What’s On Your Table This Week?

PUMPKIN PIE4Are you stressing over your holiday menu?

Perhaps you have the basics worked out already. But what about dessert?

No worries, I’ve got you covered with a special treat – just in time for your big feast. Even better, this Raw Pumpkin Pie allows you to literally have your ‘cake’ (or pie, in this case) and eat it too!

Truth be told, I didn’t grow up with pie.

In fact, I didn’t grow up with many of the traditional dishes we associate with the Thanksgiving feast – thing like bread stuffing and sweet potatoes or yams, never made it into the holiday table.

Did I grow up deprived?

Not in the least! As with most families, we had our own wonderful traditions, many of which have been carried forward to the next generation. (Things like my fabulous Turkey Stuffing with Rice & Pecans, which I shared with you last week).

As we marry or form new partnerships of our own, other traditions sometimes fall by the wayside – as we meld different families and different traditions.

Either way it’s all good! [Read more…]

A Sugar-Free Christmas? Bah Humbug!

Lebkuchen3lA couple of years ago, I decided to cut back on my intake of refined sugar.

And I’ve shared my various successes baking with alternate sweeteners here and here.

Of course, there are lots of reasons why you might want to consume less sugar than the Standard American Diet (aka SAD).

However, if you’re experiencing any kind of digestive distress, or chronic illness, then sugar is one of the first things I’d recommend you eliminate.

After gluten, of course!

(Both gluten and sugar, along with dairy, are considered the top three most inflammatory foods).

So, that’s reason #1.

Here’s another reason to eliminate sugar: a yeast or bacterial overgrowth, such as Candida or SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth).

[Read more…]