There are countless variations of vegetables, grains, and beans you can use to created stuffed squash. A corn, cooked quinoa, black bean combo would be quite delicious! If you happen to eat cheese, I would consider topping each stuffed, halved squash with shredded raw, organic jack cheese! If you have extra filling, heat it in a small covered pot over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Making your own pumpkin puree is really very simple. But there are a few important steps to ensure a thick puree. The water content of fresh pumpkin puree and canned puree can vary widely. Cooking pumpkin with water creates a thin puree, which will then cause your breads, muffins, cookies, and pies to be overly moist. Roasting pumpkin without any added water creates a thick puree that will most likely match the consistency of canned pumpkin. Plus, freshly made pumpkin puree tastes so much better than canned. It is sweeter, smoother, and just down-right delicious!

Serve this delicious raw caramel dip with crisp autumn apples for a nutritious snack or dessert! This dip is very easy to make; you just need a few hours for the dates and cashews to soak. You can also use this recipe a sauce to drizzle over your favorite dessert by thinning it out with extra water!

Serve this classic spring risotto with baked salmon or halibut and a fresh green salad for a balanced meal! Risotto can take some patience, but you are rewarded with an ultra creamy rice dish that everyone will enjoy. Other vegetables can be used in place of the peas; try chopped asparagus, zucchini, or diced red bell peppers.

This salad is a nutritious combination of thinly sliced dark leafy greens, crunchy almonds, carrots, and chicken. You could use sliced almonds in place of the slivered. Try adding daikon radish, chopped cilantro, and sliced green onions too!

Any variety of garden vegetables will work in this flavorful Thai curry. Try sweet onions, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, and mushrooms. Kaffir lime leaves can be found at your local Asian market. They are very inexpensive and can be frozen. I keep a few small bags in the freezer and then take them out to use as I need them. Kaffir lime leaves look somewhat similar to bay leaves and will give your curry an authentic Thai flavor. Fish only takes about 3 minutes to cook, so be sure to add it last!

This moist and delicious bread is a great way to make use of the massive amounts of garden zucchini available in the summertime! Use the grating disc on your food processor to quickly grate the zucchini or offer the task to your child to be done with a hand grater. I use stone mini loaf pans which evenly distribute the heat and don't cause any sticking.

Serve this flavorful, fresh chutney recipe over dal and rice or your favorite curry recipe. If you would like a milder chutney, simply omit the habanero peppers. If you don't have coconut sugar (a low-glycemic granulated sugar) on hand then feel free to use another granulated sugar such as raw cane sugar or Sucanat.

This bright and creamy spring pea, potato, and celery soup is the perfect way to welcome the lighter, greener flavors of the season. Naturally simple and nourishing, it makes a lovely side dish for spring dinners or a quick, soothing lunch to enjoy throughout the week. Fresh or frozen peas blend beautifully with tender potatoes and aromatic celery for a silky, comforting bowl. For an extra touch of richness, top each serving with a dollop of coconut yogurt or cashew cream—a delicious way to elevate this humble, healing soup.

Make a batch of this creamy raw dressing on a meal prep day to have on hand for salads throughout the week. It is delicious drizzled over spicy greens, with sliced hard-boiled eggs, salmon, sunflower sprouts, and snipped chives. Raw cashew butter can be found at your local health food store or ordered online. 

Serve this icy cold, refreshing smoothie for a late afternoon summer snack. It is thirst-quenching and full of powerful antioxidants. It can also be frozen into popsicle molds for a nutritious, kid-friendly snack. My children love this smoothie.

These gluten-free and egg-free strawberry shortcakes are perfect to serve for a springtime brunch or birthday treat. This recipe can be made to be vegan by substituting the butter for organic palm shortening. Other berries can be used in place of the strawberries; try raspberries or blackberries! 

The bright, refreshing flavors of fennel, citrus, and arugula come together beautifully in this elegant yet simple salmon salad. It's perfect for a springtime celebration—serve it as part of a holiday dinner or a Mother's Day brunch. You can also prep all of the components ahead of time and store them separately in the fridge for quick, nutrient-dense lunches throughout the week.

This simple, nourishing soup is easy to make and perfect when you need something cleansing and light. Ginger contains powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds that can inhibit the production of inflammatory chemicals produced within the body, reduce lipid peroxidation, and reduce free radicals. Ginger also upregulates the production of glutathione peroxidase—the body's most powerful antioxidant and detoxification enzyme! I would suggest grating in as much fresh ginger as you can tolerate.

This recipe can easily be doubled for serving a crowd. Add more veggies to make the meat go further. Try adding mushrooms, peppers, onions, and tomatoes to the kebobs if desired. Serve with a large green salad for a light summer meal.

Rhubarb makes the perfect base for a hot and sour compote! I use my homemade fermented hot sauce in this recipe, however, a store-bought sriracha sauce works as well. Other types of fresh fish can be used in this recipe—try salmon, cod, or sea bass.

Cardamom, orange, cinnamon, and coconut sugar contrast the sourness in the rhubarb to create a balance of flavors in this beautiful gluten-free spring dessert. Serve with your favorite type of vanilla ice cream if desired.

Use this recipe to preserve part of your summer fruit harvest! My recipe is barely adapted from the very detailed directions and variations given in the package of Pomona Pectin. This brand of pectin is made from citrus peel instead of corn. You should be able to find this particular pectin at your local co-op or health food store. I use a Vitamix to quickly mash my fruit. Not so it is completely pureed, but just ground up and still a little chunky.

This gluten-free, egg-free shortcake recipe can also be used as a topping for fruit cobblers. If you would like to make a peach, cherry, blueberry, or plum cobbler then you can drop this biscuit dough on top of your prepared fruit in a baking dish and bake away! The sorghum flour in this recipe can be replaced with sprouted brown rice flour or a mix of brown rice flour and millet flour if need be. If you want to have Whipped Coconut Cream you can place a can of coconut milk in the fridge to chill for several hours.

Serve this simple chicken soup on a chilly spring evening with gluten-free focaccia bread if desired. Fresh shelling peas or frozen peas can be used in this recipe. A good homemade chicken broth creates a light and flavorful base, however, store-bought chicken stock can be used as well.

This salad is very quick to prepare and quite addicting to eat! Blanching green beans for a few minutes cooks them perfectly so they still have a bit of crispness to them. I always run them under icy cold water, using a colander, to stop the cooking process. This salad can be made ahead of time though I would suggest leaving the walnuts out until you are ready to serve. Otherwise they will get quite soggy within a few hours.

I make some variation of this smoothie several times a week! Sometimes I serve it as the "vegetable" for my children with dinner in lieu of a salad. Bok choy can replace the cabbage if desired. Add as much fresh ginger as you can tolerate to increase your consumption of potent anti-inflammatory compounds! Additionally, try adding a scoop or two of amino acid powder to turn this smoothie into a meal.

This recipe is quite a treat for anyone, young or old. I think you'll like how healthy they are too! I use a raw cacao powder for these which makes them extra tasty and rich in antioxidants! After blending all of the ingredients together you can immediately serve this as pudding or pour it into your popsicle molds for "fudgesicles."

These easy gluten-free buttermilk pancakes are made by soaking rolled oats in buttermilk overnight. In the morning, all you need to do is add the remaining ingredients to a blender along with the soaked oats, then blend to create your pancake batter! The pancakes cook best in a cast iron pan or griddle. Serve with pure maple syrup and fresh berries for a hearty breakfast.

This incredibly flavorful chicken-cabbage salad is packed with antioxidants and detoxification compounds. Use leftover roasted chicken or poached chicken breasts in this recipe, or simmer a whole chicken on the stove and use the meat for salads and stock your freezer with the broth. This salad can be dressed and stored in your refrigerator for up to three days—making it a great meal prep salad to have on hand for quick and nutrient-dense lunches! If you are on a soy-free diet, replace the wheat-free tamari with coconut aminos. 

This delectable fresh curry is vegan. I have added cooked chickpeas to this recipe but I imagine it could easily be made with chunks of salmon or halibut, or even some sautéed chicken breast pieces. Try any vegetable you have on hand. I often make this with diced sweet potatoes or winter squash in Autumn. Chopped fresh spinach would be another fantastic addition; just toss it in when you take the pan off the stove.

Medicinal mushrooms (such as shiitake) have long been known to be a potent healing food. Research shows that shiitake mushrooms can improve gut immunity, feed beneficial gut microbes, and decrease inflammation in the body. Shiitake mushrooms make a delicious and easy side dish to any Asian-inspired meal. 

Filet mignon steaks are coated with ground black pepper and salt, seared, and then served atop a bed of tender butter lettuce, along with creamy avocados, sliced cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. The simple mustard vinaigrette pairs well with the peppery steak. Serve salad for a light, yet nutrient-dense dinner. For added complex carbohydrates, serve salad with baked sweet potatoes. The steak can be grilled or cooked in a cast iron skillet on the stove. 

We love to make these with any meal. It gives us a special excuse to open a new jar of last season's homemade honey-blueberry jam! These biscuits are best served fresh out of the oven, enjoy!

These grain- and gluten-free molasses cookies are full of warming spices, sweetened with a small amount of coconut sugar, and they're crispy on the outside and chewy in the center. They can be rolled in granulated maple sugar or organic cane sugar before baking if desired.

Fresh herbs are a concentrated source of powerful anti-inflammatory phytonutrients. This goat cheese dip combines several fresh culinary herbs, along with lemon, raw garlic, and olive oil to create a savory, nutrient-dense appetizer. Serve with fresh radishes, cucumbers, and kohlrabi!

This recipe for barbecued lentils is so easy to make! Black beluga lentils are packed with potent polyphenols that protect against oxidative stress and promote longevity. Though the list of ingredients may seem long, the recipe comes together very quickly. The lentils don't need to be soaked ahead of time and cook to perfection in an Instant Pot. Serve barbecued lentils as part of a holiday picnic or nourishing summer dinner!

This simple grain salad makes a fantastic lunch or light dinner. Serve it with a fresh baby green salad tossed with toasted walnuts for a balanced meal. If you are vegan, replace the salmon and sheep's feta with either cooked chickpeas or chopped toasted walnuts.

This high-protein chicken salad uses a dilled cottage cheese "mayo" instead of traditional mayo. This increases the overall protein content of the salad by about 20 grams! An immersion blender quickly whips up the mayo in a quart jar. If you don't have one, then a small food processor can be used instead. Serve chicken salad over a bed of baby arugula or lettuce leaves. 

All potatoes contain high levels of anti-inflammatory antioxidants. Purple potatoes, however, contain about four times as many antioxidants as other potato varieties due to their high content of anthocyanins—the phytonutrient that gives these potatoes their beautiful deep bluish-purple color. Rosemary also contains several powerful anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, including carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid. Serve this antioxidant-rich potato salad as part of a summer picnic or as part of a nourishing evening meal. 

Cowboy beans are a longtime American favorite dating back to frontier days. They are typically made with pinto beans, but often include other types of beans such as kidney or black beans. Cowboy beans can be made with ground beef, bacon, ketchup, and barbecue sauce. My version uses turkey bacon and no added sweeteners—a healthier version of this staple American recipe! Serve beans as part of a summer barbecue dinner, or with a green salad for a simple, nourishing meal. 

Serve this nutrient-dense smoothie for breakfast or as an after school snack! Soaked, raw almonds are an excellent source of plant-based calcium. Use any frozen or fresh fruits you have on hand here. Pears, raspberries, cherries, and blackberries all work very well here!

Serve this antioxidant-rich and anti-inflammatory salad for an easy lunch or light dinner. All of the ingredients can be meal prepped on the weekend and stored in individual containers in order to create quick lunches throughout the week. Arugula, radishes, and cabbage are part of the cruciferous family of vegetables, which stimulate your cells to begin producing more antioxidant and detoxification compounds!

This low-carb, dairy-free fish chowder is full of flavor and fresh herbs! Use a good homemade chicken broth for best results. Other types of white-fleshed fish can be used such as cod, mackerel, or rockfish. This nutrient-dense recipe comes together in minutes and is perfect for busy evenings when you don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner.