Moist pumpkin and rich chocolate make an outrageous dessert pair. Pumpkin has tons of beta carotene, an important antioxidant and the chocolate has flavenoids which also boost the levels of antioxidants in this bread pudding.

Purchase a pumpkin shape cookie cutter to make these fanciful whole wheat trick or treats for Halloween. The molasses adds vital iron and other minerals to these whole grain goodies that have an extra helping of fiber.

You will need a bat shaped cookie cutter to makes these crunchy crisp chocolate bats are perfect for a healthy Halloween! The kids will love ‘em because they’re chocolate sugar cookie dough, but I like them since they have whole wheat flour and are lower in fat than a traditional sugar cookie.

These treats made with whole grain flour have a nutty, rich taste that people expect from a home-baked cookie. It’s fun to incorporate healthy whole grain flour into your favorite traditional recipes. I added dried cherries for a twist, but these cookies are just as good as a classic chocolate chip

My granny always had so much leftover zucchini in her garden, it was a challenge to use it all. I invented this recipe when she gifted me a huge bag of zucchini one summer fresh from her garden. Zucchini is very high in water and fiber content. It’s the perfect way to moisten brownies without adding extra fat and get extra fiber in your diet.

As a kid, I hated upside down cakes covered with masses of sticky glazed pineapple. Feared by many, it always popped up on buffet tables at family gatherings – from graduation parties to wedding receptions, year-round. I’ve never been a big fan of canned fruit since, especially that gooey pie filling that most upside down cakes call for. So my upside down version is made with a thick, rich homemade filling of fresh cherries that is simple and superb. Buy yourself a cherry pitter to make it easy. Kids will want to help when they see you using a fun new gadget!

During cold winter evenings, my granny would gather a knitted blanket onto to her lap and sip her favorite tea. The odor of orange punctutated by the dark musk of cloves would fill our small living room as she siped, slowly turning the pages of her latest travel book. My version of her favorite tea has cinnamon for added spice and flavor.

These are one of my all-time favorite cookies! My Granny baked a huge batch of these for my wedding reception. Luckily, I managed to eat at least one before the guests gobbled them down and the whole tray was emptied!

My roommate in college, Christina, used to beg me to make Texas Sheet Cake. Granny used to make it for us on the Fourth of July but my healthier version is delish year-round!

If fresh cherries are out of your budget or out of season, the frozen version will work just as well! Cherries are a good source of antioxidants and they plump nicely when baked in muffins.