Eating healthy (and plant-based) means getting creative in the kitchen. Sure, there are many frozen and packaged vegan products at the store that can be ready in minutes. I’m thankful for the meat and dairy-free snack alternatives, but we don’t want to rely on frozen veggie burgers too much.

To stop making these options your go-to meals, using a blender is a great choice. All those super foods and miracle plants you’ve been told to eat everyday are easy to consume if you have one. Here are 5 easy to eat yummy real food all day using your blender.

1. Smoothies and shakes

Breakfast time or right after workouts are the perfect time to drink your nutrients. The combinations are endless with all the different fruit, protein, powders, nuts, veggies, seeds, and sweeteners to choose from. For something creamy, sweet and unique-tasting, try blending a chia, lucuma, coconut smoothie. Or, drink your sweet potatoes to get antioxidants, Vitamin A, B3, B5, B6, C, manganese, potassium, and fiber. Try a sweet potato pie smoothie.

2. Raw soups

Take advantage of those cold, bitter winter nights and blend some healthy soups that will also keep your weight down. Think of what you can make with raw ingredients, like carrot avocado soup and tomato red pepper soup. Once the ingredients are chopped, the cooking is simple.

3. Make a hearty, plant-based meal

Think of your blender as a tool that’s made for more than smoothies and margaritas. Whole, healthy vegan meals can be made with the blender as the star. For a hearty meal full of spice and flavor, try making vegan spinach “chicken” curry, which calls for blending spinach into a puree as well as almonds into milk.

4. Spreads

Blenders are great for making nutrient-dense purees and spreads out of raw ingredients. Some ingredients that you might not find appealing by themselves can take on an appetizing taste when mixed with spices like ginger or garlic. Can’t stand beets but want their health benefits? A delicious way to enjoy them is by roasting them and blending a roasted beetroot and ginger chutney.

5. Snacks

Use your blender to serve some tasty snacks for a group. Whip up some sour cream and onion kale chips or baby lima beans and oats dosa to knock their socks off.

6. Dressings

Get in your daily dose of greens by drizzling them with a raw vegan Caesar salad dressing, which is made by mixing cashews, different seeds, garlic, miso, dill and other ingredients, then blending them. Like most the options on this list, you can make many different types of dressing and sauces with your blender. Another recipe to try is a creamy lemon herb dressing.

7.  Dessert

You can make a meal for any time of day using your blender, including dessert! Try making vegan almond halwa — Indian pudding, where you blend almond and soymilk into a pancake-like batter. Or, use a blender to mix cashews, coconut butter, palm sugar, vanilla and a couple other ingredients to make raw white chocolate coconut fudge bites.

Image Source: Raw Harvest Soup