When you are in need of an easy, nutrient-dense meal, make burger bowls! I use local, pasture-raised beef when I consume beef. This type of beef contains more of an anti-inflammatory fat profile compared to conventional beef. This recipe can serve two to four people, depending on everyone's preference for salad and burger size. I double this recipe to serve my family, as most of us prefer to have about a half-pound burger size and larger salads! If you would like to make quarter pound burgers and smaller salads, then this recipe can serve four people.

These muffins have the perfect touch of sweetness with big chunks of luscious red cherries. The allspice lends a subtle sweet, spicy flavor that melds nicely with the cherries. Pumpkin seed flour is also called pumpkin seed protein powder and is made from very finely ground raw pumpkin seeds. Store muffins in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days (if they last that long) or freeze for longer storage!

Use this stuffed bell pepper recipe as a way to use up leftover cooked turkey or chicken! If you don't like bell peppers, the filling can be stuffed into pre-baked delicata squash halves instead! Serve with a large romaine lettuce salad for an easy, balanced meal. 

Serve this simple, classic salad over leaf lettuce leaves for a fresh summer salad. It pairs well with grilled chicken breasts or grilled chicken-vegetable kebabs when it's too hot to cook indoors!

The deep, earthy flavors of the mushrooms mingles beautifully with the nutty, creamy cashews. If you have a nut allergy then you could replace the cashew cream with coconut cream or heavy cream if dairy is not an issue. Serve soup with a vegetable salad for a light, nutritious lunch or dinner. 

Serve these colorful, refined-sugar-free treats for your 4th of July gathering or a child's birthday party! Blueberries, cherries, and strawberries all work well for the filling. I also like to use a non-alcoholic vanilla extract when making the cashew cream because I find the alcohol flavor comes though too strongly. Kudzu is a white powdery substance that comes in white chunks. It can be found in the Asian section of your natural health food store or in the bulk spice section. It is very soothing and healing to the intestines.

This delicious Thai-style sauce can be made in about 20 minutes from start to finish. Use this sauce to create a simple green curry! Sauté a variety of veggies (add meat or tofu if desired) over medium-high heat for a few minutes (starting with the veggies that take the longest to cook) and then add the veggies to the sauce and simmer for just a few minutes until tender. Serve with white or brown rice.

Cold and flu season is upon us! How can you support your immune system so it can function at its best? Your immune cells, like all other cells, require good nutrition and lifestyle habits to function properly. A nourishing whole foods diet, strong digestive system, good sleep practices, good hydration, blood sugar control, and the addition of supportive nutritional supplements all work together to promote a strong and functional immune system.

Serve these spicy gingerbread-like teff cookie bars with vanilla coconut ice cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon for a delicious gluten-free and vegan treat! 

This incredibly easy cheesy rice and beans recipe can be made in the morning and packed in stainless steel thermoses for your children's school lunch! It also makes a great side dish for any type of Tex-Mex themed meal. I've also made this recipe with leftover meat! Just stir in chopped or shredded cooked chicken or beef with everything before you cook it. Serve the rice and beans with salsa and chopped cilantro if desired. 

Serve this grain and bean salad over fresh lettuce leaves, or place a spoonful of salad in each leaf and eat "wrap style." Try adding diced cucumbers, red bell peppers, or any other vegetable you desire to this recipe. Garnish each serving with toasted sunflower seeds. Salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

If you are a buckwheat lover then you will to enjoy these gluten-free and vegan muffins. Many years ago I started grinding my own buckwheat flour from raw buckwheat groats and discovered that it made a wonderful replacement to wheat flour in baking! This was one muffin recipe was one of my earliest creations, and is also featured in the first edition (2006) of my cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. Try adding more carrots, raisins, some shredded apple, or any chopped nut for a denser, more nutritious treat. These muffins work great as a quick breakfast.

This mandarin almond flour cake is a variation of the classic Italian orange-almond cake, only without the sugar! The mandarins are blended whole with the wet ingredients to create an exceptionally moist and citrusy cake. Serve with a cup of spice tea for a nutritious winter dessert.

Use this sauce to brush over chicken breasts, ribs, tofu, or as a simmer sauce for cooked beans. I use organic strained tomatoes from the company, Bionaturae. I like this product because it comes in a glass container thereby eliminating the use of the BPA-lined cans so often used for tomato products. Store any unused sauce in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 14 days or freeze for longer storage.

Serve this nutrient-dense kale salad with baked salmon and cooked quinoa for a balanced meal. You can vary the ingredients in this recipe to what you have on hand. Replace the currants with raisins and the oregano with fresh basil. The pine nuts could be replaced with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds to save money (pine nuts can be a bit pricey). This salad serves 2 adults and a few small children. You may want to double it if serving to a larger number of people.

This antioxidant-rich sorbet is the perfect healthy treat to round out a nourishing meal. I like to add about a tablespoon of raw blue spirulina powder to this sorbet recipe to deepen the color and add more phytonutrients!

This ice cream needs to be made in an ice cream maker. It can also be made into popsicles. If your ice cream maker container is too small to fit the strawberry-coconut cream, pour the remaining into popsicle molds. Serve ice cream with sliced fresh strawberries and fresh mint leaves for a cooling summer dessert.

These refined sugar-free cookie bars are so quick and easy to prepare! They make a great after-school snack for hungry children or can be packed in school lunch boxes as part of a balanced lunch. The sunflower seed butter can be replaced with either peanut butter or almond butter if nut allergies or histamine intolerance is not an issue. This recipe makes one 8x8-inch pan of bars, or 8 cookie bars. Double the recipe and use a 9x13-inch pan for 16 bars. The chocolate topping is optional!

This rich, dark chocolate cake is high in protein and nutrients like zinc and essential fatty acids (linoleic and oleic fatty acids). Because of its richness, serve it with a light, fruity sauce or sliced fresh strawberries. Watch the baking time closely. Test for doneness after about 35 minutes. If the top of the cake feels jiggly to the touch it needs more time, if not, pull it out.

I have been asked a number of times for ideas to bread chicken breasts, fish, and vegetables - gluten-free.

Tonight I thought I would offer some ideas on this topic, some of my own and some gleaned from my fellow foodies.

Keep a jar of this dressing stocked in your refrigerator so you can create nutritious salads daily! I place all of the ingredients into a wide mouth mason jar and use my immersion blender to make this dressing, but you could also use a regular blender. This dressing will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed jar for about 2 weeks.

This delicious, nourishing casserole makes the perfect fall or winter plant-based meal. I initially created this recipe to utilize the fresh turmeric I had on hand, but it also can be made with dried. If you work during the week, then try making this recipe on the weekend to have available for the week. The long baking time may not make this suitable for a quick weeknight meal. I use a stone casserole dish for this recipe. Portions can also be frozen into small containers for future use. Enjoy!

This easy Instant Pot rice and beans recipe comes together quickly once the beans have finished soaking. Serve rice and beans with sliced avocados, chopped cilantro, and lime wedges for a delicious and easy plant-based meal!

Rhubarb’s beautiful, rosy stalks poke up out of the ground in spring before any other fruit making them the quintessential “fruit” for this season. The tart, tangy flavor that rhubarb offers to baked goods is unequivocal. These little gems won’t last long after being baked!

Serve these delicious curry roasted potatoes with baked fish, steak, roasted chicken, or a curried lentil soup. Be sure to cut the potatoes so each piece is relatively the same size. This way the potatoes will cook evenly and perfectly.

Serve this nourishing winter kale salad for Thanksgiving or Christmas! The walnuts can be replaced with either pecans or hazelnuts. Add fresh pomegranate arils for more color, flavor, and antioxidants!

The phrase "Be a Yocal, Buy Local" still rings in my head from my Bozeman, Montana days. Yes I used to live there and loved it! The co-op there had stickers with the above phrase that I had plastered on my Nalgene water bottle. (No, I do not use a Nalgene bottle anymore....stainless steel for us now!).

Greens, greens glorious greens are the local veggies that are available at our Farmer's Market right now. Last Saturday we bought loads of fresh kale, arugula, mixed baby greens, sorrel, baby bok choy, napa cabbage, green onions, and baby garlic.

These flour-free blender pancakes are so quick and easy to make! Just add the buckwheat groats and rolled oats to a high-powered blender along with all the other ingredients and blend until smooth! Serve these nutrient-dense pancakes with scrambled eggs or sausages for your children's breakfast.

What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in it. Your skin is your largest organ—and it absorbs much of what you apply to it. That means your daily skincare routine can either nourish your body…or silently increase your toxic burden. Over time, this daily exposure adds up—and can interfere with hormone balance, immune function, detoxification, and more. That’s where this homemade whipped body butter comes in. It’s incredibly easy to make and will deeply nourish your skin with healing fats and pure essential oils. The base of this recipe is raw shea butter, a rich, creamy fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. This body butter is not only a nourishing skincare product—it’s a simple, powerful way to reduce your exposure to everyday toxins while honoring your body with something lovingly homemade.

Simply making sure you have a good lunch can be a challenge sometimes, but what about your child? I know mornings can be frenzied and kids may go to school with less than optimal lunches. Or you may be the type that packs a super healthy lunch everyday only to find most of it uneaten in the lunchbox at the end of the day.

There is a solution.

Have your child pack his or her lunch in the morning! This way they pack what they want within the realm of healthy options and you have more time for other things in the morning.

Serve this easy chicken recipe over cooked penne pasta and either steamed green beans or a simple green salad with a red wine vinaigrette. If you are following a low-carb or keto diet, serve this creamy chicken dish over cooked spaghetti squash. 

These gluten-free and vegan pumpkin donuts are the perfect treat for a holiday morning or brunch. They can be made the night before, and actually taste better the next day! A food processor and donut pan are required to make this recipe. Top each donut with a powdered coconut sugar glaze and chopped nuts for a special treat. 

This vibrant spring slaw comes together quickly with the help of a food processor—use the slicing disc for cabbage and the shredding disc for carrots. It’s rich in cruciferous vegetables that support detoxification and liver health, thanks to compounds like sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol. Chives add a fresh, pungent note and are one of the easiest herbs to grow. Make a large batch and store the slaw undressed; triple the dressing and keep it in a jar to drizzle over individual servings throughout the week. Don’t forget the chopped almonds for a satisfying crunch!

This easy, no-cook pumpkin custard is reminiscent of pumpkin pie, but without all of the preparation work! It can be made in minutes using a high-powered blender. Chill to set and then top with whipped coconut cream if desired.

Serve this buttered cinnamon roasted winter squash recipe as a side dish with fish, chicken, or beef. It is also delicious served with whipped cream or crème fraîche for a healthy dessert!

This quick and easy high-protein breakfast will leave you energized for hours. A breakfast with high protein, fiber, and healthy fats will keep blood sugar levels stable all day. Each serving contains over 30 grams of high-quality protein!

This nutrient-dense vegan salad is even better on the second day after the kale has softened from the olive oil and lemon juice! This is a great way to use leftover brown rice. If you do not have leftover cooked rice on hand then cook 1 ½ cups of rice with just under 3 cups of water and it will equal about 4 cups cooked. When making this salad, make sure your rice has cooled to room temperature. If you have chives growing in your garden, replace the green onions with approximately ½ cup chopped fresh chives.

This creamy white dairy-free ice cream is flecked with little bits pink from the diced nectarine. It is sweet, rich, and scoops perfectly; definitely a crowd pleaser! I use my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker to churn the blended ingredients into ice cream. When making this recipe you can use either fresh or frozen nectarines. If using frozen, your blended cream with turn into "ice cream" much quicker once in the ice cream maker.

Kitcheree is an Indian stew meal made from mung beans and brown rice. Spices and vegetables make up the remaining ingredients which can vary widely. Here I use carrots, kale, peas, and cilantro. Fresh tomatoes can be added as well if you can tolerate nightshade vegetables and are not following a low-histamine diet.