?52 Easy (And Delicious!) Ways To Use Your Favorite Veggies

1. Get in your greens

Why not get them out of the way first thing in the a.m.? Do it by adding one to two cups of kale to your smoothie, says Jill Nussinow, MS, RDN, of The Veggie Queen and author of Vegan Under Pressure. Use the leaves only or—if you have a high-powered blender—you can throw in the stems.

2. Cream it up

Try a vegan-friendly twist on creamed spinach: Thinly slice kale and generously sauté in garlic and olive oil. Throw onto pasta and let it swim in a cashew-almond milk sauce, like this recipe for 5-Ingredient Creamy Kale Pasta from Pinch of Yum.

RELATED: ‘I Drank Whole Milk Instead Of Almond Milk For A Month—Here’s What Happened’

3. Turn it into a chili

Kale doesn’t have to just be for salads. Imagine a chili starring sweet potato, ground turkey, tomatoes, a bunch of spices, and—of course—kale, like this recipe from Nutritionist in the Kitch. If you’re not a bean girl, you’re in luck because this chili is whipped up sans beans, but still satisfies.

4. Soften them up

“Kale salads work really well when they’re wilted,” says Sharon Palmer, RDN, author of Plant-Powered for Life. To make it happen, all you have to do is toss in hot ingredients of choice—like roasted sweet potato, freshly-cooked bacon, or whatever else your heart desires—and mix. “The temperature from those hot ingredients alone will cook the kale just enough to make it tender, but still keep it fresh,” she says.

5. Massage them

Giving kale leaves a rub down helps tenderize them and really works in the yummy dressing. Combine avocado, tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon juice, and miso. Add to four to six cups of kale leaves and massage until the size of the leaves have shrunk in half, advises Nussinow.

6. Go simple

Stay on the massage train, but if you have an empty pantry and just need some green in your life, simply massage olive oil into the leaves to tenderize, says Palmer. Don’t be afraid to really get in there with your (clean) hands.

7. Boost brightness

Soups and stews are totally accepting of a couple of overflowing handfuls of kale throw in near the end of cooking. “Kale adds a nice bite and color to soups—this is an Italian tradition,” says Palmer.

8. Go Green

When in doubt: make pizza. Cookie + Kate doubles the kale with a kale-pecan pesto sauce that’s topped with gooey mozzarella and more kale. Pizza counts as a veggie, right?

Looking for more healthy dinner ideas? Try our genius pita pizza recipes: