I thought I'd give a quick rundown of my Thanksgiving feast plans. Some of the food is Primal/Paleo and some is just gluten free, as it's a cooperative effort with a number of us doing cooking duties.
-The Bird:
My hubby is always in charge of the turkey and he always does a great job (seriously, the man can roast a bird!)
For the perfect turkey, we brine it and roast it upside-down so the juices flow into the breast. This really helps the white meat to be moist. We'll probably use Martha Stewart's turkey roasting recipe this year. We've used it before and it's simple and amazing.
-The stuffing:
While my mom is going to make traditional gluten-free stuffing, I'm also going to make this parsnip and mushroom grain-free roasted veggie stuffing (mine won't be low fat, though). I may add some wild rice cooked in chicken broth to jazz it up even more.
-The other sides:
I'm a cranberry sauce nut, so I get to make it every year. I follow the basic recipe of cranberries, water and sugar (using organic sugar) that's found on every bag of fresh cranberries, but I like to add chopped dried Turkish apricots, just a little squeeze of orange and a bit of cinnamon. The apricots nicely balance the acidity and add an unexpected touch. I've made low sugar cranberry sauce, but something about the lack of sugar seems to amplify the acidity and it ends up hurting my teeth, so sugar it is...
We're also having:
-roasted brussels sprouts that my mom will make
-blanched haricot verts with lemon zest and parmesan (so good- I need to get my friend's recipe!)
-mashed potatoes (I like the real deal on Thanksgiving. No mashed cauliflower!)
-sweet potato pecan casserole (my friend's recipe- no marshmallows or orange juice involved.)
-The desserts:
My friend is making gluten-free pumpkin pie (if I was making it, I'd do a coconut flour crust).
I'm making my apple spice cake, which I'll serve with fresh whipped local grass-fed cream. So much better than regular heavy whipping cream!
I always make whipped cream with NuNaturals Stevia NoCarbs Blend and no one knows it's sugar-free. Seriously, that stuff is good and not icky. I also use it in the apple cake, so at least one of the desserts won't be high in sugar/carbs.
I hope you all have a wonderful and delicious Thanksgiving feast! Happy Thanksgiving!!
-Erin
