Healthy Meals

If you're a fan of rich and creamy risotto dishes, you'll definitely want to give this pumpkin and feta version a try. If pumpkin isn't readily available, try using butternut squash or sweet potato in its place - all three are excellent sources of beta-carotene and dietary fiber.

If you have trouble tolerating dairy, exclude the feta that this recipe calls for. We think it's just as good without the feta, although the feta does add a great little tang to this special dish.

October is the perfect month to enjoy this delicious pumpkin rice dish. It calls for a cup of dried apricot and/or raisins to add just a touch of sweetness to this nutrient-dense meal.

Pumpkins are one of nature's best sources of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that can decrease your risk of developing many different types of cancer and heart disease. If you have a healthy digestive tract, your body can convert beta-carotene to vitamin A, making it an important nutrient to your immune system, skin, and eyes.

Looking for a delicious, dairy-free risotto? With the right amount of time and love put into this recipe, I'm willing to bet that this creamy rice dish is as good as anything ever made by Jamie Oliver or Tyler Florence.

I strongly recommend that you use fresh basil for this recipe - it really enhances and brings together the flavors of the peas, rice, and broth.

Fresh basil is an excellent food choice because of its antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties. Ounce for ounce, few green vegetables contain as much beta-carotene as basil. Basil also contains volatile oils that can decrease inflammation and provide symptomatic relief from a variety of health conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel conditions.

In last week's newsletter, I shared a quick and simple dessert recipe that requires only three ingredients: raw chocolate nibs, raw pecans, and liquid honey. Enough people wrote in thanking me for this recipe that I thought it would be a good idea to post it here on our blog for visitors who don't receive my weekly health newsletter.

If you love burgers but can do without large amounts of red meat, you'll love this recipe for thick and juicy grilled Portobello mushroom sandwiches. Portobello mushrooms are rich in niacin (vitamin B3), potassium, and selenium.

Be sure to make the basil-lemon pesto sauce that accompanies this recipe; it adds loads of tangy flavor to these awesome sandwiches.

This light and tangy rice dish is perfect for a satisfying summer meal. Try it with a side of sliced avocados or a tossed green salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The quantities listed in the ingredients section are meant to produce about four main dishes or six to eight smaller side dishes.

Tahini (ground sesame seeds) is an excellent source of calcium. In fact, half a cup of sesame seeds contains three times more calcium than half a cup of whole milk.

Eggplant is rich in vitamin A, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium.

Combined together, tahini and eggplant give this dish a wonderfully aromatic and delicious flavor, perfect to eat with a bed of rice, millet, or quinoa.

If you enjoy pancakes but find that traditional flour-based varieties tend to hang around in your intestines longer than is comfortable, give this delicious recipe for healthy potato pancakes a try.

Different varieties of potato pancakes are quite popular throughout Russia and Korea. Using new potatoes instead of baking or russet potatoes can reduce the burden that is placed on your blood sugar-regulating mechanisms.

This recipe provides a good mix of healthy fat, carbohydrates, and antioxidants, particularly vitamin C and beta-carotene. You can source coconut cream at most Asian food stores. Give the papayas and mango a day or two to ripen at room temperature before making the salsa.