How To Transform Your Seasonal Farmer’s Market Haul Into 4 Easy, Healthy Dishes

In the first few weeks of the pandemic, cooking more at home was a novelty for many of us—right up there with virtual happy hours and tie-dying your leggings. But as the months dragged on, something a little unexpected happened: Even as restaurants started to reopen, many people are still cooking the majority of their meals at home.

There’s a few different reasons why cooking has outlasted the excitement of getting to WFH in your PJs. It’s typically cheaper to cook than eat out, and the pandemic hasn’t exactly been kind to many of our bank accounts. Although restaurants have re-opened in most cities, many still don’t feel safe eating out or socializing with friends. Then there’s the simple fact that once you’re in a habit of it, cooking the vast majority of your own meals can be quite enjoyable. (Most of the time, at least.)

Still, there’s still the age-old dilemma of figuring out what to make, and it’s a decision that has to be made three times a day. That’s where Well+Good’s Cook With Us show comes in. Every episode, a healthy chef shares how to make one of their favorite healthy meals. Starting this month, Cook With Us is pivoting to give an insider glimpse of chefs cooking in their own personal kitchens. After all, they’re cooking more at home now, too.

This month over the course of four episodes, LA-based chef and former Top Chef contestant chef Nyesha Arrington shares four meal ideas you can make with just one trip to the grocery store or farmer’s market. And it only requires cooking once. (The rest of the time you’re basically pairing what you’ve prepped in advance together.) Seasonal produce is at the core of all four recipes. “We’re in this amazing time of late summer going into fall, so we’re using some hard squashes, tomatoes, and beets,” she says. “All of these ingredients will be featured throughout the recipes.”

Chef Arrington spells out exactly what to buy at your weekly trip to the store, how to cook the aforementioned veggie trifecta, and how to use those prepped items as the core of four completely different dishes. The first dish she shows how to make is a roasted beet and kabocha squash salad with a zesty lime vinaigrette. Below is the grocery list of what you’ll need for all four of the dishes she’ll be making over the course of the month:

Ingredients to buy:

Produce

• 5 medium-sized red beets
• 2 kabocha squash
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes
• 2 bunches of Swiss chard
• Wild arugula (garnish)
• 2 lemons
• 2 limes
• 10 cilantro sprigs
• 1 garlic clove

Pantry goods

• Avocado oil
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Kosher salt
• Ground pepper
• Coriander
• Crushed cumin
• Ginger
• Caraway Seed

Protein

• French lentils

Specialty items

• Tahini
• Pita bread or flatbread

Check out the episode to see how to make the roasted beet and kabocha squash salad and check back next week to see what Chef Arrington uses the grocery list to whip up next!

Join Well+Good’s Cook With Us Facebook group for more healthy cooking inspiration and to share your own favorite recipes.