Lo Bosworth’s Delicious (and Easy) Tricks for Keeping a Veggie-Forward Diet Interesting
"There was really a paradigm shift for me a couple years ago when I was kind of sick," she says. "I had all these vitamin deficiencies and it was causing me to experience really bad depression and anxiety. I had pain in my joints and was really inflamed. I just wasn't very well and it made me realize I needed to change the way I ate fundamentally." She decided to go to culinary school (the International Culinary Center) to get back to the basics of cooking healthy, nourishing food. Now veggies make up the bulk of her meals, and she's mastered a ton of delicious ways to enjoy them—which is why she's partnered with low-calorie dressing brand Bolthouse Farms to share her tips.
Here, the Love Wellness CEO and founder (and Well+Good Cookbook contributor) reveals her typical grocery cart haul and shares what she does with her go-tos.
Well+Good: Lo, there is so much good produce in here! I don't see anything unhealthy at all in your basket.
Bosworth: When I went to culinary school, the focus was classic French but also farm-to-table, and it really connected me to where our food comes from. We'd go to farms upstate and see the produce and the soil. It really turned me on to the importance of fruits and vegetables. I learned how to turn produce into amazing dishes, whether it's by roasting them, turning them into a delicious soup, transforming them into hummus or dips...There's so much you can do.
I see some sweet potatoes in your basket. What do you like to make with those?
Most people don't know this, but sweet potatoes are actually really good raw. The key is to slice them really thin with the mandolin so you can actually bite through them. I like to slice them really thin and put them in a salad with other veggies and also almonds or sunflower seeds, and top it off with Bolthouse Farms Classic Ranch dressing. It's so, so good.
My other favorite thing to do with sweet potatoes—and I also don't want to share this because I make this special for my boyfriend and it's become something sweet in our relationship—is to slice them really thin with the mandolin and sauté them with ghee, salt, and pepper. The goal is to get them brown, not crunchy. It tastes just like pancakes, it's insane.
I get really intimidated by eggplant—how do you cook with it?
Eggplant is also delicious sliced really thin. What I do after I slice it is cover it with some salt, pepper, and sumac. Then, I put them in the toaster. The center stays soft while the outside gets crispy, it's really good. You can also use the same spices and roast eggplant, too.
What's your go-to way to eat eggs?
Right now, I'm really into jammy eggs, which my friend Nic Jammet, who is the co-founder of Sweetgreen, turned me on to. Sweetgreen has these amazing salads where the egg yolks have the consistency of a jam; not runny, not jammy. So right now I like soft boiled eggs with a jammy center. I put them in my salads, or have them as a side as a way to get more protein in.
As far as drinks go, I see some seltzer in there. Are you a big seltzer drinker?
I do like seltzer—with my tequila!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
If you're on the hunt for more cool veggie-forward recipes, check out these vegetarian Instant Pot recipes and this bake-in-a-bag Moroccan vegetable dish.
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