Hi, I'm Monica Reinagel.

Welcome back to the nutrition divas quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous.

Planning the menu for big holiday dinners like Thanksgiving has gotten a lot more complex. These days, chances are pretty good that your guest list will include at least one vegan, someone who's gluten intolerant, and any number of other special

dietary needs and requests. A few months ago, Kara Rhoda of the clever Cookster

show and I shared some ideas on what to serve when vegans are coming for dinner.

And today I've got some tips on grain-free options just in time for Thanksgiving.

Joining me today to talk about grain-free and paleo cooking is Danielle Walker.

She's the author of the popular blog Against All Grain, and she's got several best-selling cookbooks

featuring recipes that are 100% grain and dairy-free.

Thanks so much for joining me, Danielle.

Thank you so much for having me. So in your first book, which I loved, thank you so much for having me. So in your first book, which I loved,

thank you. wrote a little bit about your history and you said that you eventually found your way to a paleo style diet, one that includes no grains, no dairy, no legumes,

after you were diagnosed with ulcerative kaleidous.

Yes. And then, because it sounds like cooking had always been a passion for you, you kind of went on a mission to develop recipes so that people who don't eat grains or dairy wouldn't have to go without favorite foods like bread or muffins or cheese or even ice cream.

Right.

So I say and looking through your cookbooks it really doesn't look to me like you're stuck

with a limited or deprived venue

because of the foods that you'd no longer eat. And it's you know it's not that

hard to imagine developing meat or vegetable dishes that don't include grains.

But you have whole chapters on foods that seem as if they would be much trickier.

Things like grain-free breads and cookies and muffins and granola and ice cream and

yogurt. So as a baker myself I'm particularly interested in your approach

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