Here is an easy and nourishing anti-inflammatory soup to enjoy when the weather begins to get cooler. You can add some cooked garbanzo beans or leftover cooked chicken to increase the protein content if you would like. This soup makes a wonderful lunch or light dinner!
Serve this flavorful stew over cooked brown jasmine rice with a dollop of plain yogurt on top. Replace the squash with potatoes or yams if desired! You can also omit the chickpeas and serve this stew as a Thanksgiving side dish!
This easy Instant Pot black bean soup can be made in minutes! You just need to be sure to soak your dry beans the day before!
Noodle and vegetable stir-fries are easy to prepare for busy weeknight dinners. Many different vegetables can be added, such as thinly sliced green cabbage, chopped bok choy, chopped celery, and chopped zucchini. I have added cooked mung beans to this stir-fry for a source of easily digested soy-free plant-based protein. The sauce here is soy-free as well, however, if you are fine with soy products then replace the coconut aminos with an equal amount of wheat-free tamari.
Roasting a whole chicken for dinner is one of the easiest meals you can make. Leftover roasted chicken can then be used the following days for salads, soups, or grain bowls. The leftover bones and skin can be used to make a delicious bone broth. Serve roasted chicken and potatoes with steamed kale or green beans for an easy, nourishing family meal.
This easy Mediterranean-inspired lunch is rich in potassium and calcium, plus many different beneficial phytochemicals in the tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and peaches. Healthy lunches don't need to be complicated!
Meal Planner System for Special Diets
If you are following the DASH diet or another healthy eating plan, then it is really helpful to have easy and nutritious meals you can quickly put together. Cottage cheese is a probiotic-rich fermented dairy product that is high in protein and calcium. It is perfect topped with fruit and nuts, or hardboiled eggs and sliced veggies.
I created this gluten-free and egg-free pie crust recipe over a decade ago! It can also be found in my Nourishing Meals cookbook. This deep dish apple pie recipe is a favorite of many, and I am happy to share it with you here too. The key to this recipe is to use the “superfine” flours as listed below. These are very finely ground, much more than regular gluten-free grain flours. Authentic Foods is the company I buy mine from. They can be found online or possibly at your local health food store.
Crisp fall apples and bitter greens combine well to make a flavorful, nutrient-dense salad. A touch of sour balsamic vinegar combines these two foods beautifully. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds, or try adding some lightly roasted walnuts or hazelnuts. Serve salad with roasted chicken and baked sweet potatoes or winter squash for a nourishing fall meal.
When you are craving an easy comfort food meal, try this recipe! It works best using an enamel-lined cast iron Dutch Oven if you have one. If not, use a heavy bottomed 5- or 6-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid. Serve this gluten-free stovetop casserole with a simple green lettuce salad and a homemade ranch dressing or a crispy vegetable and cabbage slaw.
Brown rice and veggie salads are easy to prep on the weekend in order to have a ready-to-go healthy lunch to take to school or work for the following few days. Add leftover cooked chicken, cooked chickpeas, or feta cheese to the salad if these ingredients fit into your diet.
Do you have ripe bananas that need to be used up? Try cooking them with rolled oats to create a tasty and nutritious twist on plain oatmeal. Your children will love it! We like to top banana oatmeal with creamy organic peanut butter or sunflower seed butter and a touch of raw honey.
This simple roasted chicken and delicata squash recipe makes an effortless and comforting weeknight meal—perfect for cooler evenings. Tender, oven-roasted chicken pairs beautifully with naturally sweet winter squash, creating a grounding dish that’s rich in flavor and easy to prepare.
Serve this tomato-free black bean chili with brown rice or homemade brown rice flour tortillas and plenty of avocado slices to top each bowl. You'll need a 6-quart electric pressure cooker for this recipe.
Beef stew usually takes hours to cook over a low heat in order to tenderize the meat. With an Instant Pot, though, you can have beef stew in less than an hour! Serve this hearty gluten-free beef stew with a cabbage slaw for a nourishing weeknight meal.
This delicious, nutty quinoa salad makes a great lunch for school or work. It is also a lovely addition to a Thanksgiving feast! I prefer to use red quinoa for this salad because it offers a nutty flavor that complements the other ingredients in this recipe quite well. Look for it in the bulk section of your local health food store.
This easy, antioxidant-rich bean and rice salad is great to prep on the weekends for lunches during the week. Omit the hot chili pepper if you are serving this to young children. Use canned black beans or cook your own!
Serve this easy side dish with a black bean and rice salad for a balanced plant-based meal, or serve with roasted chicken and an arugula salad.
These gluten-free and grain-free chocolate cookies are sweetened with coconut sugar and made with roasted sunflower seed butter instead of flour! They have a dark chocolate flavor and are delicious served with a cup of homemade coconut milk, hemp milk, or raw almond milk.
Serve this nutrient-dense, low-carb vegan salad with a scoop of fermented vegetables for a balanced dinner or lunch. The trick to getting crispy tofu is to make sure to use EXTRA firm tofu. I like to briefly marinate it in a little wheat-free tamari for extra flavor, as tofu will take on the flavors that it is marinated or cooked in.
If you are in need of a quick and easy low-carb meal, try this recipe! The ground beef can easily be replaced with ground lamb, turkey, or chicken if desired. Serve for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Fresh basil or parsley can be used to garnish the soup for more flavor.
Zucchini creates a lovely creamy base for this incredibly flavorful, antioxidant-rich soup. This is a wonderful recipe to make when you have an abundance of garden zucchini. Freeze quart jars of the soup for later use!
Serve this nut-free and grain-free pumpkin spice cake at your next holiday gathering. It's delicious served with real whipped cream, if you tolerate dairy—or, for a dairy-free option, serve with Whipped Coconut Cream.
Salmon cooked "en papillote" is simply salmon cooked in parchment paper! This method of cooking steams the fish while it bakes in the oven, which keeps it very moist. Cooking times will vary depending on what variety of salmon you are using. Pictured here is a two pound wild Coho fillet. King salmon will take longer to cook than Coho, while Sockeye salmon may only take about 8 to 10 minutes.
Frisée is a leafy green vegetable from the chicory family. It has a lovely bitter flavor that will help stimulate healthy digestion, especially when served at the beginning of a meal. Serve this salad with baked salmon and steamed potatoes for a nourishing, family meal.
Maduros are a traditional South American side dish made from frying sweet plantains in oil. I like to sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon and coconut sugar over the maduros before serving. These can be a fun and nutritious dessert, or they can be served as a side dish along with black beans, rice, and shredded beef!
This authentic Thai coconut chicken soup uses a whole chicken to make a large pot of soup. It is easier to make big batches; even if you are cooking for only two to three people, it can be eaten throughout the week or stored in your freezer for later use. This soup does take some time, so try making it on the weekend and you'll have a nourishing lunch to take to school or work for a few days! Serve soup with cooked white rice if desired.
This gluten-free and egg-free focaccia bread is easy to make for a weeknight dinner! Use freshly sliced vegetables, fresh herbs, and olives to make focaccia art on top if desired!
Serve this simple baked cod recipe with baked potatoes or roasted potatoes and steamed green beans for a simple family meal. If you are a garlic lover and you are not on a diet that restricts garlic, like the Low-FODMAP diet, try adding about 2 to 3 cloves of crushed garlic to the top of the fish before baking.
Using the poaching method for cooking fish keeps it ultra moist, and is a very quick and easy way to prepare salmon! Pictured here are two pounds of wild Coho fillets. Sockeye salmon will cook much quicker, and King fillets will take a little longer. You can test for doneness by using a fork to pull away some of the flesh in the thickest fillet; if it's opaque then it's done. Serve curried salmon with rice for a quick weeknight meal. If you are on a low-carb, keto, or grain-free diet, serve with roasted cauliflower!
Lentil soup is such an easy plant-based meal to put together. Lentils cook easily without needing to be soaked first, are high in plant-based protein, high in antioxidants, and high in fiber! My children love lentil soup and are happy to have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Serve soup with shaved parmesan cheese and a crusty whole grain bread for a balanced meal.
This gluten-free and dairy-free one pot meal can be made in minutes! This recipe is great if you are just beginning a gluten- and dairy-free diet, and don't have much time to prepare healthy meals. Serve it with a simple green lettuce salad and a homemade salad dressing such as this simple Balsamic Vinaigrette. I prefer to use extra-lean, pasture-raised ground beef for my family as it is lower in fat and higher in protein.
This easy gluten-free and egg-free vegan cake recipe can be made in a snap using a high-powered blender! Serve with vanilla coconut ice cream and sliced bananas for a special birthday treat! This cake recipe also makes a great after-school snack or lunchbox addition for your children.
Ground bison is leaner than most types of ground beef, a good source of zinc, and, of course, high in protein. If you can't find ground bison, use grass-fed ground beef or ground elk instead. Top this quick and easy low-carb chili recipe with dairy or dairy-free sour cream, green onions, cilantro, and sliced serrano chili peppers for a satisfying evening meal!
This easy recipe is perfect for weeknight family dinners, especially when you don't have a lot of time to cook. In fact, the chicken can be prepped on the weekends and then reheated a few days later for a family taco night! Serve chicken with corn tortillas or grain-free tortillas, shredded green cabbage, sour cream, sliced avocado, grated cheese, and extra salsa!
This grain-free and meat-free lasagna uses sliced raw butternut squash instead of lasagna noodles! It's actually easier to put together than traditional lasagna because you don't need to pre-cook anything before assembling it. I like to use cottage cheese in vegetarian lasagna, but, of course, ricotta cheese works just as well.
If you need to add a variety of antioxidant-rich and anti-inflammatory leafy greens to your diet, try this recipe! Radicchio and kale are both very bitter and will help stimulate proper digestive functions, especially when the salad is served at the beginning of a meal. The flavors of this salad are well balanced in order for the bitter vegetables to blend in and not overpower the rest of the salad.
Having readily available nutrient-dense snacks on hand is important in order to help stave off cravings for junk food snacks! Keep a jar of this healthy anti-inflammatory trail mix with you in the car or at work. Be sure to use a good quality dark chocolate here. Look for an organic brand that contains 70% or 85% cacao. Darker chocolate contains less sugar! I used a salted dark chocolate bar in this batch which really balances the flavors nicely.
Meal prep a batch of these flaxseed muffins on the weekend to have on hand for quick breakfasts throughout the week! Flaxseeds are high in pre-biotic fibers that feed beneficial microbes in the gut. This may improve gut health, insulin sensitivity, weight management, and immune health. You can grind your own flaxseeds in a coffee grinder that is dedicated to grinding seeds and spices, or use a pre-ground flax meal such as this one from Bob's Red Mill.