8 energizing recipes

Cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and peanut butter make these delicious energy balls that are also packed with lots of good-for-you stuff. They are perfect for your mid-day snack and boost up your energy.

A raw, no-cook borscht blended from fresh beets, avocado, spinach, cucumber, and dill. Vegan, nutrient-dense, and vibrant pink. Served chilled with alfalfa sprouts for a refreshing energy boost.

This quick, easy and yummy frittata is great for breakfast or brunch with a cup of coffee and orange juice. Eggs, three kinds of cheddar cheese, milk, mushrooms and green bell pepper make this frittata taste absolutely delicious, and it also provides you enough energy and nutrients to get your day started.

Mixed mushroom and goat cheese panini layers earthy sautéed wild mushrooms, creamy chevre, peppery arugula, and a hint of truffle oil between crisp focaccia. A vegetarian sandwich with deep umami and bistro-cafe energy.

No-bake energy balls made with dried apricots, walnuts, coconut, and wheat germ, bound with orange juice and rolled in chopped nuts.

No-bake fruit and nut energy balls with dates, raisins, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and cocoa powder. A naturally sweetened snack with no added sugar, ready in 10 minutes.

Pounded chicken breasts seared fast over high heat, then drizzled with a brandy, Dijon mustard, and lime pan sauce loaded with fresh chives. A 20-minute dinner with serious steakhouse energy.

If you run out of preserved lemons, or decide on just a few day's notice to cook a chicken, lamb, or fish dish with lemons and olives and need preserved lemons in a hurry, you can use this quick five-day method taught to me by a Moroccan diplomat's wife. Lemons preserved this way will not keep, but are perfectly acceptable in an emergency.