Healthy Cooking Methods & Style Recipes

Sure, the slow cooker's great for stews and soups, but it also happens to make a mean lasagna! In this ingenious slow-cooker recipe, all you have to do is chop your veggies, then layer the ingredients (raw) into the crockpot. Serve with: Garlic bread and a green salad.

In this one-skillet supper, we toss dark leafy greens, diced tomatoes and white beans with gnocchi and top it all with gooey mozzarella. Serve with a mixed green salad with vinaigrette.

Roasting isn't usually the first cooking method you think of for cauliflower but the results are quite delicious. The florets are cut into thick slices and tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and herbs. Wherever the flat surfaces come into contact with the hot roasting pan, a deep browning occurs that results in a sweet, nutty flavor.

Spiralized broccoli stems transform into tender "noodles" in this lo mein-inspired vegetarian recipe. Serve on top of brown rice or buckwheat soba noodles.

For a fast weeknight pasta dinner, why not cook your sauce and pasta all at once? By using the exact amount of water you need to cook the pasta--no colanders here--the starch that cooks off into your pasta water, which you usually drain away, stays in the pot, giving you delectably creamy results.

These stuffed portobello mushrooms have a filling inspired by the Greek spinach pie, spanakopita. To keep them quick, we ditched the phyllo, so they're great for an easy weeknight vegetarian dinner.

Corned beef is brisket that has been pickled in spices for days. You can buy it ready-to-cook or corn your own at home, but both are serious sodium bombs, packing more than 500 mg per 3-ounce serving--nearly 25% of the recommended daily limit. For this healthier pressure cooker corned beef and cabbage, we start with a plain brisket and add seasonings ourselves to control the salt level. We also opt for a flat-cut end of brisket, instead of the thicker point cut, as it has less fat, making it easier to slice when cooked. An electric pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot, is absolutely key to this recipe, allowing you to cook the brisket in one hour--as opposed to three hours or more in the oven. It also lets you sear and roast in one device, saving cleanup time.

Celebrate Valentine's Day with these heart-shaped sugar cookies! This recipe uses whole-wheat pastry flour, cream cheese and lemon extract to make a healthier (and delicious!) cookie perfect for decorating. Set out a plate to get the conversation started.

This dreamy vegan baked oatmeal is full of tropical flavors from coconut and pineapple, and it couldn't be easier to make. It's a satisfying family breakfast but also feels special enough for a Sunday brunch with company.

Serve these quick chicken cutlets with creamy pesto sauce over your favorite pasta or zucchini noodles. This easy dinner recipe is sure to become a new family favorite.

This crisp blend of vegetables is offered as a topping or side at Zooba, the Egyptian street food restaurant in New York City. We made it a stand-alone salad to stuff into pita with taameya (Egyptian falafel--see Associated Recipes) or serve with just about anything else. (Recipe adapted from Zooba Restaurant.)

This kitchen-sink of a vegetarian dish was most likely invented in Egypt in the mid-1800s when Cairo was a major multicultural trade port, which could explain the similarities to Italian spaghetti as well as the Indian rice-and-lentil comfort food khichdi. Three toppings--a spicy tomato sauce (shatta), crispy onions and a garlicky vinegar (dakka)--are added to the koshari before serving, but in Cairo most people like them in separate bowls so they can season their bites one at a time. (Recipe adapted from Zooba Restaurant.)

Use red, yellow or even brown lentils to make this iconic and super-simple Middle Eastern soup. Skip green or black lentils, which won't soften enough to puree smoothly. (Recipe adapted from Zooba Restaurant.)

The Arabic word taameya translates to "tasty little bits." This version, made with fava beans, which are plentiful in the Nile delta, is thought by some to be the original falafel. (Recipe adapted from Zooba Restaurant.)

This hawawshi--a hot sandwich that's a favorite Cairo street food--is filled with ground beef, vegetables, herbs and spices and adapted to be made in a home panini press. If you don't have one, cook it in a skillet over medium heat with another skillet on top, weighted down with a few 15-ounce cans. (Recipe adapted from Zooba Restaurant.)

Think of these easy no-bake cookies as a healthy makeover of one of our favorite Girl Scout Cookies--chewy caramel, dark chocolate and toasted coconut come together with fiber-boosting oats instead of sugar and flour. And the best part? They take only 15 minutes from start to finish.

Two Cypriot specialties--good olive oil and fresh lemons--lend sunny flavor to this simple bean dish, served as a side in Cyprus. Chard adds a hearty touch. Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt, or nondairy yogurt to keep it vegan, for a meatless meal.

Spring brings a lush carpet of blooms to the hills of Cyprus and sends food-loving foragers out hunting for wild asparagus. Cooked with eggs and potatoes, it's a simple scramble that's often served as one of several small plates at dinner. You can find wild asparagus in the U.S. as well; otherwise, shop for stalks that are as young and tender as possible. (Adapted from Munevver Gurel.)

Purslane is a nutrient-packed green with a bright, lemony flavor and delicate crunch. Many gardeners in the U.S. consider it a weed, but Cypriots use it to make refreshing salads. If it isn't growing in your own yard, try calling a local vegetable farmer, who might be pleased to give some away, or you can order it from melissas.com or chefs-garden.com. Watercress makes a peppery substitute in this simple salad recipe.

Next time you have a Girl Scout Cookie craving, try these healthier no-bake cookies instead. Their bright and lemony flavor is balanced by sweetness from Medjool dates, and they're held together with millet and almond meal. Keeping the dough chilled and dusting your hands with confectioners' sugar will keep them from sticking to your hands while you shape them.

Super creamy with the nutty flavor of sesame seeds, this homemade tahini sauce recipe is a popular way to begin a meal in Cyprus. Serve with crudités and pita.

A long braise in the oven yields fork-tender results for a tough cut of lamb. Cinnamon, oregano, garlic and lemon infuse the lamb shoulder with Mediterranean aromas, while a final scattering of pomegranate arils provides a burst of color and crunch.

We've taken the key ingredients of a Philly cheesesteak--onions, peppers, thinly sliced beef and provolone cheese--and piled them into portobello mushroom caps to make a meaty and satisfying low-carb main dish.

Spinach, onion and feta cheese flavor these Greek-inspired spanakopita omelets with crispy phyllo crusts.

The intense blend of spices in these cookies is a tip of the hat to Venice's history as a conduit for the spice trade between Europe and the Far East.