11/24/11 Happy Paleo Thanksgiving!
-Written by KC
He said he got up to the line and thought about his wife and daughter, and everything he had to be thankful for. Spoken after an interview with Derek Parra, immediately following his speedskating silver medal winning 2002 Olympic performance.
Thanksgiving Paleo Cooking
When a holiday is centered around FOOD, what else is a CrossFit athlete going to do besides try to remain on TRACK. This was my first attempt at a COMPLETELY Primal Paleo Thanksgiving, and it was a success! The rest of my family eats a little differently from me(they all had cornbread and corn on the cob), but I managed to stay with my Paleo eating with no problems at all, here's how I did it:
Turkey: Roasted by Josh, we all ate the Turkey, it's Primal approved. Della, my 7 year old couldn't understand why it took so long though.
Savory Vegetables: I ditched the stuffing this year and made this amazing dish from Bonnie Mandoe's Vegetarian Nights. Mostly root vegetables, see recipe below.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce: Surprisingly easy to make, quick, and tasty! Recipe below.
Hawaiian 'Uala Mashed Sweet Potatoes: Boiled and mashed Purple Sweet Potato, Primal approved, but not totally Paleo. I limited my serving to a small amount. Could have done without it even, as I don't like potato to much.
A man's place is in the kitchen:)
Savory Vegetables: These Were Killer!
1 3/4 lb. mixed vegetables. I used parsnips, golden beets, daikon, squash, onion, and carrot.
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. soy sauce (if you are trying to get away from soy, just add some salt to the mixture)
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. mirin, or Japaneese Cooking Sake (alcohol cooks off)
2-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
Cut vegetables in larger-than-bite-size chunks. Combine veggies with the rest of ingredients and 2 sprigs of the rosemary cut up, in a large bowl and mix, coating vegetables. Put in a casserole dish with a lid. Save 2 sprigs of rosemary to place in dish with vegetables. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, basting 3 times. Remove cooked herbs and garnish with fresh ones just before serving.
Results: See below!
Cranberry Sauce:
Forget the jellied canned version, this was so simple and quick!!
1 bag Frozen Cranberries (i got the organic from the natural food store thinking it would be better quality and it was)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup honey
Zest from one orange, and squeeze the juice in too!
Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a low boil. The cranberries will start to burst, keep continually stirring and turn to low heat for a couple more minutes. Remove from heat and it will start to thicken. Let cool a bit and it's ready to go!
Paleo Pumpkin Pie!!!
I am super stoked on this recipe cause it's good, and I made it up myself! Take a look:
Crust:
1 1/2 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
1/2 cup Soy-Free Earth Balance or real Butter
Mix all together in a bowl, start to use your hand to mix, mash, and form into a ball of 'dough'. This stuff tasted to good just like this without even being cooked.
Filling:
1 can plain pumpkin (I used the cheap kind)
1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk
Mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and pour into pie crust. Bake about 50 min. at 350 degrees. Place a toothpick or knife in center to make sure it's done and set and comes out clean.
Below: Coconut Sugar found at the natural food store
Dispite a couple of melt downs and some disputes to mediate between Ford and Della (my 6 and 9 yr. olds), it was a pretty mellow and healthy Thanksgiving spent with the kids at home. We are blessed to have our health and be able to have CrossFit and CrossFit Kids in our lives. We are especially thankful for AllStar, our new gym. She is only 3 months old, and we are grateful for our box, and our athletes.
Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!