Whether you are growing a garden or not, you can be sure you likely have a neighbor that is—even if it’s a patio or window-box setup. People are coming to really appreciate the health and well-being that comes with fresh, whole food. And that’s also why farmers’ markets have become so popular. Where we live folks truly count the days until the local markets open.

Well, wherever you’ll be getting your fresh produce, now is the time to seriously collect fresh food recipes and start experimenting with all the wonderful veggies that are coming into season. However, one of the typical downsides to filling the fridge with fresh food is the tendency we have to letting it go “bad.” Don’t you feel terrible when that happens?

So with this idea in mind I thought I’d share a few ideas for how to include more fresh whole food in your meal planning and avoid the “slimy slump” (what we call it when our veggies take a turn for the worse).

One of the first things we did was to designate specific days for meals made only of veggies. We have “Meatless Monday,” “Water-Loaded Foods Wednesday,” and “High-Fiber Friday.” The Meatless Monday is self-explanatory, but the other two may need some clarification: Water-loaded foods are essentially fruits and vegetables. And high-fiber foods are also fruits and vegetables. This was just my way of jazzing it up a bit, adding a little fun to the plate, and getting away from the “Vegetables AGAIN?!” mind-set.

Some of our very favorite veggie-loaded dishes include:

Goat cheese, onion, and spinach quesadilla (no recipe needed—the flavor combination is delectable, no matter what the proportions of these ingredients are)

Rolled lasagna. Cook the amount of noodles you want to use to al denté. At the same time, in a steamer, lightly steam all the veggies you want to incorporate. Mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, yellow crook neck squash, chopped spinach, cauliflower, diced tomato, and fresh basil and oregano are just a few suggestions. Once noodles are cooked and vegetables are ready, lay out a noodle on an individual serving plate and top it with the steamed veggies and a handful of shredded cheese. Pour hot marinara sauce over it and garnish with more shredded cheese and perhaps a chopped basil.

Chipotle vegetable chili. Sweet potatoes, kale, and black beans are just a few of the super-foods in this savory supper. Do the prep work, like chopping, an evening before you plan to serve this dish to turn it into a 20-minute dinner.

Lemon Basil Pasta with Summer Squash. This dish calls for cooked whole-wheat penne pasta, chopped summer squashes (zucchini, crook neck, etc.), canned white beans (rinsed and drained), chopped fresh lemon basil, lots of grated Parmesan cheese, a little lemon juice, and lots of extra virgin olive oil. For extra flavor, roast the squash before combining with the pasta and cheese. All that’s needed is to cook the pasta then you toss it with all the other ingredients. Sometimes I omit the lemon juice and just use sweet basil rather than the lemon. Proportions of ingredients are left to your taste—you can’t go wrong with these flavors.

Spinach Mushroom pizza. We sometimes use a Boboli if we’re in a hurry. Sometimes I have balls of pizza dough in my freezer and I’ve just pulled it out a few hours in advance so it can thaw and I can roll it out easily. We’ve even placed our pizza toppings on a big round of Swedish rye cracker. And the assortment of veggies is totally up to you. Red onion, lots of chopped fresh basil, lots of sliced fresh mushrooms, diced bell peppers, thin rounds of zucchini, canned artichokes, and loads of cheeses are all wonderful in any proportion you use. Once covered, bake in a 450°F about 10 minutes, or until cheeses are nicely melted. Then there’s soups and stews for those cooler evenings, filled pitas, and veggie-loaded burritos. You get the idea. The point is to fill the fridge with fresh whole food and use it on a regular basis. You watch, your health will improve, your waistline will slim up, and you’ll save a good chunk of money in the process!