Anthony Umrani is a CNN Senior Photojournalist based in Washington, D.C. He previously wrote about the menu at the National Museum of the American Indian.

February is Black History Month. February is also National Pie Month. What could one possibly have to do with the other, you might ask? Meet the bean pie - a sweet, delectable dessert made from navy beans.

The bean pie is a creation born out of the strict dietary code of the Nation of Islam, a religious black nationalist and social reform movement formed in the 1930s, led by Elijah Muhammad. In his book, "How To Eat To Live," Muhammad outlined a rather detailed and sometimes peculiar set of guidelines for eating, presumably designed to improve health and prolong life.

In accordance with Islamic law, pork was prohibited, but there was a list of other banned foods that could not be explained by any Islamic jurisprudence. Foods such as spinach, sweet potatoes and lima beans, which many nutritionists would agree are good healthy foods, were not allowed.
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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

A few years back, when people heard the words “gluten-free,” the words “tough” and “tasteless” also came to mind. Now, with so many options available in stores and restaurants, gluten-free is kissing its drab reputation goodbye.

Mastering the art of gluten-free baking is easy with a few simple tips to ensure great texture (no cardboard here!) and flavor.

Just in time for the holiday cookie season, Whole Foods Market's gluten-free guru Lee Tobin offers five tips for gluten-free cookies that are good enough to bring to your next holiday party, or even offer up to Santa ... if you're nice enough to share them.

Five Tips for Gluten-Free Cookies: Lee Tobin
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November is National Diabetes Awareness Month and for people who suffer from the disease, what to eat can be a daily life or death decision. Super Bowl champ Tom Crabtree of the Green Bay Packers is a National Spokesman for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and his wife, Chelsea was diagnosed with the disease when she was four years old.

Together, they share some great information, tips and recipes for parents and kids whose lives are affected by juvenile diabetes.
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Watching Minnesota Vikings starting safety Husain Abdullah on the sun-drenched field during practice on a recent afternoon, you’d never guess he hasn’t had any food or drink since sunrise.

Abdullah is an observant Muslim, which during Ramadan – the Islamic holy month that ends Monday night – means no eating or drinking from sunup to sundown, not even water.

“My religion is very important to me," Abdullah said after practice. "I mean, it’s the basis of my life.”

Read Despite daily Ramadan fast, Muslim NFLer trains for the season

Jon Reiner is the author of 'The Man Who Couldn't Eat,' a memoir of his months spent without ingesting any food - a "nothing by mouth" order - due to a ruptured intestine, a rare complication from Crohn's disease.

“Look at the bright side. I won’t have to worry about Don undercooking my burger. Cooking over an open flame is tough to regulate, I grant you, but you’d think that after thirty years he’d have it down.”

Artie starts to chuckle, but stops himself awkwardly and swallows the laugh I’d hoped for. I want a comeback from him - “that’s in poor taste,” “you get what you pay for” - a softball I can connect with and knock out of the park, but his eyes are anxious and shift down to the full plate of food on his lap. The conversation stops. It’s hard for my old friend to laugh at a science project.

We’re sitting on the screened porch of Don and Tina’s Maine lake house for their annual end-of-summer party, but I’m not eating today. I won’t touch the red hamburgers and the potluck covering the picnic table: fruit salad cradled in a watermelon shell; marinated cucumbers and fiddlehead ferns; cole slaw; pasta salad; baked beans; and my wife’s deviled eggs.
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Editor's note: Tune in as Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the signs, tests and lifestyle changes that could make cardiac problems a thing of the past on "The Last Heart Attack," Sunday 8 p.m. ET.

Dr. Dean Ornish who designed a diet and lifestyle to reverse heart disease will answer your questions Thursday, August 18, at noon EST in a Twitter chat. Tweet your questions to @CNNhealth using #LastHeartAttack or ask in the comments at CNN Health.

By the time he reached the White House, Bill Clinton's appetite was legend. He loved hamburgers, steaks, chicken enchiladas, barbecue and french fries but wasn't too picky. At one campaign stop in New Hampshire, he reportedly bought a dozen doughnuts and was working his way through the box until an aide stopped him.
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A small tray of vegetable samosas costs $35 at the Mughal Express restaurant. But one particular tray, sold to strict Hindu vegetarians, might end up costing the Edison, New Jersey, restaurant a whole lot more.

The Hindu customers said the restaurant served them meat samosas, harming them emotionally and spirituality. A state appellate court ruled Wednesday that they can sue for the cost of travel to India to purify their souls.

Read the full story: "Hindu diners sue Indian restaurant for selling meat samosas"

Editor's note: Since 2004, Shmuel Herzfeld has been the Rabbi of Ohev Sholom – The National Synagogue, the oldest and largest Orthodox synagogue in Washington, D.C. His first book will be published within a year, titled: The Relevance of the Torah for our Modern Lives.

The lower house of the Dutch parliament recently passed legislation that would ban ritual slaughter in accordance with both Jewish law, known as shechita, and Muslim law, known as halal. The legislation would require the stunning of animals before their slaughter, an act that is forbidden by Jewish law.

For Jews, this is a very emotional issue that cuts at the core of who we are.
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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

We've said it once, we'll say it again: "Celiac? To heck with that!"

Don't get us wrong - we think a nice, crusty baguette is pretty groovy in its own right, but just because you're gluten-free (gluten is the group of natural proteins found in all forms of wheat and wheat flour) doesn't mean your life has gone to hell in a breadbasket.

Amy Gjerde is the co-owner of Woodberry Kitchen with Spike Gjerde - who just so happens to be the executive chef and, as the last name might have denoted, her husband.

Amy also has Celiac disease, but that's not stopping her from living the good - and delicious - life.

Five Places You Won't Miss The Gluten: Amy Gjerde
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The emails are flooding into Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld’s Washington office from around the world – London, Zurich, New York, Mexico – all with one goal: to have the rabbi sell all the bread products in their homes in time for Passover.

As Passover approaches, orthodox Jews strip their homes of all bread products, called chametz in Hebrew. Cereal, breads, even grain-based alcohol is consumed, destroyed or sold – through a rabbi – to a non-Jewish neighbor.

After Passover, the seller can buy the chametz back. In almost all cases, the bread products never physically change hands but are put away under lock and key in the seller’s home.

Read - Selling bread for Passover? There's an app for that