An AIP Thanksgiving Menu 2013

I absolutely love Thanksgiving.  It's very important to me that I come through the holiday season, starting with the Thanksgiving meal, feeling as though I have enjoyed the celebrations, despite following a healing diet long-term.  This year marks my second AIP Thanksgiving.  With the importance of enjoying the season in mind and alot of experience under my belt, I put together the menu below for this year.

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know that I am a very happy recipe tester, but not a dedicated recipe creator.  That means that I do alot of recipe adaptation to fit the AIP mold.  Please closely follow my instructions to adapt any recipes included here, if you too are following AIP.  If you are a long time reader, you'll also know that I REALLY DO serve this menu for my holiday meal.  Check out my Facebook page after Thanksgiving to see photos of all the dishes here.  One final note, if you are spending the holiday at the home of friend or loved ones, bringing one or two of these dishes would be a great way to share delicious Paleo foods with them and make sure that there are "safe" foods available to you.    

Appetizer:
Beef Stuffed Onions (recipe here)
I actually found this recipe in a magazine put out by a big box grocery store.  With the first link you can see a picture & the second link is the recipe.

To adapt:
1)  Be cautious using the Allspice, for some on AIP it could be an issue.  You could replace with a blend of cinnomon and ginger.
2)  Skip the egg.  Egg is used as a binder in the recipe and totally unnecessary.
3)  Replace the flour with coconut flour.  It is just used to give a little crusty finish to the tops and does not need to be a gluten-based flour.

Soup:
Sweet Potato & Pear Soup (recipe here)
Again, I found this recipe in a big box grocery store mag.  With the first link you can see a picture & the second link is the recipe.

To adapt:
1)  Replace the vegetable oil with melted coconut oil.
2)  To be extra cautious of contaminants and very nutrient dense, make your own chicken broth.
3)  It is okay to cook with alcohol, but you can replace the vermouth with white grape juice, if you prefer.
4)  Replace the nutmeg with cinnamon.
5)  Skip the yogurt or use coconut milk yogurt, if you have it on hand.

Dinner:
Rosemary Orange Roasted Turkey Breast
I am only doing a turkey breast this year, as my husband and I will be on our own.  I thought this recipe sounded delicious.

To adapt:
1)  Skip the mustard.
2)  It is okay to cook with alcohol, but you can replace the white wine with white grape juice, if you prefer.
3)  To be extra cautious of contaminants and very nutrient dense, make your own chicken broth.

Apple-Cranberry Holiday Stuffing
This is a fabulous recipe from my friend, Mickey, over at Autoimmune Paleo and doesn't require any adaptions.  Mickey did all the work for us!

Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Cauliflower Salad
I have been experimenting with lots of shaved Brussels sprouts recipes and I am loving it.  This one looks incredible to me.

To adapt:
1)  Skip the walnuts & Romano cheese.

Parsnips with Sage Butter
Have you ever tried parsnips?  If not, this is a great chance to be adventurous.

To adapt:
1)  I am able to tolerate a small amount of grass-fed butter, but if you are not there yet, don't worry.  Replace the butter with ghee or melted coconut oil.

Dessert:
Cranberry & Apple Cider Sorbet
Doesn't this look yummy and refreshing after the big meal?

To adapt:
1)  Replace the 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup or less of honey.  You may need to do a little experimenting with this, to see how much honey is required for the right amount of sweet and to get the sorbet to freeze properly (it may require reducing some of the other liquids a bit too).

Big thanks to all the creative recipe inventors behind these dishes.  I hope you all are inspired and, as always, if anyone tries these recipes with the AIP adaptions, tell me how it goes.  I would love to hear about it.