You can be a vegetarian while still enjoying a true Thanksgiving feast. In fact, it’s better for your overall health and your waistline. We put together 25 mouthwatering recipes that are seasonal and meat-free. View the the slideshow.

Usually people are too blinded by butternut squash and sweet potatoes to pay attention to the variety of produce that hit stands once the temperatures drop. Try these 10 uncommon, yet delicious fruits and veggies in our favorite healthy recipes. View the slideshow.

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I wouldn’t mind looking like Gwyneth Paltrow. Who wouldn’t? So when she started promoting her weight-loss success using something called the Clean cleanse, I threw caution—and solid foods—to the wind.

I’d never done a cleansing diet, which basically requires you to consume mostly liquids for several days or even weeks. Frankly, I have a hard time sticking to any diet at all.

But I was feeling sluggish and bloated from too many happy hours and an abundance of Mexican meals and take-out falafels. Even my normally clear skin was sallow and scattered with pimples. Help!

That’s when I saw Paltrow’s rave, in her newsletter, Goop, about Alejandro Junger’s Clean program. I knew I had to give it a try. Who wouldn’t want to feel “pure, happy, and much lighter?” Sign me up!

So I pressured my up-for-anything roommate, Erin, into joining my quest for purity and light. Then I started reading up on Dr. Junger’s cleanse, which is actually pretty easy to follow (for a cleanse). The basic rules are:

1. Liquids only for breakfast and dinner—and allow 12 hours in between dinner and breakfast for optimal digestion.

2. Solids are allowed for lunch.

3. No soy, dairy, gluten, caffeine, or alcohol.

(Check out this comprehensive list of rules for the Junger Clean program.)

Seems simple, right? Well, the list of forbidden foods is daunting—my first gripe with the cleanse. I was technically allowed to enjoy a savory duck dish, but I’m a vegetarian—so that was out. Strictly following the cleanse meant I was not only a vegetarian, but I was also a gluten- and soy-free vegan to boot. Yikes.

Junger recommends you follow the cleanse for up to 21 days. I lasted a measly five.

The headaches were killer
I woke up my first morning feeling confident—and maybe a little cocky. This isn’t so hard, I thought, as Erin and I sipped blueberry-spinach-and-almond-butter smoothies. They were pretty tasty too. Things were still looking up at lunch, when I noshed on a spinach salad with lentils, roasted veggies, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar, which I’d prepared the night before. A caffeine headache hit at 4:30 and I was aching for a snack, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.

That night Erin and I sipped freshly made juice—a tasty combo of carrots, kale, beets, and ginger—alongside a cup of pureed butternut squash soup. We were both in bed by 10:30—the earliest I’d hit my pillow in months. I felt healthy, content, and well on my way to Hollywood beauty.

The feeling didn’t last long. Midweek I felt run-down, hungry, and really, really crabby. I kept to myself at work to avoid snapping at innocent coworkers. I fielded pleading emails from Erin, who was asking for natural headache relief.

Junger recommends that you take a nap when a headache strikes. I found that a bit tricky to work into the office routine.

Fortunately, I had Erin for support. If I had had to endure a roommate eating solids for dinner, I probably would have shoved a hot dog down my vegetarian throat.

The problem with doing a cleanse with someone, though, is that it makes it tough to cheat.

I tried. I really did. I successfully consumed a liquid-only dinner when I went out with an old friend. I steered clear of my favorite coffee shop all week. Then I fell—for a measly half cup of lentils.

Next page: Dirty, lying cheater

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TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 2009 (Health.com) — Salmon, tuna, and other fish are loaded with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, so they must be good for you, right? Not so fast—some types of fish have more mercury than others, and others are harvested from the ocean or farmed in a way that’s harmful to the environment.

Now, a new list has come to the rescue: It sorts through the confusion by rating fish in terms of levels of omega-3 fatty acids, mercury and other toxins, and in terms of their sustainability or ocean-friendly status.

Other lists have looked at one or two of the factors, but ocean-conservation advocates at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, in California, looked at all three, including whether fish are caught faster than they can reproduce (overfished) or in ways that have a negative impact on the ocean. They included eight types of seafood on a “super green” list after working with researchers at the Environmental Defense Fund and the Harvard School of Public Health.

The list includes albacore tuna—as long as it is troll- or pole-caught and from the United States or British Columbia. Troll-caught fish are lured using a hook and line towed behind or alongside a boat. It is considered an environmentally friendly technique because unwanted fish are released soon after the line is reeled in.

Farmed mussels, farmed oysters, wild-caught Pacific sardines, wild-caught pink shrimp from Oregon, wild-caught salmon from Alaska, wild-caught spot prawns from British Columbia, and farmed rainbow trout are also on the list of healthful, sustainable fish.

All fish on the list have relatively low levels of mercury and other contaminants, and relatively high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, according to government databases and peer-reviewed scientific studies. A second list (with slightly lower omega-3 fatty acids but low levels of contaminants) includes farmed Arctic char, farmed bay scallops, and farmed crayfish, among others.

Next page: Four types of fish with high mercury levels

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Soy, a staple of Eastern diets—and a major source of protein for vegetarians and vegans—has enjoyed a solid health reputation. Scientists have studied soy as a risk-reducer for heart disease and breast cancer. Studies have even suggested it’s good at reducing menopause symptoms, helping people lose weight, and improving brain function. (For a full look at soy’s potential health benefits, visit the federal government’s soy fact sheet.)

But not everyone is buying those claims. Research released in the last five years has cast a shadow on soy’s benefits. What are you soy habits? Take this five question poll and let us know.

Jack Guy

Her Clueless character, Cher, would be way proud. Fourteen years after Alicia Silverstone, 32, made the world fall in love with a soup-can-collecting Beverly Hills teen, the actress is now taking on a weightier task: Educating women about healthy eating.

Over a vegan lunch in Los Angeles, Alicia gave us a sneak peek at her first book, The Kind Diet, which is part healthy-eating treatise, part diet plan, and chock-full of recipes. She also shared the many ways that down-to-earth living makes her glow.

Q: Your book, The Kind Diet, comes out next month. What excites you most about it?
A: I’m excited about presenting something that can make you feel amazing and look your best. Once you’re informed, then you can be really gentle and kind to yourself, by giving yourself all the gifts life has to offer—like mental clarity and vitality—all while making the planet better.

Q: Do you think you’d write another book?
A: Yeah, but I want to wait until I have kids and then write a book for children. I have a lot to say about kids, but I don’t think anyone wants to hear that when you don’t have them! [Laughs.] So I want to have kids and go through, ideally, a whole natural-birth experience.

Q: Have you seen Ricki Lake’s documentary, The Business of Being Born?
A: Yes! Isn’t it beautiful? I think I’ve had baby fever since I was 2. I know I want to be a mom, and I know my husband [musician Christopher Jarecki] will be a great dad. But then there’s the reality part, where I also have all these other things I feel so passionately about, so we’re not at all trying. [Laughs.] I think I might be ready maybe next year.

Next page: Gardening in the buff and family health concerns

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British researchers recently found that organic foods do not have higher nutritional value than nonorganic foods. So if organic food isn’t any more nutritious, will you still buy it? Take our poll:

Bestselling author Sophie Uliano serves up easy, eco-friendly diet plans that don’t cost a fortune. This information is taken from her new book, The Gorgeously Green Diet: How to Live Lean and Green. For more tips, visit Sophie’s website.

I used to think that it was okay for people who could afford to shop in health stores to eat organically, but what about the family of five who doesn’t have the time to go anywhere other than a fast-food burger joint and get what’s on offer? I decided to do a bit of research, convinced that I could cook a large, organic dinner for a family of five for less than a Burger King meal. I took myself off to the burger joint and did my calculations based on each member of the family having a large burger, large fries, and a drink.

I then went shopping for a good, healthy, delicious meal, and here’s what I came up with: Tuscan Chicken Stew—serves five. It came in at six dollars under the fast food bill.

I also can’t accept the argument about not having time, because this meal takes ten minutes to prepare in a slow cooker, and if you can’t afford a slow cooker, there are plenty to be found on craigslist.org or freecycle.org, or in thrift stores.

This stew is infinitely more nutritious, kinder on the planet, and less expensive than fast food—so if anyone gives you the “all right for those who can afford it” argument, give them the “all right for those who can afford it” argument, give them the following recipe—and there’s a lot more where this one came from.

Next page: Get the recipe

It’s more affordable than you might think to drink natural, eco-friendly wines: Organic, biodynamic and other forms of chemical-free farming are already common among quality wine producers, and many of them haven’t stopped there.

Now vintners are coming up with ways to reduce the carbon footprint and landfill impact of wine through innovative packaging solutions. Here, our favorite natural picks at great prices:

Emiliana Natura Sauvignon Blanc
Casablanca, Chile 2007 ($10)
This winery’s commitment to the environment extends from farm to table: Organically grown grapes; labels that use soy-based inks and less cellulose from trees; and bottles made from 80% recycled glass. Plus, the wine is delicious. It’s a pow! of passion fruit, key lime and pineapple, at a steal of a price.

Louis Bernard Bonus Passus Cotes du Rhone red
France 2007 ($12)
A classic, affordable French wine in a plastic, screw-cap bottle? Yes! And it’s 100 percent recyclable, shatter-proof, easy to open, lightweight for shipping, and results in a 60% smaller carbon footprint compared to traditional Cotes du Rhone. The blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes is also mouthwateringly spicy and juicy, with strawberry compote flavors.

BOHO Central Coast Chardonnay
California 2007 ($19.99/3L cask; equivalent of 4 regular bottles)
This boxed wine yields a 55% smaller carbon footprint than the 4 regular glass bottles it replaces. The cardboard shell is made from 95% recycled materials, and the printing inks are soy-based. In a blind taste test versus bottles at three times the price, this wine stood tall with nutty-toasty, buttery notes and luscious, creamy mango-pineapple flavors. The internal bag protects it from oxidation, which means it will keep for much longer—up to six weeks—making it a great option for your “house” wine.

Related links:

Yunhee Kim

Let’s face it: The dream of having our very own personal spa chef whip up delicious, good-for-us grub probably isn’t happening in this economy. So we found the next best thing—great stuff that makes eating healthy affordable and, honestly, almost effortless. Check out our top picks:

1. The end of the brown rice rut
Because nobody has an hour to devote to a midweek side dish, quick-cooking quinoa and whole-wheat couscous are truly revolutionary. With the same satisfying texture and nutty flavor as brown rice (plus more fiber), these 10-minute grains give new meaning to fast food.

2. Almonds by the pound
If you’re sick of schlepping to crunchy co-ops to buy nuts, dried fruit, and grains in bulk, you’ll be happy to hear that mass grocery stores are rediscovering these money-saving bins. That means we can buy less-processed, less-pricey raw almonds, unsalted sunflower seeds, organic trail mix, and more where we stock up on milk and other basics.

3. Generation 2.0 market bag
Buying fresh means buying often. And if you’re biking or walking to the market to stock up, you need a tote that’s up to the task. The new reusable, planet-friendly bags do it all—they’re big enough to carry loads of goodies, truly leakproof, and way cuter than granny carts. On the fence about bringing your own? A single reusable bag could eliminate more than 1,000 plastic grocery bags in its lifetime.

4 and 5. Our own herb stash—and mincer!
Fresh herbs add flavor and depth to a dish but practically zero calories and no fat. They also bruise easily, spoil quickly, and aren’t cheap. So we’re all for the grow-your-own-herbs window boxes that are everywhere now. Get an herb mincer to prevent bruising those delicate leaves. If you have a black thumb, herbs in a tube are a good alternative to the fresh stuff. With a fridge shelf life of three months, your cilantro won’t go bad before you can use it up.

Next: The mini movement