The past almost-two months have been blissfully food-and-drink-filled for me. Between a 6-week Saturday class at the Institute of Culinary Education and the subsequent New York City weekends, capped off with a beer-filled Friday and Saturday reuniting with out-of-town friends and my soon-to-be college graduate sister, and thesweet preparationsleading up to the 2-hour-long Easter lunch with my family yesterday, I’m craving some lighter fare like it’s going out of style.

Nothing is more appealing than produce-based meals at the moment, especially as the first spring vegetables appear at the market. For the sake of my sanity, though, “produce-based” can never mean boring; there are only so many plates of steamed vegetables that a girl can eat (and trust me, the number isn’t high). Rather than falling back on singlemindedness when cooking, I prefer flexible meal-planning strategies that apply to a wide range of produce; this is especially great practice for the coming summer, when I cook through my first CSA share. Strategies such as pastas, stir fries, noodle soups, and polenta with a sauteed vegetable du jour are just the antidotes to an over-sugared state of mind.

A recent post from Not Eating Out In New Yorkembodies this way of thinking, and she highlights some of her recipes for a satisfying, healthy meal, no matter what your green weapon of choice is.