What recipes did I use this year to make a healthy Holiday?

This was our Thanksgiving turkey! It was juicy and delicious!

I am playing around with the AIP diet for my Spondylopothy. So most, but not all of our food this year was AIP.

I have noticed amazing differences in my level of pain by following an anti-inflammatory style of eating. I haven't reached the point that I am re-introducing certain foods yet. We will see what 2020 holds for me as I work with my Functional Medical Doctor.

What kind of turkey do we buy? We always buy pastured, totally organic and chemical-free turkeys. We are blessed to have a great turkey ranch local. Our 15 lb turkey was $96 this year. I think next year we might try Butcherbox just to see the difference. We use Butcherbox every month for our meats.

We bbq our bird! My grandfather always used a paper bag to create a self-basting turkey experience and my husband and I have kept the tradition for 30 years now and have never been disappointed!

Just oil completely a paper bag, we use olive or avocado oil. But any healthy fat will do. Prepare the turkey, slide it inside, fold the open end closed. You can staple it closed if you want. Pierce your thermometer through the bag so you can read it at any time.

The neat thing is that the bag is breathable and self-basting. When it's done, just tear open the bag.

This year we used Palm shortening on to rub the bird down with. I like the Nutiva brand because it is palm and coconut fat.

We sprinkled the bird with a House rub by The Healing Kitchen. It was absolutely amazing! And when the boys were carving, I made our gravy out of the plentiful juice and I didn't need to add a single seasoning! For the cavity, we put a whole lemon that had been zested for the green beans and cranberry sauce, onions, and whole garlic cloves.

To make our gravy healthy and still AIP, I thickened it with cassava flour. Most of my pantry is from Thrive Online Market. I do a monthly auto-ship box that I can adjust each month. The shipping is free and the prices are amazing! I save about $2000 every year off retail.

The cranberry sauce is always a favorite of mine! This year I tweaked a recipe I found online instead of using my own. I didn't use fresh orange juice though, I used 2 lemons and then made up the difference with water. I also sprinkled a tad of coconut sugar in. I love the richness of coconut sugar. Don't forget to add the zest of a lemon. The recipe was tart and wonderful! For a change-up, I also sprinkled 1 Tb of beef gelatin, let it blood for about two minutes before stirring it in. My sauce was super jello-like after it cooled! So fun!

Of course, we had sauteed green beans in olive oil, fresh garlic, and lemon zest. Even though these are not on the AIP elimination phase list, I enjoyed a small portion.

We do dressing rather than stuffing over here. We are almost all gluten-free, so I made a gluten-free simple recipe. I totally forgot to make sure I had a grain-free version, so I got a little headache and body pain post-meal. Grains are usually very inflammatory to people with arthritis. Next year I plan on trying out this awesome version from Unboundwellness. She is one of my favorite Go-To places if I find I can't create what I am looking for. We spoiled the boys and mixed in already cooked turkey chorizo into the dressing! It was a hit! Not AIP since it contained paprika, so I only had a little bit.

My kitchen is very experimental. I am an intuitive cook! I hope these chefs are helpful for you if you are interested in eating a low inflammation diet. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You don't HAVE to go totally AIP like I am doing. You can simply learn some new and healthy ways of eating traditional meals by following people like Unboundwellness and other bloggers.

To hold us over until our early dinner. We sauteed up a few turkey links and used the "mayo" spread from Unboundwellness in her book, The Nutrient-Dense Kitchen. It was amazing! The spread is super garlicky! This cookbook never leaves my kitchen counter. They went great with the rolls.

The sweet potatoes I grew up with had brown sugar and marshmallows! Sometimes, most times they came from a can! I didn't care for them much growing up because they were too sweet! But I eat some sweet potato on most days of the week. They are full of beta-carotene and are low in sugar and not inflammatory like white potatoes in the Nightshade family. Click the link to learn more about what nightshades really are and how they affect your body if you have autoimmune issues.

For my version of Thanksgiving sweet potatoes, I simply melt some coconut oil, cube up the sweet potato and toss them in! Towards the end, I may sprinkle some cinnamon and cloves. That's it! Ghee is another rich fat that goes well with this dish.

There you have it! Our meal!

Oh, wait! The pie! This video is too cute! AIP pie crust by Wendi.

To watch the whole video

click the link in her bio or head to her website: The crust was so easy to make and the pie even easier! Who would have thought?

Yes, I did enjoy a couple of glasses of champagne, but that's it! I choose dry champagne with very little sugar.

I hope this gives you some ideas for Christmas and New Year celebrations. I love to support other bloggers and educators who are making living a healthy low inflammation life easier.

Happy Holidays!

`Brandi