Move Over, Pecan Pie — This Healthy Alternative Is So Much Better

Thanksgiving might be the ultimate You. We. All. holiday, with an emphasis on giving back, gratitude, and community—and, of course, plenty of delicious food.  While a typical Thanksgiving table might be enough to induce a stomachache based on sight alone, we think of the holiday as an opportunity to nourish your body, in addition to your soul.  With that in mind, we reached out to some of the year’s biggest food stars to share their favorite healthy Thanksgiving recipe and some tips, tricks, and traditions that help them get through the holiday with a smile on their face (and bellyache free!).  

Marie Reginato is the founder of 8th and Lake, the healthy food blog and Instagram sensation.  With her soothing voice and no-nonsense approach to elegant, flavorful food, she’s quickly amassed a huge following.  Her new cookbook, Alternative Vegan: Plant-Based Recipes That Break the Rules, features plant-based cooking with the addition of fish and eggs, a response to the flexible eating rules that so many of us truly follow in an increasingly label-free world.  Marie’s Sticky Date Cake, excerpted from her book, is the perfect dessert for anyone with a sweet tooth who doesn’t want to be slowed down by a blood sugar spike and crash.  

MR: If anyone has reservations about healthy eating—let’s say your friends or family—the best thing to do is never tell them from the get-go that what they’re eating is healthy. I have a lemon curd recipe in my book that I’ll be serving the next morning for a fun brunch meal, but it’s a sneaky one as it’s super healthy. For example, the lemon "curd" sounds pretty decadent, right? Well I would never say, "Hey, guess what, guys? There’s tofu inside!" That might terrify my family. But unbeknownst to them, tofu is actually what makes it creamy without having to use raw eggs. Definitely postpone your reveal till after the fact, and then I’m sure they’ll be coming back for seconds!

Thanksgiving is usually all about the pies, but honestly it’s so nice to switch it up and offer a dessert that’s just as satisfying as it is healthy. This naturally sweetened cake uses dates, which caramelize down into flavorful pockets that taste like toffee, all without any refined sugar or butter.

Serves 6 to 8