My Thanksgiving Meal Plan

I am cooking my first full Thanksgiving meal this year and I’m both excited and totally terrified!

Family meals are tough for me because we eat so counter to the Standard American Diet that I really do enjoy having more control over the food we are able to eat and I’m making almost everything from scratch this year.   This is especially difficult with my mid-western super classic food loving family but I’m up to the challenge! My Grandparents, Parents and Godfather will all be joining us for Thanksgiving.  Hubby has to work but he will get to enjoy leftovers!

I wanted to share my menu with you and the links for the recipes we will be using to hopefully provide some inspiration for your Thanksgiving.  Stay tuned for pictures and an update about how it went!

My Thanksgiving Menu

Breakfast– Coconut flour pancakes with grain free pumpkin porridge  (our current favorite thing- made with homemade pumpkin puree from our CSA)  This should tide us over quite well until our 3pm meal

Snacks- Fresh popped pop-corn grown by our amazing CSA, Kale chips (also from our CSA), Raw Cheeses, homemade lactofermented pickled items (also from our CSA!), Holiday Pecans (recipe from Nourishing Traditions), pomegranates, and Zucchini pickles from our Harvest Share from MMLocal

The Meal- 

• Turkey- We got a local organic pastured heritage turkey and will use this brine recipe for it http://paleospirit.com/2011/holiday-turkey-brine/
• Stuffing- The only thing I’m not planning to make from scratch is the stuffing.  Rudi’s Gluten Free had a stuffing mix at Costco this year and they are a brand-line I trust.  The ingredients aren’t perfect (they add non-GMO high oleic canola oil and the grains are not soaked or sprouted) but we try to follow the 80/20 rule  and it’s a really good compromise plus it’s a crazy good price.  I will make it more nutritious by cooking it with coconut ghee instead of butter and cooking it in chicken stock.
• Gravy- http://www.mommypotamus.com/grain-free-gravy-gaps-paleo-primal/
• Green Bean Casserole- This is the one I’m most nervous about because it is my Mom and my Grandma’s favorite dish and they are totally “from a can” cooks when they make it.  I’m excited to see how this version pleases them! http://wellnessmama.com/3373/green-bean-casserole-healthy-version/
• Roasted veggies- I will roast beets, carrots and some jerusalem artichoke in olive oil with a few spices at 350 for about 1/2 an hour
• Cranberry sauce- http://www.mommypotamus.com/homemade-cranberry-sauce-gaps-paleo-primal/
• Mashed potatoes- We typically stay away from white potatoes but the 80/20 rule comes into play here.  I will use our raw milk and some Kerrygold butter on them with a bit of Organic Valley sour cream and some Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub
• These amazing Paleo dinner rolls (I made a test 1/2 batch last week and ate 4/5 rolls within half an hour of taking them out of the oven….) http://paleospirit.com/2013/paleo-dinner-rolls/  I haven’t EVER found a dinner roll recipe I liked until now- these are going to be a staple in our home for sure
• Sweet Potato Casserole- http://wellnessmama.com/3368/sweet-potato-casserole/ 
• Some MMLocal Saurkraut
• Corn that we have frozen from our CSA with a little bit of garlic and butter

• My other “splurge” was sparkling blood orange drinks.  They’re organic and made with cane sugar and are SO good!  
• Kalona Supernatural Organic Grassfed Eggnog (this stuff is so thick and creamy it tastes like a dream)
• Fresh mint tea from my mint plant
• Chai tea (I get the Bhakti Chai at Costco and love to mix it with 1/2 Eggnog 1/2 cream or raw milk)