Whole Wheat Bran Muffins with Roasted Grapes

Holidays...good.  Overindulging...bad.  Sometimes it's hard to get back in the healthy groove once one's fallen off the proverbial wagon.  So, I thought I'd offer up a fairly quick and healthy bran muffin, with a tasty twist, to help with those new and improved best intentions (aka resolutions).  Read on for said 'twist'...

Berry Cheesecake Tarts with Chocolate Crust

You might think the world just doesn't need another cheesecake recipe...but, I mean, can the world really have too many cheesecake recipes?  What makes this one special is that it is made with natural ingredients (made as healthy as possible), has a killer flavor combination (which leans towards 'festive' with the chocolate crust), and comes together in a flash.  What's not to love about a knock-out dessert that doesn't take all day in the kitchen?  The smooth tart filling is contrasted with the cocoa flavor and nut crunch of the crust, topped off with a high note of berry flourish (enhanced with just a hint of rosewater) as a beautiful, glistening finish, making a gorgeous finale to any holiday get-together.

Cranberry Orange Galette

Love the holidays...HATE the frantic pace.  One of my favorite flavors of the holidays is cranberry.  I eagerly look forward to the happy day every fall when fresh cranberries appear in the stores.  They are beautiful, bursting with flavor, and packed with healthy goodness.  Another of Nature's jewels.

This is a super-easy dessert, perfect for the holidays.  Traditional, yet rustic.  Full of flavor, yet light.  It can be dressed up or down, adjusted to any and every fruit to suit personal tastes, and is so very satisfying.  I borrowed heavily from the Pastry Studio peach galette recipe.  I adjusted the nuts and filling to match the season, added some whole wheat flour, and brightened everything with a splash of orange.  When a heavy dessert after a big holiday meal seems groan-worthy, this light and bright galette provides just the right note of 'finis' to your lovely get-together.

Apple Harvest Muffins

...so, where was I?

Oh, yes, fall.  This is without a doubt my favorite time of year.  I can't believe it has been a year (almost) since my last post.  Life happens, as I'm sure you all know.  Work, family, life.   Sometimes there is just not enough hours in the day, and something has to give (like blogging).  Well, here is a recipe to help us all slow down and appreciate the simple things in life...like jewel-toned leaves, sparkling skies and cooler breezes, even if life feels a little bit like a whirlwind sometimes.  

Breakfast Cookies

If you ate too much over Thanksgiving, raise your hands.  OK, put 'em down (wow, that was a lot of hands).  How many of you are now suffering from PHCG?  (That's post-holiday calorie guilt in case you were wondering).  Lots of hands again (I raised both).  Now, how many of us skipped breakfast this morning, thinking it was a perfectly acceptable way to kick-start our Monday-get-back-on-track plans?  Or, how many are guzzling sugar-free energy drinks instead?  Oh my...way too many hands.  Well, we all know the dangers and pitfalls of skipping real meals--research has shown that we usually end up taking in more calories in one sitting than we do by eating more frequent and smaller meals throughout the day.  Did you know that there is a definite link between obesity and higher BMIs for those who routinely skip breakfast compared to those that don't?  Breakfast is a golden opportunity to get those metabolisms going, and a chance to provide much-needed nutrients.  But, life is just too darn complicated sometimes!  That is where these super easy, delicious and nutrition-dense breakfast cookies come in.  After all those mashed potatoes and pies, I offer up a protein and fiber rich breakfast cookie, full of complex carbohydrates and heart-healthy nuts and fruit, to help jump start the day and get back on track with those health goals.  And (oh my goodness), more holiday meals are just around the corner.  Bake up a batch of these, pop them in the freezer, and gird your loins against the calorie onslaught that is looming.  A perfect grab and go breakfast.  Did I mention they were delicious, far more interesting, and definitely better for you than anything you could possibly find in a can?  

Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing

Surprises.  They keep things interesting, snap us out of boring patterns, and sometimes provide 

much-needed inspiration.  

Take, for instance, what my dogwood is doing this week...

Surely a flowering tree shouldn't be towards the end of November????  Nevertheless, it is blooming away, in bold defiance of the freezing overnight temperatures we've been experiencing off and on for the last few weeks.  Surprising!

Also surprising?  Well, I'll have to make a couple of confessions here.  First, although I love most vegetables, I've never been a huge fan of squash.  Early encounters were not good ones, and consisted of bland and mushy concoctions that were frankly hard to get down.  The unfortunate name didn't help either...'squash'...surely it sounds more appetizing in another language?  Secondly, I'm not a big fan of stuffing either (I know that sounds slightly heretical this time of year).  It's just that I find it doughy, overly moist and, well, superfluous.  I simply don't get what virtually everyone else waxes rapturous about.  It seems to me that stuffing takes up very valuable plate real estate on the big turkey day.  

So, taking the dogwood's bold spirit of non-conformity to heart, I embarked on a personal challenge to find a recipe that features something a little more interesting in the squash and stuffing departments.  I was more than happily surprised with the results.