Feeling conflicted between enjoying Thanksgiving treats and keeping yourself on the straight and narrow? By transforming the recipes we all know and love, you can have your pumpkin pie, and eat it too!
Know you’ll be enjoying some wine or other party beverages? Don’t forget your Detox Support Packs! (Extra important if you’ll not only be imbibing but also indulging in sweet treats. Trust us, come morning on November 29, you’ll be glad you did!)
Quinoa Stuffing
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth
- 2 large Onions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup Pine Nuts (optional)
- 1 cup Cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 ½ tbsp fresh Sage, chopped
- 1 tbsp Rosemary, fresh
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- Cheesecloth (if stuffing in bird)
Method:
1. To cook quinoa, bring 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups broth to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 min.
2. Put cranberries in a small saucepan with ¼ cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until cranberries start to pop and split. Drain cranberries and discard water.
3. To cooked quinoa, add cranberries, onions, pine nuts, sage, rosemary, salt and black pepper. Combine well.
4. Either bake in a casserole dish at 375 for 30-35 min or stuff in your turkey!
5. If stuffing in the turkey, line the cavity with a cheesecloth and then lightly pack the stuffing. Using the cheesecloth is not necessary but makes it easier to remove the stuffing.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Recipe Notes: When mashing sweet potatoes, be careful not to “overwork” the starch found in potatoes. If over mixed, they can lose their fluffy consistency and turn to glue. Mix/mash your sweet potatoes lightly and check often. Recipe serves approximately 4 generous portions. If you do not enjoy the flavor of ginger, substitute fresh thyme.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs Sweet Potatoes, peeled
- ½ – ¾ cup Coconut Milk
- Salt/Pepper to taste (approximately ½ teaspoon each)
- Garlic Powder to taste (if desired)
- 1 tbsp Fresh Ginger, minced
Method
1. Peel sweet potatoes, and wash once they are peeled. Place clean sweet potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil.
2. Boiled sweet potatoes will be done when you can poke a sharp knife through the sweet potato and have the potato easily slide off end of the knife. Do not over boil.
3. Drain the water from your pot. Leave your sweet potatoes in the pot.
4. Using either a hand mixer or a potato masher, mash the sweet potatoes before adding any flavorings. Do not over mash (stop when you have some large fluffy lumps). Add salt and pepper to taste, and if desired add garlic powder.
5. Add your fresh ginger (peel the ginger using a spoon – use the mouth of the spoon to easily scrape off the skin). Mince the ginger until very fine, add 1 tablespoon and blend. If you don’t’ like ginger you may substitute it for fresh thyme. Peel the leaves off of the thyme branches and chop finely, add 1-2 tablespoons fresh thyme. Do not use both thyme and ginger””just one or the other.
6. Once the sweet potatoes are lightly mashed and the salt and pepper have been added, pour in ½ – ¾ cup coconut milk and blend adequately.
And don’t worry – just because we’re fans of healthy eating doesn’t mean we forgot dessert!
5 Spice Baked Apples
Recipe Notes: Rather than baking the 2 pureed apples, you could add a bit of water and reduce them in a saucepan over a low heat until it becomes more like a syrup. After the apples are baked, you can drizzle the syrup over the top.
Ingredients
- 8 large sour green apples
- Lemon Juice
- ¼ cup Walnuts or Pecans, chopped (optional)
- 5 tsp Chinese 5-Spice**
**Chinese 5-spice can be purchased at fine grocery stores. If unavailable, make your own mixture by combining:
- l tsp ground Szechwan pepper
- l tsp ground star anise
- l tsp ground fennel seeds
- l tsp ground cloves
- l tsp ground cinnamon
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Roast walnuts or pecans (if using) in a dry frying pan until just fragrant, set aside.
3. Mix all the ground spices together and set aside.
4. Puree two of the apples in a food processor and mix with spice mixture.
5. Core the rest of the apples and slice each half into about 8 pieces. Place the sliced apples in a large casserole dish and squeeze with a little lemon to prevent browning. Add a bit of water (approx 2 TBS) to base.
6. Add the pureed apples/5 spice mixture to the casserole dish and toss gently so the spices coat the apples. See Alternative above.
7. Cover with foil and place in the oven.
8. Bake the apples for 20-30 minutes, or until just tender. Halfway through baking, remove from the oven and toss the mixture again. When the apples have finished baking, move them to your serving dish and drizzle roasted nuts over the top.
And the cranberry sauce? Easy peasy – swap out the white sugar for coconut sugar and prepare as usual.
Don’t forget the Pumpkin Pie! (Psst”¦ We love chilled canned coconut milk as a non-dairy replacement for whipped cream)
Check out our Cambiati Eating Pinterest board for more ideas.