Photo: Tina Rupp

The Dish That Got Oprah Eating Lasagna Again
In her book Food, Health and Happiness, Oprah admits she had thought her lasagna-eating days were over, but when she tried this take on the Italian casserole for the first time, it was "amaaaazeballs!" It's made with lean ground turkey breast, a white wine-tomato sauce and veggie noodles (she suggests zucchini, celery root and Japanese eggplant). It's meaty, cheesy and absolutely delicious—with the bonus being that a serving comes it at less than 300 calories.

Get the recipe: Oprah's Turkey Lasagna

Photo: ©2017 Burcu Avsar and Zach DeSart

A New Approach to a Familiar Veg
Cauliflower, the latest "It" vegetable, is going strong—and in the revised 10th-anniversary edition of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman shows us a way to cook it that we'd never tried before. You heat oil in a skillet, add bite-size cauliflower florets, salt and a cup of water and quickly cover the pan. As the veg cooks, you shake the pan occasionally, until it's just tender (about five minutes). Then you remove the pot lid and continue cooking until the water evaporates and the cauliflower starts to brown. Thanks to this steam-searing technique, the florets are soft on the inside, with a slightly crisp exterior. Garlicky bread crumbs, black olives and a splash of vinegar complete the dish with a briny and crunchy finish.

Get the recipe: Cauliflower Salad with Olives and Bread Crumbs

Photo: iStock

The Tropical Way to Start Your Day
Wake up in Costa Rica or Nicaragua, and there's a good chance you'll be served gallo pinto, an uncomplicated dish of onions, peppers, rice and beans. It's one of the most filling nonegg breakfasts you can eat, packed with plenty of black beans and red bell pepper. This version, featured in Kathy Freston's new book, Clean Protein, and created by chef and cooking teacher Jason Wyrick, gets a garnish of chopped avocado, along with Salsa Lizano, a peppery Costa Rican hot sauce—though any hot sauce you have will work just fine.

Get the recipe: Gallo Pinto

Photo: ©2017 by Ed Anderson

A Slimmed-Down Take on a Mexican Fave
This smart carnitas recipe from Bobby Flay's new book Bobby Flay Fit somehow manages to keep everything we love about the dish (meaty flavor, melt-in-your-mouth texture) while also cutting way down on the time it takes to make it and on the amount of calories and fat in a serving. Flay's secret: using pork tenderloin instead of shoulder. It cooks much more quickly and is a far leaner cut. With pomegranate seeds and chili sauce, the finished dish is succulent, sweet and spicy. Bonus: Flay suggests using tender leaves of Boston lettuce to wrap the morsels of pork in place of the traditional flour tortillas.

Get the recipe: Pomegranate and Chili-Glazed Pork Carnitas

Photo: ©2017 Burcu Avsar and Zach DeSart

A New Reason to Pick Up a Little-Used Bean
Golden-brown, garlicky Brussels sprouts tossed with chopped roasted hazelnuts sounds tasty enough—but the real star of this dish from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is the Gigante beans they're tossed with. As Bittman explains, these legumes can be somewhat hard to find (Goya sells them in the canned-beans section) but they're worth seeking out for their potato-like flavor and texture. And if you can't find them, this recipe also works with lima (especially large ones), cranberry, pinto or kidney beans. Any way you make it, it's a deeply satisfying cool-weather meal.

Get the recipe: Gigantes with Brussels Sprouts

Photo: iStock

A Good-for-You Noodle Bowl You'll Crave
Freston considers this Asian-inspired dish to be "noodle nirvana." With its irresistible combination of creamy, subtle sweetness and hint of spice, it's easy to see why. The recipe, which comes from vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli, calls for brown-rice noodles, which are gluten-free and have a mild flavor that makes them an ideal match for the piquant sauce. Dressed in a rich mix of coconut milk, maple syrup, soy sauce, peanut butter, chili-garlic sauce, ginger, lime juice and sesame oil, they're over-the-top good. To add even more nutrition, you toss in shredded carrots, chopped peanuts and a good amount of fresh cilantro.

Get the recipe: Peanutty Perfection Noodle Bowl

Photo: iStock

A Vegetarian Main for Skeptics
Squash as an entrée? Believe it. This hearty recipe from Clean Protein, shared by Dan Buettner, who's known for his research of the places in the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives (aka "Blue Zones"), will convince you. Buettner halves the squash, roasts it until tender and then fills it with a mixture of green onions, celery, cranberries, nuts, dried apricots, sage, rice, quinoa and orange juice. Accompanied by a large green salad, this meal covers all your bases: fruit, vegetable, grain, fiber, greens, protein and complex carbohydrates.

Get the recipe: Stuffed Acorn Squash