Eating your vegetables and liking them, too! 

Plant-based foods are on the rise. More people are seeing how they can benefit our health, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is switching to vegan or vegetarian diets. As the holidays near, we explore going plant-forward and including more meals from plant sources for that healthy break we need! Proving that plant-based dishes can be as delectable as they are nutritious, Jefferson City’s Love2Nourish has three dishes you’ll be craving this fall.

Aubergine Manicotti over Creamy Polenta Cakes

This dish may not contain hearty pasta, but you can bet you’ll still be enjoying a warm, filling meal! Drizzled in olive oil and then grilled until tender, this entrée calls for sliced eggplant for its manicotti. Combining these savory grill flavors with vegan ricotta filling and a sweet marinara, this dish is packed with rich flavors. If that wasn’t enough to get your mouth watering, Love2Nourish places these tasty bits on a bed of creamy vegan polenta cakes.

Harvest Salad

When looking for the perfect lunchtime or light dinner meal, a fall harvest salad lets you enjoy some of the best seasonal flavors — and it can even give you a little extra pep in your step! Based with spring mix lettuce, this salad is topped with local microgreens, roasted sweet potato, and topped with beet and pea sprouts. But it’s the mustard lemon lentils that make all the difference, bringing out unique flavors to a typically earthy dish while providing plenty of fiber and potassium. Top these superfoods with some balsamic vinaigrette or lemongrass vinaigrette dressing and fall in love with a new favorite salad.  

Apple Walnut Cake

This apple walnut cake is a mix of sugar, spice, and everything nice. While the gala apples are the main star in both flavor and presentation, this cake combines all of the best harvest-time flavors, including cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, and maple syrup. And by adding gluten-free flour and fresh walnuts to the mix, this dish becomes a delicious treat that can be enjoyed with your morning beverage or as a late night-snack — free of guilt!