Thanksgiving Prep

Thanksgiving can be a stressful time. My adult children have families and that means multiple celebrations to attend. I have learned to help this situation by being flexible. It’s not fair if I was the mom that demands holidays be spent with me.

This year was the first year in five years we spent Thanksgiving in Wisconsin. After much calendar deliberation, we decided to have our Thanksgiving meal together on Friday November 26th at the dinner hour.

Preparing a sit down meal for our family of 13 and both sets of grandparents would take some organized planning. This is how I did it and it was deliciously successful!

First all I had to start weeks in advance and all food items must be healthy. Most of us eat very clean and some have dietary restrictions. Last year I ordered my organically pastured turkey online. This year my goal was to find a local farm. Only about 10 minutes from my daughters house we found a small farm called Jacobs Vallee View Farm. I put my order in and scheduled the pickup after the bird was processed. I took my granddaughter Rani along to pick up the 18-pound bird. I wanted to show her where our turkey was coming from. It did not come frozen from the grocery store!

Our 18-pound local farm raised turkey in my freezer

Next the ham. The ham had to be uncured, and pasture raised. This job I gave to my daughter. Allie brought the ham with the stipulation I would make it.

Now for my side dishes. I pulled out one of my favorite holiday cookbooks Danielle Walkers, Against all Grain “Celebrations”

I went with 2 recipes I could make ahead of time.

Cranberry Sauce pg. 238

Green Bean Casserole with crispy shallots pg. 241.

Mashed potatoes and paleo gravy was also a must.

My daughter in law Anjali was going to bring a kale salad and asked about a good bread recipe. Back to the Celebrations cookbook. Blender bread pg. 323.

My youngest daughter was contributing Brussels sprouts. Dinner was planned.

Now for dessert. We were going to celebrate my oldest granddaughter Mila’s 8th birthday as well. One of her favorite gluten free cakes I make is a pumpkin cake. I added 8 candles and it was perfect! This is the frosting I used to save myself some time.

The turkey needed 4-4.5 hours of cooking time, or an internal temperature of 170-175 degrees. I followed a very simplistic recipe, and the turkey was moist inside, crispy outside and delicious.

The ham was also a big hit, and very simple.

Holidays can be very stressful and a lot of work. With proper planning and prepping food ahead of time you can take some of the stress out of it. Stress helps bring on flares. Proper nutrition, enough sleep and enjoying the holiday can all be helpful in preventing flares.

Be prepared, and most of all be thankful for the many blessings that surround you.

FAITH, FAMILY & HEALTH

*Please contact me with any recipe questions