For some folks, Thanksgiving is really all about the sides and not the turkey. Sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes and more, every family has their own traditions.

We’ve put a healthy spin on three classic side dishes, those favorites that for many are required eating at a Thanksgiving feast.

Corn Pudding

We took this traditional holiday treat and made it a little healthier by substituting nonfat milk for whole milk and using unbleached flour and corn meal rather than a conventional cornbread mix (which might contain artificial ingredients). We also reduced the amount of sugar – our version highlights the natural sweetness of the corn and is not as overly sweet as some traditional versions.

Green Bean Casserole

For some, this is the essential T-day side dish. In our updated version, we use fresh green beans (not canned) sauced with creamy mushroom soup (not condensed) and top them with homemade baked onion rings (not fried). The resulting casserole has less sodium than the original version. Now you don’t have to feel guilty about serving this classic!

Scalloped Potatoes

This dish is typically very rich, made with full-fat dairy products such as butter, cream and whole milk. In this lightened up version, we reduced the fat and calories by simply swapping in low-fat milk for the heavy cream. Fresh thyme and some parmesan add subtle flavor.

What are your favorite sides for the Thanksgiving table? And do you have tips for making them a little healthier? We’d love to know!

Got a recipe that needs a natural makeover? Post it in the comments section below! If we select your recipe for a makeover and publish the improved version on our website, we’ll send you a $25 Whole Foods Market gift card.

We put together some menu ideas to get you started.

Mix and match according to your tastes and favorites! Hungry for more recipes? Browse our full collection of holiday recipes.

Here are a few more ideas to kick off your menu planning:

• Print out or make copies of the recipes you’re preparing, then tape them to your cupboard for easy reference when you’re cooking.
• Make and post a timeline working out: what time dishes need to come out of the fridge, go into the oven, etc.
• Plan on offering some appetizers, especially ones that don’t require heating. This may keep folks out of the kitchen while you’re putting the final touches on everything. Pita Chips with Sweet Potato Mash and Smoked Almonds is a good choice.
  Or, enlist a helper to assemble Prosciutto, Brie and Apricot Wraps.
• Green vegetables should make several appearances on your menu. Here are a few of our favorites:
  Thanksgiving Green Salad

  Swiss Chard with Shallots

  Warm Millet Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Creamed Mushrooms and Sage

• Looking for a change from your usual mashed potatoes or candied sweet potatoes? Consider one of these variations:
  Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips

  Celery Root and Potato Gratin

  Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Macadamia Nuts

  Coconut Marshmallow Spiced Sweet Potatoes

• Fill the house with the irresistible welcoming aroma of freshly baked bread.
  Easy Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

  Buttermilk Pull-Apart Rolls

  

• For the main dish, we have plenty of turkey recipes and vegetarian options, too:
  Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Tempeh
  Savory Butternut Squash Pie with Hazelnuts
  Wild Mushroom Tart
• Sweets that can be made ahead of time are the way to go for a Thanksgiving feast.
  Pumpkin Apple Pie
  Jasmine Tea Poached Pears
  Maple and Walnut Applesauce Cake
• Be sure to check out our collection of how-to videos for quick tips on roasting the turkey, carving, making perfect gravy and more.

Happy planning. Got your own secrets to success up your sleeve? Share!

I really enjoy the changing of the seasons. Growing up in Honolulu, there wasn’t a whole lot of difference in the weather between Christmas and the 4th of July. I’m not complaining by any means, but there is something so inspiring about each clear season. Once the cool air sets in, out come all my cookbooks and in comes new ideas for using all my old favorites.

Right now, I am focused on winter squash. These sweet, hearty favorites of our American ancestors are harvested each year from the late summer through the fall. They can be stored in a cool climate for months, allowing for great eating during the winter. The vibrant yellows and deep oranges of their flesh give you a hint that they’re packed with powerful carotenoids, including beta-carotene. Winter squash are also an excellent source of magnesium, potassium, vitamins C and A, and a good source of calcium.

Here are some of the more common winter squash along with delicious recipes to try:

• Acorn squash: Mildly sweet flesh makes it perfect for stuffing with all kinds of flavorful goodies – anything from whole grains to bread cubes, mushrooms and other cooked veggies. Here’s a hearty Winter Squash Stuffed with Lentil Pilaf.



• Butternut squash: Sweet and delicate, this versatile favorite makes incredible soup, although it is equally delicious diced and added to stews or baked, sautéed and simmered on its own. Here’s our Classic Butternut Squash Soup and you should also try this Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage and Cranberries.
• Delicata squash: Perfect for baking, it is moist, sweet and mild. Great simply with a little butter and sea salt.
• Hubbard squash: This is great baked, steamed or added to soups or stews like in this Squash Stew with White Beans and Kale.
• Kabocha squash: This deep green, somewhat pumpkin-shaped squash is an early season favorite. Just like with potatoes, you can eat the skin on this squash. Perfectly suited to baking, braising or steaming. I love it with caramelized onions! Try this nourishing Kabocha Squash and Spinach Soup.
• Spaghetti squash: When cooked, the flesh of this squash separates into strands, very much like spaghetti. Best cut in half and baked or steamed until just tender. Here’s a simple dish of Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Herbs and this Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans may be your next family dinner favorite.

If your recipe doesn’t provide specific cooking instructions, here are the basics for baking most types of winter squash:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Before cooking, wash the skin under running water.
• Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds and fibers.
• Place the squash face down on a lightly oiled baking dish. Cover with foil and bake until tender.
• You can also bake the squash whole, but be sure to pierce the skin with a sharp knife near the stem end so steam can escape during baking.
• Generally, 45 minutes to an hour is good, but some squash may require more or less time depending on their size. They are done when the flesh is tender and easily pierced.

Here are some of my favorite ways to add winter squash to your dishes:

• Heat and serve mashed with butter, cinnamon, honey or maple syrup
• Add cubes to your favorite soup or stew recipe
• Top spaghetti squash with olive oil, herbs and parmesan cheese; or toss with pesto or your favorite pasta sauce
• Stuff acorn squash with your favorite dressing recipe (cornbread is really delicious!)
• Roast cubes of winter squash with cubes of hearty apples (choose varieties that stand up well to heat, such as Granny Smith)
• Make pasta and top with roasted winter squash and pumpkin seeds, Asiago cheese and a little extra virgin olive oil
• Use mashed sweet squash (butternut, kabocha) for making “pumpkin” pie
• Add mashed squash to cookies, cakes, muffins and breads in place of puréed pumpkin.

Got a favorite recipe for winter squash? I would love to hear!

Drum roll, please…our exclusive Isigny Ste. Mère Holiday Brie is in stores now. We’ve been (somewhat) patiently waiting all year for this holiday tradition to grace our tables again. This delightful cheese comes from a co-operative of 700 farmers in Normandy, France. Normandy is a lush area of rolling hills that produce very fertile grasses and the cows that graze on these grasses produce high butterfat milk.

Our holiday Brie is unique in that it contains 60% butterfat, a formula customized especially for Whole Foods Market. This butterfat content imparts full and complex flavors to the cheese, resulting in a rich, buttery mouthfeel and herbaceous flavor. It’s also produced using a traditional slow pasteurization process and no growth hormones, such as rBST, are given to the cows.

In addition to being superb cheesemakers, Isigny Ste. Mère is committed to being a good citizen and protecting terroir. In 2008 they converted their facility to biomass renewable energy from the waste of saw mills, park service and industry. They also use a water recovery system to provide steam energy.

Brie is simple to serve with your favorite fruit spreads or chutneys – just remove from the refrigerator about an hour before serving. Feeling more adventurous? Try one of our favorite Brie recipes:

• Baked Apple and Brie Canapes
• Brie with Cardamom-Scented Clementine Chutney
• Brie en Croûte with Cherries and Pistachios
• Fruited Brie Torte



• Potato and Leek Soup with Brie Croutons
• Prosciutto, Brie and Apricot Wraps
• Roast Beef and Brie Croissant Cocktail Sandwiches
• Smoked Turkey, Plum and Brie Panini Appetizers
• Open Face Ham and Brie Sandwiches

What’s your favorite way to serve Brie? Let me know…I can’t wait to try something new!

With Thanksgiving upon us in just a couple of weeks, we’re starting to dream of all the pies that will be part of the feast. There’s no need for dietary restrictions to keep you from enjoying your favorite Thanksgiving dessert! We revisited our gluten-free pie crust recipe in preparation for the holidays, and we think it’s better than ever.

This recipe is similar to a classic pie crust, but instead of wheat flour, we used a combination of potato starch, tapioca flour, millet flour and almond meal. This crust is perfect for everything from pumpkin pie to quiche. If you’re using it for a savory recipe, be sure to leave out the sugar.

We also have recipes for simple pie crust and dairy-free pie crust.

And, of course, our stores offer a selection of frozen prepared pie crusts, including some gluten-free options. These are great to keep in the freezer for holiday pie making.

Now is a great time to start planning your holiday menus and trying out some recipes. Check out our selection of holiday recipes, including sections of gluten-free and dairy-free recipes. Or, browse our full recipe selection by category.

We’ve got a great guide to entertaining guests with special dietary needs, and we’ve got more handy tips and a video packed with delicious ideas for special diets.

Happy holiday baking!

Got a recipe that needs a natural makeover? Post it in the comments section below! If we select your recipe for a healthy makeover and publish the improved version on our website, we’ll send you a $25 Whole Foods Market gift card.

Some of the basic staples of my family’s fall and winter diet are potatoes and yams. Fall brings a virtual cornucopia of new crop, freshly dug varieties and with that new crop we reintroduce some favorite ways of preparing them at home.

Potatoes and yams (or sweet potatoes) are one of the largest and most geographically diverse crops produced in the U.S. Many of the large-scale organic producers are concentrated on the west coast, so regardless of where you live you will likely see some Washington or California product in your store. But all over the U.S. there are large and small producers that provide varieties often unique to the region where they are grown. Ask our Team Members in your store’s produce department if there are potatoes and yams local to your area.

I have two basic preparation methods for potatoes and yams: roasted and mashed. The method I use depends on the variety I happen to buy. For yams I tend to stick with the lower oil content Garnet and my process is simple. I slice them into long narrow strips (like steak potatoes), brush them with olive oil and roast them until they are soft to the touch. I like the Garnet variety because it is not as heavy as the Jewel but both can be prepared in the same way.

For potatoes, I start them all the same way regardless of how I finish cooking them. All my potatoes get partially cooked by boiling – I find this saves me roasting time and helps to keep the potato moist. One of my favorite roasting potatoes is the fingerling. There are many varieties (like the Russian banana and Ruby Crescent) but most are small “finger” shaped potatoes that are perfect for the oven. I will boil them for 20 minutes or so, drain and let them cool, then slice them lengthwise into a mixing boil. To add flavor, I heat a dressing that is equal parts olive oil and butter combined with some chives, parsley, oregano, and minced garlic and toss the potatoes in it. I then lay the potatoes flat on a cookie sheet and grate some Parmesan over top. In the oven they go at 375°F and 25 minutes later, heaven comes out.

Yams curing in the field
Mashing is the second most popular method with my family and I’ve found a combination of russet and red potatoes gives me the best results. These get cubed and boiled a bit longer than my fingerlings and I add a similar herb/oil/butter mixture, including with it some milk or chicken broth. I like a creamy mashed potato so I will use my blender to take out lumps after I have mashed them. For a variation in flavor I will also occasionally throw in some cubed celery root or rutabagas when I’m boiling my potatoes. This not only changes the flavor slightly but lightens the texture as well. (Celery root mashed potatoes are great with salmon). Happy Fall!

It’s November 5th and Thanksgiving Day is exactly three weeks away. (Cue Psycho-esque scary music here.) Whether you will be serving a house full of guests or a special dinner for two, preparing your kitchen ahead of time and thinking through your entertaining plan of action now can definitely save last-minute hassles on the big day.

Here are some of our ideas and tips for getting ready for the impending holiday crunch.

• Prepare the Kitchen. Before things get crazy, organize your pantry, fridge and freezer, use things up (go all Iron Chef on it!) and make yourself aware of which holiday pantry basics you have or need.
• Attack the Task List early. Write up a non-food related To-Do list with chores such as “create a centerpiece” and “polish the silver” and “vacuum the house.” Write this one up in time to get a couple of things crossed off every day for the week or two leading up to the big day.



• Plan Ahead. Plan meals and make shopping lists, being mindful of how much to buy and serve for how many people. Use the chart on our holiday website to help you figure it out.
• Choose Crowd-Friendly Recipes. If you will have guests staying in your home, don’t forget to plan for meals other than Thanksgiving Day. Choose hearty, satisfying, affordable recipes. Big-pot meals with self-serve condiments are ideal: chili, curry, red beans and rice, stew, etc.
• Use the Freezer. Prepare big freezer-friendly recipes ahead so you can just heat and serve later. And don’t stop at lasagna and soup, breads and muffins and cookies freeze well, too.
• Learn to Cook at Least One Thing. Choose a perfect entertaining dish to become your sought-after signature item for the season to take along or serve at home.
• Practice Makes Perfect. Trying out some new dishes? A stressful, busy “game day” kitchen may interfere with your best efforts, so a practice run may be in order for any new recipes with a multitude of ingredients, cooking steps or both, such as a fancy dessert.
• Cook something for everyone. Chances are your guest list may include someone with a special diet need. Big holiday meals are actually perfect – since there are so many dishes, there is bound to be something for everyone. Check with your guests to make sure you are aware of their needs, and review our tips on Entertaining Guests with Special Diets.



• Enjoy the More the Merrier. Guests almost always ask what they can bring, and usually enjoy contributing! Make a short list and be prepared when asked, leaving leeway for creativity and culinary talents.
• Don’t be Shy of the Full Potluck. Most people like to show off their favorite holiday dishes. Give them an opportunity to share them!

So, what are you doing to get yourself, your home and your family prepared? Share your tips in the comments below. We can get through this together, right? (Cue the “We All Need Someone to Lean On” exit music.)

October is a perilous time for apple and pear growers everywhere, because you never know what Mother Nature will dish out this late in the fall. The 2009 harvest season is no exception – snow in New England and hard freezes in Michigan and Washington State are putting late harvest varieties at risk of severe damage or even total loss. This is also an El Niño year, which means a wetter, more blustery winter – a concern even after the harvest is finished and the trees enter dormancy. The damage this season has been minor so far, but still painful. A prized organic Braeburn apple crop in Washington was nearly wiped out by cold that also caused severe damage in Pink Lady crops (generally the last variety to come off the trees). The risk of freeze damage is a powerful motivator for growers to get apples and pears off the trees all over the country. The positive side effect? Local product is now at its best and most abundant.

In my time with Whole Foods Market I have come to really appreciate the efforts or our grower partners both large and small. With our larger growers, we get stability in supply and consistent, flavorful varieties. With the smaller regional or local growers, the season is more fleeting but flavor and diversity is what we harvest in exchange. Like peaches and other tree crops the differences in local apples and pears are subtle, but they are real and remarkably diverse. Here are some of my personal favorites.

West Virginia: In colonial times the most common apple grown in the U.S. was the York Imperial – a dense hardy apple that stored well through the long winters. These days the descendent of the York can be found in limited supply in the Mid-Atlantic states in the form of an apple called the Mountaineer. Another antique variety that commonly appears in the Mid-Atlantic is the Nittany – an apple that is crisp like a Gala but has a more complex, almost spicy flavor. Both are delightful for baking or eating out of hand.

New England: New York State produces some remarkable common and not-so-common varieties of apples and pears. Galas, Golden Delicious, and Macintosh apples are among the largest production varieties of apples. The common Bosc pear and the smaller Seckle are also produced there. For me the New England states are all about Macintosh and like varieties. Macouns, Stayman, Cortlands and Empire are produced in other parts of the U.S. but there is something special about a New England Macintosh and all its cousins.

Washington State: When you think of large-scale apple production chances are Washington State comes to mind. For Whole Foods Market, Washington State is extremely important because it is hands down the largest producer of organically grown apples in the U.S. But outside of the huge growing areas in Yakama and Wenatchee, the antique subculture flourishes with varieties like the King David, Ashmead’s Kernal, Caville Blanc, and the Thomas Jefferson favorite, the Spitzenburg. The restaurants and bakeries in Washington State have also invested great effort into finding inventive was of serving apples.

Oregon: Crossing the border into Oregon, the focus for me shifts to pears. There are many great apple producers in Oregon but the early season Starcrimson pears from the Columbia River Gorge followed by what I believe to be the very best pear in the world, the Medford-area Comice, makes it hard to think about anything else. Both are immensely sweet and juicy, but it is the creamy smooth texture that makes them spectacular.

My central California coast local favorite is the Newtown Pippin and the Watsonville Jonagold – the latter grown by Dick Rider not 10 minutes from my office. Both are getting a little harder to come by the later into the fall we go. What apples are still grown in California tend to come off the trees much earlier than those in the northern states. The last time I visited the Rider farm, Dick showed me a tree that he said was some old unknown variety farmers grew here in the 20’s and 30’s for canning and apple sauce. The apple is green and deeply russeted. It made me wonder how many other lone local specimens are bearing fruit all over the country, filling the pies and eventually the tummies of families everywhere. It’s a special thing to discover a local favorite. I’ve been fortunate to experience so many but I am certain there are many, many more. Share your favorite if you have one, or if you find yourself in any of the above parts of the country, try one of mine.

Chili. That’s what sounds good to us right now (it’s been rainy and cold in Austin lately) and that’s what we are focusing on for this edition of “Best Meal of the Week.” Some chili recipes simmer away all day on the stove; others can be tossed together quickly on a weeknight. For this post, we’re providing links to recipes from our website as well as tips and favorite additions from our team members. What’s your best chili made of? Let us know in the comments section below.

Chili Faves

My chili, whether I do a quickie version or an all-day cook, always includes a little bit of ground clove for depth of flavor. I also add some oregano or marjoram, but not too much or it will taste like spaghetti sauce! And I often use beer for some of the liquid.
—Susannah

Hmmm..chili with braised chunks of grassfed beef, plenty of veggies, like onions, carrots, peppers, rutabaga, and flavored with guajillo and pasilla peppers, soaked, pureed and strained. Add to that, if you must, some sort of huge bean…there used to be one called a Christmas bean…or chestnut beans. Anything huge and not too chalky. Amazing.
—Liz

I lighten up standard chili by using bison meat instead of ground beef. I also like to use some chipotles in adobo sauce and I add about a tablespoon of unsweetened chocolate shavings at the end for interesting depth. Or I go for White Chili with cubed chicken, cannellini beans, mild green chilies, lots of Monterey jack and cilantro.
—Allison

I just made chili using pork shoulder and stout that was amazing. It called for coffee too, but I just used Guinness for all of it. Next to my dad’s recipe (for a good old fashioned Texas Red, which I can never divulge), it’s probably my favorite.
—Jaye

My favorite veggie chili combines freshly cooked pinto beans with diced then roasted zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, red bell peppers, onion, shallot and corn. I love to serve chili over rice to get some grains in with all that protein. And when I eat a meat-based chili, I load on fresh toppings like cilantro, diced purple cabbage, red onion, red bell pepper, grated carrots or pico de gallo.
—Paige

Top-Rated Chili Recipes

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chipotle Chili

Spicy Corn and Chicken Chili

White Turkey Chili

Colorful Turkey Chili

Seafood Chili Blanco

Turkey and Pumpkin Chili

Tofu Blanco

Tempeh and Bell Pepper Chili

Buffalo Bill Chili

What’s your favorite chili?