Thanksgiving Recipes

This blog was originally posted, November 22, 2022, by Jennifer Baynes, on our previous website.

The traditional Thanksgiving meal gives us a great opportunity to enjoy the feast without wrecking our health goals and sending blood sugar through the roof. How? With roasted turkey and other meats, a variety of vegetables at the table, a dollop of sweet potatoes or cauliflower mashed potatoes, and a glass of red wine, this meal can check all the healthy boxes and be a truly satiating, enjoyable feast. 

However, there can be some obstacles in this meal when trying to maintain your health goals, particularly with the dressing, gravy and desserts. These food swaps will allow you to have a safe and healthy holiday without weight gain, without the agony of wheat/grain re-exposure, and without rises in blood sugar. 

Try some of these delicious solutions:

Wheat-free Cauliflower Mushroom Dressing

(Recipe courtesy of Dr. Davis Infinite Health)

This dressing is heavier than the usual bread-based dressing or stuffing. Because it contains meat, it should not be stuffed into the turkey to cook, as this will not ensure a sufficiently high temperature. While this works best as a two-step process–stove top to oven–if time-pressed, you could just cook on the stove top a bit longer.

Ingredients:
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 pound pork sausage, preferably loose ground
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
8 ounces Portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 head cauliflower
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 green pepper, chopped
4 ounce can/jar roasted red peppers
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground tarragon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring approximately 12 ounces water to a boil in sauce pan. Toss in porcini mushrooms and turn heat down to maintain below boiling. Stir every couple of minutes for 20 minutes.

In deep sauce pan, saute sausage (if encased, remove from casing) in 1 tablespoon olive oil, along with celery and onions, until sausage cooked. Drain excess oil. Place sauce pan back on low heat. Break cauliflower into small florets and add to sausage mix. Toss in drained porcini mushrooms along with approximately 4 ounces of the porcini broth (save remainder of broth to make gravy; below), remainder of olive oil, green pepper, roasted red pepper, Portabella mushrooms, flaxseed. Add onion powder, sage, thyme, tarragon, salt and black pepper and stir.

Transfer to baking dish and place in oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

Wheat-free gravy

(Recipe courtesy of Dr. Davis Infinite Health)
If you follow the recipe for Wheat-free Cauliflower Mushroom Dressing (above), you should have around 8 ounces of porcini mushroom broth left over. This adds a wonderful mushroomy-meaty flavor to the gravy, a deeper character not usually found in standard gravies. Thickness is obtained without wheat, cornstarch, or other carbohydrate-rich thickener by use of coconut flour and coconut milk.

Because the quantity of drippings obtained will vary widely, depending on the size of your turkey, ingredient quantities are not specified. Rely on taste as you prepare your gravy to gauge ingredient quantity.

Ingredients:
Turkey drippings
Coconut milk
Coconut flour
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Sea salt

Heat drippings in the roasting pan or poured into a sauce pan on stove at low-heat. Pour in coconut milk slowly, stirring, until desired color is achieved. Gravy should be opaque, rather than translucent. Stir in coconut powder, 1 teaspoon at a time, waiting at least one minute before adding another teaspoon, until desired thickness is achieved.

Add onion powder, garlic powder, and sea salt to taste.

Pumpkin Pie (low-carb, gluten-free)

(Wholesomeyum.com)

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe Almond flour pie crust (or your favorite pie crust recipe). See below.

1 15-oz can pumpkin puree

1/2C heavy cream (or coconut cream for dairy-free option)

2 large eggs

2/3C monk fruit or allulose sweetener

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4tsp sea salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp blackstrap molasses (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Make the pie crust: see below

Meanwhile, beat together all remaining ingredients at medium-low speed, until smooth. Don’t overmix.

When the pie crust is done baking, reduce the oven temperature to 325degrees F. Cool the crust on the counter for at least 10 minutes, longer if you have time. 

Pour the filling into the curst. Gently tap on the counter to release air bubbles.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the pie is almost set but still slightly jiggly in the center. (Check on it occasionally, and if you see the crust start to brown, cover the crust edge with foil and return to the oven until the filling is done. It should still jiggle a bit in the center, like a custard before it sets.)

Cool completely on the counter, then refrigerate at least an hour before slicing. Pie can be refrigerated overnight.

To reduce the chance of cracking your low carb pumpkin pie, you can bake the pie in a water bath. Otherwise, if you end up with cracks you can always cover them with whipped cream.

Net carbs/slice = 4g

Keto Almond Flour Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2C blanched almond flour

1/4C monk fruit, allulose, or blend 

1/4tsp sea salt

1/4C butter

1 large egg

1/2tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9” round pie pan with parchment paper, or grease well.

In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, monk fruit, and sea salt. 

Stir in the melted butter, vanilla, and egg, until well combined. The “dough” will be dry and crumbly. Just keep mixing, pressing and stirring, until it’s uniform and there is no almond flour powder left. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to mix it all together.

Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. You can flute the edges if desired. Carefully poke holes in the surface using a fork to prevent bubbling.

Bake for 6-12 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden. The time can vary depending on your pan.

Add fillings only after pre-baking. If your fillings will require baking again, you’ll want to parbake the crust for the shorter end of the time spectrum, and use a pie shield or foil to cover the edges when baking again with the filling.