Tag Archives: gluten-free

12 real-food Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes (some paleo, low carb)

12 low-carb paleo real-food Thanksgiving + Christmas recipes

Here are some of my go-to recipes and preparation tips for Thanksgiving and Christmas. All of them lean toward whole foods; some of them are Paleo, or keto, or adaptable. (I’ve already added an extra, and this list will probably grow as I find new favorites.)

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The stars

green bean casserole

Crock-pot green bean casserole – This recipe, with all the ingredients of the original classic, has two helpful twists: It’s handy when you need to have one less thing in the oven (so, every holiday), and you can make it ahead. (Don’t want to use canned soup? There’s a link to a make-your-own recipe.)

Cream of pumpkin soup – Easy to make ahead; one of my favorites! Just as good with coconut milk as with the original cream.

Low-carb mashed “potatoes” – If you’ve tried mashed cauliflower before and been disappointed, maybe you just didn’t add enough fat! Try this recipe. (My picky husband says I nailed it!)

20 cranberry sauce recipes – Including several refined-sugar-free and a couple Paleo ones.

7 roasted sweet potato recipes – Not a marshmallow in sight!

Quinoa stuffing – I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I plan to soon. I’ve never been a fan of stuffing — too mushy. But combining the savory flavors of stuffing with quinoa? Genius — and gluten-free!

Timetable for roasted vegetables – If you haven’t tried roasting vegetables – or if you have, with disappointing results – check this out! This is one of our all-time favorite ways to eat vegetables, and I put together a list of which veggies need to cook how long. Roasting brings out so much sweetness, with zero added sugar, honey, or anything but olive oil, salt, and pepper.

This is my favorite pan for roasted vegetables, and anything else that can be made on a rimmed cookie sheet: USA Pan Jelly Roll Pan. LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PAN!!! Bakes evenly, rinses off like brand-new teflon every time. Everyone in my house has been threatened to not even think of co-opting this for some craft or garage project!(Note: This link is through my Amazon affiliateship, but I truly do love this pan!)

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Sweets

sugar-free gingerbread prune cookies

No-bake sugar-free gingerbread bites – You could also make these with pumpkin pie spice.

One-ingredient gluten-free pie crust – Here’s the simple crust I use to make shot-glass desserts. Add some sugar-free pumpkin mousse or pumpkin cheesecake, and you’ve got a guilt-free substitute for pumpkin pie. (There’s a recipe for that in my Guilt-Free Treats cookbook.) Don’t forget to pile on the whipped cream!

Sugar-free dairy-free coffee ice cream – My husband declared this “better than Marble Slab coffee ice cream” – his favorite!

Blueberry cheesecake fat bombs – Keto-friendly li’l bites of goodness.

Keto snickerdoodles – Enough said!

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Leftovers

turkey pot pie

Turkey pot pie – The traditional, much-anticipated, day-after-Thanksgiving meal in our house. Sub a mashed potato or cauliflower crust for a gluten-free or low-carb version.

Monte Cristo sandwich – If you eat bread or gluten-free bread, here’s my favorite way to use leftover turkey and cranberry sauce. (Much easier than the pot pie.)

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Tips

Thanksgiving and Christmas food prep FAQs – How long to cook turkey or ham?, how much food per person?, and other answers and handy resources.

 Do you have any favorite real-food, Paleo, keto, etc holiday recipes or tips? Comment below!
12 Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes - sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and/or low-carb
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12 Healthy Christmas Recipes - sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and/or low-carb
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Cinnamon grain-free granola or breakfast cereal

grain-free sugar-free paleo granola

I’ve been making this easy grain-free granola for ages! These days, I’m enjoying it as a low-carb substitute for breakfast cereal. Having it on hand makes it possible again to have a breakfast that’s as simple as pouring two things into a bowl!

It also makes a yummy whole-food snack: perfect for times when I want something portable, crunchy and munchy. (Hello, road trips and movie theaters!) And happily, this recipe also satisfies the requirements for whole food, real food, sugar-free, low-carb, and Paleo diets. Maybe also keto: see notes at the end.

It comes together quickly, and is made on the stove-top, so you don’t even need to heat the oven!

A few things about the ingredients…

The coconut used is large flake and unsweetened. For the best deal, look for it where bulk foods are sold.

grain-free granola, use large-flake coconut

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Sliced almonds will give a more delicate, crispy crunch than slivered — which will be better for cereal. But if slivered is all you’ve got, or you’re just making this for a snack, slivered almonds are fine.

sliced and slivered almonds

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stevia extract

 

 

Stevia extracts vary in sweetness. This is the brand and flavor I use.

 

Feel free to experiment with other brands and flavors, but just remember that it may need adjusting. If you’re unsure, try making a one-third batch first, to zone in on the perfect sweetener level for your taste.

 

Ready for the recipe?

 

Grain-free, sugar-free granola or breakfast cereal

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1.5 Tblsp coconut oil

6 drops liquid stevia extract, plain or flavored*

1.5 cups large, unsweetened, dried coconut flakes

optional: additional 1 teasp coconut oil

1 cup each:

  • sliced (or slivered) almonds
  • large pecan pieces (or small pecans)
  • large English walnut pieces

1/2 to 1 teasp cinnamon

optional: dash salt

*The sweetness level of this recipe as written is slightly sweet to someone who’s used to a sugar-free, sweetener-free life. If your taste runs sweeter, you may want to use more. If you’re unsure, try making a one-third batch first, to zone in on the perfect sweetener level for your taste.

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DIRECTIONS:

For a full batch, your skillet / frying pan should have a 9″ (23 cm) diameter bottom, at least. Larger is fine.

Place pan over medium-low heat. Add the 1.5 tablespoon of coconut oil and the stevia drops. Stir them together, then add the coconut flakes. Turn them over several times — gently, so as not to break too many flakes — so that the oil coats the flakes on both sides.

Then let it sit, but stay near, watching for it to begin turning brown on the bottom. (The first picture below shows it as it begins browning.) As it does, gently turn large spoonfuls over every few/several minutes till many of the pieces are lightly toasted; some will still be mostly white. (Second image below.)

coconut in two stages of toasting, for granola

If the bottom of the pan looks dry at this point,  add another teaspoon of coconut oil.

Add the almonds, pecans, and walnuts, and continue to stir for two or three minutes. Remove from the heat, and add the cinnamon and salt. Stir gently to distribute the cinnamon.

grain-free sugar-free granola, cooling in the pan

You may let it cool in the pan, stirring occasionally. This will probably be 30 minutes, at least. (I sometimes let it sit for several hours as I do other stuff around the house, just stirring it whenever I swing through the kitchen.)

When completely cooled, transfer to an airtight container. Keeps at room temp for a week or more.

For cereal, just top it with your favorite milk. I like coconut.  🙂

grain-free sugar-free granola or breakfast cereal

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Some questions you may have:

Is there a printable? – Sure: here ya go! Grain-free sugar-free granola/cereal recipe.

Can I add other ingredients, like flax seed, chia seed, or hemp hearts? – I wouldn’t add them to the mix, because this isn’t a sticky granola, and they’re so much smaller they’re going to sift quickly to the bottom of the container. But you could certainly sprinkle them on just before eating.

Wow! Isn’t this really high calorie? – Yep. Sure is. I don’t count calories. I find that when I eat all whole foods and keep carbs in check (oh, and address my emotional eating), my daily intake tends to correct itself without any counting.

Is it keto? – It’s certainly low carb, high fat. I haven’t run the macros, but I think you might need to add more coconut oil to make it high enough fat for serious keto. (I don’t have any experience with a keto calculator, but here’s wholesomeyum’s recommendation.)

How much is a serving? – That’s entirely up to you, but I’ll warn you: because it’s so low in carbs (carbs make you hungry) and high in fat (fat makes you full), you’re going to want a lot less of this than you would of cereal. And while I don’t count calories, they do count to some extent, and nuts can quickly get you outside of healthy bounds. To keep snack servings in check, you might want to portion it out into snack baggies or other small containers. I just put a small amount in a very small bowl at home, or in baggies when I’m out.

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grain-free sugar-free granola or cereal

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Keto snickerdoodles!!!

Keto snickerdoodles - gluten-free, almost sugar-free

Some phrases bring together words whose combination blows the mind. Things that just seem impossible, or too good to be true. “Affordable luxury.” “Well-behaved two-year-old.” “Clean kitchen countertops.”

When I heard the words “keto snickerdoodle,” I had that kind of reaction. No! That can’t be done!

But ketosizeme did it. A completely sugar-free, gluten-free snickerdoodle!

When my daughter was home for Thanksgiving, I requested she make that recipe. (I love having this girl in my kitchen!)

DD making sugar-free snickerdoodles

ketosizeme's snickerdoodle recipeThe cookies came out gorgeous!

They look very similar to the traditional cookies, and we loved the texture. There were a few things we didn’t love, though. None of them the fault of the original recipe…

We thought they needed a little more cinnamon on the outside — just a matter of personal preference. Ours came out way too sweet — probably a result of using a different kind of sweetener. (One of my pet peeves with stevia is that there’s so little consistency in sweetness from brand to brand, making it hard to nail someone else’s recipe unless you know what brand they’re using.) And the last thing we wanted to see if we could change was that the cookies left a weird cooling sensation in the mouth. This was probably a result of the erythritol in the Truvia sweetener we used. (Erythritol is a refined sugar alcohol that has little or no effect of blood sugar levels.) I don’t usually use granular stevia, because I haven’t found one that I like that’s free of fillers, but in this case, I thought the cookies really needed a granular sweetener.

So I experimented with the recipe a bit.

I significantly reduced the amount of sweetener used in the cookie, and tweaked the other ingredients to bring the flavor closer to what I think is a classic snickerdoodle taste — more vanilla, for one thing.

Mine didn’t spread as nicely as the original recipe; they came out having more of a bon-bon shape, but they still make a pretty plate of cookies.

plate of keto snickerdoodles

I felt that, because the coating on the outside is the first thing that hits your taste buds, I should use real sugar for that, rather than a sweetener that might leave an aftertaste or weird sensations. But there’s only two teaspoons of sugar in the whole recipe — which works out to 1/10th of a teaspoon or less for each individual cookie — which I consider a very acceptable amount. (If even a tiny amount awakens your sugar dragon, though, you might want to try a granular sweetener instead.)

Also, my husband thought my first version was a little too oily, so I cut back on the butter and added a little coconut milk. (You can use real milk, cream, or half-and-half, if that works for your diet.)

And with that change, we were both like, “Nailed it!”

 

Keto snickerdoodle recipe

Makes about 20, depending on size.

Dough:
2 cups almond flour from blanched almonds
3 Tbsp Truvia sweetener
3 Tblsp butter, softened
1 egg + 1 yolk
1.5 teasp vanilla extract
1 teasp coconut milk (the thick kind for cooking, not the thin kind for drinking)
1/2 teasp baking soda
1/2 teasp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
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Coating:
1 teasp cinnamon
2 to 3 teasp fine sugar, organic if possible (if your sugar is coarse, use 4 to 6 teasp)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine the cinnamon sugar coating in a small bowl and set aside. (Use the lesser amount of sugar [2 teasp fine or 4 teasp coarse] if you’re accustomed to little or no sugar in your diet. Use the higher amount [3 teasp fine or 6 teasp coarse] if not.)

Butter should be softened almost to the point of melting. Mix all dough ingredients well in a small mixing bowl, using a mixer if possible. (A small handheld mixer is fine.) The dough will look crumbly, but will stick together well when pressed.

keto snickerdoodle cookie dough

Roll the dough into balls slightly larger than 1 inch, or use a cookie scoop. Coat the balls in the cinnamon sugar, leaving the bottom side uncoated. (This avoids burning the cinnamon sugar, and reduces the amount of sugar you’ll ultimately eat with each cookie.)

cookie-scoop-in-bowl-700x500

cookie dough in cinnamon sugar

 

Place closely spaced on a parchment-lined or nonstick cookie sheet. The cookies will spread a little, but not much. Place in the preheated oven on the middle rack.

keto snickerdoodles, ready to bake

Check cookies at 10 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out mostly clean. It’s good for them to be soft in the middle. If they’re not quite done, continue checking every minute or so.

keto snickerdoodles, just baked

Let cool to room temp, then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 20, depending on size.

keto-snickerdoodle-macros-chart-650x400

Don’t have time to make ’em today? Pin it for later!

These very-low-sugar, gluten-free snickerdoodles are crazy close to the real thing!

For more low-carb food ideas,

Follow me on Instagram!

Have you checked out my dessert cookbook?

ebook: Guilt-Free Treats - sugar-free, grain-free desserts

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Taco hash – get your grain-free, dairy-free taco fix!

grain-free dairy-free taco hash

When you’re craving tacos, but you know you feel better if you skip the tortilla and/or the cheese, this Paleo-friendly way to get your taco fix is quick and simple when you’ve got prepped ingredients ready to go.

This isn’t a recipe: it’s an assemblage of several things I keep on hand, thrown together. If you have all the ingredients ready, this will cook up in about 15 minutes, maybe less. It’s super easy! I’ll walk you through it…

diced sweet potato and onion

I’ve always got cooked diced sweet potato and diced onion on hand in the fridge. (Check out my sweet potato post for tips and a how-to video.) On this happy day, I also had cooked, seasoned, crumbled hamburger in the freezer. I don’t always have it on hand, but when I’m cooking hamburger for a recipe or immediate meal, I try to cook extra. It’s cooked with onions and maybe garlic, and seasoned with a little salt and pepper (not too much, since it’s usually added to other things that may already have salt and heat). Then I divide it into single-serving baggies, and stash those in a gallon baggie in the freezer. The small baggies are quick and easy to thaw, making meals like this much quicker.

I rarely cook dishes like this by recipe anymore. But for those who aren’t so comfortable winging it, here’s my guess, per serving:

  • onion – about half a small onion, or a quarter of a large one
  • hamburger – about 4 oz. or 1/2 cup
  • sweet potato – equal to or a little less than the hamburger

On this particular day, I added some diced bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and kale, but those are quite optional. Another no-chop option would be to just stir in some salsa.

Then I add a generous sprinkling of homemade taco seasoning (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon; start small, taste, and add till it suits you), stir it in, and boom! – it’s done!

(Here’s my gluten-free, sugar-free taco seasoning mix recipe.)

Toppings are optional. If I’d had avocado or guacamole on hand, I would’ve used one of those. But I didn’t, so I topped it with dairy-free “sour cream” (coconut milk yogurt with a splash of lemon juice stirred in). You could use real sour cream, if you do dairy.

Yum! Tons of flavor. You won’t miss the taco shells or the cheese at all!

Taco Hash - Ready in 15 minutes, if you have some simple ingredient prep done. Paleo + Whole30 friendly, too!

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Got leftovers? Make quick mini fritters.

what to make with leftover chicken - mini fritters

I picked up this idea from food writer Mark Bittman: he calls them “tiny pancakes.” (Here’s his original recipe.) It was born out of wanting to make himself something quick to eat, and finding some leftover scallops on hand. Don’t worry; you don’t need scallops to make this! Just about any leftovers will do, and you could do this for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or brunch. Or appetizers. Or a midnight snack.

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