I know I know…but I assure you it’s all in the delivery! If you prepare old favorites in new healthy ways, trust me when I say, one bite and your family will be hooked! Don’t be afraid to deviate from the norm and get some healthier options on the table. Here is what is on tap for our holiday table this week:
Roasted Turkey..of course..
Dairy Free Scalloped Potatoes-on my site-use search box to find
Orange Glazed Parsnips and Carrots
Sweet Potato and Banana Mash
Pumpkin Clafouti-on my site-use search box
I hate to be the pin to pop the balloon but many years ago I tried all the various methods for turkey, brining, marinating, cooking in a bag etc etc. I found for the trouble all of that was worth, just popping old Tom in the oven and roasting until done was the best tasting bird. The only time I would ever vary from that opinion was if you cook it in a convection oven and it is a fresh organic bird, that combo is lovely!
For Orange Glazed Parsnips and carrots, peel and cut both into 2 inch julienne strips. Saute in a bit of olive oil until tender over low to medium heat, using a cover to get them soft, just before serving stir in a tablespoon of orange marmalade. Quick, easy, just enough sweet to bring them together and oh what a lovely combo with turkey!
The Sweet Potato Banana Mash I picked up several years ago when I first went sugar free. This was not a dish I grew up with but married into. However the version my mother in law makes is the brown sugar, marshmallow, and sweet potatoes out of a can! The recipe is courtesy of Bon Appetit with a few revisions of mine
- 10 medium-size tan-skinned sweet potatoes (about 6 pounds)
- 4 bananas, unpeeled
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature-I use butter sub.
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
- drizzle of honey
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
Preheat oven to 400°F. Pierce sweet potatoes with fork. Place on rimmed baking sheet or in roasting pan and bake until almost soft, about 40-60 minutes. Add bananas to roasting pan alongside sweet potatoes and bake until banana skins brown, about 10 minutes. Let sweet potatoes and bananas stand at room temperature until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes (maintain oven temperature). Cut sweet potatoes in half. Scoop flesh from sweet potatoes into large bowl. Peel bananas; add to bowl. Add 1/2 cup butter and honey; beat until blended and fluffy. Season to taste with salt. Transfer to 8- to 10-cup ovenproof baking dish.
Mix nuts, honey, and flour in bowl. Add 1/2 cup butter; mix with fingertips until coarse crumbs form. (Potatoes and streusel can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill. Before continuing, preheat oven to 400°F.) Sprinkle streusel over potatoes. Bake until top is golden brown and potatoes are hot, about 25 minutes.
Last but not least is the pumpkin clafouti which I have already said is my addiction! My last bit of holiday advice this season is moderation! If you are going to relatives where you know sweets and unhealthy dishes will be served, snack on healthy items before you go, it will make you less likely to indulge. Also bring a salad and by that I mean a nice healthy green salad with all the healthy fruit or vegys you can stand on top! This will for sure give you an alternative to what else is on the table. Don’t forget to drink lots of water during this season to help your body compensate and a little movement on the treadmill or around the block will make you feel like a million bucks at dinner time!
Wishing you and yours a very Thankful Thanksgiving and a safe one too!
My apologies, I sometimes forget that novices are reading my posts. Parsnips can be found in the produce section and they look a little like white carrots. Peel them just like you would a carrot, they are coated in wax to preserve them so all of this needs to come off. For the dish above I would use a whole bag of carrots and a whole bag of parsnips for one tablespoon of marmalade. The other thing I neglected to mention is stuffing! I am going to buy myself a couple of boxes of pre made gluten free waffles, toast them, cube them up and make stuffing! For those struggling with gluten issues, always modify any recipe that calls for flour as a thickener to cornstarch and in others you can use a gluten free flour on a 1 to 1 ratio as a substitute..happy cooking!