Happy Thanksgiving

 This year has been a strange year for all of us. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful to be able to feed my family healthy options. I am thankful for my journey with Trim Healthy Mama making it easier to heal from seven surgeries in 2 years.

My family will be celebrating Thanksgiving a day late this year because of schedules, but that gave me time to whip up some of my family favorite Thanksgiving dishes, the Trim Healthy Mama way.. This entire meal is THM S, except for the cranberry sauce, which is THM FP. I made Cream of Celery soup to use in a Green Bean Casserole, because of a family member who cannot have mushrooms. You can use this basic recipe to make just about any cream soup:

1 large onion, finely diced

2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil

2 c chopped celery

4-6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sage

1 tsp mineral salt

1 tsp thyme

1 c water

5 c chicken stock

coconut cream from 2-3 cans full-fat coconut milk

1 tsp gluconannan (optional: makes it thicker)

In a large pot, add butter, onion, celery, garlic cloves, seasonings, and water. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer until onions and garlic have almost carmellized.  (If using mushrooms, wait until the end to ad them, with the coconut cream.) Add 2 c of chicken stock and return to a boil. Add coconut cream and remainder of chicken stock. Add gluconannan, if using. Cook, stirring, until coconut cream and gluconnan are fully incorporated. If using for a green bean casserole, this recipe is best done the day before you need it. Use the cooled cream soup to make your green bean casserole: about 3 cups per 2 cans of green beans. Bake long enough to warm through to desired temperature.

After I got the cream soup going, I decided to make a large batch of cranberry sauce. Whole berry cranberry sauce has been a favorite in my family for years. We definitely don't need the sugar in the store bought versions, and making my own was so easy. I buy extra cranberries this time of year and freeze them so I can enjoy them all year long.

2 bags fresh or frozen cranberries

1/3 c stevia

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon (opt.)

1 c water

Place ingredients in 2-qt sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and let cook for about an hour. If you forget about it and it cooks longer, it won't hurt either 😉 After simmering, whisk together until sauce is desired consistency. The natural pectin in the cranberries will cause gelling, and the more it is stirred, the more the cranberries break up to release more pectin.

If you are the pumpkin pie type, you will love this next recipe. My husband and I cannot do Thanksgiving without it. I have never mastered the perfect pie crust, so I go crustless, or purchase a ready-to-use nut crust. For the filling, I have discovered that I LOVE fresh pumpkin. I peeled a large pumpkin a couple of days ago with a vegetable peeler (yes, before cooking), but you could peel yours after cooking it. After scooping out the seeds, I cut the pumpkin into sections that would fit into my Instant Pot, added 1 cup of water, and cooked it on manual for 5 minutes. That made it soft enough to puree using my immersion blender. If you cook yours with the skin on, you will need to let it cool and removed the skin before blending.

Pumpkin Pie:

1 crust (optional)

2 Tbsp THM Just Gelatin

2 Tbsp Just off the boil water

1 c cool water

1 tsp gluconannan 

2 c pumpkin puree

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2/3 c stevia

2 c almond milk or 1/2 c full fat coconut cream (from can of full fat coconut milk)

Mix the gelatin with the hot water, until completely dissolved. Add the cool water and gluconannan and blend with immersion blender until the gluconannan is fully dissolved. Add remaining ingredients, blending after each ingredient is added. Pour or scoop filling into your pie crust or pan and chill until ready to serve.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do.  If you are looking for help with eating better, I am a certified THM Lifestyle Coach and would be happy to help you build your own health plan. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!