A Very Primal Thanksgiving
(38 posts) (23 voices)-
What are your primal plans for Thanksgiving dinner?
Some of the things I make are primal already:
Turkey (which I brine and then inject with lemon butter OMG)
Spinach Salad w/onion dressing, bacon, hard boiled eggs
Veggies and a cheese ballAnd I also make green bean casserole, but I think I might make a green bean salad instead - maybe something with almonds and feta cheese?
Then there's potatoes... usually I made mashed potatoes because people love them, but I don't eat very much because the other food is too good. haha. I might still make mashed potatoes (I use LOTS of butter/cream/cheese, sometimes stock).
Or I might make mashed sweet potatoes. Both are a 20% thing, but sweet potatoes have more nutrients, right? (No sugar, I'd just add butter.)
The least-primal thing I make for Thanksgiving is my stuffing... it's AMAZING, with sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts and things like that. I think I may still make it though, because it's made with sourdough bread.
Since sourdough bread is made w/a long fermenting process, wouldn't that make it much easier to digest than other breads?I've been experimenting with pumpkin-pie-like fillings, and will probably make a primal pumpkin pie (almond flour crust) with homemade whipped cream (no sugar added) for dessert.
What are your menu plans for Thanksgiving?
Posted 5 months ago # -
hannahc
MemberOoh I CAN'T WAIT for Thanksgiving, I'm so excited for the day and for the leftovers! I'm doing turkey, roasted sweet potatoes (we did those last year instead of mashed potatoes, and liked it better anyway), probably a salad of some sort, gravey from the turkey drippings (have to figure out a good way to thicken it), and pumpkin pie custard (just no crust). I'm going to use heavy cream for the pie, I tried with coconut milk and it was pretty good, but cream would be better. And whipped cream with a touch of vanilla is delicious, no sugar needed!
I don't know about stuffing, I don't want any but hubs might revolt. I used to do green bean casserolle too, but there are so many processed ingredients it's hard to really do a primal version like you said.
Really, I'm most excited for the turkey, then turkey soup, turkey salad, turkey everything!
Posted 5 months ago # -
Mr Mesolithic
MemberOh, thanks A LOT - my first day, and FlyNavyWife has to post about my FAVE day of year LOL :-)
OMG - I will so miss the mashed potatoes ...
Does anyone know how to make a carb-free gravy?
Ok, I'm panicky now, and getting hungry - I'm going to sleep and dream of that stuffin' my grandma used to make ...
Mr Meso
Posted 5 months ago # -
My family & I are travelling to my mom's in the midwest this year. She & I will cook for 10 - 15 people. Mom's mostly primal, too, and we've been discussing our menu quite a bit. Here's what we've come up with: turkey, regular stuffing, mashed potatoes (w/ tons of butter), sweet potato hash w/ onion & cinnamon, green bean casserole. We're either going to try to primalize the green bean casserole using cornstarch to thicken the white sauce or just make sauteed beans with almonds for ourselves.
We'll make the usual pies plus a lightly sweetened pumpkin pudding for ourselves. I make this anyway as my kids don't like pie crust in the pumpkin pie. Just butter a casserole dish & put the pie filling in.
And, as always, family time will be really, uh, "fun". :) My sister in law is completely CW, super-low fat/high carb diet and, as a result, my niece and nephew are very fat. It's really sad. :(
Posted 5 months ago # -
Griff
MemberNo such thing as a carb-free gravy, but I'd try making it with coconut flour instead of regular flour. Also, I'm going to suggest mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes.
We aren't going to be making our T-giving dinner - we have to go to the non-Primal in-laws - so if they won't make mashed cauli I'm going to make and bring it myself. I'll be having turkey with turkey and green salad. If everything on the table is carb-heavy except the turkey, then I'll be having turkey (with the skin!) and nothing but. I'm going to be a hard-nose about this, because I have no wish to have even a holiday sugar spike in my blood glucose records.
It'll probably be easier for me than for my husband. What I've been reading about nutrition and especially about grain-based foods has made me ill every time I smell baking bread or potatoes now.
Posted 5 months ago # -
JamieBelle
MemberI think I'm just going to have to let Thanksgiving day be my 20% for the month of November. I'll do my best to be very strict the rest of the month. One day of crap won't kill me or my progress.
Same for Christmas and December I suppose.
Worse comes to worse I'll just eat meat and veggies only, have maybe one bite of the rest of the stuff if I feel compelled to do so. I might try the fruit and nut stuffing I saw the recipe for on here somewhere, and add some sausage to that.
Posted 5 months ago # -
As far as thickeners go... I've read about arrowroot powder working well, so maybe try that for the gravy / green bean casserole?
Pretty sure corn starch is non-primal though. I mean, it's starch. From corn.
Mr Meso you'll do great. :) Coming from someone who used to get "the shakes" and all that I hope you believe me!
Posted 5 months ago # -
hannahc
MemberHa I feel the same way about corn starch :) I stopped using it after reading Omnivore's Dilemma, after the author pointed out that pretty much every processed food comes from corn or soy. And there's no way I could ever find corn starch in the wild, or make it on my own, it can only be made by industrial processes...Definitely not Primal!
Anywho, what else will everyone do for Thanksgiving? I'm really trying to find ways to make celebrations more about doing things than eating, does anyone have any good family traditions? Touch football? Everyone going for a walk after dinner? Family card or board games?
Posted 5 months ago # -
marci
Memberpeople- check out this link for some great Primal ideas if you haven't already
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/low-carb-thanksgiving-recipes/
Posted 5 months ago # -
chocolatechip69
MemberThis is soooo strange. I'm very excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas but I couldn't care less about starchy grainy traditional parts of it. I just don't crave it anymore. I do agree that you have to have some appropriate substitutions if you're gonna go that route. After all, it's a tradition.
Griff, good call on cauliflower "mashed tators". I was thinking maybe a bit of mashed sweet potatoes just for the heck of it, but that's even better.
We're probably going to be cooking for a big family this year neither one of whom are primal so I'm going to have all the regular goodies made for them. They are the kind of people who might literally have a heart attack if there are no real mashed tators, stuffing, or pies.
But I will also be making some broiled veggies, cauli mash, crustless pumpkin pie and that should make me very happy. Oh, instead of traditional turkey, I think we might go with some nice ham.By the way, where are you going to be getting your turkeys from? I checked the local farms and they range in price between $60 and $75 depending on weight. That might be kind of pricey for me.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I'm going to do turkey, gravy, mashed cauliflower, green beans with butter/almonds, and some kind of dessert. I was actually thinking I could make a berry or pumpkin pie with an almond flour crust. My daughter tried the pizza I made over the weekend and her first comment was that the crust tasted like pie crust.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Pandora
MemberWow, so many great ideas! I live in Canada so Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple weeks!! I'm just cooking for myself and my b/f though, so I don't have to worry about pleasing a posse of CWers. I'm terrified about Christmas with the in laws though...hopefully I can show them the light when my b/f sings my thanksgiving praises! Anyway, since this is my first holiday gone primal, I really wanna have a lot of fun with it and experiment. My b/f has given me license to primalize the whole works, but he wants cranberry sauce and I dunno how I'll monkey that one. The stuffing will be breadless. maybe something with fruit and nuts? Not too sure yet.
I'd love to have squash of some kind, are there any that aren't too starchy? I'd be happy with just the pumpkin pie filling the bill, but squash with butter and a sprinkle of nutmeg....mashed potatoes got nothin' on that!
Posted 5 months ago # -
darienx19
MemberEvery year I attend a pot-luck thanksgiving at my sister's church. I haven't quite decided what to bring this year, but will keep watching this thread.
I wanted to say something about the gravy problem everyone is having. I've been playing around with making curry each week and found that before I add all the seasonings, it looks/tastes/acts like cream of mushroom (with ground beef in it lol). I bet if you were to brown some beef, collect the drippings, add coconut milk and some small cut mushrooms.... primal cream of mushroom?
On that note, use coconut milk in place of the normal wondra(or flour)/milk(or water) "roux" that most people use to make the gravy. I would recommend finding a brand you like first, as some can be unexpectedly sweet or coconut-y (even if labelled as unsweetened), and experiment before the big day.
I think we should, as a community of pioneers, reinvent Thanksgiving. Rather than try and mimic the current one, blaze a new path and decide on new "traditional" dishes to serve that fall in with our way of living.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Shazkar, very easy to do!
Lots of nuts, some raisins, some sweet potato chunks, apples, celery, etc.
Posted 5 months ago # -
hannahc
MemberOh, I don't use any :) I made the pie with a can of organic coconut milk (full fat, unsweetened) instead of sweetened condensed milk, 2 eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and organic canned pumpkin. The crust was pecan meal (pecans put through the food processor), butter, and a pinch of salt pressed into a pie pan. I have always hated artificial sweeteners though, so I never started using them, and have cut out 98% of my sugar intake in the last 3 months (I've averaged about 1 dessert per month for the past three months, and that's about it). I just don't like things that sweet anymore. I find the spices and the natural sugars in the coconut and pumpkin are plenty flavorful, though I had to adjust to the new taste of the pie at first.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I've been dying to make a Turducken, but a SAUSAGE stuffed Turducken? Whole new level.... ;-)
BTW, if y'all haven't had a deep-fried Turkey, you are TOTALLY missing out.
My dad brings one to Thanksgiving every year since he brought some 'scraps' once and now they demand that he brings the whole thing.
(I must invest in a large Turkey Deep-fryer.....)
Posted 5 months ago # -
hannahc
MemberHahaha Turducken...I was HORRIFIED when I saw that last year...a Turkey stuffed with a duck that's stuffed with a chicken that's stuffed with sausage...I'm pretty sure something was wrapped in bacon as well! At this point I don't find it horrifying at all, just really expensive!
Posted 5 months ago # -
Geoff
MemberExpen$ive indeed. That's why I suspect it will remain in my fantasies until my ship comes in... I've seen it prepared but never actually done it myself.
As for a recipe, the web is replete with them, but most web receipes will tell you to stuff it with cornbread dressing or some such other carb-tacular nonsense. We know better.
As was pointed out you bone out a turkey, a duck, and a small chicken (easier said than done), and then stuff the chicken in the duck, and the duck in the turkey. Except you're not really cramming the small bird in the cavity - because they're deboned it's more like making an all meat jelly roll. Spread out the turkey, spread with bulk sausage (or minced shrimp or crawfish if you're so inclined), spread out duck, more sausage, finally chicken and another layer of sausage. Roll it up, sew it up and set to heat. Cooking it through can be tricky - use a meat thermometer.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Iceskater
MemberO god, that sausage stuffed turduken will now also inhabit all my holiday food fantasies...
Thanks for the pumpkin pie idea, hannahc. Im going to look for organic canned pumpkin since thanksgiving is coming soon here in canada.
Ive havent made turkey since going primal..do you all buy free range turkeys?
Posted 5 months ago #
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