Posted: November 20, 2012

Can you believe the Holidays are upon us?  So much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!  Family, friends, food, clothing, shelter, and health.  With all of the excitement of holiday entertainment, buying gifts, preparing food, we all can get VERY busy around the holidays.  I’d like to start this post by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  Take some time to reflect, relax, enjoy, give, and love.  That, I believe, is part of keeping the WHOLE self healthy. 

Another part to keeping healthy is treating your body to good foods.  The holidays don’t have to be a downward spiral of our eating habits.  This year, if you are looking for a few ideas to change things up at your Thanksgiving or Christmas table, check out the two cool websites below. 

Thanksgiving Menu from Deliciously Organic

Thanksgiving Menu from Sugar-Free Mom

Here are a few additional recipes that you might like!   

Orange-Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 (12 ounce) bag cranberries

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1 cup sugar (or substitute with Stevia to stay away from so much sugar)

1 tsp. grated orange peel

Combine cranberries, orange juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 12 to 15 minutes, until the cranberries are popped and somewhat cooked down.  Remove from heat, mash lightly with the back of a spoon, stir in orange peel, and transfer to a bowl.

Let cool, then refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.

Stuffins

Ingredients:

Organic nonstick cooking spray

1 tbsp. butter

1/2 cup diced onion

1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/3 cup chopped dried figs (about 3 figs)

4 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix

1 cup organic chicken broth

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray; set aside.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook until just softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the hazelnuts and cook one minute more, stirring often to prevent them from burning.  Remove pan from heat and stir in the chopped figs and the stuffing mix.  Pour the broth and water over the top and mix well.  Scoop about 1/3 cup of the stuffing mixture into each cup of the prepared muffin pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Gingersnap Streusel

(This one has a bit more sugar, but you can use a natural sugar substitute to keep it minimal)

Ingredients:

Organic nonstick cooking spray

5lb sweet potatoes, cut into chunks

1 1/4 tsp salt, divided, plus more for boiling potatoes

15-20 coarsely broken gingersnap cookies

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, cut into bits

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup half-and-half

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.  Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and add a generous pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are very tender, 14-16 minutes.  Drain and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, make the topping.  Put the gingersnaps, flour, sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor; pulse once or twice to combine.  Add the butter and pulse a few more times. (The cookies should still be in small chunks.)

Once the potatoes are cool, remove the skins.  Make into a chunky puree in a blender, food processor, or by hand using a potato masher.

In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, eggs and remaining 1 tsp salt.  Add the potato puree; mix thoroughly.  Transfer to baking dish.  Sprinkle the topping evenly of the dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. 

Enjoy!