Are you on a diet? Many people with chronic illnesses are put on diets. There are so many kinds — Keto, AIP, Vegan, Paleo . . . the list goes on. I’ve been on a modified AIP diet for years now, and before that, Paleo. That first year was hard. Even the smell of food I couldn’t have would make my cravings overwhelming. Plus, many of the alternatives and healthy recipes I found just weren’t satisfying at best, and at worst . . . well, we shall not speak of that cashew ice cream. *gagging noise*
Today, I want to share the best healthy recipes I’ve found through years of trial and error. I’ll be rating them on tastiness and ease to make. Because as spoonies, cooking can be some of the most difficult things we do in a day, and recipes must be easy, both physically and mentally. These aren’t a specific kind of diet, but many of them are adaptable if you know what you’re doing, and they all are dairy-free, grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free, etc. to start with.
Tastiness: Dad likes = Most people will like. Brother likes = You can’t tell it’s healthy.
Energy Required: 10 Spoons = Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner. 1 Spoon = Microwaving Oatmeal.
When the website said these were the best paleo pancakes ever I was skeptical. Seriously? I’ve heard that one before. But scanning the recipe, I saw the author mentioned several of the issues I’d always had with pancakes: too coconutty or too crumbly, etc., and decided it was worth a shot.
The author didn’t lie. Those are the best paleo pancakes I’ve ever had. They are super easy to make and they are fluffy, unlike any other healthy pancakes I’ve had. Plus they have a lot of good protein and are easy to substitute. I’ve substituted out the flours to make multiple variations to meet family member’s allergy needs. I have taken to cooking large batches of them and freezing them for easy toasting or microwaving when I need something on the go.
Tastiness: Dad likes them, brother isn’t fond of what he calls “egginess.”
Energy Required: 2-3 spoons.
I tend to make these around Christmastime, but they are super easy and delicious. I won’t say a whole lot more about them here since I wrote an entire post about them, but they have some healthy fat and protein while still having chocolate. The mix-ins can be adapted to make this into many different kinds of cookies, but substituting ingredients might be slightly more tricky with this one. Thankfully, there are few ingredients to begin with.
Tastiness: Dad likes. Depends on brother’s mood whether he likes it or not. Generally says it’s “too coconutty.”
Energy Required: 2 spoons.
This is one recipe I keep going back to over the years. The flatbread is very filling and very versatile. I’ve eaten it plain, I’ve eaten it dipped in oil and vinegar, I’ve turned it into pizza crust. It’s great.
It has also worked out for us to substitute the flours if you can’t have tapioca (we substitute arrowroot) or coconut (we substitute almond or tigernut). We have also substituted the eggs with flaxseed “eggs,” and while it doesn’t work quite the same, it still puffs a little and turns into flatbread.
Tastiness: Entire family approved.
Energy Required: 1.5-2 spoons.
This is a recent discovery, and we’re slightly obsessed with this recipe at the moment. It was a great, filling fall treat, but it’s also become a general winter treat. 😉 This is quick and easy to make, and the end product is moist but with a good bread-texture like cupcakes should have.
We have easily swapped out flours as needed to accommodate allergies, and because of the cinnamon, the slight change in flavor hasn’t been noticeable. My mom has also added cocoa powder to make it chocolatey, but I haven’t braved that change yet. I would suggest tasting ti first before doing the recipe’s glaze because the glaze does tend to make this recipe overly sweet in my opinion. (Of course, I haven’t had an actual cupcake in years, soooooo…)
Tastiness: My mom, sister and I love it. My brother refuses to taste it, but he isn’t overly fond of cinnamon or cake in the first place.
Energy Required: 1.7 spoons.
I figured I needed to add something besides dessert on here. This is a recipe that my entire family loved for a long time. We would make the “dip” and then mix it in with chicken for a full meal. You can also put it over rice with or without chicken to make it a meal.
Because of everyone’s various allergies, we pay close attention to the order the ingredients were put in and take a portion out before adding something someone couldn’t have. Even the base ingredients without all of them are good mixed together.
Tastiness: Entire family enjoys this.
Energy Required: 3.5 spoons.
Finally, these basic fall treats. There are like three ingredients, and these are delicious. There is lots of room for adaptation as you desire, but these are great to serve anybody as they are.
I don’t have a lot to say except that this was one of our go-to recipes when we had guests over for a while.
Tastiness: I have yet to meet a person that didn’t like it.
Energy Required: 2 spoons.
This is a very incomplete list, I have a few more I didn’t have room for, but these are some of the easiest tastiest healthy recipes I’ve found. I’ve tried many over the past few years, many of which ended disastrously or just plain “okay.” These are the recipes that are great.
Hang in there! Eating on a diet does get a lot easier over time. Sometimes it takes a lot of time, but if you’re disciplined, it gets easier.
What about you? What are your favorite healthy recipes? Drop the links below, I’m always looking for more! (If you like this and would enjoy mroe recipe recommendations, let me know! I have about 5 more that made it to my 5-star list, but didn’t make it into this blog post.0
I love your metrics for tastiness and energy required! XD