Planning For A Nourishing Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just days away I thought it would be a good time to share some thoughts, plans, and recipes. We try to keep Thanksgiving day fairly low key and intentional. Because we are setting aside a day to reflect upon all of the blessings that we have given over the past year I want to keep things simple.

My goal for Thanksgiving dinner is to celebrate the foods that God has provided us through our gardens and local farmers. Because the day is special I also want to make something that my family loves, but we may not eat all that often. Specifically an apple pie. So here is my menu for Thursday evening:

• Raw vegetables with dip made from sour cream and homegrown parsley.
• Lacto-Fermented Beets & Cortido (farmer’s market vegetables fermented at home)
• Homemade dill pickles & Crunchy Tomato Chips (farmer’s market & CSA vegetables, preserved at home)
• Roasted turkey with sage and thyme from our garden. Thirty pounds (!), picked up from a farmer 5 miles from our home.
• Mashed Potatoes (potatoes and raw milk from our CSA, grass-fed butter) with Turkey Gravy made from pan drippings.
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts (CSA) with Thyme from our garden.
• Roasted Butternut Squash with grass-fed butter.
• Salad with homemade dressing (greens & garlic from CSA)
• Apple Pie made from local apples, local honey and a locally grown, home-rendered lard and spelt crust.

If you’re like me you’re having turkey, but side dishes and dessert is up for grabs. Here are a few recipe ideas for you:

Soups

• Spiced Butternut Squash & Apple Soup
• Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

Sides

• Autumn Millet Bake
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Sweet & Sour Braised Kale with Pomegranate
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pears & Thyme

Baked Goods & Desserts

• Coconut Flour Orange Cake with Coconut Oil Frosting
  (Mandarin Oranges are in season. Order them online and you can even get free shipping!)
  
• Stevia Sweetened Coconut Flour Cranberry-Walnut Muffins
• Stevia Sweetened Pumpkin Pudding
• Grain-Free Almond Crackers with Garlic & Rosemary

I’d love to hear what’s on your Thanksgiving menu – please share in the comments. And don’t forget to enter the fermented cod liver oil giveaway!