With Thanksgiving fast approaching, these Thanksgiving menus may inspire your own celebration, whether traditional, make-ahead, casual buffet, an intimate table, vegetarian, lower-calorie – plus a bonus, my own "dream" Thanksgiving menu! Use an entire menu or better yet, mix and match a new recipe or two with your own family favorites. All the recipes are from Kitchen Parade or A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables. about my photograph ~ Traditional Thanksgiving Menu ~ ~ Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Menu ~ ~ Casual Thanksgiving Buffet Menu ~ ~ Intimate Thanksgiving Menu for a Small Table ~ ~ Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu ~ ~ Lower-Calorie Thanksgiving Menu ~ and a bonus! ~ My Dream Thanksgiving Menu ~ More Thanksgiving Recipes from Kitchen Parade More Thanksgiving Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture A Traditional Thanksgiving Menu ~ all of Thanksgiving's homemade favorites ~ Cranberry Champagne Cocktail Roast Turkey ...

I may be 80% city girl but I still appreciate the lore – and the lure – of the woods. It’s a long-standing Kellogg tradition that when the men go hunting, the women bake cookies. This year, however, I’m sending the hunters into the woods with a DIY Healthy Trail Mix, what some hikers call "gorp" and my own easy blend of nuts and seeds and dried fruit. It’s a portable snack made healthy by avoiding the “candy in disguise” that granola bars and commercial trail mixes have become and by bulking up the volume with low-sugar Cheerios. Make-Ahead Portable Snack for Hikers, Hunters & Road Trips. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Great for Meal Prep.

How to stuff a pumpkin with a vegetarian stew of bell peppers, tomatillos and hominy, then bake it in small individual pie pumpkins or one large pumpkin. Very dramatic in appearance and very tasty eating, too! Wouldn't it be just perfect for a Thanksgiving vegetarian entrée?! This recipe is featured in the brand-new collection of Thanksgiving vegetable recipes at A Veggie Venture, see My Very Best Thanksgiving Vegetable Recipes . Real Food, Fresh & Seasonal. Hearty & Filling. Budget Friendly. Great for Meal Prep. Low Fat. Low Calorie. Very Weight Watchers Friendly. Vegetarian & Easy Conversion to Vegan. Naturally Gluten Free.

Actually, no, that's not right. It's not that I Heart Food Blogs, it's that ... Recipes from my favorite food blogs, mostly recipes, mostly real food, mostly family meals. The list updates automatically, new recipes from long-time favorite food blogs, even the new food blogs I fall in love with. Yes, it's always fresh, it's always in season! © Copyright Kitchen Parade

Who else feels like breaking into culinary cartwheels when the season's first apples begin to appear, first at local farmers markets, soon even in grocery stores? Those early apples call for an "apple a day" but after that, what to make with all those crispy, sweet apples that come home with us by the bushel? Here I've collected my favorite apple recipes over many years, savory and sweet, from a super-simple sugar-free applesauce to the apple pie in my flaky tender pie crust that home cooks say makes their "best crust ever". Grab an apple and c'mon in! Happy happy fall, everyone! May our baskets ever be full, enjoy the apple recipes! ~ Alanna

What a celebration cake! This recipe is worthy of birthdays, anniversaries, parties and other special occasions. It is extra-special because not only 'can' it be made ahead of time, it actually tastes better the second day. The cake itself is deep with vanilla, the icing dark and firm with the caramel that only comes from that special concoction of sugar, cream and butter. How'd I do? Even before making this gorgeous cake, I knew I'd try to set up the photo as seen in Food & Wine. Here's their inspiring shot! “Honey, it’s only a number,” chided my eighty-something neighbor when I once hesitated to answer the dreaded "How old are you?" question. "Well good," I thought. “Then I pick 37!” When it comes to age, I come from a family of liars. My cousin Lynda is now younger than her two grown sons. My clever cousin Barb is not 29, but 31. I liked her unusual choice so much that one year, I decided to turn 41 from 29 – but only afte...

Who thinks the recipe for Waldorf Salad needs a massive makeover? I do, that’s who. And so will you, comparing the calories and Weight Watchers points for my makeover recipe versus a traditional recipe. Would you believe, a reduction of almost 75%? PS There's no sacrificing flavor, either. This salad tastes great! Mayonnaise plays the schoolyard bully in too many salads. “Taste me!” it shouts, punching us in the taste buds. “This salad is all about me-me-mayo!” In those mayo salads, mayonnaise overpowers the naturally shyer flavors, the ones that need room and a little coaxing to reach their full potential. A traditional Waldorf Salad is thick with mayonnaise, even though some recipes "thin" – ahem – the mayonnaise with sour cream. For my makeover recipe for Waldorf Salad, I’ve sent the bully that is mayo to the back of the fridge and substituted something lighter and sweeter, a little yogurt laced with vanilla. The result is a salad where the apples and...