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Between Meals Podcast. Episode 07: Navigating the Holidays with Ease and Grace
LISTEN NOW ON ITUNES
The holidays are upon us once again and wooo buddy, there’s a lot of noise right now. People telling you HOW to create the perfect guilt-free holiday menu and the best workouts to burn off ALL those calories. There are the warnings about not “going off track”, “what to do when you fall of the wagon” or “have ruined everything you have worked so hard for all year long” – ya’ll spoiler alert – this is not how it works!!
I have been there, the holidays can certainly bring up feelings of fear and it can trigger concerns that you will be sent into an unending spiral after one indulgent meal or that in one day you can undo all of your progress. Then of course, there is the other extreme, the binge eating, the feelings of scarcity, the removal of responsibility and the urges to eat things that you KNOW will make you feel bad – just because it’s “one day”. In both extremes it’s important that you recognize you are giving up your power.
The most important thing to remember is that YOU are in control. You hold the responsibility to make the choices that are right for you. Whatever those may be. There is no right or wrong answer or some perfect formula for how to do it all correctly. But, if you can slow down, listen to your intuition and remember that YOU hold the power to choose what is worth it for you and what isn’t. From my own personal experiences, with that realization and in knowing that ultimately I get to CHOOSE what I want – comes an incredible amount of relief to just navigate the holidays like any other day.
Join Cristina Curp of The Castaway Kitchen and I as we have an honest conversation as we share how we personally navigate the holidays, sharing our tips on how to avoid the extremes of total seclusion and the fear of destroying it all or the other end of the spectrum – totally letting the feelings of scarcity win and just full-on binging, forgetting everything you know about paying attention to and honoring your body. Listen to learn how to navigate this busy, often triggering season with ease and grace so that you can stand in your power, remain in the driver’s seat and most importantly have a HAPPY holiday season filled with LOVE!
This should be a magical time of year, where you deserve to relax, enjoy yourself, to be happy and merry while you celebrate old traditions and create all new memories!!!
SHOW NOTES & REFERENCES:
Grab Cristina’s book Made Whole
Download the Holidays Made Whole FREE eBook
Follow Cristina on Facebook and Instagram
Cristina on Growing Up Fat: How I Experience the Health and Wellness Space
AND MORE!
And of course, as always, we finish the interview portion of the show with a fun game of Would You Rather? and stick around for the wrap-up with my producer hubby, Mark!
LISTEN NOW ON ITUNES
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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING:
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Herb Roasted Turkey Breast {Gluten-free, Paleo, Keto, Whole30}
Got a small gathering planned? This Herb Roasted Turkey Breast is a simple and easy way to enjoy the flavors of Thanksgiving without slaving over a HUGE turkey. The skin gets beautiful crisped and golden browned and the herbed butter (or olive oil) brings a beautiful flavor to the whole breast. Gluten-free, paleo, keto, whole30 – friendly.
Roast turkey breast is a really great alternative to roasting a whole turkey. Not only is it less work, it’s less time, too, which leaves the oven open for making some of the must-have sides, ahem – I am looking at you stuffing and roasted Brussels sprouts. A four- to five-pound turkey breast will feed six to eight people, it’s a cinch to carve, and it’s perfect for making those tasty leftover sandwiches or salads or a delicious soup the next day.
Enjoy this easy Herb Roasted Turkey Breast recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Or really, you can make it any other time of the year; the leftovers are fabulous! I especially love that without fussing with a whole bird, all the cook time and the carving time, you get more time to spend with your loved ones, because that’s what it’s all about, am I right?
This turkey breast is tender, juicy and it’s delicious served alongside your favorite stuffing, cranberry sauce and some mashed potatoes 0r cauliflower mash and definitely some green beans. Don’t forget a pie for dessert.
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100+ Low Carb Keto Thanksgiving Recipes
There is absolutely no need to feel deprived or left out on Thanksgiving, just because you are following a low carb, keto approach to your eating. Here are 100+ low carb keto Thanksgiving recipes, from drinks and apps to sides, sugar-free desserts and everything in between.
100+ Low Carb Keto Thanksgiving Recipes
Dietary Legend
Absolutely ALL of the below recipes are gluten-free! Some are vegan, almost all are paleo and dairy-free, etc. Use this key to easily select the recipes that will work for you:V – Vegan
Veg – Vegetarian
P – Paleo
DF – Dairy-free
NF – Nut-free
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How To Create a Daily Gratitude Practice
How To Start a Daily Gratitude Practice
Rather than one single day centered around gratitude, I want to invite you to make practicing gratitude a daily habit.
And what better way to implement your new habit than to practice, practice, practice. You can experience true abundance and contentment, in just a few minutes a day.
The keys to creating a daily practice, that is effortless, sustainable and part of your routine is to understand how to set yourself up for success.
Below are a few tips to implementing a your new daily gratitude practice, plus how to make it a daily habit and the benefits of doing so.
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Wilted Kale Salad with Warm Mustard Shallot Vinaigrette and Spicy Butternut Squash Croutons
This Wilted Kale Salad with Warm Mustard Shallot Vinaigrette and Spicy Butternut Squash Croutons is winter’s answer to a green salad! Loaded with nutrients and pops of color and SO much taste it’s dreamy as a side or plop your favorite protein on top and make it a meal. The squash croutons? Sure I know they aren’t croutons, but with a little finesse we get a subtle crisp to them that are better than any boring ‘ol bread crouton.
It’s winter and salads often become a distant memory for many. I get it, cold, crispy raw salads just aren’t that appealing to me either, when there’s a chill in the air. I crave warming, comforting and cozy. But, I have made a commitment to my daily #BFS (Big F&%$ing Salad). I find this practice is a great way to ensure I get a big blast of daily nutrients, no matter what!
This is a salad for the winter. With kale as the shining star, this is the perfect way to get in those nutrient-rich greens in the cooler months. Kale is exploding with disease-fighting phytochemicals and it’s one of my most favorite whole-food sources of cognition-boosting nutrition. Here’s what Max Lugavere has to say about kale:
Dark leafy greens like kale and spinach are a top source of lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids which have been the focus of numerous recent studies.
In volunteers, supplementing with lutein and zeaxanthin led to faster processing speed. 1http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0108178 This effect was significant “even when testing young, healthy individuals who tend to be at peak efficiency,” wrote study authors.
In another study, human subjects with higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthin did better on a test of working memory, while their brains seemed to be working more efficiently when observed under fMRI.2https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-neuropsychological-society/article/relationship-of-lutein-and-zeaxanthin-levels-to-neurocognitive-functioning-an-fmri-study-of-older-adults/128FA33729CB102A1DC5ACAAFF7D972D
Finally, lutein (found in egg yolks, spinach and kale) was associated with greater crystalized intelligence—the ability to use learned knowledge and experience—in older adults. 3http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00297/full
References
1. ↑ http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0108178 2. ↑ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-neuropsychological-society/article/relationship-of-lutein-and-zeaxanthin-levels-to-neurocognitive-functioning-an-fmri-study-of-older-adults/128FA33729CB102A1DC5ACAAFF7D972D 3. ↑ http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00297/full -
Paleo Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Cinnamon Cookie Crumble and Caramel Drizzle
This rich, creamy, luscious Paleo Pumpkin Panna Cotta is made dairy-free and it’s topped with crunchy spiced Cinnamon Cookie Crumble and a homemade dairy-free, honey-sweetened caramel drizzle. The perfect make-ahead, fuss-free holiday treat that you can feel good about eating.
We all know that with the holidays comes fussy recipes, especially desserts, that we covet and cherish every year, so we can savor the traditional flavors we have come to associate with the season. There is so much about this that I love and simultaneously I also find that possibly our time might be better spent in other ways. I would much prefer not to fuss with a complicated pie crust and rather enjoy my family or friends. I would prefer a more health-focused, smarter, more updated version of a recipe, in place of what we’ve always known.
This recipe brings the pumpkin pie vibes in a whole new way. Paleo Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Cinnamon Cookie Crumble and Caramel Drizzle, OK so, it may sound complicated in it’s name, but it will take more time to say the name, than it will to actually make it (ok disclosure: that part’s not true). There is certainly time in set up with this one, but actual hands on minutes of cooking and prep, they are pretty minimal, by comparison to a pie. Plus, as far as I am concerned any holiday recipe that doesn’t require an oven, that’s a win for every one. This single recipe can be made in much smaller serving sizes, serving up to 8, depending on the vessel you choose to serve in.
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The Power of Gratitude + FREE Gratitude Journal Download
Gratitude is an immensely powerful force that we can use in the most simple of ways to expand our happiness and cultivate loving relationships, it can even improve our health, both mental and physical.
I am so excited to share the Power of Gratitude. The very many powerful health benefits to a regular gratitude practice along with some tips and thoughts on how to cultivate a grateful heart, plus if you scroll to further down, I’m even offering a free download of a Gratitude Journal worksheet you can use daily, as part of your practice.
I invite you to explore ways to support living gratefully as a way of life, not simply something we celebrate once a year.
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Bone Broth Braised Greens {Paleo, Gluten-free, Whole30, AIP}
These Bone Broth Braised Greens are a nourishing addition to any holiday table or just a perfect, comforting side dish, for anytime. Bone broth, onion, garlic, lemon and red pepper flakes add flavor to this side dish that can be made with whatever hearty green is in season. Collard greens, Swiss chard, kale or a mix of your favorites.
I find that at holiday tables (shoot many dinner tables year ’round, for that matter) the veggies are often an afterthought. The thing people throw together and half-ass, because they “have to”. Veggies deserve more love than that. A little respect and honor, ya know? After all, nutrient-rich veggies should be the backbone of any real food diet, or any diet really. We should be shooting for some green stuff at every single meal. Non-negotiable.
I know veggies can get boring and if you’re like me, in the cooler months, salads get less and less enticing, so getting those greens in can be hard. Steaming works, but let’s be real, it can be ‘blah!’ and when you serve ‘blah’ veggies, it’s a fight to get them down and the chances are you aren’t going to do it at every meal.
These slow cooked greens, bring the flavor and nourishing, healing goodness of the bone broth, we get a little heat from the red pepper flakes and the onion, garlic and lemon, round it all out with classic, simplicity.
It’s a pretty fuss-free recipe and at the end of it, you get a bowl of goodness that your beautiful body sooo deserves! Every time I share that I am whipping up this recipe on social media, I get so many messages that you want the recipe. So I finally wrote it up to share with you. Just in time for the holidays.
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Charred Cauliflower with Balsamic Dark Chocolate Sauce and Almonds
If you are like me, there is never a shortage of super dark chocolate in your house. Since I’ve been experimenting and making my own dark chocolate bars the last few weeks, I have had more chocolate in the house than ever! Not at all a problem I am complaining about, but I am finding myself extra inspired by this gorgeous, silky, velvety, homemade dark chocolate.
This unique side dish take classic roasted cauliflower to new levels. Crisp-tender with a smoky char, the cauliflower gets the red carpet treatment with this luxurious, silky sauce, featuring the most unsuspecting of ingredients. Dark chocolate.
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Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza {with Grain-free Option}
Without trying to rush away the holiday, considering it hasn’t even landed yet, I wanted to have a little something special waiting for those of you that will have leftovers later this week. If you ask me, the leftovers are half the fun. Sadly, oftentimes there isn’t exactly enough left over to make a full meal out of or, maybe you are sick of the traditional Thanksgivings spread and you wanna have a little fun. This pizza recipe is the answer. Use this more as a gentle suggestion / inspiration, since you can really make this your own, depending on what specific leftovers you have.
Of course, you could always make the traditional sandwich, a pot of turkey soup or a turkey pot pie, but I am telling you, after you’ve made a Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza, there’s no turning back.
This pizza is an updated makeover on the traditional leftover Thanksgiving sandwich that we all now and love, and it’s easy to make with the family. To lighten things up, I made the turkey and the fresh veggies the highlight here with little dollops of cranberries for some bright, sweetness. For some extra fun, leftover gravy would make a killer sauce or maybe take some leftover stuffing, roll it up into tiny stuffing meatballs and add that on top, finally, you could mix your leftover mashed potatoes with the cheese and spread that out on top of the crust, to change things up a bit. But listen up, whatever you do, please don’t skip on the cranberry sauce! As crazy as it may sound, it’s THE best part of this pizza. The bites with the bright, fresh and sweet flavor of the cranberries were our very favorite.
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Turkey Tortilla Soup {with Paleo Option}
Here we go, it’s about that time to answer the very important question of ‘What to do with ALL the Thanksgiving leftovers?’ While I know the big holiday hasn’t hit just yet, I want to help you guys get prepared for the aftermath. This week is all about Thanksgiving leftover ideas for the days following the big event! Since we are always left with loads of goodies, why not get creative and continue the eating party?
Soups are almost always my go-to after the holidays, for a variety of reasons. 1) they are so simple to make and they yield a large amount of food 2) soup is my ultimate comfort food. It’s always what I crave after I’ve maybe eaten more or differently than I usually do and 3) it’s the perfect cozy, cool-weather food. Soup will forever feel like a hug in food form!
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Grain-free Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Macaroon Crust and Cinnamon Vanilla Meringue
Don’t send a Thanksgiving lynching mob after me, but I generally don’t care too much about pies. I am already not a huge dessert person, but if I am going to have a little something sweet, I’d probably always opt for chocolate. Gimme this Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Tart and I’ve got everything I need. But, I am fully aware that pies are part of holiday spreads for a reason, pies go with Thanksgiving like peanut butter to jelly. I am currently also painfully aware of baking’s ability to heal and it’s important role in relieving stress, something I have personally been in great need of since the election. So here we are, with an epic pumpkin pie that will change the minds of even the greatest pie skeptics.
I have always loved the idea of a pumpkin pie, as I am a big fan of pumpkin-spiced everything, but generally I find many pumpkin pies to be just a tad lacking. First, it’s just your standard pie crust, nothing too special there, not a ton of flavor, then the pumpkin filling gets a little spicing and maybe you top it all with a little whipped cream. To me, it just always feels like it’s missing a little something. It lacks a little dessert flair. I also find that when you add adequate spices and a sweetener with some depth, beyond just standard refined white sugar, the color of a finished pumpkin pie just ends up pretty drab. Beigy brown toasted edge crust, a orangey-brown filling. I dunno, I feel like we can do better than this you guys!
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Gluten-free Oyster Sourdough Stuffing
Alright, here we go! The final stuffing recipe of the season and I am really excited about this one. Shhh, don’t tell the mashed potatoes, but I am pretty sure stuffing is my favorite. It’s a dish that just doesn’t get any love outside of Thanksgiving and I just don’t know why.
While this stuffing isn’t grain-free, it uses my absolute favorite gluten-free bread ever – Bread SRSLY’s sourdough loaf. It would also be delicious with non-gluten-free sourdough (obviously), any crusty French-style bread, cornbread or even with a good grain-free bread. As far as I am concerned, always remember whatever your bread choice, your stuffing (or dressing) is only as good as your bread.
Oyster stuffing is more traditional in the New England region and I believe some areas of the south, along the gulf coast. It isn’t one that I grew up eating, necessarily, but I have had it before and I love it, I also know it’s a staple for so many of you. Veering a bit from the traditional, I paired the shellfish in a more West Coast way, with the sourdough. Think of Northern Cali, San Francisco to be exact, the Hangtown Fry and all the sourdough bread paired with oysters, clams, chowders and so on. It’s a match made in heaven. A little tang, with the subtle, savory brininess of the oysters. This classic stuffing will bring an amazing and unique matrix of flavors to your Thanksgiving dinner.
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Slow Cooker Ginger Apple Cranberry Sauce
Disclosure: Post sponsored by Crock-Pot® brand slow cooker & Mirum Shopper, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.
I always feel very divided when planning the Thanksgiving menu. Mostly I want a classic, traditional menu (obviously with some changes made to accommodate my diet and the diet of any of my guests, if I am hosting) but every year I like to mix it up a little with at least one dish, bringing in unexpected flavors or a new method of preparation. As part of my continued partnership with Crock-Pot® brand slow cooker, and in conceptualizing a holiday recipe using it, I knew it was the perfect tool for creating the best cranberry sauce this holiday season has ever seen. This here cranberry sauce was born to be the star of the show, rather than the unloved side that so many know it to be.
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Paleo Sausage and Herb Bread Stuffing (Low Carb, Nut-free)
I asked over on Snapchat a while back, what holiday recipes people wanted help with. There was an abundance of requests for stuffing recipes for Thanksgiving. Particularly grain-free stuffing recipes.
I have several other stuffing recipes here in the archives if you are looking for other renditions:
Roasted Butternut Squash, Apple and Leek Bread Stuffing with Collard Greens
Gluten-free Mushroom Stuffing
Single Serve Gluten-Free Classic Sausage and Bread Stuffing
This particular recipe is a holiday classic, the perfect stuffing – moist in the middle and crisp on the top. For me, this is exactly the stuffing I grew up eating, but rather than white bread so many of us can’t have or even the overly process gluten-free stuff, this is made with a super quick, homemade (nut-free) grain-free bread, that you can throw together ahead of time.
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Whipped Sweet Potatoes
This Whipped Sweet Potatoes recipe is shared with permission from Diane Sanfilippo’s Practical Paleo 2nd Edition
For many of you that have followed Tasty Yummies and my ongoing health journey for some time, you know that this website, my passion and my recipes were all born of my own quest to find health. In discovering a severe gluten intolerance nearly 12 years ago, to my autoimmune disease diagnosis and a slew of other digestive troubles along the way – I have always chosen to let these challenges be the catalyst to me educating myself, empowering myself and in turn hoping to help others do the same.
From the very start, I have always embraced and preached the idea of nourishing your individuality, that there is no one-size-fits all approach to health and that if you can quiet down the outside influences enough and tap into your own intuition – all of the answers are there. When the paleo movement began to come to fruition and came more to the forefront, I admittedly found myself viscerally opposed to this idea – just as I always had been with any other diet that contained strict labels, rules and a very black and white approach to health. It wasn’t so much that I was against the idea that it could work for some, it was more that I was witnessing very dogmatic activity from many of it’s supporters, which turned me off. It was feeling to me like some vegans’ approach to health and their belief (and often consequent judgement) that “their way” was the only way. Despite following a diet fairly close to what was labeled as “paleo” and having some interest in the idea that it could continue healing my body using a paleo diet, I stubbornly rejected the notion of slapping a label on my heath journey, this blog and my continued autoimmune struggles.
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Roasted Turkey Breast Roulade with Grain-free Herbed Sausage Stuffing
I think what I love so much about the holidays, is that it’s a time for us to come together. To sit amongst the people we love, to share nourishing food, to (hopefully) put our differences aside, to express our gratitude and simply just be with one another. I think we can all agree that this is all so very much needed this year.
I love that with every person I speak to, their version of holiday traditions and gatherings vary so vastly. From restaurant meals and take-out to large feasts of over 50 people. The common thread: gratitude, love and of course, food!
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Grain-free Savory Butternut Squash and Kale Crumble
If you haven’t noticed, it’s become Thanksgiving central around here. We’re tackling the the traditional dishes, as well as some unique and creative takes on this often very classic meal. Mostly, I want to remind you that comfort food doesn’t have to be synonmous with “bad for you” or “junk”, you can have comforting cozy foods and not pay for it later. But, we also need to remember that the holidays aren’t about perfection and rules, of course food allergies and intolerances and making choices that are appropriate for you and your healing journey is one thing, but go easy on yourself you guys. This is just one day. As I always say, honor your individuality and your personal path to health, love your body and treat it with respect – whatever that looks like for you, is right!!
I am excited to be partnering with Nuts.com for today’s Thanksgiving recipe, bringing you a completely new autumn-inspired, comfort food side dish, that is bound be a favorite for years to come.
This Grain-free Savory Butternut Squash and Kale Crumble bridges the gap between stuffing and starches, veggies and gratins. Instead of the usual pureed or roasted squash, that will get left behind, rather than steamed greens that no one gets particularly excited about, this comforting, creamy, hearty crisp is a new way to enjoy a crumble and a tasty option to enjoy your squash and greens. With a creamy sauce, smokey, crispy bacons, fresh herbs and a golden topping this is truly what comfort food is all about.
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Roasted Garlic Parsnip Cauliflower Mash
In an effort to lighten things up, I have definitely made mashed cauliflower as a swap for mashed potatoes in the past. Listen, I am not going to lie to you guys, mashed cauliflower it’s not “faux mashed potatoes”. Mashed cauliflower is mashed cauliflower. It’s really freakin’ good, but it’s also fairly flat. It lacks the starchiness of mashed potatoes, it lacks the heft! It doesn’t hold up to a thick, luscious gravy.
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Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad
Today is an exciting day! Well yes, it’s election day. Which is obviously HUGE, I hope for my American readers that you’ve already gone out and voted. But, it’s also book release day for my friend Alexis of Lexi’s Clean Kitchen. Her debut book Lexi’s Clean Kitchen hits stands today and this is an absolute must for your kitchens. Featuring over 150 delicious paleo-friendly recipes to nourish your life, this cookbook brings the focus to achieving health and happiness through the simple concept of eating clean. With a collection of fresh, creative yet practical and approachable recipes, Lexi makes eating at home, easy, tasty and fuss-free.
For those of us with gut issues, Lexi has a similar path to her healthy lifestyle, so her story brings feelings of familiarity and with that that instant connection. Lexi’s Clean Kitchen delivers an abundance of healthy meals packed with amazing flavor, like Thai Meatballs, Classic Chili, One-Pan Arroz con Pollo, Maple-Glazed Salmon, and Sriracha Lime Chopped Chicken Salad, with healthier options of your favorite indulgent foods, like French Toast Sticks, Perfect Waffles, Birthday Cake, Easy Sandwich Bread, and more!
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Miso Roasted Brussels Sprouts
As we head into the holidays, the focus obviously shifts to any and all dishes for entertaining. Side dishes and treats, mains and snacks. ‘Tis the season of all the eating! The Miso Roasted Brussels Sprouts are begging to be the star at your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal! Trust me, this is a veggie that can steal the show!
I enjoy creating the sweets and treats recipes, because let’s be real, the joy that healthy treats can bring is palpable. I’d like to wrap that feeling up with a pretty bow and give it as a gift. That said, when it comes to the holidays, my heart will forever remain with sides and veggies. I love a good, plant-based side dish. So much room for creativity in the vegetables. The mains are usually pretty traditional, those are generally on lock down. I just truly enjoy the challenge of creating exciting enough veggie dishes that will please the masses and especially those that won’t be the forgotten soldier at a table full of meaty mains and their carb-loaded friends. I literally have made it my mission when I feed people to make the vegetable(s) the first thing to disappear from the plate, rather than the last. This dish 100% is successful at doing exactly that.
