Spring has sprung! Today, we are looking at a spring food. Peak artichoke season is March through May. After that, artichokes still growing will blossom. What we think of as a vegetable is actually the bud of a flower! They are incredibly labor intensive as a crop and cannot be harvested all at once as they mature at different rates. This makes them a pricier option in the supermarket, but the vegetable’s high fiber content and relatively low carbohydrate levels make it something to work into your menu.
Many of us get overwhelmed looking at an artichoke and aren’t quite sure how to cook them. If you have never cooked an artichoke, don’t fear: it’s not hard. You can find the perfect method for you from this list. Only one of the recipes below calls for cooking your own artichoke. In the others, you can buy artichokes jarred, next to the olives and pickles in the supermarket. Now, take a look at these four recipes and decide what’s for dinner!
We love this recipe. In part because it’s so darn easy and takes just around ten minutes to get on the table! This delicious shrimp dish serves two as a main course and has 360 calories and 35 grams of carbs per serving. If you are someone who believes you shouldn’t eat shellfish in months that don’t contain an “R,” try this delicious recipe now. Of course, nowadays, with “r”efrigeration, all months have an “R” in them. Get the recipe here.
Pizza is one of our favorite words, followed closely by pesto. So, it’s not surprising that this makes our list! This pizza takes only five minutes with six ingredients! It is suggested as a tapas for eight people. Instead, we recommend swapping the naan the recipe suggests for a carb-free pizza crust from the store and having it as a dinner for two. This will change your carbs, so you would have to do the math yourself. The substitution will significantly cut down on the carbs in the overall recipe making it a healthy meal instead of an appetizer. As the recipe and serving size currently stand, each serving has 110 calories and 17 grams of carbs. Get the recipe here.
Some people don’t think they had a full meal if it lacked meat. If you feel that way, this is the recipe for you. With garlic, lemon and parsley, the chicken is flavorful and satisfying. The red peppers and parsley give the dish a pop of color. This recipe serves two with only 393 calories and 8 grams of carbs. The site suggests cauliflower as a side if it’s eaten for dinner instead of lunch. Get the recipe here.
This delicious recipe does call for you to cook your own artichoke. We left it for last as it’s the most labor intensive. This is a great dish to bring to a spring potluck, and the salad will serve six people — more if it’s a side at a buffet. With 25 grams of carbs, this is slightly heavy for a salad, but one serving has only 140 calories! Get the recipe here.
We hope these recipes inspire you to try something new. Let us know your favorite recipes by emailing socialmedia@neulivenhealth.com.
