FFFF (FOODIE FAVES FOR FALL)

With the fall comes fall cooking, which means hearty soups and stews (and sometimes salads), but ultimately a yearning for Mom's cooking: comfort food. Lately, I've been rummaging through bookmarked websites in search of delicious fall recipes, recipes that pack a flavourful punch, deliver the comfort of home-cooking, but without the added calories: lightened-up fare with nutrient dense ingredients.

Here are a few (new to me) websites that I came across and what I'm dying to try first (Enjoy!):

The Food Lover's Primal Palate is a blog website run by a couple interested in healthful living. Their recipes are based off of the paleo diet--or the caveman's diet--which excludes grains, legumes, dairy, processed foods, alcohol, and starches. Okay, I'm not quite that restrictive with my diet, but I am looking forward to trying out some of the recipes at this site, particularly what looks to be a delicious grain-free carrot cake. Um, yum!

Gabi at Honest Fare looks to share with her readers simple recipes made from simple, honest ingredients--which I love. Something that I'm trying to do more is appreciate the goodness of simple, fresh ingredients bought from local farms (or at the very least, close to home) and the delicious dishes that can be made with them. Check out this gorgeous video for making a beet cake (the beets sweeten the cake, amazing!).

Healthful Pursuit shares recipes of both the vegan and gluten-free kind. Leanne Vogel is a Holistic Nutritionist and strives to create recipes for those with allergy or dietary restrictions (perfect for me). And while many of her recipes are dairy, gluten, sugar, corn, yeast, and peanut free, it is her hope that readers will agree, her recipes and the lack of the ingredients do not sacrifice flavour. I have a sensitivity to processed sugars and flours (processed food, in general, is probably good to avoid anyway), so I'm really looking forward to trying out some of Leanne's recipes. To start? The Pumpkin Spice Smoothie looks like a good way to kick off October!

Finally, at The Realistic Nutritionist, Claire happily shares recipes boasting lots of bready, carb-loaded, starchy, all-of-my-weaknesses-type-foods. Just kidding. But hers is a great website if you're looking for a 'healthier', lightened-up version of something, such as lasagna (hers is loaded with vitamin-rich veggies) and cheesecake (she has a few recipes, one uses low-fat cream cheese and sour cream, the other a vegan option). So, what am I looking forward to trying out? Her cheesecakes, of course, but these Baked Apple Donuts sound pretty enticing, too--now, just to tweak the recipe a little and make them gluten-free!

What I've learned in writing this post? I'd be fat if I didn't exercise. Hope you'll enjoy these websites as much as I do!

What are some of your favourite foodie/recipe websites, and do you have a favourite fall recipe?

images via the food lover's primal plate, honest fare, healthful pursuit, and the realist nutritionist