Thanksgiving Menu Upgrade!

I love the holiday season. Family, cozy home time, and cooking! I also love Thanksgiving food! Today I’ve put together a Thanksgiving menu that will be sure to please your palette and your belly. It is totally possible to enjoy all the flavors of the holiday season without adding excess that leaves us feeling tired, sluggish, heavy, and oh so regretful. Make the whole menu or pick a few substitutions that speak to you and enjoy the holiday experience without the dreaded gutache aftermath that we’re all too familiar with. Whether you’re doing a small gathering within your Covid bubble, progressive zoom gatherings, or an intimate dinner for your household, this menu is fun to make, leaves the house with all the delicious smells, and won’t add unwanted pounds to your backside. You’re welcome. :)

Order of Operations:

Things to make a day ahead:

• Cheesecake

• Garlic Aioli for sprouts

• Stuffing

Morning of your holiday:

• Plan the turkey roasting time and get that going

About an 60-90 minutes before you want to eat, make the following:

• Mashed potatoes

• Sweet potatoes

• Brussel sprouts

• cranberry sauce

• gravy

I know you can figure it out, but just wanted to organize that for you. Enjoy!!

THE TURKEY!!

The key to a delicious bird is roasting it low and slow. The part that everyone loves the most is that crispy skin on the outside. I recommend basting every 30-40 minutes for extra amazingness. You can use melted butter, ghee, or my favorite is the juices from the turkey in the pan. Roasting a turkey doesn’t have to be a chore. Just put ‘er in the oven and let it roast all day. I love my Cuisinart roasting pan that allows my oven to be free all day, but if you’re lucky enough to have a double oven, use it baby! :)

Cook about 13 minutes per pound of turkey. Choose your bird size based on your guest count and your desired leftover quantity.

Ingredients

• 15 lb turkey, neck and giblets removed

• 1 medium yellow onion, cut into chunks

• 4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary

• 1 cup broth

• 2 Tbsp ghee

• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.

2. Stuff the turkey with the onion and rosemary sprigs, then rub the outside of the turkey generously with salt and pepper.

3. Pour the broth into the bottom of the roasting pan, then place the turkey in the pan.

4. Turn the oven down to 350°.

5. Bake the turkey for 3.5 hours (or 13 mins per pound), basting once every hour or so.

6. In the last 20 minutes, melt the ghee and brush over the turkey.

7. Turkey is done when internal temperature reaches 165°.

Gravy—YUP!!

I feel like a Thanksgiving menu without gravy is just missing the point. But gravy does NOT have to be the straw that breaks your diet’s back. Just swap out that cornstarch for tapioca flour and you’re in business. I like mine a little runny, but if you want it thicker, just use less broth. You can also use the juice from your turkey if you want!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ghee (or high quality grass fed butter if diet allows)

• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour (sometimes called tapioca starch)

• 2 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock (broth works also)

• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a medium size sauce pan over medium heat.

2. Melt the ghee. Once the ghee is completely melted, add in the tapioca flour and whisk vigorously until combined and there are no lumps. Cook for 30 seconds.

3. While whisking constantly, slowly pour in the stock. Cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened, whisking every few seconds.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve warm on top of meat and vegetables.

6. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container for 5 days.

Mashed Potatoes

Whipped mashed potatoes are just heavenly alongside a slice of freshly roasted turkey. So yes, let’s have some. Butter these babies up with your favorite, high quality grass fed butter for that ultimate creaminess. Swap out your traditional dairies for coconut cream and almond milk. If you really want traditional, aren’t avoiding dairy, or are just willing to bend your rules in honor of the holiday, go ahead and use sour cream and milk. Just be sure to use full fat sour cream and cream or whole milk to treat your body right and get the most out of this dish.

I do like to use butter or gold potatoes instead of russet because they just add to that buttery creaminess that we all love.

Ingredients

• about 3.75 pounds of Butter potatoes (gold potatoes are fine too.)

• 1/4 cup almond milk

• 1/4 cup canned coconut cream

• 3 Tbs olive oil

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 2 tsp dried parsley

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

• Boil water, with a sprinkle of salt, in a large pot.

• Cut the Butter potatoes into 1/2 inch sized slices, and then put them into the boiling water.

• Cook the Butter potatoes for about 15-20 minutes, until fork tender.

• Strain the potatoes and put them into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of almond milk, 1/4 cup of coconut cream, 3 Tbs olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp parsley, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper to the potatoes and then mash.

• Mash until you have the desired consistency. I like to use my hand mixer like my mom did to get these as creamy as possible.

Stuffing - oh yea, I said it.

My first Thanksgiving that I cooked fully on my individualized diet plan was accompanied by stuffing made by my bestie. Luckily we share our commitment to health and feeling good, so her stuffing brought all the flavors of the season and none of the bread. I was shocked, awed, and so pleasantly amazed. You will not be disappointed. Pro tip: She says it’s better if made a day in advance.

Ingredients

1 lb mild Italian pork or chicken sausage, casing removed (I used chicken sausages from my local butcher)

4 ½ cups mushrooms, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

6 celery stalks, diced

4 carrots, diced

1/2  cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon diced fresh sage

½ tsp minced fresh thyme leaves

½ cup dried cherries, finely chopped

½ cup slivered almonds

½ tablespoon minced garlic

4 tablespoons lard, butter, or ghee

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large soup pot, sauté onions in lard, butter, or ghee until translucent.

3. Add the sausage and brown.

4. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, chicken broth, cherries, almonds, sage, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

5. Mix well, bring to a simmer, and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the veggies begin to absorb the chicken broth.

6. Transfer to a large glass baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Candied Sweet Potatoes!!

I love sweet potatoes all the time, but add in some holiday flare and YUM! Tastebud explosion. I also have a minor addiction to dates, which I tried to share with a colleague this week when he asked what he could possibly eat that was a holiday treat during this season without blowing his new Keto-ish lifestyle. I’m no keto expert, but I did suggest bacon wrapped dates. His response killed me. “I’ve been eating plenty of bacon, but no way the wife will wear it.” Hahaha. I’ll admit, it took me a minute to catch what he was throwing there, but it was super funny once I did.

Following recipe courtesy of one of my favorite bloggers, Paleo Running Momma. She has lots of awesome treats you should check out. https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/paleo-candied-sweet-potatoes-with-pecans-dates/

Ingredients

• 3 med-large sweet potatoes

• 2-3 tbsp melted coconut oil for roasting the potatoes

• generous pinch salt

• 1 cup raw pecans chopped

• 1 cup pitted dates chopped (soften first if they're very hard)

• 1/4 cup coconut oil melted

• 1-2 Tbsp pure maple syrup depending on level of sweetness you want

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

1. First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Peel your sweet potatoes (although not required. I usually buy organic and leave the skin on) Cut into 1/2-1 inch cubes for roasting.

2. Toss the sweet potato cubes with the 2-3 Tbsp melted coconut oil and dash of salt, and spread on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 25 minutes until tender.

3. While the sweet potatoes are roasting, combine the chopped pecans and dates in a medium bowl and stir in the 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and coconut flakes

4. When the sweet potatoes are done roasting, remove from oven and turn down the heat to 350 degrees.

5. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a 9 inch baking dish and sprinkle the pecan-date mixture over them generously.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until toasty and lightly browned on top.

7. Serve and enjoy!

**This is a pretty big recipe intended for a large crowd or lots of leftovers. It can be reduced and measurements are super forgiving thanks to the nature of the roasting instead of mashed sweet potatoes

Brussel Sprouts and Garlic Aioli- because, yes please.

Time to bust out my favorite kitchen appliance… the Air Fryer!!

This dish can be adjusted to meet your taste delight by swapping out avocado oil for coconut oil and changing out the spices. Maybe add some maple syrup if you want them a little sweet. I feel like this menu had enough sweet, so I kept these savory. But whatever you like, you do you!

Ingredients

• A bunch of brussel sprouts - you choose how much depending on your crowd size. I’d say about 8-10 per person is pretty good.

• 2-3 tbsp avocado oil

• generous sprinkle of sea salt

• 1/2 cup Avocado oil mayonaise

• 1-2 tsp dijon mustard

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1/2 - 1 tsp garlic

• dried parsley for color

Instructions

1. Rinse and half brussel sprouts and place in a bowl

2. Add avocado oil to coat and sprinkle with sea salt

3. Roast in air fryer at 425 degrees for ~25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to roast evenly

4. Meanwhile, make the aioli. Mix together avocado oil mayo, mustard, lemon juice, and garlic.

5. Sprinkle in a little dried parsley for color.

6. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. This always tastes better when made ahead and left to sit a bit.

Cranberries!

These are so easy to make and such an iconic side, that I had to include them. You can make any variety of this by adjusting the seasoning. I love the orange flavor, but you can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, swap orange for lemon, or add a little dijon mustard once the cranberries are cooked for a tangier sauce.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries

• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice

• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup to taste. I prefer the taste of maple syrup as honey can be really overpowering, but whatever you prefer is great.

Instructions

• Combine cranberries, orange juice, and honey or maple syrup in a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat, until berries pop and sauce thickens, about 10 - 15 minutes.

• Cool completely and refrigerate.

• Serve at room temperature.

Apple Crumb Cheesecake!

This is the latest and greatest from my girl Juli Bauer @paleomg. I haven’t made it yet, but I have all the stuff to make it tomorrow and I’ll report back with it’s own blog again. I’m so excited to try it. Juli has a million delicious and healthy dessert alternatives, so if this isn’t your bag, just head over to her blog and try another one. Danielle Walker makes great ones as well on her blog Against All Grain or in one of her amazing cookbooks. These gals are worth following, so get over there and check them out!

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 package of Simple Mills Crunchy Pecan Cookies (I ordered these from amazon since they’re a little harder to find. Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s may have them, but Fred Meyer didn’t)

• 3 tablespoons ghee

For the apple topping

• 1 tablespoon ghee

• 3 apples, peeled and diced (I’m trying Honeycrisp apples like Juli, but you use what you like)

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the cheesecake filling

• 32 ounces almond milk cream cheese*, softened to room temperature

• 1 cup maple sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 3 eggs

For the crisp

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1/4 cup tapioca flour

• 1/4 cup gluten free oats**

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

• 4 tablespoons ghee

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round springform pan.

2. Add cookies to a food processor and pulse to break down. Then add ghee and pulse to combined until a crumbly mixture is created. Place crumbled mixture in the springform pan and press down until evenly throughout the entire dish. Using the back of a glass helps smooth out the crust evenly throughout.

3. In a pan over medium heat, add ghee and apples. Cook apples for 7-8 minutes until tender. Then add maple syrup, lemon juice, and cinnamon and cook for another 7-8 minutes, tossing every minute or so.

4. As the apples finish cooking, add the softened cream cheese to a stand mixer and turn on low to whip the cream cheese until smooth. Then add sugar, vanilla extract, and whip to combined for 2 minutes. Lastly, add eggs and whip once more, scraping down the sides until completely smooth.

5. Lastly, in the food processor, add all the ingredients for the crisp toppings and pulse until broken down into a crumble texture that sticks together.

6. Pour the cheesecake filling into the springform pan, top it with the cooked apples, then use your fingers to place the crisp mixture evenly throughout the dish on top of the apples and cheesecake.

7. Place in the oven in the middle rack and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes. Let cool on countertop for at least 30 minutes to an hour, cover, and place in the fridge overnight.

8. Cut into 12-14 slices and serve chilled with almond milk whipped cream on top! You can also serve it with caramel sauce, as well!

Notes

*I haven’t tried the goat’s milk caramel sauce, but it sounds amazing. I’m going with almond milk whipped cream.

**I used Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese

***If you want to make this paleo, simply remove the gluten free oats & 1 tablespoon of ghee from the crisp ingredients