BATON ROUGE- Louisiana's cookbook queen Holly Clegg shared some of her recipes from her cookbook 'Eating Well to Fight Arthritis.'

WBRZ's John Pastorek was in the kitchen with Clegg to make healthy holiday treats. The two made spiced walnuts, an avocado and edamame dip called "Guacamame" and carrot cake bars with cream cheese icing.

Below are the recipes for the three dishes.

Spiced Walnuts

Makes 8 (1/4 cup) servings

2 cups walnut halves
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil

1. Preheat oven 375°F.
2. Spread walnuts on baking sheet and bake about 5-7 minutes or until golden.
3. In a small bowl, combine sugar, salt, garlic powder, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne.
4. In nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add nuts and stir to coat with oil. Add seasoning mix, stirring until nuts coated. Remove to paper towel to cool.

"Guacamame"

Makes 10 (1/4-cup) servings

1 large avocado, (about 2/3 cup mashed)
1 1/2 cups shelled edamame, thawed
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup salsa
3 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients, mixing until smooth.

Terrific Tip: Can also use to stuff vegetables or as a sandwich spread.

Nutrition Nugget: Soybeans are high in omega 3 fatty acids, which are necessary to ingest through food for their anti-inflammatory benefits.

Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 24-30 bars

1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Preheat oven 350°F. Coat 13x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla. Stir in carrot and pecans.
3. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger. Add to carrot mixture; stirring just until combined. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely and ice with Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe).

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice

1. In mixing bowl, beat together all ingredients until creamy.

Terrific Tip: Use pre-shredded bagged carrots as step saver.