Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without pie … but if you’re not eating gluten, a typical pie crust presents a challenge. Fortunately, we’ve got a terrific gluten-free pie crust recipe as part of this Almond Apple Pie recipe, courtesy of natural foods chef Alison Anton. (She provided all the special gluten-free dessert recipes in our Oct08 issue.) The key is to have and keep ALL ingredients cold (put the flours in the fridge before making it, for example); chill the finished dough before rolling (wrap it in plastic first); and to treat the dough gently when rolling on waxed paper. Don’t worry if it tears a bit when rolling; just patch as you go, as you would with any crust. Elana of Elana’s Pantry also provides this gluten-free, almond-flour-based pie crust; I haven’t tried it yet, but since I just ordered a big bag of almond flour last week, it’s next on my list.

I love planning out Thanksgiving side dishes almost as much as eating them. The Delicious Living healthy recipe archives are full of great side dish options — and I can vouch for every one of them, having made them more than once. Here are a few of my favorites; all of them can be made gluten free, so my gluten-free son can indulge along with the rest of us. I’ll post more favorite Thanksgiving recipes in the days ahead. And I’d love to hear about yours!

1. Apple, Date, and Almond Stuffing. Hands down, my favorite stuffing ever … and it’s gluten free! It’s made with sauteed apples, zipped up with citrus zest, and given crunch with chopped almonds. This gets raves every single time I serve it. (I also make it often with roast chicken.) Gluten-free kids will love it, as will your adult guests.

2. Brussels Sprouts in Sage Butter. I love these sweet-savory brussels sprouts with pecans. Even if think you don’t like brussels sprouts, try these; browning them gives them a wonderful flavor. To make the dish even lighter, use half olive oil and half butter.

3. Sweet Potato Bake with Maple-Cinnamon Pecans. I developed this recipe a long while back for something sweet yet not drowned with marshmallows. (Not that I have anything in particular against marshmallows … just not on sweet potatoes.) It’s super easy and kids love it.

4. Quinoa Corn Muffins. Another great gluten-free Thanksgiving side dish. Pair it with this dairy-free Pumpkin Seed Spread.

5. Roasted Green Beans with Lemon and Dill. A really nice change from steamed or casserole green beans; and I love the currants, though it’s good even if you leave them out.

6. Mache Salad with Candied Pecans, Pears, and Gorgonzola. One of my go-to special salads. I leave out the gorgonzola for my gluten-free son because sometimes gorgonzola can have gluten in it (plus he doesn’t like gorgonzola). Mache is a delicious, slightly nutty, tender green; you’ll find it in clamshell packaging in the salad section of natural markets. But you may also substitute any tender greens, such as butter lettuce or even green leaf lettuce, or a mix.

If you hurry into your neighborhood Jamba Juice today from 2:00 to 5:00pm, you might be among the first 150 customers to get a free California flatbread; yes, free! Flavors include Tomo Artichoko, Smokehouse Chicken, MedterranYum, and Four Cheesey. Though I’m sure these aren’t gluten-free, I’m already a fan of Jamba Juice because of their gluten-free smoothies, which my gluten-free son boosts with protein and uses as a meal on occasion when he’s not able to get to his dorm for food. Jamba also offers fresh-squeezed juices, steel-cut oatmeal, and other yummy, healthy, fast options. more

I loved this article in the New York Times, “A White House Chef Who Wears Two Hats,” about the new, 29-year-old White House chef, Sam Kass. He sounds like someone who gets it; “when he’s not grilling fish for the first family or tending tomatillos in the White House garden, he is pondering the details of child nutrition legislation, funding streams for the school lunch program and the best tactics to fight childhood obesity.” Interesting read, including the snarky bits from big-ag interests and naysayers who think organic and locally grown isn’t realistic (for more on that, read “In Defense of Organics” from DL’s Sept issue). I appreciate Kass’s opinion on the challenges to feed healthy food to kids: “It’s got to taste good, you know?” he said. “They’re not going to eat it, no matter how healthy it is, if it doesn’t taste good.”

Vanilla beans — actually whole pods, with the beans inside — are easy to use and add a wonderful hit of intense vanilla taste to any recipe that would normally use vanilla extract. When you see a recipe that calls for using or scraping a whole vanilla bean, you can substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for each pod … but using the bean pod itself is fun and the results are extremely tasty. Here’s how to prepare and use a whole vanilla bean pod.

1. Look for whole vanilla bean pods sold in jars in the same spice section as vanilla extract. They ARE expensive, but don’t worry, you’ll use the whole thing.

2. Lay vanilla bean flat on a cutting board (unfold if necessary). Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut off the hard dried tip, than make a slit down the entire length of the bean.

3. Fold the edges back, revealing the pasty vanilla beans themselves — each smaller than a grain of sand.

4. Use the back of your knife, or a spoon, to scrape the entire length of the bean, capturing all those tasty beans in a small blob. Add to your pie crust, cake batter, or anything else you’re baking; mix well to distribute.

5. Don’t toss the husk! Chop it up into 1-inch pieces and add it to a cup of granulated sugar; over several days, it will flavor the sugar nicely (mix every so often to distribute flavor). Or add to plain vodka and let sit for several weeks, stirring occasionally, to make your own vanilla extract.

White or wheat? Not so fast. Head down the baking aisle and you’ll quickly notice flour types abound, catering to nearly every type of diet and your wildest cooking and baking desires. You’ve come across and perhaps baked with (particularly if you’re following a gluten-free diet) amaranth, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, soy, brown rice, cornmeal, nutmeal, sorghum, teff… But according to a recent study in the Journal of Food Sciences, you might want to make whole yellow pea flour your next go to. An ideal ingredient for creating low-GI foods, pulses are cheap and readily available; plus they’re low in fat and rich in fiber, antioxidants, and protein–and according to this new research, yellow pea flour may also help fight diabetes. In the study, banana bread and biscotti (speaking of biscotti, check out these holiday recipes) made with yellow pea flour produced a lower glycemic response than those baked goods containing wheat flour. Subjects also said the products actually tasted and smelled good. Use it as a healthy, gluten-free alternative in cookies, cakes, muffins, and pizza.

Check out this color-coded world map, showing typical calorie intake by country. Wow. Looks like we’re underestimating the number of calories on our plates. Big time. Too bad, because studies show that calorie restriction may hold the key to longevity. (Get the lowdown on calorie restriction and other natural ways to boost longevity.)

‘Tis the season for acorn squash, and if cooked right, it is a refreshing addition to any dinner plate. The most basic way to cook it is to cut it in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, brush the insides with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then place the pieces cut-side down on a cookie sheet and roast at 375° on the upper middle rack for 40-50 minutes, until tender when pierced. An equally simple but more flavorful way to cook it is as follows:

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut squashes in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Brush interiors with 4 teaspoons oil, then sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper to taste, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Arrange halves on a baking sheet, cut-side down. Roast 40–50 minutes on the upper middle oven rack, until tender when pierced.

If you want to take this recipe one step further and really wow your friends at dinner or Thanksgiving, try Stuffed Acorn Squash with Black Rice, Roasted Carrots, and Dried Cherries. Although the recipe may seem quite detailed, it’s actually quite simple to prepare and all of the different parts cook at the same time, so it doesn’t take that long. The time it does take is absolutely worth it!

As I was preparing the menu for tonight’s dinner guests, I remembered that they maintain a gluten free and dairy free diet. Out went my reliable Cooks Illustrated Kung Pao Shrimp option. Instead, I scrolled through our gluten free options and came up with the following menu, which I might add was a hit:

Stuffed acorn squash with black rice, roasted carrots, and dried cherries. While this may appear to be time consuming to make, it actually isn’t too bad. Once you prepare everything it all cooks within the same 30-45 minute span. My guests absolutely loved this and it looks great. If this seems too overwhelming then you could just cook the squash with the recipe’s suggested seasonings of salt, pepper, coriander, and nutmeg. I think kids would love the taste of this, the only obstacle we ran into is that they weren’t too sure about the black rice. I’m curious to know how or if the flavor changes if you cook this recipe with brown rice.

Mustard-agave chicken breasts. Okay, I have to admit, between the squash and the brownies, I ran out of time to cook the chicken. Not because the other recipes took super long to prepare, but because I notoriously am always behind schedule when I have guests over (luckily, it’s usually worth the wait!). So, this is what I wanted to prepare, but I ended up just putting some olive oil, salt and pepper and a light cajun spice on the chicken breasts and throwing them on the grill. The chicken still tasted great with the squash.

Super fudge brownies. I confess, I have not always been a fan of gluten-free baked goods, and because I’m not gluten free, I have stuck with the real thing. But these are really good. The most time consuming thing for me in making these (aside from cleaning up the tapioca flour that sprayed across my kitchen when I opened the bag) was making Alison’s GF Baking Mix. But I now have the extra Mix stored in a container so I can easily make these again some time soon. I couldn’t find teff flour at the store I went to (and again was pressed for time) so I simply used 1 cup of the Baking Mix, as opposed to a half cup and a half cup of teff flour. For the chocolate, I used Sunspire’s dairy and gluten free semi-sweet chocolate chips, and they worked great.

In addition, I made a salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, red and orange peppers, carrot, crushed raw cashews, and pomegranates topped with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. Oh, and all of this was rounded out with a bottle of Malbec red wine from Argentina. Bon appetit!

Children’s food allergies have been on the rise for quite some time, with no clear explanation as to why. Some experts blame GMOs, others the timing of introducing foods to kids or the frequency with which we consume certain staples—such as wheat, dairy, soy, and corn. Evidence shows that most kids acquire food allergies within their first couple years of life, which may explain why researchers recently found that kids who started multivitamin supplements earlier (in this case, before age 4) showed a 39 percent reduction in food allergy risk, while older children saw little or no change to allergy risk when taking the same multivitamins. Take away? Multivitamins can in fact help reduce allergy risk, but only if they’re started early.