Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Every day I find lots of things in my life to be thankful for, but a whole day centered around gratitude...that's awesome! Plus, we get to have a yummy dinner with all of our family. 

Now, that yummy dinner does not have to disrupt your health or weight goals. I know most of the traditional Thanksgiving meals can be loaded with excess food and overdone portions, but yours doesn't have to! Let's look at some ways you can enjoy this holiday without the food coma and next day bloating.

The Turkey: This is the easy part. Whether you like to butter your turkey or go with olive oil and balsamic does not matter. Go with your favorite recipe and enjoy! Personally, my family and I are going with spatchcocking this year. I'm always up for something new!

Stuffing: If going and staying paleo is important to you, or if you truly have an allergy or sensitivity to gluten, there are plenty of options for stuffing. 

Try these recipes for a delicious treat:

• Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing
• Ground Pork Stuffing
• Paleo Stuffing with "Cornbread"

If you really miss traditional stuffing and you don't have any reactions to wheat (other than bloating, cravings and weight gain!) you may want to give yourself a day to enjoy a traditional recipe. One important note: only do this if you trust yourself to go back to your healthy eating plan. I don't want to tell anyone that they can NEVER enjoy their favorite foods ever again if the only reason they gave it up has to do with weight. I'm not an extremist! I even think that sometimes it's good to remember just how awful you felt eating that food to reinforce the need to keep it out. 

Vegetables: There are so many options here. The more veggies you put on your plate, the less room you have for less healthy option. Roast them, steam them, add your favorite spices. Just keep the bread crumbs and marshmallows off of them! The veggies that are always on my table on Thanksgiving are broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, beets, sweet potatoes, green beans and for Mom, turnips! 

Here are some delicious recipes to try:

• Roasted Vegetables 
  
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary
• Mustard Garlic Brussels Sprouts
• Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans
• Mock Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (paleo) 

Cornbread: I love cornbread and so does the rest of my family. The issue is, of course, that it's unhealthy and loaded with sugar and wheat. Because of all that sugar and wheat our bodies don't get the signal that we've had enough. Before you know it, two, three, four pieces are gone and you have no idea how that happened! 

There's no need for all of that. There are plenty of alternatives that will satisfy your cravings AND keep you healthy.  

You will notice that these recipes do not contain any corn. Corn is a grain which is the seed of a plant in the grass family. The seed's job is that of reproduction of the plant. It does no exist for our consumption. The most abundant energy contained in that seed is carbohydrate. High carbohydrate leads to an increase in insulin. We want to keep blood sugar stable to prevent all kinds of problems including weight gain, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Also, up to 88% of corn grown in the US is genetically engineered (GMO). 

• Paleo Cornbread
• Paleo Dinner Rolls

Desserts: This is my favorite part! I don't need to tell you why this part of the meal can go horribly wrong. There is nothing wrong with having a treat every now and again. However, if you can do something better, you should! If your favorite part of Thanksgiving is your mom's good old fashion pumpkin pie, I would never ask you to not have a slice, unless you are truly sensitive to one of the ingredients. You can, however, make a healthier version of most desserts.

Here are a few of my favorites.

• Paleo Pumpkin Pie
• Paleo Apple Pie
• Pumpkin Spice Cookies
• Chocolate Pudding Pie

What's most important is that we remember exactly what this holiday is all about. I know most of us think it's all about the food, but it's not. It's all about gratitude. Finding things in your life to be grateful for is exceptionally important in anyone's healing process. Take this day to enjoy your friends and family, contemplate just how thankful you are and enjoy this holiday!

I am all about batch cooking. I do not have time to cook every day, nor do I care to! Twice a week I cook up a bunch of veggies that will last me for days. I'll use them for my breakfast and dinner all week long. (Lunch is always raw veggies.) 

One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to roast them. You can do a whole bunch at once so it's a better use of your time. Plus, they taste scrumptious! 

The best vegetables to roast are, well...any veggies! Broccoli, cauliflower, squash, Brussels sprouts; they're all so yummy roasted. Each time you make these, change up the veggies and spices for a totally new dish.

If you are new to eating a whole foods, paleo type lifestyle, you may be wondering why on Earth we need to make rice out of cauliflower when we have, well...rice! It's because grains, i.e. breads, pasta, rice, cereals and quinoa, are carbohydrates that spike our blood sugar. High blood sugar will eventually cause insulin resistance leading to diabetes. Americans do not need anything else in our diets that raise our blood sugar. We need to work on stabilizing it!  

Grains can also cause digestive upset, skin problems, headaches, inflammation and many more problems. The bottom line is when people give up grains they report better health and less disease.

This recipe for cauliflower rice is super yummy! I do not miss regular rice at all. Regular rice make me feel heavy, not to mention look heavy! Have you ever noticed that after you eat it, you're hungry soon after? Not with cauliflower. You will be both satisfied and nourished. It goes perfectly with your favorite protein. My favorite protein with this dish is salmon, but you may want to try it with mushrooms for a vegetarian option.

Feel free to experiment by adding other veggies such as broccoli or colorful peppers. Enjoy!



This recipe contains coconut aminos. If this is new to you, it is a healthy alternative to soy sauce.

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower
2 tbsp. coconut oil (raw, unrefined)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
4 scallions, diced
2 carrots, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. coconut aminos

Directions:
Cut the cauliflower into large chunks and shred in the food processor with the shredding disk attachment until it resembles rice.

Heat the oil over med-high heat in a large skillet. Sauté the cauliflower, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until slightly browned. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the scallions, carrots and garlic and cook, for 5 minutes. Stir in the coconut aminos and serve. Makes 4 servings.

 

Per serving: 118 calories, 3 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 7 g total fat, 3 g fiber,  271 mg. sodium