Ashley, one of our blog readers, sent us a request to make over her grandmother’s famous bread pudding recipe, complete with a decadent bourbon sauce. We accepted the challenge to lighten up this comforting favorite.

Check out the recipe we developed for Whole Grain Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Pudding.

Here are the changes we made to our lightened up version of traditional bread pudding: Read the rest of this entry »

What better way to kick off the New Year than with a playful and healthy update of Spaghetti and Meatballs! Maggie, one of our blog readers, sent in this fun idea that inspired us. She suggested that traditional spaghetti and meatballs could use a healthy makeover and recommended using spaghetti squash instead of pasta, tempeh instead of meat, and additional veggies in the tomato sauce.

All these ideas sounded great to us! Check out the recipe we developed for Italian-Style Spaghetti Squash with Tempeh. Read the rest of this entry »

What do brownies, cookies and cupcakes all have in common? In addition to being just plain fun to eat, these favorites have all received recipe makeovers as features in our Make It Natural posts. Whether they needed lighter ingredients or substitutions for special diets, the following reader favorites got top honors in rating and comments.

The ultimate winner? Flourless Brownies! These incredibly moist brownies taste great and include a super secret ingredient that won over the skeptics. Read all about it and give them a try. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t know about you, but the cooler weather makes us want to indulge in comfort foods. Around here, we find it a fun challenge to take a closer look at comfort favorites and see if we can make some simple changes to improve the nutrition without compromising on flavor. We know you are doing the same thing because one reader, James, sent in a great idea for a rice pudding update-he suggested making this classic, homey dessert with brown rice, non-dairy milk and dried fruits. What a perfect example of how easy it is to update a recipe with a simple swap of a whole grain for a non-whole grain.

We took James’ suggestions and created this delightful Baked Brown Rice Pudding.

Here are the changes from the standard version of rice pudding:

• We used whole grain brown rice instead of white rice. You can cook your own (leftover plain brown rice is perfect) or use the super-convenient frozen, already cooked brown rice. Brown rice boosts dietary fiber, manganese, magnesium and selenium. Find out more about the benefits of eating whole grains and get ideas on incorporating them into your diet.
• We used organic light coconut milk instead of dairy milk for creaminess and a subtle sweetness. Light coconut milk has about 71% less fat and 67% fewer calories than regular coconut milk.
• Dried cherries, dried apricots and raisins add great texture and a perfect amount of sweetness. They also contribute some vitamin A, potassium and fiber.
• ” Almonds contribute toasty flavor along with fiber and a boost of important nutrients like calcium, magnesium, potassium, heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and vitamin E. Did you know almonds contain more calcium than other nuts? A great choice!

What efforts are you making to add some healthy angles to holiday recipes? We want to hear all about them!

Did you miss the recipe link above? Here is the full recipe for our Baked Brown Rice Pudding. Got a recipe that needs a natural makeover? Post it in the comments section below! If we select your recipe and publish the improved version on our website, we’ll send you a $25 Whole Foods Market gift card.

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.

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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. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember our secret ingredient flourless brownies that were such a big hit? The surprising addition of black beans inspired lots of readers to share their favorite secret ingredients. Amy posted a comment with her tip for hiding healthy pumpkin in brownies. With Halloween right around the corner, the time is certainly right for baking up a pumpkin treat. We decided to try a variation on Amy’s idea and created a simple Pumpkin Chocolate Cake.

This cake is perfect unfrosted or with a light dusting of powdered sugar if you prefer. Serve with a hot cup of tea, coffee or cocoa. It would be fun to serve small bites at a Halloween party too! Check out the full recipe here.

Here’s the scoop on our healthy updates:

• Using whole wheat pastry flour in place of white flour increases the fiber, magnesium and manganese in this cake.
• Adding pumpkin bumps up the vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, fiber, manganese, folate, thiamin, copper, vitamin B5, vitamin B6 and niacin.
• Chocolate and cocoa contain phytochemicals (plant compounds) called flavonoids that that help protect against free radical damage that can lead to disease in the body. Cocoa powder ranks the highest of the chocolate products to contain these antioxidants, followed by dark and milk chocolate. Cocoa powder is also lower in fat and sugar than most other chocolate products (especially milk chocolate).

We love baking with pumpkin! In addition to our new favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Cake, here are a few more baked goods we love that feature one of our favorite fall ingredients:

Honey and Walnut Pumpkin Bread

Mini Pumpkin Gingerbread Cupcakes

Pumpkin and Millet Muffins

What are some of your favorite ways to cook and bake with pumpkin?

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.

Happy Halloween!

Now that fall is in the air, many of us are turning to heartier dishes. Eric, one of our readers, wrote in to tell us that one of his all-time favorite comfort foods is Beef Stroganoff, strips of beef in a creamy mushroom sauce over pasta or rice. But since Eric is no longer an omnivore, he wanted to know if we could create a vegan recipe: Stroganoff without the beef.

We think our recipe for Tempeh and Mushroom Stroganoff fits the bill.

Here are a few notes about the recipe:

• We subbed tempeh (fermented soybeans) in place of beef. With hearty flavor and texture, tempeh adds protein, fiber and very little saturated fat.
• Portobello mushrooms add a deeper, more savory flavor than other varieties.
• To keep this recipe quick to assemble per Eric’s request, we relied on vegetarian gravy mix (look for this near the soups and broths). You could certainly make it from scratch.
• We suggest serving the tempeh and mushrooms over brown rice for soaking up the flavorful sauce. For ease and convenience, we used frozen brown rice in this recipe, but it would be just as delicious over noodles. Try it over udon noodles, soba noodles, brown rice noodles or whole wheat or spelt pasta.

Want to adjust some of your favorite recipes to meet a new diet? Here are a few general tips for making great vegan and vegetarian recipes:

• For creaminess, use coconut milk, nut milk or silken tofu in place of dairy products.
• Use rich vegetable stock, shallots, garlic, leeks and other aromatic vegetables to create a flavorful base. Fresh herbs are wonderful additions as well.
• Other ingredients to consider for adding robust flavor are chipotles (smoked jalapenos available canned), sun dried tomatoes, olives, caramelized onions and wild mushrooms.

Do you have some tips for vegetarian and vegan cooking to share? We’d love to hear! Please post them in the comments below.

Check out our selection of vegan recipes. We have almost 500, so there’s something for everyone!

Post your idea for a recipe makeover. If we pick your idea, we’ll send you a $25 gift card and publish it our blog and our website!

Along with cooler weather, fall brings a yearning for comfort foods. Sometimes those old favorites can use a fresh makeover! Jennifer wrote asking for help in making her family’s favorite chicken tetrazzini a more healthful, lower sodium recipe. We made this beloved casserole healthier by cutting back on the cheese, using whole grain pasta, and making a sauce from scratch rather than using canned cream of chicken soup. The results are delicious!

Check out the full recipe for Chicken Tetrazzini with Green Peas and Chives and let us know what you think. Read the rest of this entry »

These quick and easy-to-make cookies more than satisfied our nutritionists, along with the sweet tooths of our tasters. Something for everyone! Elena sent us her recipe to test, saying that she loves to make healthy food for her family and bakes these cookies for her son, who loves them! Her recipe was right on the mark; we added a bit of cinnamon and everything else stayed the same.

Check out the full recipe for Cinnamon-Walnut Oatmeal Cookies.

Read the rest of this entry »