh dill.

Variations

• Cucumbers: English cucumbers are the ideal choice for this soup, though you can also use the regular ones if that's what's on hand.
• Yogurt: Use whole milk or low fat Greek yogurt if you want.
• Herbs: Use tarragon or basil instead of one of the other herbs.
• Nuts: Try pecan or almond in place of the walnuts.

What to Serve with Cold Cucumber Soup

Since cold cucumber soup is consumed as a first course, the dishes to accompany it should complement it. Although this rather plain cucumber soup can be okay as a slice with bread for a lunch dish, it may also be served either as a first course or as a vegetable side dish at dinner time. Below are some serving suggestions:

Green Salads:

• Corn, tomato and avocado salad
• Watermelon, spinach and feta salad
• Nicoise salad

Sandwiches:

• Open-Faced Tuna Sandwich
• Heirloom Tomato Sandwich
• Grilled Chicken Panini

Protein:

• Steak
• Lemon-Dijon Olive Skewers
• Herb & Dijon Pork Chops

Grilled Seafood:

• Grilled shrimp
• Grilled salmon bruschetta
• Grilled crab legs

Summer Salads:

• Easy Greek pasta salad
• Grilled Corn salad
• Mediterranean bean salad

This must be the absolutely outstanding slow cooker minestrone soup recipe – a tried and true Italian recipe with tomatoes, white beans, vegetables and pasta.

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

This soup recipe is SO easy to make in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot, and I've included instructions for both below. If you don't fancy the idea of purchasing additional appliances, don't worry – you can view my stove top minestrone soup recipe. One thing I like about this soup, I blend the beans and this gives it a thickness which I also like for the fussy eaters.

My suggestion is to include the rind of a wedge of parmesan or Romano cheese to the soup when cooking next time! I always put them in my freezer for these purposes alone. If you don't have one, then sprinkle some grated cheese on the soup while it is still cooking.

Helpful Cooking Tips

In order to preserve pasta texture, I boil pasta separately and add it later when serving instead of adding it directly into the soup – it just absorbs all the liquids. Well, it's completely up to you; you can even just stir in the pasta into the soup at the last minute.

Freezer Directions

You can put the leftovers in the refrigerator to freeze for up to 3 months. Allow it to cool then pour it into appropriate freezer-safe containers.

Minestrone Soup Variations:

• Replace the spinach with Swiss chard or baby kale, if available.
• If you want to keep this low-carb, you can just leave out the pasta as you wouldn't miss it with all the other ingredients in the soup.
• You could throw in some mini turkey meatballs or you could do crumbled turkey sausage that has been sauteed.