90 Healthy Recipes For National Nutrition Month

While there's a time and place for a cheeseburger and French fries, we're celebrating National Nutrition Month in March with a list of 90 of our favorite healthy recipes to help inspire and ignite your inner nutritious cravings. And we're not just talking plain 'ol salads with lettuce, cucumber, and just a drizzle of dressing. Here, we've compiled a list of hearty soups great for cold March days, various preparations of vegetables, chicken, fish, and other proteins, Mediterranean-inspired dishes, and even cookies. That's right, we said cookies. Who said with the right ingredients and preparation that cookies can't be nutritious?

So, this March, avoid the urge to pull into the fast food drive-thru lane and instead make the effort to prepare something healthy for you and your family. And, don't worry, not all healthy recipes have to be complicated. Some of these dishes take just 15 minutes and most take under half an hour to prepare. What are you waiting for? Dig into this list, pick your favorites, make a grocery list, and get cooking!

If you're looking for a light lunch option with servings of both fruits and veggies, look no further than this strawberry salad made with mixed greens — you can also use spinach or arugula in a pinch — sunflower seeds, some light feta cheese, and strawberries marinated in a "sweet and tart" dressing. Strawberries, like many fruits, have lots of Vitamin C along with magnesium and potassium, making this salad the ideal healthy choice for combating viruses during cold and flu season.

Recipe: Strawberry Salad

This vegan shepherd's pie recipe substitutes plant-based ingredients, such as lentils, chickpeas, and some frozen vegetables, for the common meats used in the dish: lamb and mutton, or, in the Americanized version, ground beef. Vegan diets are noted to have several health benefits, including helping with weight loss and improving your heart health. Of course, you'll still top this vegan shepherd's pie with plenty of mashed potatoes, adding the traditional creamy goodness to the dish. Cook time is almost an hour, so be sure to wear your patience pants.

Recipe: Vegan Shepherd's Pie

This spicy Chinese eggplant recipe comes from recipe developer Miriam Hahn, who is also a wellness coach, so you know it has to be abundantly healthy. The secret to reaping the health benefits is keeping the skin on the eggplant, which Hahn says adds to the veggie's levels of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. After sautéing the vegetables together, you'll make a sauce based of soy sauce and rice vinegar to pour over them before mixing in and enjoying.

Recipe: Spicy Chinese Eggplant

Finally, a brand new way to prepare a potentially bland chicken breast. Prep is as easy as searing your boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a cast iron pan, pour in your sauce made from chicken broth, garlic, honey, and tamari, then pop the whole thing in the oven for a bit. The addition of the honey – which may help with gastrointestinal health and mental health — and garlic – which can help keep your heart healthy — makes you feel extra good about serving this dish to your family or enjoying it on your own.

Recipe: Baked Honey Garlic Chicken

If you're looking for a veggie alternative that tastes just like chicken nuggets, move along, as this isn't the recipe for you. However, if you want a fun breaded snack with more health benefits, check out these cauliflower nuggets, which are made from an entire head of cauliflower, which yields two dozen nuggets. Cauliflower helps with memory and can be anticarcinogenic, among other health perks. You can use any dipping sauce you'd like for these cauliflower nuggets, but recipe developer Catherine Brookes suggests ketchup, mayo, or sweet chili sauce.

Recipe: Cauliflower Nuggets

This warm spinach salad combines protein, nutrients, and flavor to create a salad that's both delicious and that you can feel good about eating. Recipe developer Christina Musgrave walks you through how to perfectly hard boil the eggs and make the dressing of apple cider vinegar – which is great for cholesterol and blood pressure — and Dijon mustard. The salad will take you only about 15 minutes to make from start to finish and is perfect for a healthy lunch.

Recipe: Warm Spinach Salad

This cabbage steak recipe is certainly quick and easy, involving just five minutes of prep time and five ingredients: cabbage, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The cabbage steaks are not only healthy – cabbage is low in calories and a great source of Vitamins A and C — they're mighty tasty and can be paired with just about any entree like a perfectly roasted, crispy chicken or you could chop them up to use in soups or salads.

Recipe: Quick and Easy Cabbage Steak

We all know our good friend chicken soup has plenty of health benefits and is a favorite when fighting a cold or the flu, but subbing out the chicken for turkey – which contains Vitamins B-6, B-12, and zinc — in this recipe helps add more health benefits. What's even better is that you can whip up this turkey soup right in your Instant Pot and be enjoying it in no time. After sautéing the onions and the veggies, you'll add in the broth and turkey, then the noodles, and let the Instant Pot work its magic.

Recipe: Instant Pot Turkey Soup

Looking for a healthy salad that's "crunchy, tangy, and packed with salty and sweet flavors?" We've totally got you with this broccoli salad from recipe developer Monica Nedeff. In addition to broccoli  — which is full of fiber to help with digestive health — of course, this salad has several healthy ingredients including apples, carrots, onions, peanuts, and a dressing with some apple cider vinegar in it. Nedeff likes to serve this broccoli salad with baked ham during the cooler months.

Recipe: Broccoli Salad

According to recipe developer Catherine Brookes, "the secret to perfect tasting tofu is in the sauce." For this tofu recipe, you'll be making a sweet chilli sauce to accompany your crispy tofu fried in sesame oil. This dish is vegan and gluten-free, plus the tofu has great health benefits including helping to keep your bones strong, avoiding osteoporosis, and perhaps helping to prevent colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. Brookes walks you through how to properly prep and fry the tofu as well as make the chilli sauce. Serve with white rice.

Recipe: Crispy Chilli Tofu

Recipe developer Kate Shungu calls this three-bean vegetarian chili "warming and comforting," making it perfect for dinner after a chilly March day. You'll probably already have most of the ingredients this recipe calls for on hand, including onion, tomato sauce, spices, and three cans of beans: pinto beans, kidney beans, and black beans , the latter of which has plenty of protein, calcium, and multiple B vitamins. Top with some shredded cheddar cheese or a dollop of sour cream for an extra treat.

Recipe: 3-Bean Vegetarian Chili

Adding some roasted carrots to your plate is a great way to get in a serving of veggies as well as some serious health benefits. Carrots have lots of fiber, potassium, which helps with controlling your blood pressure, and Vitamin A, which is important for maintaining eye health. We all should be eating more carrots! Here, recipe developer Susan Olayinka shows you how to prep the carrots for the best results before seasoning and baking them. Olayinka recommends serving these roasted carrots with a protein like roast chicken, or if you're a vegetarian, some hummus.

Recipe: Roasted Carrots

This colorful salad is full of red onion, sweet corn, and, naturally, cherry tomatoes and avocado, and is dressed in a balsamic vinegar , which not only adds a tangy kick, but might also help with digestion, making it the perfect healthy lunch or snack. It will take you only eight minutes to make this salad from start to finish, most of that time being cutting up the veggies. Recipe developer Susan Olayinka shows you how to pick the ripest avocados for the best tasting salad.

Recipe: Avocado Tomato Salad

Eating a healthy breakfast is key to starting your day off right. That's why recipe developer Kristen Carli came up with this unique baked oatmeal recipe, which she says has the consistency of cake. Here, old-fashioned oats , a good source of fiber, magnesium, and zinc, are mixed with brown sugar, cinnamon, and peaches for a delicious breakfast dish that's easy to eat on the run. Carli emphasizes the importance of using old-fashioned oats — aka rolled oats – versus other types, noting their partially cooked nature leads to ideal results.

Recipe: Baked Oatmeal

Recipe developer Hayley MacLean subs out sloppy Joes' traditional ground beef for lentils in this recipe for a vegan version of the favorite sandwich. MacLean uses red lentils, which she says lends to the "most meat-like texture," and shares that "lentils are such a great staple for protein because they are made up of more than 25% of it." Looking to keep things even healthier? Ditch the bun and serve on lettuce or with steamed vegetables.

Recipe: Vegan Sloppy Joes

The health benefits of cauliflower are undeniable, and when prepared in the proper spices, it can also be undeniably delicious. Miriam Hahn shows you how to make this entire dish in your Instant Pot, including how to season the cauliflower florets with coriander, ground cumin, salt, garam masala, chili powder, ginger powder, and turmeric , the latter of which can help with inflammation, keeping your muscles healthy, and even with anxiety. Serve this dish as a side dish to a protein or with vegetables and beans.

Recipe: Instant Pot Gobi Masala

This easy sheet pan chicken breast recipe sure is healthy, right down to the organic butter used. The chicken is seasoned with oregano , which is thought to help with digestive issues and asthma, garlic powder, and onion powder and baked alongside cut up carrots and broccoli florets. Recipe developer Maren Epstein recommends adding some lemon zest or pomegranate seeds to the top of the finished chicken breasts to add some pizzazz, color, and extra flavor.

Recipe: Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Breasts

Here we note the health benefits of brown rice, that is it's full of protein, fiber, and important minerals, versus white rice, which is mostly starch. This recipe also calls for lots of veggies like onions, carrots, corn, and edamame , the latter of which can help reduce bad cholesterol and the severity of adverse menopause symptoms. Recipe developer Alexandra Shytsman walks you through how to cook the vegetables, add in the rice, and make the egg- and soy sauce-based sauce.

Recipe: Fried Brown Rice

This classic Chinese dish inspired by the cuisine of the province of Szechuan comes to us from recipe developer Kristen Carli who carefully crafted this recipe to make sure it's extra healthy with its skinless chicken breasts, plethora of veggies, and rice noodles. Rice noodles are great because they're gluten free and don't contain lots of sodium. This Szechuan chicken takes only ten minutes to prep and 25 minutes to cook, so you'll have a great dinner to serve in just over half an hour.

Recipe: Szechuan Chicken

Using a plant-based protein like lentils instead of ground beef in your meatballs will certainly make them healthier, but don't worry, these lentil meatballs don't skimp on taste. First, you'll cook the lentils, then add all the ingredients into a food processor and blend. Next, form and sear the meatballs in a frying pan, then transfer to a baking sheet before popping them in the oven. Serve with pasta — or maybe zoodles to keep things even healthier — and some marinara sauce.

Recipe: Lentil Meatballs

These stuffed bell peppers are fully vegetarian, removing the traditionally included ground beef and the fat associated with it. Recipe developer Sher Castellano makes a filling of tomato sauce, brown rice, basil, white beans – which are full of protein and fiber — cheese, and salt and pepper. After cooking the peppers, grate some Pecorino Romano cheese on top before serving. This dish is sure to be a family hit that you'll make time and time again whether they're vegetarian or not.

Recipe: 30-Minute Stuffed Peppers

We already know that broccoli and cauliflower are good for you, but when blended together in this amazing broccoli cauliflower soup, they're as good as gold. Recipe developer Ting Dalton came up with this recipe, which will take you just 25 minutes from start to finish, thanks to your trusty Instant Pot. The flavor profiles of the broccoli and cauliflower are enhanced by the addition of some garlic and onion, curry powder, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Recipe: Instant Pot Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

This quinoa Spanish rice recipe is not only "approachable for home cooks," it's full of nutrients, thanks to the quinoa, which is a protein that contains amino acids, known for helping build healthy bones and muscles. There are lots of ingredients necessary for this recipe, but worry not, most of the spices involved are ones you probably already have in your spice cabinet. Recipe developer Miriam Hahn pairs this rice with tacos and burritos, sometimes adding in black beans.

Recipe: Healthy Quinoa Spanish Rice

Recipe developer Catherine Brookes notes not only the great flavor of this sheet pan chicken and kale recipe, but also that it's a great weekday meal and doesn't require slaving over the dishes, thanks to the fact it's all cooked on a single sheet pan. The chicken, kale – a superfood with lots of Vitamin A and important minerals — potatoes, and red bell peppers are topped with a lemon garlic sauce that marinates the entire dish and adds a kick of flavor.

Recipe: Sheet Pan Chicken and Kale

Kitchari is a super cool dish made of rice along with mung beans or lentils. Here, recipe developer Kristen Carli uses yellow split peas, which is interesting because it is traditionally consumed when cleansing, creating energy as toxins exit the body. The dish is fairly simple to make, requiring only 10 minutes of prep time and about half an hour to simmer until the rice and peas are perfectly cooked. Also mixed in are some frozen mixed vegetables, coconut, and spices for added nutrition and a flavor kick.

Recipe: Simple Kitchari

Lo mein from a Chinese takeout restaurant isn't always healthy, but recipe developer Miriam Hahn has created a nutritious version of the recipe you'll want to make time and time again. Hahn shows you how to stir fry the vegetables — including red peppers, broccoli, carrots, purple cabbage, and edamame – cook the lo mein noodles, and make the delectable sauce. This dish is as colorful as it is tasty and a great meat-free version of the classic Asian dish.

Recipe: 15-Minute Veggie Lo Mein

Chili is a great dish for a cold March afternoon, and this version subs out the usual ground beef for ground turkey, which is usually leaner, and, therefore, healthier. Cooking the chili is simple; just be sure to add the ingredients to your Dutch oven in the correct order. Recipe developer Kristen Carli notes you could add some cayenne pepper or diced jalapeño for extra spice. Top with just a little shredded cheese, sour cream, and cilantro, if you like it.

Recipe: Quick Turkey Chili

With just five minutes and five ingredients, you can make this scrumptious, healthy Mediterranean-inspired pesto chickpea salad, perfect for lunch, as a side with a sandwich, or, as recipe developer Kristen Carli suggests, with some fruit. You'll need a can of chickpeas, grape tomatoes, pesto, feta cheese, and kalamata olives , which are healthier than most olives and contain healthy fats and antioxidants, to execute this recipe. There is also the added benefit of the rich fiber and protein in the chickpeas.

Recipe: Mediterranean Pesto Chickpea Salad

Do a quick search for #avocadotoast on Instagram and you'll find over 2 million posts. Avocado toast is without a doubt a popular dish, but for good reason. Depending on the recipe, it can not only be downright delicious, but also healthy. We love this avocado toast recipe from recipe developer Maren Epstein which shows you how to make the base of the dish and then provides some suggestions for optional toppings, including eggplant caponata or chives and goat cheese.

Recipe: Avocado Toast

These simple collard wraps are pretty darn healthy with their main ingredients being falafel, which is made from nutritious chickpeas and spices like cumin and coriander, among others, and collard greens , which contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, and choline, a neurotransmitter which studies show may help improve depression. Recipe developer Maren Epstein also gives instructions for making a "zesty yogurt dipping sauce," AKA tzatziki, with a Greek yogurt base, lemon, and dill, and shows you how to wrap the falafel in the collard greens so the wraps don't fall apart.

Recipe: Simple Collard Wrap

Corn fritters  are traditionally deep-fried or baked in the south, but recipe developer Susan Olayinka walks you through how to prepare them in a healthier style: in your air fryer. Olayinka uses sweet corn for this recipe, which is full of Vitamin C. Prep involves adding the sweet corn along with all-purpose flour, eggs, and shredded Parmesan cheese to a blender before transferring to a bowl and adding in some flavorful spices. Then you're ready to form the corn fritters into circles and cook them in the air fryer, being sure to flip them when they're halfway done.

Recipe: Air Fryer Corn Fritters

Recipe developer Maren Epstein says it was the "simplicity of fresh French cuisine" that made her think to create this classic Nicoise salad. And simple and classic it is with its fingerling potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, tuna, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and, of course, Nicoise olives. Olives contain lots of Vitamin E and may help prevent osteoporosis. You'll serve this Nicoise salad with a vinaigrette made of olive oil and lemon. This salad takes just under 20 minutes to make, so you'll be enjoying it in no time.

Recipe: Classic Nicoise Salad

Aguachile can be described as "ceviche's bright green cousin." Recipe developer Ksenia Prints' version is made with shrimp, which you'll cure with lime, as well as healthy foods like red onion, chiles, avocados, cucumbers, and radishes , the latter of which can help regulate blood pressure. Prints walks you through how to butterfly the shrimp and make the spicy, citrus-forward dressing. After marinating the shrimp, add the toppings and serve with tortilla chips for dipping, if desired.

Recipe: Aguachile

Recipe developer Catherine Brookes loves this sheet pan garlic salmon recipe because it "require[s] minimal prep and washing up." Plus, of course, it's downright tasty. The health benefits of salmon are undeniable, and there are plenty of veggies — such as zucchini, red bell pepper, and red onion — cooking alongside the salmon to help you get in your daily required vegetable servings. Brookes advises on what type of potatoes to use and how to cook the sheet pan garlic salmon if you like your salmon on the rarer side.

Recipe: Sheet Pan Garlic Salmon

Sometimes you need a quick, healthy snack, but are craving chocolate. Instead of reaching for a Hershey's bar or a bag of M&M's, turn instead to these double chocolate no-bake energy bites. The bites include walnuts, peanut butter, dark chocolate chips, chia seeds, dates, almond milk, and are coated in cocoa powder. Dark chocolate , as opposed to milk chocolate, is more likely to help with heart health due to its high levels of cacao. You'll need a food processor or blender to make these no-bake energy bites.

Recipe: Easy No-Bake Energy Bites

Greek salad is a classic Mediterranean dish, and, as we know, eating a Mediterranean diet can have health benefits as dishes generally contain healthy fats, such as olive oil, that can help with cholesterol levels and add in some omega-3 fatty acids. Plus, there are plenty of veggies in this salad like cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, and lettuce — recipe developer Melissa Olivieri recommends using iceberg lettuce. Olivieri's tip? Be sure only to dress the portion of the salad you plan to eat immediately to avoid sogginess.

Recipe: Greek Salad

Recipe developer and holistic dietitian Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert touts the health benefits of tuna, noting it has plenty of protein and Vitamins B and D. Bachtell-Shelbert shows you how to perfectly season and marinate your tuna steaks in a soy sauce-based marinade before cooking them on the stove in a quality frying pan. Top with some green onions and sesame seeds. Bachtell-Shelbert recommends serving this tuna steak alongside a healthy veggie like steamed broccoli or bok choy.

Recipe: Easy Tuna Steak

We love good soups around here, and we're even bigger fans of soups that can be easily made in a slow cooker. That includes this chicken noodle soup from recipe developer Kristen Carli, which is not only a hearty choice for a cold night, but might actually help you recover from a cold as chicken soup has been shown to enhance mucus flow, therefore helping to get the virus out of the body. Prep for this soup is as simple as adding all the ingredients to your slow cooker, then shredding the chicken and adding in the noodles to cook after a few hours.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

It's important to have a trusty standby grilled chicken recipe in your repertoire, whether you're serving it as a dinner entree with a side of veggies and rice or are looking to slice it up and serve it over a salad. Here, recipe developer Maren Epstein shows you how to perfectly prep chicken breasts then marinate them in an orange juice, soy sauce, and olive oil-based marinade with lots of herbs and spices. Follow the instructions for how and how long to grill the chicken breasts and voila, you're ready to enjoy.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken

Goulash is traditionally a Hungarian dish, and here, recipe developer Ksenia Prints puts a flavorful spin on the classic. We note that goulash gets its red coloring from a healthy amount of paprika, but the dish as a whole is not overly spicy. You'll use onions, celery, and potatoes as the base of the goulash, adding in cabbage and mushrooms — Prints recommends Cremini or white mushrooms, but notes that really any kind will work — later on in the preparation. This vegetarian mushroom goulash will take about two hours from start to finish, so be patient and enjoy the process.

Recipe: One-Pot Vegetarian Mushroom Goulash

A good chicken stir fry is a great recipe to have in your back pocket, as it's easy to make, pleases just about everyone in the family, and has good health benefits gleaned from the protein in the chicken and the plethora of vitamins and minerals in the veggies. Plus, you'll use a low-sodium soy sauce for this recipe, which has nearly half the sodium of regular soy sauce. Recipe developer Melissa Olivieri has a unique method of mixing together the sauce and shows you how to perfectly season the chicken with spices such as ginger and cook it for optimal tastiness.

Recipe: Chicken Stir Fry

Recipe developer Kristen Carli is a big fan of these overnight oats not only because the rolled oats pack plenty of nutrition, but because they're convenient in that they can be made the night before to make a great healthy grab-and-go breakfast for the morning. Carli prepares these overnight oats with rolled oats, unsweetened Greek yogurt, and milk, but notes you can add in some blueberries and cinnamon for some extra flavor. Be sure to let these overnight oats sit in the fridge for a full six hours before enjoying.

Recipe: Overnight Oats

What could be better than an easy sheet pan chicken dish that lends to quick clean up as you'll only have to wash one dish? One with amazing Greek flavors, extra virgin olive oil – known as the healthiest type of olive oil with its abundant antioxidants — feta cheese, and nutritious vegetables like bell peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, artichokes, and olives. After arranging the veggies on the sheet pan, you'll add the chicken and coat it with an olive oil, balsamic, and garlic-based sauce before baking.

Recipe: Greek Sheet Pan Chicken

We call this traditional Japanese-inspired dish "quite possibly the easiest okonomiyaki recipe you'll ever make." Also known as Japanese pancakes or Japanese pizza, this okonomiyaki is made from shredded green cabbage, panko breadcrumbs, and green onions. The mixture all held together by egg, which allows you to form it into patties before frying them. You can also add some seaweed or dashi powder for some umami flavor. Top with some Sriracha mayo drizzle or sesame seeds, if desired.

Recipe: Easy Okonomiyaki

Let us wrap — pun totally intended — up this recipe roundup with a delightful lettuce wrap recipe that features carrots and peppers cooked in some soy sauce, kecap manis, and mirin along with some ground beef, all well-seasoned with garlic and ginger. You'll skip a traditional wrap and instead spoon the mixture into lettuce leaves, reducing carbs and adding the nutritional value of the lettuce. Looking for a plant-based alternative to ground beef? Recipe developer Susan Olayinka recommends your favorite vegan meat alternative.

Recipe: Lettuce Wrap