My Body Needs a Vegetable! Easy Recipes For the Cooking-Averse

You know how some “easy recipes” are actually ridiculously complex? 🙄 Um, excuse me. I’m looking for low effort, high reward meals, so I definitely don’t want to have to julienne anything. Who do you think I am?

Finding an easy recipe

When I say that I want an easy recipe, here’s what I mean:

• MAXIMUM two pots or pans, but ideally one.
• No special equipment necessary. Please just assume that I only have/know how to use the basics.
• It shouldn’t take more than an hour to make.
• No more than 5-10 ingredients are allowed, but preferably 5. This recipe was pushing it with 9 ingredients, but my team justified to me that salt, pepper, and olive oil hardly count because they’re countertop staples.
• If I have to pay close attention to anything that might suddenly burn, boil over, or be suddenly ruined, I’m out.

That’s one of the reasons I love Smitten Kitchen recipes. Sure, she has some more advanced meals and recipes, and when someone else is cooking I’m all for them. But Deb, the author and founder of Smitten Kitchen, seems like someone who really knows what I mean when I say that I want an easy recipe. And I love her for it.

My fate in your hands

My team chose a few recipes that they thought I could handle, and then turned my culinary fate over to you in an Instagram poll. You chose this pasta with peas, lemon, and ricotta, and let me say– good choice! I didn’t do a perfect job and my taste buds still aren’t up to par (thanks, COVID), but even so it was very good, and I would make it again. That’s right, even though I hate cooking I would subject myself to this recipe repeatedly. That’s high praise.

You can watch me muddle my way through this recipe in this video!

More easy recipes

Here are some more easy recipes that the team likes making. We’ll see if I get around to making them, but they’re all Lars-approved via the team.

• zucchini fritters
• Japanese cabbage and vegetable pancakes (okonomiyaki)
• chopped vegetable and watermelon salad
• zucchini butter spaghetti
• skillet ravioli with spinach
• crispy rice and egg bowl
• quick essential stovetop mac and cheese

Lars Recipes

Over the years I’ve released a few recipes on the blog. They’re clearly mostly desserts (which are much more motivating to make than nutritious meals, sorry!), so satisfy your sweet tooth and learn a new recipe with these!

• Colorful layered cake recipe
• Strawberry coconut popsicle recipe
• Peach mango coconut popsicle recipe
• Vanilla bean skull cake for Halloween
• Strawberry rose floral sorbet
• Rice pudding with cranberries and rose
• Rainbow pies
• Chocolate tiramisu layer cake
• Hot chocolate sundaes
• Gingerbread layer cake with lemon buttercream
• Peanut butter pretzel candies
• Dulce de leche crepes

Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for the recipe and instructions! Do you have any favorite easy recipes? Send them my way!