Pairing tofu with sweet napa cabbage makes a wonderful and elegant vegetarian appetizer or entrée. Feel free to omit the tofu altogether and just go with the veggies.

Get the Tofu and Napa Cabbage Rolls With Dipping Sauce Recipe

Pair this dip with whole-grain crusty bread or vegetable crudité.

Get the White Bean and Roasted Garlic Paté Recipe

Combining finely chopped kale with lemon and olive oil — then gently massaging them together — breaks down kale’s stiffness and bitterness, leaving you with tender greens bursting with flavor.

Get the Raw Kale Salad Recipe

Featured in Terry Bryant and Anna Lappé’s cookbook, Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2006), this salad combines flavor, style and whole foods for a delicious effect.

Get the Wild-Style Salad Recipe

This salad from Myra Kornfeld’s The Healthy Hedonist Holidays (Simon & Schuster, 2007) combines parsley, fennel, naval oranges and walnuts for a healthy and flavorful start to your meal.

Get the Winter Citrus Salad Recipe

Quick to prepare, this combination of superfoods makes a colorful side dish. You can substitute Swiss chard, spinach or kale for the collards.

Get the Sweet Potato and Collard Greens Salad Recipe

Black beluga lentils are a perfect base for a quick, light salad. As an alternative to citrus, you can try other fruits, such as unsweetened dried apricots, raisins or dates.

Get the Warm Citrus Black Lentil and Quinoa Salad Recipe

This simple salads is a tasty way to get more vegetables into your meal.

Get the Chopped Vegetable and Bean Salad Recipe

A refreshing blend of orange and basil brings out the natural flavors of the grilled beef in this salad (this would also be great with grilled chicken breast). For a vegetarian option, replace beef with tempeh. Marinate the tempeh in one-fourth of this dressing, then grill.

Get the Mixed Winter Salad Recipe

There’s nothing quite like a classic Thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing and gravy. In this case, we recommend choosing a free-range heritage turkey for richer flavor and better nutrition.

Get the Turkey, Stuffing and Gravy Recipes

This hearty chicken dish is a nice alternative to turkey if you’re looking to mix up your holiday menu. This recipe calls for spinach, mushrooms and Parmesan, but you can always sub your favorites.

Get the Stuffed Chicken Breast With Spinach, Mushrooms and Parmesan Cheese Recipe

Roasting is a quick and easy way to bring out the flavor and sweetness of carrots. You an also try steaming or glazing them.

Get the Roast Carrots Recipe

Miso gives this dish earthy, savory saltiness, putting a twist on the traditional candied sweet potatoes. A little maple syrup adds a bit of sweetness.

Get the Molasses, Miso and Maple Candied Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Food critic and cookbook author Patricia Wells adds a new twist to a staple winter vegetable in her cookbook Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate (William Morrow Cookbooks, 2007).

Get the Pumpkin Gratin With Pistachios Recipe

This beautiful dish from Deborah Madison’s One Bite at a Time: Nourishing Recipes for Cancer Survivors and Their Friends (Celestial Arts, 2004) is a combination of flavors — a little bit sweet, a little bit astringent.

Get the Delicata Squash With Dino Kale and Cranberries Recipe

This simple-to-make side can become a main dish by adding kidney beans after sautéing the kale. Top with a shaving of Pecorino Romano cheese.

Get the Kale, Bell Peppers and Pine Nuts Recipe

Chef Nate Appleman features this delicious southern-Italian side dish of green beans with pork and soffrito in his cookbook A16: Food + Wine (Ten Speed Press, 2008).

Get the Braised Green Beans With Pork and Soffrito Recipe

Chef and author Deborah Madison’s beautiful and delicious recipe for this root vegetable is featured in her cookbook Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating From America’s Farmers’ Markets (Broadway Books, 2008).

Get the Beets and Their Greens With Marjoram and Pine Nuts Recipe

Sweet and slightly caramelized baked squash is a real treat. Try topping it with fresh herbs and olive oil, or drizzle with cinnamon and maple syrup.

Get the Baked Acorn Squash Recipe

This simple and elegant side dish brings out the best and brightest in both the sweet potatoes and apples. Top with chopped pecans for crunch.

Get the Baked Squash and Apples With Ginger and Pecans Recipe

While naturally sweet, this rich and creamy dessert contains surprisingly little sugar — and can be enjoyed warm or cold. Top with maple vanilla yogurt and walnuts.

Get the Sweet Potato Mousse With Maple Vanilla Yogurt and Walnuts Recipe

Fresh vanilla bean gives this crème caramel an exceptional aroma. Serve with caramelized pear slices on the side, or simply add some fresh berries.

Get the Honey & Vanilla Bean Crème Caramel Recipe

This recipe from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking cookbook (Celestial Arts, 2007) makes a fresh, crunchy, family-pleasing treat that kids can help prepare.

Get the Spiced Caramel Corn Recipe