5 Healthy Thanksgiving Recipies Your Family Will Love

On Thanksgiving Day, it is a tradition to have a turkey meal along with mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie.  Families come together and everyone enjoys the food and festivities.  Eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal can make you feel beyond full and tired. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a meal that you don’t feel guilty about eating afterward?  Instead of feeling bloated and lethargic, you feel energetic and awake.  By making just a couple of changes to your holiday meal, you could feel this difference. 

With Covid affecting our plans for Thanksgiving this year, it is giving me the opportunity to make an intimate meal for my husband, daughter and son-in-law.  I have been grain-free for quite a few years, but on Thanksgiving, I typically give in to the traditional stuffing recipe passed down from my grandmother, the homemade bread I have been making for 30 years, and the pies.  This year, I won’t make the bread, and I will substitute the stuffing with a low carb cornbread stuffing, the mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower and the pie crust with a grain-free almond/coconut flour crust.  I am hoping some of these recipes will become new traditions for my family and yours for future holidays!

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Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed cauliflower has fewer carbs and healthier benefits while it still tastes great and has a smooth, mashed texture!   Mashed potatoes are a starchy vegetable, one that is high in carbohydrates raising your blood sugar level and doesn’t carry the nutritional value that cauliflower does by a long shot.  Mashed cauliflower has about 11g of carbs per serving where mashed potatoes have about 90g of carbs.  Cauliflower is very high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, choline, and is a good source of antioxidants. Beyond the health benefits, mashed cauliflower’s taste is buttery and creamy.  Everyone I have made this for has agreed the taste is even better than mashed potatoes!

Mashed Cauliflower

• 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces (since this is under the category of the Clean 15, it is not vital to purchase organic) 
• 2 ounces of cream cheese (optional)
• 2 Tbsp butter or ¼ cup of any milk (I prefer to use salted butter)
• ¼ tsp of salt
• ⅛ tsp of pepper

First, steam the cauliflower either in a steamer basket or in a microwave until tender and it can be easily pierced with a fork.  Then, remove the cauliflower and drain. 

Next, place the cauliflower and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer, smart stick blender, or stand up blender until smooth.  Now, it is ready to serve! 

Gluten-Free Cornbread + Sausage Stuffing 

This stuffing is made with a low carb cornbread that actually has no corn in it but the taste and texture will fool you!  The cornbread is crumbled with sage sausage, celery, onions, a hard-boiled egg and herbs to make a delectable stuffing.  Nothing says Thanksgiving like a good stuffing with turkey and smothered in gravy.  This alternative recipe has those same ingredients that grandma’s stuffing had without the carbs and will still bring that flavor to the Thanksgiving table. 

Low Carb Cornbread (Make one day prior to stuffing*)

• 6 Tbsp butter, melted
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 3 large organic eggs
• ½ cup coconut flour
• 2 Tbsp equivalent sugar substitute – I use monk fruit or stevia
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.  Wipe 8” baking dish with coconut oil. 

Mix melted butter, cream and eggs in a mixing bowl.  Add the coconut flour, sweetener, salt, pepper and baking soda and stir.  

Spread the mixture into the baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are beginning to turn brown. When cool, break into small 1” pieces and lay onto a cookie sheet overnight to dry.

Cornbread Sausage Stuffing

• 1 recipe of low carb cornbread**
• 1 pound sausage
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, leaves included
• 1 hard-boiled egg, diced
• ½ tsp thyme
• ¼ tsp marjoram
• ½ tsp rosemary
• ⅛ tsp pepper 
• 1 ½ tsp of ground sage
• ½ cup chicken broth
• coconut oil to grease pan

**Prepare the cornbread the day before and cut the cornbread into small 1’ cubes and let dry out on a cookie sheet overnight. This will keep the bread from getting mushy in the stuffing**

Preheat oven to 350. Wipe a medium casserole dish with coconut oil.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and brown sausage. When the sausage is browning, add onion and celery.  Cook until completely cooked through and vegetables are soft. 

Place dried cornbread in a large bowl.  Stir in the sausage with vegetables into the cornbread.  Add the hard-boiled egg, seasoning and chicken broth and stir.  Spread the stuffing into the casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes. 

Low Carb Gravy Alternative 

Gravies typically have flour used as a thickening agent.  To reduce the carbs in gravy, you can replace the flour in the traditional gravy recipe with a substitute.  Coconut flour or almond flour are sometimes used but the texture and taste aren’t traditional, having a gritty texture. This recipe uses xanthum gum as a thickener for the gravy which gives the gravy both the taste and consistency that resembles the holiday favorite.  Drizzle gravy over turkey and/or mashed cauliflower.  The gravy has always been a big part of our family holiday.  When the gravy was being made with the turkey drippings that meant that the meal would soon be ready!  My grandmother always took pride in making the gravy with others close by. 

Low Carb Gravy 

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup of vegetable broth
• 1 cup of turkey drippings
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp fresh black pepper
• 1 tsp xanthum gum

Heat the butter in a small pot over medium heat.  Whisk in the garlic powder, sea salt and xanthum gum.  Pour in the vegetable broth and turkey drippings, stir as you add the liquid and bring to a simmer until thickened.  Gravy thickens within a couple of minutes.  Serve immediately or transfer to a lidded container and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

To reheat, place the gravy over medium heat in a saucepan until warm.  Add more broth to thin out if it is too thick. 

Kale salad and homemade lemon dressing

I began making this kale salad for students in my garden club at school where we had an entire raised bed filled with kale.  As students assisted with cutting the kale from the raised beds and preparing the salad, I was so excited to see so many students anxious to taste and eat the salad, and then ask for seconds and even thirds!  The salad features kale, broccoli, red onions, carrots, sunflower seeds and cranberries which makes this salad perfect for this holiday meal.  A homemade lemon dressing adds to the flavor and is simple to make.

Kale Salad

• 5 cups of chopped baby kale into small pieces
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• ⅛ tsp of salt
• 2 cups broccoli, cut into small pieces
• ⅓ cup shredded carrots
• ¼ cup diced red onion

Optional

• ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup cranberries

Add kale to a large bowl and add the 1-2 tsp of olive oil and ⅛ tsp of salt to massage the kale.   Massage the kale for a couple of minutes between your fingers to make the kale more tender and less fibrous.  You will notice the kale turn a darker green color.  Massaging also makes the kale salad easier to digest.  Then, add the broccoli, carrots, red onion, sunflower seeds and cranberries.  Serve immediately with dressing.

Lemon Dressing

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp honey

Make the dressing by combining all ingredients either in a jar with a lid to shake well or a salad dressing bottle.  I have a Pampered Chef Measure Mix and Pour dressing bottle that I love and use for making many kinds of salad dressings.

2-in-1 Gluten Free + Low Sugar Sheet Pan Pie

This simple pie crust is low carb and low sugar and can be used for a variety of pies and baked goods.   As our family has celebrated Thanksgiving over the years we have had a variety of amazing desserts with the traditional pumpkin and apple pie as the constant.  Since only four of us will be gathering for a more intimate Thanksgiving Day meal this year, only a small amount of dessert is needed.  Therefore, I thought we would be creative with an idea from my mom for two pies in one on a cookie sheet.  How ingenious!

Almond pie crust

• 1½ cup almond flour
• ⅔ cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp xanthum gum
• 1 cup of grass-fed salted butter
• ½ cup (4 oz) cream cheese, cold
• 2 egg slightly beaten
• 4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• Egg – for a glossy finish on crust

Add flours and xanthum gum to the food processor and pulse or stir until evenly combined. Add butter and cream cheese and mix briefly until crumbly using a hand mixer or food processor.  Add in egg and vinegar and mix until dough just begins to come together but before it turns into a ball. The consistency should resemble breadcrumbs.

Pat into a ball and place dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours.  When removed from the refrigerator, set aside 1/4 of dough to cover the pie and put back in the refrigerator to keep cool. Roll out the remaining 3/4 dough between parchment paper with a rolling pin. It is important to do this immediately after removing from the refrigerator because the dough is delicate and will become sticky quickly when warmed. After placing the crust on a greased  10” x 15” cookie sheet, place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Take dough out of the freezer and remove parchment paper.  Bake the crust at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Then, remove and add fillings; apple on one side and pumpkin on the other. Put 2 Tbsp of butter in small pieces on top of the apples before layering your top crust.  With extra dough, cut out strips to place across the apple pie or completely cover apple pie and cut slits.  Brush top crust of apple pie with egg before baking.  Place aluminum foil pieces around the edge to keep from burning and bake for 20 minutes at 350.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Pumpkin Filling 

Whisk eggs together.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Now, it is ready to be placed in the pie crust.

Apple Filling

• 7-8 medium-large apples, cored, peeled and sliced into thin pieces
• 1-2 tsp of lemon juice
• ⅔ cup of sweetener of choice – I use Swerve
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp almond flour
• 2 Tbsp butter

Place apples in a bowl and add 1-2 tsp of lemon juice and stir.   Mix sweetener, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour in a separate bowl and mix into apples to coat all apple pieces.  

Try These for Yourself!

Family, tradition, food are the bedrock of what Thanksgiving is all about.  Each year at Thanksgiving we get together with our loved ones and share all that we are thankful for over a spread of turkey, side dishes and desserts. This year with the Coronavirus impacting our holiday plans, we have an opportunity to have a smaller, more intimate gathering within our families, which means some of our traditional dishes and activities may and probably will be different this year.  No matter who or how you are spending your Thanksgiving this year, I wish for you a day that is filled with love and hope.  Happy Thanksgiving!!!