Greetings! Happy spring to you all -- I hope you're eating lots of spring greens from the farmers' market!

Many of you know that Bauman College Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts will be opening a satellite school here in Boulder Colorado, and that I will be coordinating much of the launch. With most of my time and energy focused on a successful Fall 2008 opening, I've decided to transition the Natural Cooking eLetter from a monthly publication to a quarterly one.

Natural Cooking will continue to arrive in your mail box totally FREE and will be submitted seasonally: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Each issue will continue to provide you with valuable, researched nutrition information as well as easy, inspiring recipes that promote health and vitality.

We will start June 1st with the summer issue. In the meantime, enjoy these recipes utilizing fresh spring greens:

Spring Greens and Quinoa Salad
Serves 6

Greens and lemons in the spring help transition the liver from a cold winter to a hot summer. This is a delightful salad flavored with lemon juice and nutritional yeast for a punchy, yet buttery and nutty taste. For depth of flavor, cook the quinoa in stock with some crushed garlic cloves.

3 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups rough-chopped spring greens (spinach, dandelion, mache, arugula...)
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup raw walnuts
3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Spring Greens Smoothie
Serves 1-2

Spring bitters and dark, leafy greens can easily be disguised inside a rich, thick and sweet smoothie. Try it on your kids without showing them what's in it.

1 small handful spinach
1 small handful spring bitters (dandelion, arugula, mache...)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries
1 cup raw, unpasteurized milk (or any kind of milk)
1 scoop protein powder
1-2 teaspoons spirulina
1 tablespoon flaxseeds
1-2 tablespoons agave nectar, honey or maple syrup
4-6 fresh mint leaves (optional)

Blend in a blender until smooth. Add more milk or a little water for desired consistency.

Alison Anton - Alison is a nutritional chef, food writer, cooking instructor and meditation instructor. Alison's food articles have been published online at USAToday, Reuters, iVillage and more, and her popular food blog is regularly listed under Fox News' "Best Health Blogs".