Here are some tips to help you maintain your health throughout this wonderful holiday season:

• Bring a raw, organic vegetable platter with you to your holiday gatherings. Try serving it with a bean dip or nut pate. Filling up on healthful raw vegetables and dips means you will not feel the need to overindulge on other heavy, rich foods.



• Serve a large fresh green salad with a homemade dressing as part of your holiday feast. Leafy greens stimulate your body's own digestion and are also full of enzymes which will help to digest other parts of your meal.



• If you are planning on making a turkey for Thanksgiving, purchase an organic one from your local co-op or health food store. Better yet, look for a turkey that bears the label, "Certified Humane Raised and Handled." This means that in addition to eating an organic diet and being free of growth hormones and antibiotics, these animals were ethically treated during all phases of their lives. Visit www.certified humane.org



• Bring a plate of nutritious desserts that everyone will enjoy.

Raw Almond Paté

Serve this tasty and nourishing paté with a platter of fresh organic vegetables and crackers. We like to use a gluten-free cracker called Mary's Gone Crackers, which is available at most health food stores and food co-ops. Wakame is a sea vegetable that gives this recipe added flavor while providing an abundance of trace minerals; look for it in the bulk section or macrobiotic section of your local food co- op or health food store.

• 2 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight
• 1/3 cup wakame pieces, soaked
• 1 cup coarsely chopped carrots
• 1 cup coarsely chopped celery
• ½ cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 5 medjool dates, pitted
• 1 to 2 tablespoons tamari

Pear and Hazelnut Salad with Creamy Cranberry Dressing

This salad is wonderful as part of your Thanksgiving feast as cranberries, hazelnuts, and pears are all in season at this time. You can make the dressing one or two days ahead of time; store it in a glass jar in your fridge.

Salad:

• 1 large head red leaf lettuce, rinsed, dried, and torn into pieces
• 1 firm ripe pear, cored and sliced thin
• ½ small red onion, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 cup raw hazelnuts
• ½ cup crumbled organic feta cheese, optional

• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, washed
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 to 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• ½ teaspoon sea salt or Herbamare

Tempeh and Mushroom Stroganoff

Serve this gluten-free dish for guests who are vegetarian or simply looking for an alternative to turkey as a main dish. This dish can be made with a variety of different mushrooms. Try using button, cremini, oyster, chanterelle, or morel. This recipe has been adapted from Cynthia Lair’s cookbook, Feeding The Whole Family.

• 1 - 8 ounce package tempeh, cut into cubes
• 3 tablespoons tamari
• 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 large carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 4 to 5 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1 to 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 2 to 3 tablespoons mirin, or white wine vinegar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons tamari
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
• freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup chopped parsley, as a garnish

Simple Wild Rice Pilaf

This easy to make blend of brown rice and wild rice make a nice accompaniment to other more flavorful dishes at your Thanksgiving table.

• 1 cup wild rice
• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 4 cups water
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Chocolate Truffles

These healthful and easy-to-make little treats are always a crowd pleaser. They can be made a day ahead of time and stored in a covered container in your refrigerator until ready to serve.

• 2 cups raw walnuts
• 1 cup medjool dates, pitted
• 5 to 6 tablespoons organic cocoa powder
• shredded organic coconut

The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook: Whole Foods Recipes for Personal and Planetary Health is close to being done. The book should be available by the second week of December. It will be for sale on our website, and also at the Bellingham Community Food Co-op, Pacific Chef in Fairhaven, as well as in our office in downtown Bellingham. We will let you know of other locations in December.

Our book features over 200 fabulous whole foods recipes, most of which are free of gluten, dairy, and eggs. It also includes some of the latest nutrition information on using food as medicine, as well as important information on how to cook whole grains and beans, how to identify and use natural sweeteners, how to stock your whole foods pantry, and much more! The cost per book is $17.95 + tax.