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Spicy tofu crumbles, pickled scallions, and roasted garlic chili sauce all come together in this noodle bowl. (Save leftovers to add to grain bowls all week long.)

Chicken, seafood, glass noodles, and vegetables get briefly poached in dashi-based broth. Cutting the ingredients into uniform pieces ensures they cook in the same amount of time.

The secret to juicy, tender, delicately steamed white-meat chicken and squash? Going slow.

Buy good grains and always soak them. They'll cook more quickly and evenly when hydrated, and the soaking liquid can be used in finished dishes.

The real magic here is in the pool of schmaltz, AKA rendered chicken fat, sizzling in the pan.

Try these tossed in slaw, stirred into soup, or fried with roasted veg to make fritters.

Luscious salmon glazed in a mixture of sake, mirin, and soy sauce.

One of the highlights in the staff-meal rotation at Rustic Canyon is this garlic-ginger fried chicken.

Try this technique on any type of ground meat for an easy rice bowl topper.

Caldo verde means "green broth" in Portuguese, and it is Portugal's unofficial national dish. This beautiful green soup is technically a hot smoothie, since its many nutritious greens are pureed together in a blender. Chickpeas are an important ingredient here, too. Fiber- and protein-rich, they've been shown in studies to help people lose weight. For added protein, top with 4 ounces of shredded chicken or add 2 dozen clams to the broth.

I used to be put off by poaching chicken as I feared it was more complicated than my simple fried version. But it's actually much easier, because while the chicken poaches you can prepare the rest of the food. These days I often poach 3 or 4 chicken breasts at a time, then keep them in the fridge so I can toss them into salads over the following days. Poaching really helps to keep the moisture in the meat, so the end result is much more enjoyable than dried, overcooked chicken.

A lot of people assume that being healthy means that red meat is off the menu. But I'm delighted to say that it's very much on mine. That said, I am a stickler for ensuring that the meat we eat is of the highest quality and that it is always paired with an abundance of vegetables. Plants are always my main focus, but a little bit of good-quality meat here and there has worked best for me. I have tried being vegan and vegetarian but my health suffered during those phases. We are, after all, omnivores and so, unless you have a specific dislike of, issue with or reaction to meat, I think it's a food group that has an important role in our diet. If you like carpaccio, this recipe also works incredibly well with the beef served raw and very finely sliced.

Roman cauliflower (also known as Romanesco) grows as a peculiar spiky, conical head, and instead of florets as in regular cauliflower, it projects cones with tiny cones upon cones—a kind of fractal of nature's making. It comes in various hues of white, purple, and green and has a nutty, more intense flavor compared with regular cauliflower. Unfortunately it's not always easy to find in many stores in the US, though sources like farmers' markets often carry it, as do Italian specialty shops. You can substitute standard cauliflower for this if you can't find the Roman variety. It breaks into florets and cooks the same way.

This Flintstonian cut is impressive, and the bone lends flavor as the meat braises. But if you prefer, a boneless tied leg of lamb is a little more manageable and cooks more quickly.

I get a lot of inspiration from staring at the supermarket shelves, and seeing what items are grouped together. I made this recipe because I found the smoked oysters next to the anchovies in the canned fish section and decided to try them out instead in my Caesar dressing. Once I did that, I decided to riff on the croutons a bit too. In this recipe, the smoky oysters complement the rich egg yolks, which in turn get cut by a healthy dose of lemon juice. Do you like other canned fishies? All are good Caesar salad material, providing they are packed in oil, which amps up their flavor almost to a condiment level of oomph. If you want to get real crazy, find the canned seafood section in an ethnic market.

Hanger steak is the king of what I call weeknight steaks, casual cuts of leanish meat that deliver delicious flavor without a lot of expense or fuss. The skinny strip of flesh tastes best cooked hard and fast, for a crispy char on the outside, and left nice and pink inside. Slice it with a significant slant across the grain for the best eating texture. If you can find a grass-finished hanger steak, you’ll get leaner meat and a higher proportion of healthy lipids, such as omega-3s and CLAs. The bad news: hanger steak—or onglet, as it is sometimes known—can be hard to find. Even my regular butcher runs out somewhat frequently. Don’t fret—just substitute flank steak.

Both the tart shell and the filling for this luscious quiche can be prepped ahead, making it a great dish for brunch entertaining.

When it comes to a special-occasion main course, it doesn't get more timeless or show-stopping than porchetta.

The leftovers from this wholesome, spiced-up chicken dinner are just as good as the meal itself.

When we opted to cut out grains from our diet, one of the hardest things to give up was, strangely enough, stuffing-the kind you eat with Thanksgiving dinner. Most stuffing is made with bread crumbs, and that just wouldn't do. So Ryan put a lot of effort into developing and testing more nutritious alternatives, and eventually came up with this-a delicious and more-than-satisfying substitute. When they taste it for the first time, many people want to know his secret. They're shocked when he tells them it's omitting the bread crumbs. But there's no denying this dish tastes like the real deal, and it's more filling (so it involves less actual stuffing of the face!). It pairs nicely with any poultry, so there's no need to wait until Thanksgiving to make it. Try it with our Sweet Cherry Sauce for an extra decadent side.