It's SPRING + that means lighter meals in my house! Do you have any favourite 'spring meal' ideas? I tend to saute a lot of dandelion greens or rapini in the Spring. I also turn to asparagus, chives, and violets. Today it's all about healthy leeks + 3 recipes which are easy to make + tasty light sides or mains! Leeks are SO good for us. I talk about THE reasons WHY to enjoy Leeks often in this StudioBotanica post.

Leeks are SO good for us -- this post above gets into all of that .. and ways to purchase + clean leeks etc.

WHY we want to enjoy Healthy Leeks:

Heart healthy
Immune boosting
Nervous system support
Excellent support for your eyes, including reduction of risk for cataracts
Improves Digestion
May help reduce hypertension
Helps with weight reduction
Believed to strengthen bones
Contains anti-cancer components
Supportive in treatment of type 2 diabetes

Are you impressed? These special vegetable is truly a wonderful way to treat ourselves + our families to some delicious nutrient dense yummy goodness!
Enjoy these recipes!

Healthy Leeks in the Oven

This is more of a guideline really! This is a wonderful side dish or a delightful light meal.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

3-4 large leeks
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or avocaco oil)
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (herb blend from southern France)
¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
½ teaspoon Black pepper (freshly ground)Clean and slice the leeks in quarters of halves lengthwise. Place the leeks in a single layer, in a baking dish.
If you have a dish with a lid, use this one!
Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with "Herbes de Provence" + salt + pepper.
Cover with a lid or with foil (I prefer to bake with a lid on casserole) + bake for about 1 hour.
The leeks should be very tender,
Uncover and continue baking until the leeks are lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy .

HEALTHY LEEKS sauté

Healthy Leeks Sauté

This can be as simple or complex as you like! I tend to saute leeks with just a little butter and salt. There are many ways.. Some folks use both oil and butter. Others add Parmesan or other cheese or sauté with a variety of herbs (such as garlic, thyme or rosemary)

Ingredients

2 leeks
2 tablespoon unsalted butter divided
½ teaspoon Sea salt
optional add a pinch of fresh or dried thyme

Instructions

Thoroughly clean a couple of leeks.
Add ½ the butter to a hot pan and add the cleaned, sliced leeks.
Add the salt.
Using a wooden spoon, I ensure that the leeks are tossed a bit in the butter.
Cook on medium heat, stirring here and there.
Allow to soften by cooking for 30 minutes or so.
Add the remaining butter, + stir.

Recipe Notes

It's ready! SO good!!

Healthy Leeks, braised 'a la francaise'

This is a very tasty vegan side dish with a light saucy finish.

* 2 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 leeks, thickly sliced
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 C veggie stock
* 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
* 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or your fave vinegar)
* 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or thyme or oregano
* a pinch of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat.
Add the leeks and sauté , stirring for 3 minutes until nicely browned.
Add the minced garlic and stir for another minute until lightly browned.
Add the vegetable stock and the rest of the ingredients to the leeks + garlic, mixing well.
Put the lid on the pan + reduce the heat to low.
Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often
It's ready when the leeks are soft + when tested with a knife, cuts easily.
If not ready, continue cooking for a few minutes with the lid on until the leeks soften.
Remove the pan from the heat and serve immediately or within an hour for best results.

Garnish with fresh herbs if you like. (I have used chives or a combination of chopped Mediterranean herbs)

Here's to our health. Here's to enjoying the healthy goodness of Leeks all year 'round --
Carol xo