Caesar-y Salad

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Some may call it blasphemy to leave out the cheese, oil, eggs and anchovies in Caesar dressing, but this concerns me less than living life without any type of Caesar dressing at all. This creamy, garlicky, and healthy “Caesar-y Salad” is just the ticket! In addition to leaving out oil, cheese, eggs and fish, I [...]

Quinoa Holiday Dressing

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Quinoa makes an excellent whole-grain alternative to bread or rice in holiday dressing. This recipe is traditionally flavored with fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary, with the addition of mushrooms, greens and almonds. Ingredients: 3 cups water 1-1/2 cups dry quinoa 1 large yellow onion, chopped 3 ribs celery, sliced 10-12 mushrooms, sliced 1 teaspoon granulated [...]

Carrot Cake Donuts

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Anything “carrot cake” is O.K. by me, and if it looks like a donut, even better! Carrot cakes are typically loaded with oil, butter, sugar and eggs, all of which I avoid in my recipes; so coming up with a cake that is just as tasty (and moist but not too heavy), was a fun [...]

Persimmon Bars

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These bars are lighter than traditional fruit and nut bars, and make a great traveling or backpacking snack—or a dessert cake when a bit of frosting is added. Refined sugar is replaced by dates, which have a brown sugar flavor that complements the persimmon and spices. Clockwise from top: Creamy Cashew Frosting, Lemon-Tofu Frosting, no [...]

Chunky Cranberry Sauce

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I love foods that taste like dessert but are served with dinner, and cranberry sauce tops my list! Try this zipped up version with apples and pears, walnuts and raisins. Dates are used instead of refined sugar, and a few pomegranate seeds add a bit of whimsy. Ingredients 3-4 medjool dates, pitted and diced ½ [...]