Seasonal fruit compote. One of our favorite breakfast and dessert accompaniments for winter - sweet without sugar, tangy, and spicey!

Does that look like a cupcake?! You’re looking at a grab-and-go meal in a muffin that tastes delish! The seeds, nuts, and cacao provide healthy fats that are so good for us in the winter all packaged together with the fiber that makes this a filling choice for meal on the go or a hearty snack.

Just 6 all food ingredients that you make into your next not-so-guilty secret. Seeds, cacao, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts, almond or other milk and pure monk fruit powder combine in all the right ways for a luxurious, low glycemic decadent treat you can make a meal of! …

“Hearty vegetable soups are just the thing for the transition to Autumn (Sept 8 - 22, the week before and after it “begins”). Light fare will still be appreciated, and adding root vegetables - you could use sweet potatoes, beets, or turnips along with or instead of carrots and potatoes - gives this soup a little heft and makes it a great meal. The roasted tomatoes and a little EVOO add depth and richness that belies the simple preparation. If you have okra, that will add another layer of flavor and richness to this staple. …”

Not only are seasonal fruits and veggies less expensive and possible to grow on your own — or help a friend with harvesting, by eating seasonally and possibly even locally or hyper-locally you are tending your microbiome.

Recent circadian biology research has shown that populations eating traditional diets have gut microbiomes that change seasonally. Not only do our bodies modify the molecules they create — like melatonin — based on light, moisture, and temperature, but we also shift the microbes in our guts based on either these factors or our diet, and almost certainly both.

Beets are a wonderful complement to spring greens - bright, grounding, both sweet and bitter, so possessing qualities supportive to all doshas in different preparations.

“Golden Milk - Your Healing Holiday Drink

Make some for Santa!

The secret to the golden color is turmeric and the spices help to warm and lighten ….”

“Pumpkin is filled with antioxidants and fiber, beta-carotene and even a mucous protective agent that soothes the digestive tract.

Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A, famous for skin and eye health, also healing for ….”

“Apples protect your gut, provide both soluble and insoluble fiber, pectin, powerful antioxidants and polyphenols. Compounds in apples have been researched and found to guard against unhealthy or damaged cells replicating, inhibit the growth of cancer cells, block the uptake of glucose, guard against premature aging, enhance lung and colon health, guard against the harm of fats (oxidation). …”

With Autumn coming in, we’re still eating a bit light - the summer heat lingers on. But the green chilis are roasting around here in the desert Southwest and the aspens are turning yellow along the Rio Grande and in on the mountain. The angle of the sun has dropped and casts a brilliant glow all round as the daytime highs start to ease out of sauna range.

Seeds and nuts are back on the seasonal menu, …