Side Dishes

Many people think that healing diets are restrictive, but for me it expanded the variety of foods I eat. There are so many delicious vegetables I never tried before going AIP. Rutabaga is one of those, and now it’s a favorite! It’s a beautiful blend of savory and sweet, and filled with nutrition to support healing. In this post I share my favorite recipe, along with the nutrients that make rutabagas a prime example of food as medicine.

Have you ever roasted garlic whole? It’s a completely different flavor – mellow and rich. It turns out that pressure cooking in the Instant Pot creates that same flavor in much less time, and it pairs beautifully with cauliflower. This recipe is delicious, fast, and nutrient-dense. I hope you love it as much as I do!

One of the complaints you often hear about the AIP is that it can be an expensive. There are no coupons for organic broccoli, and the “buy 1 get 1 free” sales at the grocery store feature junk food, not wildcaught salmon. Still, there are some foods that are incredibly good for you, while also being easy on the wallet. Cabbage is one of those foods, and this is my favorite way to prepare it. P.S. I never liked cabbage until I tried this recipe.

You know how overcooking veggies makes them bland and tasteless? There’s an exception to every rule. Sometimes, cooking them low and slow concentrates their flavor in a way that simply transforms them. That’s how I feel about this recipe. It’s easy to prepare, and luscious in flavor (the best kind of recipe.)

The sweet flavors of coconut and shallot are the perfect complement to this mildly bitter green. Collards are also anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, detoxifying, digestion-enhancing, and are an excellent source of calcium. The perfect definition of a healing food!

There’s a reason Terry Wahls recommends that we eat three cups of brightly colored fruits and vegetables daily. Every color represents a different blend of micronutrients that our bodies need to thrive. This recipe is a nutritional powerhouse, covering the green, red/purple, and orange parts of the spectrum. An added bonus is that it’s both beautiful and delicious. Even though I’m on a restricted diet, I still love food, and recipes like this have an abundance of flavor that feeds my soul as well as my body.

Rainbow Chard is truly a superfood – full of anti-inflammatory, blood sugar regulating, bone strengthening, heart protective, brain supporting, and detoxifying compounds. With the right recipe, it’s also delicious.

Have you ever eaten grapefruit and avocado together? If not, you’re missing out! This simple salad is easy to make, packed with nutrition, and totally delicious. Did you know avocados are anti-inflammatory? Or that grapefruit boosts glutathione, helping our bodies detoxify? Every time I research the nutrition behind recipes, I am newly amazed at the medicinal power of real food.

This sauce isn’t just delicious, it’s also full of health benefits thanks to the power of cranberries. Why do we eat this delicious berry exclusively around the holidays? I recommend you eat this all year long.

If you’ve ever made caramelized onions the traditional way, you know they take almost an hour in a skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally. While this is an opportunity for cooking meditation, it can be challenging for the impatient among us! That’s where this recipe is a godsend. Just pop the onions in your slow cooker in the evening and walk away. In the morning, your house will smell amazing and you’ll have enough caramelized onions to store and use at a moment’s notice.

Broccoli is considered a detox superfood. It contains a dynamic trio of phytonutrients that support all phases of our body’s detoxification. In addition, this salad is delicious! Note: Mustard is considered a Stage 1 Reintroduction, and most people do reintroduce it successfully, but if you’re still in the elimination phase of the AIP, just substitute your favorite AIP-friendly herb.

Butternut squash and golden beets cooked in garlic-ginger infused coconut milk. It’s a bowl of warmth in the winter time, with veggies the color of the rising sun. Comfort food at its finest. 

Of all the recipes on my blog, this is the one I make most often. It’s fast, nutrient-dense, and delicious! And in the introduction to this recipe, I share the amazing nutrient profile that makes Dr. Terry Wahls say, “When in doubt, choose kale.”