Get creative this fall and mix up your root vegetables! Sure, you can't go wrong with staples like potatoes and carrots, but why not embrace the adventurous chef in you? There is a bounty of weird, knobby looking roots that are great for mashing, roasting, sautéing, and pureeing. Next time you are in the mood for cooking up some roots, give one of these a try.

Rutabaga

With the sugar-filled holiday, Halloween now in the past it can be a struggle to get the little ones to want to eat ANYTHING but candy.

Fruit leathers are a healthier, sweet, candy-like snack that are actually kind of good for the kids. It’s always fun to have the kids help with this recipe, and then they will know one of the ways of making Real Candy. When I was a little girl my Abuelita (Grandmother) would always give me candied fruits and fruit leathers instead of sugar filled candy.

Tips

As the weather gets colder in the Northern Hemisphere, we often find ourselves looking for warming soups, stews, and other hearty meals. This recipe is perfect for a warm fall meal! Since fall is the season of the Vata dosha (light and airy), warm hearty meals are also particularly beneficial for grounding. Whip up this recipe for a nice lunch or dinner that you and your guests are sure to enjoy!

Chickpea Turmeric Soup with Fresh Cilantro

1 tbsp. coconut oil

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

½ white onion, sliced lengthwise

It’s getting colder, and comfort foods seem to be everywhere. Those comfort foods that are full of sodium and/or loaded with pounds of sugar are staring you down; what do you do? I’ll tell ya what you do—you get out of that situation, as fast as you can. I know it can be difficult, but you don’t have to succumb to those temptations that are lurking at every corner. I’m not just saying that, either. For me, there are two food groups—sweet and salty. Whenever I eat something savory, it has to be promptly followed by something sweet. You wouldn’t want me to feel imbalanced, would you?

Sometimes it’s difficult to find the time to workout during the work week, let alone plan meals around your workout schedule. That’s why these three no-cook recipes make eating lunch or dinner after a workout easy. Each one takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and is also packed with protein to keep you feeling healthy well after the workout ends.

Each one of these recipes is designed for a single person, but can easily be multiplied. For the smoked salmon salad and gazpacho, feel free to add more lemon juice or olive oil depending on your taste preference.

It’s not easy to combine one’s gifts and passion for agriculture with a need for housing and a salary in an urban environment. Farmer-in-Residence Zaro Bates has been lucky enough to do just that in the courtyard of a Staten Island apartment complex, known as Urby. Bates runs this 4,500-square foot organic city farm and the business Empress Green Inc. with her husband and co-worker/beekeeper, Asher Landes.

With fall now upon us and winter just around the corner, it’s natural to crave warm, sweet desserts. While pumpkin pie and holiday cookies might be your weakness, here are a few healthy alternatives to satisfy your craving for sweets while boosting your body with nourishing foods.  

Baked Squash

 A big part of off-grid living is learning to be as self-reliant as possible. One of the many ways to become more self-reliant is to grow, harvest, forage, and store as much of your own food as you can manage.

It’s no secret that the nutrition world has fallen in love with fermented foods. Yogurt, long heralded for its probiotic qualities, now has a lot of nutritionist competition with other fermented eats, like tempeh, kimchi, and miso—and drinks, like kefir and kombucha.

Easier said than done. What the heck is kefir, and how do you cook with kimchi? Relax, young (healthy) grasshopper. These simple meal ideas use ingredients you probably have on hand to complement the ones you just got for the first time.

Breakfast: Kombucha

On Thursday, I finally finished my Saturn return, meaning Saturn left the 20 degree orb from where it was when I was born. This led me to reflect on what the past four years have been like since I started this process, and what I’ve learned from this period. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is how to make and set healthy boundaries.