Text © 2017 by Blue Hills Press
Photographs © 2017 by Laura Lea, unless otherwise noted
Photographs © 2017 by Danielle Atkins: cover, end papers, copyright page, foreword, introduction,
chapter 1, all chapter openers, and Holy Fudge Black Bean Brownies.
About the author photograph © 2017 by Kate Davis Photo.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electric or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the Publisher.
Publisher: Matthew Teague
Editor: Kerri Grzybicki
Design: Lindsay Hess
Layout: Michael Douglas and Lindsay Hess
Photography: Laura Lea, Danielle Atkins, and Kate Davis
Index: Jay Kreider
Proofreader: Li Agen
Blue Hills Press
P.O. Box 239
Whites Creek, TN 37189
ISBN: 978-1-951217-00-6
e-book ISBN: 978-1-951217-11-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019952521
Printed in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book was previously published by Spring House Press. This is the first edition by Blue Hills Press.
The pantry organization as shown below and in other photographs of LL’s kitchen was provided by The Home Edit
Note: The following list contains names used in The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook that may be registered with the United
States Copyright Office: 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating; Alice Randall; All-Clad; Alyssa’s Cookies (Healthy Vegan Bites);
Amazon; Annie’s Homegrown, Inc.; Applegate Farms; Bananas Foster; Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center Clinic; Bundt;
Canyon Bakehouse; Caroline Randall Williams; Chosen Foods; Cuisinart; Dandy Blend; Dirty Dozen; Deland Bakery; Elvis;
Environmental Working Group; Fig Newton; Frontier Natural Products Co-op; Gatorade; Glasslock USA; Google; GreenPan;
Health Warrior; Honeycrisp; Honeyville; Ina Garten; Joyva; Kerrygold; Kirkland’s; Las Paletas; Le Creuset; Lightlife;
LL Balanced; LunchBots; Magic Shell; Manchego; Melissa Clark; Mestemacher; Mr. Coffee; My New Roots; Nashville Sounds;
Natural Gourmet Institute; Orblue; Pearson Farm; Pinewood Social; Pink Lady; Ponderosa; Popsicle; Primal Kitchen;
Publix; Rugby; Sarah Britton; Seafood Watch; Selina Naturally; Soul Food Love; Spaceballs; Spectrum; Terrasoul Superfoods;
The Farm Midwifery Workshop Program; The Fresh Market; The Kitchn; The Nashville Food Project; The New York Times;
The Peach Truck; The Post East; Thermos (Foogo, FUNtainer); Thrive Market; Trader Joe’s; University of British Columbia;
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Vitacost; Vital Choice; Vitamix; Whole Foods; Wikapedia; Wüsthof; Yeti; Yukon Gold; Zeroll.
acknowledgements
For Max, my best friend, who envisioned this book
on a crisp October night more than 3 years ago;
who believed in me when I didn’t always believe in
myself. It’s hard to remember life before you, and I
couldn’t be more grateful to have you as my partner
in crime. Also, thank you for graciously eating
leftovers of the same dishes for 9 months straight.*
For Mom, whose stews, stir fries, and Bundt
cakes spoiled me so I could never settle for less.
Thank you for showing me that the table is a port
at which our and any family can safely gather.
For Dad, who always, always shows up, and who
finds a way to be interested in everything that I’m
interested in. I am incredibly proud to be your
mini-me.
For Mom and Dad, who have consistently given
the three of us unconditional and unwavering love,
and who do the hard and right things.
For Wiwie, who reminds me that the world, that
people, are fundamentally good. Oh, and who
keeps me in the best kind of stitches.
For Jack, who continually shows this introvert
the power of connection and of forgiveness; who
I’ve looked up to and admired from wobbles and
pigtails to today.
For CC, MK, and Tara, who exceeded any
expectations I could have had about sisterhood,
and who brought much needed estrogen to our
slowly expanding clan.
For Kate and Vivian, who have shown me a new
kind of love, and who fill a room with the most
magnetic and authentic joy; who I am honored to
watch grow up.
For Ella, my angel on earth, who set the bar for
selflessness, courage, and empathy. I take your
lessons with me wherever I go.
For Alice, for whom “mentor” is not lovely or
whole enough a word—who saw beyond my 12-year-
old frame to the me I was and would be. Thank you
for my first job in the culinary world and thank you
for taking the time to write this foreword.
For my best friends over the years, who chose me
and choose me over and over again. You keep me
grounded, hugged, and understood.
For my new family, who embraced me from
the beginning, and who my heart is now fully
intertwined with.
For Jolene and Ironman, our furry children, who
never fail to put life in perspective and draw out my
softest side.
For the Natural Gourmet Institute, who gave me
the knowledge and confidence to move forward
into uncharted territory, and reminded me of parts
of myself that had gotten buried—for the year that
changed everything.
For