Transform your traditional fare with wholesome, nutrient-rich Thanksgiving recipes. While these healthy options are sugar and guilt-free, you will feel satisfied as you indulge in all the wonderful flavors of the holiday feast.
Cauliflower Mashed “Potatoes”
This is a great, low-carbohydrate alternative to mashed potatoes. Even if you’re not a cauliflower lover, this tastes surprisingly good and just like mashed potatoes.
30 min cook time, serves 6
Ingredients:
- 1 head organic cauliflower
- 1 clove garlic (optional)
- 1/8 cup almond milk, plain yogurt, or grass-fed butter (use organic for these ingredients)
- Salt & pepper
- Paprika
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Steam cauliflower (optionally with a clove of garlic) until tender (about 15-20 min)
- Cut the cauliflower into pieces and place in a blender with the milk, yogurt or butter
- Season with salt and pepper and then whip until smooth
- Pour cauliflower into small baking dish
- Sprinkle with paprika and bake in hot oven until bubbly
Ginger-Lime Cranberry Sauce (Sugar-Free)
20 min cook time, serves 6
Ingredients:
- 1 (12) ounce package fresh cranberries (4 cups)
- 1/2 cup (heaping) xylitol
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 6 Tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Zest of 1/2 lime
Directions:
- In a sauce pot on medium heat, add all ingredients and stir, cover
- Cook for about 20 minutes or until desired thickness is reached, stirring occasionally
- Serve hot or cold
Spicy Parmesan Green Beans and Kale
15 min cook time, serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp organic butter
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced and quartered
- 1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed and slice into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch kale (1/2 pound), rinsed, stemmed, and roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
- 3 Tbsp finely grated parmesan
Directions:
- Warm the butter in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat
- Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes
- Add the mushrooms, green beans, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the wine and continue cooking until the green beans are almost tender (about 5 minutes)
- Add the red pepper flakes and the kale and continue cooking until the kale has wilted (about 4 to 5 minutes)
- Add the lemon juice and the Parmesan cheese
- Toss to coat and serve immediately
Healthy Pumpkin Pie
1 hour cook time, serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 (15) ounce can Pumpkin Puree (no sugar-check label)
- 2/3 cup xylitol or stevia to taste
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 4 ounces organic cream
- 8 ounces unsweetened almond milk (original or vanilla)
- 1 almond pie crust – recipe below
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven 425 degrees
- Combine all ingredients (except pie crust)
- Pour into cooled pie crust
- Bake 15 min.
- Reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 45 min.
- Cool and garnish with cinnamon
Almond Crust for Pumpkin Pie:
8 min cook time, serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 cups almond meal or almond flour
- 3 Tbsp xylitol or 10 drops of liquid stevia (or to taste)
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- ½ Tbsp coconut oil
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Melt butter and mix with almond meal or almond flour and stevia or xylitol
- Rub bottom of a glass pie dish with coconut oil
- Pat mixture into pie dish
- Heat in the oven for 8 minutes (do not brown!)
- Remove from oven and cool