Healthy Cooking Methods & Style Recipes

It takes several days to make your own sourdough starter--but the small investment in time up front is worth it for the delicious homemade bread you can produce regularly. It's said to be good luck to name your starter, which if well cared for, can survive happily for years.

Make a big batch of the coffee-infused spice rub in this healthy baked chicken thigh recipe and let it be your weeknight secret weapon. It's also great on salmon, steak and tofu.

Brown sugar, coffee and coriander are the base for the delicious rub in this healthy baked salmon recipe. Serve with brown rice pilaf or a farro salad.

Smoky paprika yogurt and an herb and preserved-lemon salsa verde add pops of flavor to this healthy slow-cooker recipe. If you have extra time, brown the lamb and onions, in batches, before adding them to the slow cooker for increased depth of flavor.

Simmering wild blueberries with lemon zest and vanilla makes a tasty quick jam or dessert topping. Serve the compote on pancakes, stir it into yogurt or use it to top ice cream.

This healthy chocolate tart recipe is topped with homemade candied orange peel infused with cinnamon. You then add the cinnamon simple syrup to the chocolate filling. You can use store-bought candied orange peel and plain simple syrup in the filling to streamline the recipe.

For this slice-and-bake cookie recipe, we've knocked back the sugar a bit and used white whole-wheat flour for more flavor, fiber and nutrients. Keep a roll of the dough in the freezer so you can quickly bake a batch if company stops by.

This healthy, gluten-free dessert has everything--crisp-on-the-outside, gooey-inside meringue base, whipped cream, tart cranberry sauce and toasted nuts. Plus, you can make everything ahead of time, then simply assemble and serve.

This healthy cake recipe is like a pumpkin-flavored version of Boston cream pie. Rather than the traditional round shape, we use a 9-by-13 pan to make a four-layer rectangular cake that looks fun and provides more layers of creamy goodness.

A velvety, light custard surrounds ripe pears in this healthy pear pie recipe. Serve with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream.

Serve this vegetarian tart recipe as a main dish or in thinner slices for an appetizer or side dish. Since you'll be pleating the dough to create a rustic look, buy ready-to-roll pie crusts rather than prepared pie shells--you'll find them in the dairy section of your market with other ready-to-bake items or near the frozen desserts.

For this standing rib roast of pork recipe, get the roast with the bone tips "frenched" (stripped of meat) and the chine bone removed for easy slicing. You can often find them ready to go during the holiday season, but you may want to call your butcher in advance to make sure one is available.

For this classic roast beef recipe, cremini or white mushrooms are delicious in the sauce. But if you want to get fancy, mix in some wild mushrooms, such as oyster, maitake or porcini.

For this simple baked salmon recipe, just order the right size whole salmon from your grocery store or fish market and have them clean and scale it. You can also use two smaller fish (1 to 2 pounds each) and reduce the roasting time by about 10 minutes. If you like, you can opt for other species, such as striped bass, snapper or tilapia.

This Ethiopian-spice-rubbed turkey recipe has just the right amount of curry-like seasoning to make it exciting but still at home on a Thanksgiving table. There's enough au jus left in the roasting pan for any traditionalists to drizzle over their turkey; use the citrus aioli for dipping or for turkey sandwiches the next day.

When shopping for this healthy salad recipe, be sure to pick up the right type of persimmons. The flat-bottomed Fuyus called for here are bright orange and have texture of an almost-ripe peach when ready to eat--perfect for salsas and salads, with or without the peel. Oval-shaped, darker orange and larger Hachiyas are only edible when almost liquid on the inside. The flesh is best used in baking or can be scooped out of the skin and eaten like custard. Underripe, they are off-puttingly tart.

This healthy recipe is a savory riff on the traditional brown-sugar-and-pecan-topped sweet potato casserole so often found on Thanksgiving tables. Crispy baby kale leaves make a stunning garnish, but any green or herb that suits you will look great, fried or not.

These little cute stacks are everything you want in a potato side dish: tender in the middle, devilishly crispy on the outside, and seasoned with sage and butter throughout. For best results, use a mandoline to slice the potatoes extra-thin.

Mushrooms are a rich, "meaty" addition in this healthy cornbread stuffing recipe. Here we use oyster mushrooms, but you can use any variety you like. If you have time, bake the cornbread a day or two in advance so it has time to dry out a bit, which lets it absorb the flavors more readily.

Celeriac adds a bright celery-like flavor and lightens the texture in this healthy mashed potato casserole. The fried shallots are reminiscent of the crispy onions that top a green bean casserole.