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.

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.

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.

We think this dish is perfect for making on the weekend and then baking later when you’re crunched for time. Casseroles are great for combining protein, carbs and veggies in a single dish. Just serve with a green salad and the meal is done.

If you don’t have any leftover chicken in your fridge, you can pick up some cooked chicken from our Prepared Foods case or use part of a rotisserie chicken. Of course, it’s also very simple to cook some up yourself. Just place a couple of uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a baking dish with about 1/2 cup of water, cover with foil and bake for about 25 minutes until cooked through. Do this step first and the chicken will be ready by the time you have the rest of the casserole prepped.

With a few changes to Jennifer’s original recipe, we were able to increase the fiber, lower the fat and decrease the sodium. Here’s how:

• More fiber
  • By using whole grain pasta and cutting the amount in half, we were able to increase fiber by 6 grams while lowering total calories and carbohydrates.
• Less fat
  • Using Parmesan cheese (made from skimmed or partially skimmed milk) in place of Colby jack cheese (from whole milk) and using less of it (due to Parm’s rich, sharp flavor) saved calories, fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.
  • Replacing cream of chicken soup with one cup low-sodium chicken broth saved calories, fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.
• Lower sodium
  • Substituting Parmesan for Colby jack cheese and using less cheese altogether reduced sodium.
  • Using fresh chicken breast rather than canned saved sodium.
  • Cutting the cream of chicken soup and using low-sodium broth in its place helps cut back on sodium.
• Adding mushrooms and peas to the recipe helped improve the overall nutrient density, heartiness and flavor.

Give this delicious version of chicken tetrazzini a try and let us know what you think. Did you miss the recipe? Here’s the full Chicken Tetrazzini with Green Peas and Chives.

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.

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.

Speaking of “everything else,” there’s a secret ingredient in these cookies. We received lots of positive feedback on our Secret Ingredient Flourless Brownies, which call for black beans. So we are hopeful that you’ll once again try something new and different: prunes. Yep, one cup of chopped prunes goes into this cookie recipe. As they bake, the prunes don’t stand out as a separate flavor but instead add moistness, texture and natural sweetening. And don’t forget fiber, potassium and vitamin A! Prunes are a powerhouse secret ingredient. Some of our tasters didn’t know the cookies had prunes and never suspected (until we told them… or maybe we never told them… we don’t remember!).

Additionally, these cookies upgrade your standard fare with:

• Walnuts – are packed with omega-3 essential fatty acids, important for supporting healthy brain and nervous system function. They also provide dietary fiber and manganese.
• Whole wheat pastry flour (instead of processed white flour) – made from whole grain wheat, this is a very good source of dietary fiber and manganese, along with some magnesium too.
• Unsweetened applesauce – a naturally fat-free substitute for some of the butter or oil called for in similar recipes.
• Old-fashioned rolled oats – this whole grain ingredient makes all oatmeal cookies a good choice for added protein, soluble fiber, vitamin B1, manganese, selenium, magnesium and phosphorus.

Do you have a favorite recipe using prunes or another secret ingredient? I’d love to hear about it. Please let us know in the comments below. Did you miss the link for the full recipe? Here is the complete Cinnamon-Walnut Oatmeal Cookies recipe.

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.

I love a good food challenge. In addition to making a gluten-free brownie, I wanted to create a version with good protein, healthy carbohydrates and fiber – and, of course, it had to taste delicious!. With many gluten-free baked goods, you’ll find starches and flours in the ingredients that have virtually no fiber or protein, so I didn’t want to go that route. I needed a secret ingredient instead.

Here’s the part where I tell you what the secret ingredient is and I kind of don’t want to because I’m afraid you won’t try the recipe! If you were here, I’d say “here, try a brownie” and then listen to you ooohhh and aaahhh about how delicious it is before I tell you what’s in it. Here’s hoping that you will trust me on this. The secret ingredient in these brownies is: black beans.

Check out the full recipe for our delicious, you’d-never-guess-the-secret-ingredient Flourless Brownies. The brownies are very simple to make and they turn out very moist and dense – almost fudge-like. Make and test your tasters to see if they can name the secret ingredient.

While this may sound odd to us, over the years I’ve actually sampled a number of baked goods from various parts of the world that use beans as a main ingredient. I’ve tried breads made from navy beans, Asian pastries made with black beans, and desserts and pastries made with tofu (from soybeans). All these ideas inspired me to create this version of Flourless Brownies.

When you compare these brownies to more traditional ones, you’ll see that ours have fewer calories but more fiber and only 12 grams of sugar per serving versus 21 grams in a traditional brownie. And here’s some good news for people watching their carbs: Ours have 17 grams of carbs per serving, compared to 36 grams for the traditional version.

If you like these brownies, try some bean experiments of your own. Maybe white beans baked into cupcakes or muffins or pinto beans baked into chocolate cake? While kitchen experimentation is required, you can start with drained, rinsed, pureed beans in place of flour…start out with 1 can of beans for 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour.

If you have some ideas or tips for using pureed beans in baked goods, I’d love to hear them! Please let us know in the comments below! Did you miss the link for the full recipe? Here is the complete Flourless Brownies recipe.

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.

We thought back-to-school time was the perfect opportunity to satisfy all those requests we’ve received for a healthier but family friendly version of stovetop macaroni and cheese.

Check out the recipe we developed for Stovetop Whole Wheat Macaroni and Cheese.

Here’s an overview of the steps we took to improve the nutritional profile of mac and cheese:

• We substituted whole wheat macaroni for refined white flour macaroni. This one changes makes so much difference!
  • Whole wheat is an excellent source of dietary fiber and manganese, and a good source of magnesium.
  • Using whole wheat macaroni provides 5 grams of fiber per serving.
  • 8 ounces of whole wheat macaroni contains an additional 43 mg calcium, 157 mg phosphorus, 2 mg zinc, and 11 g fiber compared to 8 ounces of white macaroni.
• Using nonfat (skim) milk reduces the fat in the recipe while providing the same amount of vitamins and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin D. Using 1 cup of skim milk in place of whole milk saves 63 calories, 7 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, while adding 30 mg calcium and 251 IU vitamin A.
• We used sharp cheddar cheese along with Parmesan for great flavor. On some boxed mixes you might find different versions of “yellow” in the ingredient list for a cheesier look. You won’t find anything artificial in this recipe…or in the boxed mac and cheese on our shelves for that matter. We feature only foods that are free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats per our Quality Standards.
• Since you are making it from scratch, you control the amount of salt added.

Go to the full recipe for our Stovetop Whole Wheat Macaroni and Cheese, give it a try and let us know what you and your family think!

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.

Check out the resulting recipe for Coconut Milk Ice Cream.

If you want a lighter version (or vegan one), simply eliminate the egg yolks and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
We’ve found that coconut milk makes a great substitute for dairy milk in many recipes. Here are some simple tips to keep in mind when making this substitution:

• Substitute one cup of light coconut milk for one cup regular or 2% dairy milk and one cup regular coconut milk for one cup half-and-half or cream. Remember to shake the can well before opening.
• For rich desserts such as crème brûlée or custard, regular coconut milk works best to give the consistency of rich dairy cream.
• For lighter versions of cooked puddings and pie fillings, light coconut milk is a good substitute for dairy milk.
• For rich frozen desserts such as ice cream, use regular coconut milk either alone or in combination with light coconut milk. If you use the light alone, you may get an end result that is more “icy” than creamy.
• Substitute either regular or light coconut milk in just about any recipe calling for dairy milk including cakes, muffins, quick breads and cornbread, as well as soups, stews, and creamy dishes calling for cream, half-and-half or milk.

Do you have other recommendations for using coconut milk or other non-dairy milks in recipes? Please let us know in the comments below! Did you miss the link for the full recipe? Here is the Coconut Milk Ice Cream recipe.

And here are some other frozen treat ideas that are free of casein and gluten:

Coffee Granita

Fresh Berry Granita

Peach Mango Popsicles

Strawberry Orange Popsicles

Raw Banana “Ice Cream”

Interested in more coconut milk recipes? Try these favorites:

Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup with Shrimp

Butternut Squash and Macaroni Casserole

Coconut Forbidden Rice Pudding

Coconut Milk Braised Greens

Coconut Marshmallow Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Curried Coconut Chicken Salad

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Milk Dessert Sauce

Green Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Wraps

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. We’re starting work on our holiday plans, so think ahead to some of your favorite seasonal recipes you’d like to see improved and let us know!

Summer zucchini season inspired Jill, one of our Whole Story readers, to request a healthier version of her mom’s zucchini bread recipe, since mom’s version used loads of vegetable oil.

Thanks for the opportunity to play around with this! We love zucchini bread too – one of summer’s best treats and an excellent way to use up an abundance of summer squash. Typical recipes do call for a lot of oil (a cup of oil in batter? Yuck!), so we cut back on that and made a few other improvements as well. Check out our Healthier Zucchini Bread recipe.

Here’s a rundown on how we updated this classic to improve the nutritional profile:

• Substituting whole wheat flour for enriched white flour adds fiber-you’ll get about 3 grams of fiber in each serving of our zucchini bread-as well as important vitamins and minerals.
• Applesauce is a naturally fat-free ingredient that can be substituted for oil in many baked good recipes-try it! It also contributes some vitamins and minerals, such as potassium and vitamin C, that traditionally would not be there.
• Yogurt, an excellent source of calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and iodine, is another ingredient that can be substituted for some of the oil in baked good recipes-in this zucchini bread we added two tablespoons.
• Zucchini is the low-calorie, naturally fat-free secret ingredient and hidden vegetable in this recipe. The cup of zucchini used in the recipe contributes essential nutrients such as fiber, iron, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, vitamin C and magnesium.
• You can never go wrong with walnuts! Our recipe calls for 1/3 cup walnuts, adding protein, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and selenium. They are lower in saturated fats, higher in mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids in the form of alpha-linolenic (ALA).
• Per serving, when compared to a more traditional zucchini bread, (with more oil!), our recipe saves about 70 calories and 4 grams of fat while adding 2 grams of fiber.

Did you miss the link above? Check out our Healthier Zucchini Bread recipe now.

So, the next time your neighbor hands you some zucchini over the fence, you’ll be ready with this recipe. And try some of our other tips for improving the nutrition of your homemade baked goods.

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. We’re starting work on our holiday plans, so think ahead to some of your favorite seasonal recipes you’d like to see improved and let us know!

Send us your idea for a chance to win a $25 gift card!