I love making these high-protein, grain-free pancakes for my children in the morning. They like them drizzled with maple syrup; I like them topped with fresh berries and sliced bananas.

Fresh Cranberry beans can be found at your local farmer’s market in the summertime. They are white with dark pink speckles and are easy to shell. Have your children go into the backyard to shell them on a sunny afternoon. It’s a great activity to keep them busy and feeling like part of the family team! Serve this salad over cooked quinoa or fresh lettuce leaves.

Beets are a nutrient dense food, particularly rich in folates that protects us from heart disease, birth defects, and certain cancers. Kale is a powerful anti-cancer food rich in organosulfur compounds. Walnuts are very high in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation, protect against cardiovascular disease, and improve cognitive function. Serve this nutrient-dense salad with Rosemary-Lemon Roasted Salmon and cooked Millet for a balanced meal.

The beautiful dark purple and blue hues you see on berries are actually powerful antioxidants that protect against macular degeneration, reduce cardiovascular disease, decrease cancer risk, and protect brain cells! This smoothie combines blackberries, blueberries, and cherries but you can add whatever frozen berries you have on hand. Since we freeze the black currants growing in our garden during the summer, I like to add a small handful of them to this smoothie as well. Acai powder is a purple superfood powder from a berry growing in the Amazon.

This is one of my favorite autumn breakfasts. I like to serve it with poached eggs or organic homemade breakfast sausages. This meal will definitely power you through a busy morning! To make meal preparation faster I will cut up the squash the night before and keep it in my refrigerator in a covered glass container. Just be sure to dice the butternut squash small so it cooks evenly without burning. I like to use ¼-inch cubes.

Ginger lovers will enjoy this light and creamy soup. Serve this soup with the Spiced Citrus Salmon and a mixed green salad for a colorful, nutrient-rich meal.

Serve this mineral-rich salad at your next potluck or holiday gathering. It also pairs well with baked wild salmon and cooked brown rice. We buy gluten-free, soy-free miso from the South River Miso Company. Miso is a live food rich in beneficial bacteria!

Starchy root vegetables such as celery root and parsnips provide a source of clean-burning, low glycemic carbohydrates. Serve this soup in lieu of bread with a meal. It’s hearty, warming, and very satisfying on a chilly autumn evening.

Craving soothing salty and crunchy? Instead of reaching for a bag of potato chips, try making these. You can bake them at a low temperature or use a food dehydrator. I prefer to dehydrate them, which keeps all of the nutrients intact.

Enjoy this nutritious dairy-free yogurt in place of cow’s milk yogurt. Serve it topped with fresh berries, figs, or peaches and a sprinkling of chopped nuts for dessert. Be sure to use the full fat canned coconut milk for this recipe. The agar and gelatin powders serve as thickeners. For the probiotic powder, I use Therbiotic Complete from Klaire Labs.

Serve this probiotic-rich drink in lieu of juice or soda. You can use the juice from cracked fresh, young coconuts or young coconut water from a can or glass bottle. You can also add freshly grated ginger to the coconut water if you would like to make a warming digestive tonic. To make a live ginger soda, add 2 tablespoons of grated ginger to the bottle on day 1. Then strain when fermentation is complete. Add liquid stevia to sweeten it. 

Serve this refreshing salad as a summer afternoon snack or along or as part of a balanced dinner. It pairs well with baked chicken or salmon and a steamed vegetable. 

I make a few gallon jars of lacto-fermented pickles every summer. They keep in my refrigerator for up to 6 months! When making pickles, it is important to buy pickling cucumbers, often called gherkins, which have thinner skins and fewer seeds. Larger ones will need to be cut into spears, but smaller ones can be left whole. I like to separate them out and make one jar of small ones and another jar with spears.

This simple salad can be used as a base recipe to create many variations according to what you have on hand. In the springtime, try replacing the tofu with chopped hardboiled egg, diced radishes, and fresh dill. Use sea salt in place of the tamari. In the summertime when an abundance of fresh vegetables are available, add diced red bell peppers, blanched green beans, chopped kale, and chopped sugar snap peas. Sometimes I like to sprinkle the salad with toasted sunflower seeds just before serving.

French lentils, also called Le Puy lentils, are named after Le Puy in Auvergne, a volcanic area in the center of France with ideal soil and climate for the growth of the lentils. French lentils have a delicate taste and a fine green skin with steel blue speckles. They usually can be found in the bulk section of your local co-op or health food store.

When you are looking for something crunchy and spicy to eat, try these! I like to keep a jar in my refrigerator at all times. My children sneak the carrot sticks as soon as I put the jar into the refrigerator. You can add other flavors if you wish—try chopped garlic and chili peppers!

This is one of my children’s favorite lacto-fermented recipe. Once fermentation is complete, they can go through two jars in a day if I let them! Needless to say, I have to make large batches of this recipe! Sometimes I like to add hot chili peppers to one jar and black peppercorns to another. I’ve also used pickling spice, which is quite delicious as well.

When you have too much kale growing in your garden and don’t know what to do with it….make sauerkraut! The word sauerkraut is German for sauer (sour) kraut (greens or plants). Serve a few scoops of this probiotic and enzyme-rich vegetable dish with any meal! 

These hamburger buns contain no yeast, which means no rising time! They are easy to make and bake up quickly. Serve them with grass-fed beef burgers, or our favorite, Sloppy Joes.

This recipe is a fun twist to regular omelets. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have access to high quality smoked wild salmon, if you can’t find it you can use leftover cooked salmon instead. I like to add fresh organic cheese from my local farmer’s market. Use organic feta cheese if you don’t have access to fresh cheese, or omit it altogether. Other vegetables you can add to the filling include sautéed zucchini, cooked chanterelle mushrooms, or sautéed spinach. 

Use this hearty, high-protein grain-free bread for small open-faced sandwiches. Try spreading slices with soft goat cheese or White Bean Hummus, then add a slice of heirloom tomato, fresh basil, and a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. 

Kale and hazelnuts are signature foods of the Pacific Northwest—where we live—so it would make sense to use them in as many ways possible. Kale Pesto is one! Serve a dollop of this pesto over baked organic chicken, grilled salmon, or toss with steamed vegetables and cooked brown rice noodles. 

Kombucha, pronounced kum-BOO-sha, is a drink made from tea, sugar, and a special kombucha culture. A kombucha culture looks sort of like a large pancake, though it conforms to fit the shape of the container it is in. The culture itself is a living relationship of different beneficial bacteria and special yeast cultures. The sugar is a simple carbohydrate that provides food for the yeast and bacteria. The tea provides substances that aid in the brewing process: caffeine, oxygen, nitrogen, tannic acid, vitamins, and some minerals.

Garlic scapes are available in the spring and early summer. They are the long, flowering stalks of the garlic bulb and are trimmed off to help the garlic grow larger. They have a potent garlicky flavor and can be used in stir-fries, pesto, soups, and stews. I like to ferment garlic scapes and then add them to a meal as a garnish. You can add other vegetables to the jar if desired. Try carrot sticks, radishes, turnips, or hot chili peppers! 

This nutrient-dense salad makes a perfect light lunch when served over salad greens! Pack a small container in your child’s lunchbox along with a slice of Hearty Seed Bread and a container of organic green grapes for a balanced meal.

These muffins are lemony and not too sweet, perfect to serve for breakfast with scrambled eggs and steamed kale.

Use this enzyme-rich, raw hot pepper relish to top scrambled eggs, chicken fajitas, or quinoa and beans. I use a food processor to quickly chop all of the ingredients so I don’t have to cut so many hot peppers!

Tarragon has a lovely, pungent, licorice-like flavor that pairs well with mustard and chicken. It is easy to grow in an herb garden or can be found in the produce section of your local grocery store. Use the extra sauce in the baking dish to drizzle over the rest of your meal. I usually make a double batch of this recipe so I can have leftovers for chicken salad.

This tasty fig jam makes a great accompaniment to an appetizer plate with sliced tart apples and hard cheeses. If you want a beautiful dark, ruby-colored jam, use a darker-colored fresh fig for this recipe, such as black mission or brown turkey figs.

Turnips often get passed by in the market more than other vegetables because most people don’t know what to do with them. Try this alternative to cucumber pickles and you might just fall in love with turnips! I prefer to use smaller sized turnips for pickling, but if you can only find large turnips then cut them into chunks or quarters. 

We like to make this hearty chowder in late summer when the sweet corn and peppers are in abundance, plus it's a great way to use up leftover roasted chicken and cooked quinoa! Use Homemade Chicken Stock or Homemade Vegetable Stock for best results. The raw cashew butter gives the chowder a creaminess without dairy. Replace the cooked quinoa with cooked wild rice if you don't like quinoa.  

Use these tortillas to make quesadillas, soft tacos, or serve them with soups and stews for dipping! They are soft and pliable when warm, but straight out of the fridge, like most gluten-free tortillas, they will crack. All you need to do to make them pliable again is to place one on a wire rack over a pot of simmering water and steam for 30 seconds on each side. I use an 8-inch cast iron tortilla press to get them super thin and then cook them in a cast iron pan. 

When soaked, chia seeds expand and thicken the liquid they are in. You can also make a raw pudding using this method by adding a few more tablespoons of sweetener. I love the combination of peaches, Almond Milk, and grated nutmeg, but you can play around with the ingredients. Try mashed banana in place of the peach and add a sprinkling of raw cacao nibs on top of the pudding. You can also stir in fresh berries and ground cinnamon for another variation. 

If you are new to making sauerkraut, this is one of the easiest recipes to begin with. The food processor does all the work for you—no pounding necessary! Serve a scoop of cultured vegetables with your breakfast, lunch, and dinner! The flavor is very tangy and delicious. Cultured vegetables are rich in beneficial lactobacilli bacteria and enzymes, are alkaline-forming, and are full of vitamins—especially vitamin C. Cultured vegetables help to reestablish a healthy inner ecosystem of gut bacteria, improve digestion, control cravings for sweets, and stimulate the liver.

This stir-fry, rich in cruciferous vegetables, offers significant cancer protection. The anti-cancer effects of these vegetables comes from the phytochemicals like sulforaphane and indoles. These chemicals not only suppress tumor growth, but also cancer cell metastasis. You can add cubed marinated organic chicken or tofu to this stir-fry if desired. Serve with brown basmati rice.

Since we live in the Pacific Northwest, we have access to fresh, wild salmon. In autumn we take our children to local rivers and watch the salmon run while the bald eagles fly above us. If you don’t live in a place with access to wild salmon, use this recipe with another variety of fish that is local to your area.

Lightly steaming your vegetables is a great way to lock in nutrients while increasing digestibility. You can vary the vegetables to what is in season. Serve with roasted halibut or roasted chicken for a nourishing evening meal. 

Who doesn’t love a good milkshake! This smoothie makes a great after school snack for children or a refreshing summertime treat. I like to add a tablespoon of hemp protein powder or pastured beef gelatin to add more protein, but it isn't necessary. Goji berries are bright orange-red berries that come from a shrub that's native to China. They contain a powerhouse of antioxidants, minerals, trace minerals, and amino acids.

I like to make some variation of this recipe at least twice a week for breakfast in the summertime. We pile on the chopped almonds, chia seeds, and raw cacao nibs to help stay satisfied longer! This fruit salad also makes a lovely summertime dessert!

I like to make this sauce toward the end of summer when there is an abundance of vegetables needing to be used. You can freeze the sauce in pint-size jars for future use. I prefer to serve the sauce over baked spaghetti squash, but my children prefer brown rice noodles—either way it’s a nutrient-dense meal! Serve with a large green salad.