Energizing holiday meal tips!

Ben and I usually cook dairy-free and gluten-free, which can be tricky around the holidays. . . Of course, we’ll have a turkey (don’t forget to reserve yours here!), but sides play a key role in any Thanksgiving meal, too! We have found that these tricks produce satisfying sides that also energize us and make our bodies feel good.

1. Substitute almond meal for wheat flour. Almond flour does not absorb water as well as other starches, so adding some starchy flour like tapioca is very helpful. Most recipes that are trying to mimic wheat flour use something around a 2 parts almond to 1 part tapioca ratio. To bake with almond flour and get the right ratio of almond flour to other starches, we usually just Google “paleo” recipes. Although this isn’t only a holiday dish, almond meal waffles are our favorite.

1. Use maple syrup than sugar. Always use less than the recipe calls for. Maple syrup will add liquid to your recipe, and it is so sweet that you can use less of it than you would use sugar.

CAPTION: We were not able to sugar this year (Milo had other plans. . .) but when Milo was still a newborn, he did help us make maple syrup. Here we are for our first time together as a family boiling maple syrup in the “sugar shack” as we call it!

1. Canned coconut cream is a really rich and delicious milk substitute. We like to save the liquid in a can of coconut cream for smoothies and just scoop out the solidified cream. This makes really rich, delicious pies like squash pie.

1. Have you ever tried CORNBREAD STUFFING?! It’s so much better than regular stuffing. . . I start by baking a thin cookie sheet of gluten-free cornbread. I bake it, then cut it into cubes and put it back in the oven until it’s dried out. I use them as a base for my stuffing, adding homemade chicken stock and all the fixings.

I hope these tips inspire you, and I wish you and your loved ones a very healthy, safe holiday.