Holiday Recipe Round Up… And Some Other Thoughts

The holidays are upon us. Next week is Thanksgiving! I can’t believe it. Although these recipes may not find you in time for you uber-planners out there, they can be a great addition to your December holiday parties.

But before we get into recipes, I want to say a few words about Thanksgiving and Christmas Day meals. When you eat differently than your extended family or are navigating gluten free/dairy free kiddos, having all the family together can bring new challenges. I want to encourage you to keep it simple and keep it easy. If your family is gluten-free and dairy-free, then you need to stick to that for the holidays. However, the quality of your ingredients or using pre-made ingredients for the big meals of Thanksgiving and Christmas day, can be a life-saver and not really impact the health of your family significantly.

The difference is keeping the processed foods prioritized to the most important times, not letting it be a free-for-all for the whole month of December. Here are a few “balancing tricks” I’ve learned over the years.

1. Pies: Buy gluten-free pie crust and make traditional pies using less expensive, standard ingredients. It’s 1 day. It’s 1 pie. It’s 1-2 pieces total for each person most likely. So, rather than stressing over if a new recipe will work, use the regular recipe (pumpkin and pecan pie standard fillings are naturally gluten-free), make them ahead and freeze pies so it’s done.
2. Christmas cookies: this one depends on how big of a deal this is to your family. If they will hang around for days, and your kids will eat many cookies… I suggest making a sugar-free frosting using Swerve and a gluten-free sugar cookie using quality ingredients. The payoff can be huge when kids are loving life and you’re not stressed about how many cookies they are eating! Pure Pantry has quality ingredients and fabulous mixes. I would suggest their all purpose flour for a recipe like this. Here is a truly low carb sugar cookie recipe that is sure to keep blood sugars stable. I would use Swerve instead of Truvia.Now, the other option for cookie decorating is the one where you’re doing a one-time shot at cookies and your children won’t eat that many. Here’s where you grab slice and bake gluten-free dough and make some regular frosting. None of it is quality, it’s all sugar, and it isn’t helping our bodies at all, but sometimes, those things aren’t the goal, so have fun and let it go.
3. On cookie decorating days or the day after big holiday meals, go ahead and serve some lighter fare with more veggies and meat to give the body a break and add some nutrient density.

 The bottom line for the holidays is to keep the foods that aren’t part of your everyday fare limited to specific events, not just sitting around for a whole month. But, even if it does… it’s 1 of 12 months. There are 11 whole months where you can be really tuned in to quality ingredients and balanced meals. The caveat to that last statement is if it will disrupt your child’s rhythms and “home base” of balance and mood by letting some extras in. You’re the parent. You make that call. Don’t let food be the main event…. ever. And, don’t throw out the window the way of living/eating that help your child thrive and enjoy the holiday!

Stuffed Acorn Squash:

Serves 6

• 3 Acorn Squash, halved and deseeded
  

  Photo Credit: brittanyangell.com

• 6 TBSP Butter
• 1 lb. Ground Turkey
• 3 TBSP Butter or oil
• 1 Small Onion, diced
• ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp. Salt
• ¼ tsp. Pepper
• ¼ tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 tsp. Dried Thyme6-8 Fresh Sage Leaves, chopped
• ¼ Cup Pecans
• ¼ Cup Dried Cranberries
• 2 TBSP Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place the squash halves cut side up onto a baking sheet. Place 1 TBSP of butter into each of the halves, making 6 total.
3. Place in oven and bake for 60-70 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and break up with a wooden spatula and let brown, about 6 minutes.
5. Add the onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme. Incorporate well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well to combine.
7. Fill the centers of each acorn squash half with the meat filling. Sprinkle additional pepitas on top before serving.

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Crispy Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 Egg
• ½ TBSP Water
  

  Photo Credit: brittanyangell.com

Dry Ingredients:

• ¼ packed cup Almond Flour
• ¼ packed cup Tapioca Starch
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• ½ tsp. Kosher Salt
• ¼ tsp. Cayenne
• ¼ tsp. Paprika
• ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp. Onion Powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl combine the egg with the water; set aside
3. In a separate bowl combine the almond flour, tapioca, black pepper, salt, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
4. Drop Shrimp into wet mixture and then heavily dredge in breading mixture. You may need to go back and re-drop shrimp back into the dry ingredients to get a good breaded coating.
5. Place on baking sheet, and drizzle liberally with oil.
6. Cook shrimp 20 minutes or until lightly golden and crispy.
7. Once slightly cooled serve with your favorite gluten free cocktail sauce.

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Faux Thins (Wheat Thins)

Photo Credit: brittanyangell.com

• 1 packed cup Almond Flour (137g)
• ¾ cup Tapioca Starch (91g)
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 3 tsp. Xanthan or guar gum
• ¾ tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1 Egg
• 1 TBSP Shortening
• 2 TBSP Oil
• 2 TBSP Water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 315 degrees.
2. In a stand mixer combine all ingredients.
3. Place dough in between two sheets of parchment paper.
4. Roll out dough to be paper thin. Take off top sheet of parchment paper carefully.
5. Cut into squares using a pizza cutter.
6. Place on parchment lined baking sheet.
7. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden on bottom, and edge are ever so

slightly brown.

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Mashed Cauliflower

• 2 heads of cauliflower chopped.
  

  Photo Credit: brittanyangell.com

• 2 ½ tablespoons of Tapioca, Arrowroot or Potato Starch (optional- omit for lower carb)
• ¼ cup of Heavy Cream or Heavy Coconut Milk
• 6 tablespoons of salted butter or Ghee (or bacon fat)
• 1 ½ – 2 teaspoons of garlic powder (to taste)
• 3 teaspoons of salt (use more of less to taste)
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper

Instructions:

1. Fill a stock pot ½ with water (enough to cover two heads of cauliflower) Bring the water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and boil until fork tender.

2. Strain the water and place the cooked cauli back into the pot. Whisk together the heavy cream and starch. Then add the cream and starch mixture to the plot along with the butter, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.

3. Using an immersion blender – blend together all the ingredients. Turn the stove back on low for about 2 minutes to reheat it if the cauliflower has gotten cool. This will activate the starch to thicken the mashed cauliflower.

4. Serve warm, or store in the fridge covered for up to 3 days.

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“Pillsbury” Gluten Free Pie Crust

• 3/4 packed cup Almond Flour
• 1 1/4 cup of Tapioca starch
• 4 Tbsp. of Salted Butter
• 4 Tbsp. of Palm Shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of xanthan or guar gum
• 4 Tbsp. of Applesauce
• Reserve for later:  ¼ cup of Extra Tapioca Starch

Instructions:

1. In a large food processor (I use a 14 cup) add the almond flour, starch, butter, shortening, salt and xanthan or guy gum. Process until the dough begins to come together. Add the applesauce and process until a smooth dough forms.

2. Place the dough into a sealed Tupperware and place into the fridge 2 hours.
3. After the dough has chilled- mix in the last 1/4 cup of starch and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper (dusting with extra starch as needed to prevent sticking) NOTE: If you chill the dough for 24 hours you will only need a LITTLE extra starch to roll the dough out. You won’t need to mix in the full 1/4 cup.

4. Quickly place the rolled out crust into the pie pan using the parchment as your guide. It should hold its shape without breaking.

5. At this point you can fill the crust with filling of choice and follow the directions for that pie. OR Bake the crust in a 350-degree oven 16-20 minutes until lightly golden.

 To make this crust totally dairy free you can double the shortening and leave out the butter. The flavor of the crust won’t be as good.

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