quick and easy

This nutrient-packed grain bowl recipe comes together in 15 minutes with the help of a few convenience-food shortcuts like prewashed baby kale, microwaveable quinoa and precooked beets. Pack these ahead to keep on hand for easy meal-prep lunches or dinners on busy nights.

We love the retro vibe of these egg salad lettuce wraps. Iceberg lettuce makes a perfect low-carb swap for bread to serve the egg salad.

White beans mash seamlessly into a creamy protein-packed spread for a satisfying healthy sandwich that makes for an easy lunch or dinner. Mix it up by trying it with canned chickpeas or black beans. This vegetarian sandwich recipe is also a fiber superstar: avocado, beans, greens and whole-wheat bread team up to give it 15 grams of fiber, more than half of what most women should aim for in a day.

This vegan mason jar salad is easy to pack up and take for lunch. Layering the creamy cashew sauce into the bottom of the jar ensures that your big, bold power salad won't become wilted by the time you're ready to eat.

Get cheesecake flavor without having to bake with this healthy dessert recipe. To make it gluten-free, look for gluten-free graham crackers.

This dark chocolate vegan mug cake is a brownie in a flash! It's moist and rich and made extra decadent with vegan chocolate chips melted on top.

This spicy vegetarian stir-fry is a great way to use green beans when they're bountiful and inexpensive at the supermarket. You can also try it with other vegetables, such as broccoli or peppers, just make sure to cut them into small pieces so that they cook quickly. Coating the tofu in cornstarch before you cook it gives it a light crust.

This vegetarian version of the Chinese stir-fry, moo shu, uses already-shredded vegetables to cut down on the prep time. Serve with warm Chinese-style pancakes or whole-wheat tortillas.

In this healthy Asian vegetable stir-fry recipe, watercress is cooked then tossed with traditional Chinese oyster sauce. Use a salad spinner so the watercress is dry to the touch, or the stir-fry will become too wet. If the watercress is young and tender, stir-fry the whole stems. If the stem ends are woody and tough, discard them.

Ma Po Tofu is a traditional Chinese recipe usually made with ground pork. This delicious, healthy version uses ground turkey to cut saturated fat and calories, and adds mushrooms for extra veggies. Serve with brown rice and make it extra special with a drizzle of sesame oil just before serving.

You'll recognize the flavors of sesame, soy and white pepper from the beloved restaurant dish that inspired this recipe for sweet and sour (boneless) pork chops. White pepper is more mild and earthy than black pepper, but either will work here.

This peanut-tofu noodle dish is inspired by chow mein, a Chinese American dish featuring fried noodles. Pan-crisping the noodles here mimics the crunch of the traditional dish, but limits the saturated fat. Look for lo mein or egg noodles at your local Chinese market or in the international aisle of major grocery stores.

Ma Po Tofu is a traditional Chinese recipe usually made with ground pork. This delicious, healthy version uses ground turkey to cut saturated fat and calories, and adds mushrooms for extra veggies. Serve with brown rice and make it extra special with a drizzle of sesame oil just before serving.

Sesame noodles become a satisfying meal with lean chicken and tons of veggies in this quick, healthy noodle recipe. Be sure to rinse the spaghetti until it's cold, then give it a good shake in the colander until it's well drained. Are you a spiralizing pro? Swap 5 cups of raw zucchini, carrot or other veggie "noodles" for the cooked pasta.

The name of this flavor-drenched dish aptly translates to "fried sauce noodles." A pork- and tofu-flecked sauce gets its savory powers from three layers of distinctive soy condiments. Tossed with thick wheat noodles, the result is satisfying and quite comforting.