Let’s take a vote! Who stays pretty true to their paleo lifestyle, even at a Thanksgiving dinner? And who just uses that day to eat all the good things up, even if it means giving into your usual “no-no’s”?? If you’re one who likes to #keepitpaleo, do you miss eating foods like the stuffing??? Come on – be honest!
Well, I for one do stay pretty much on target with keeping it paleo. I do this for a couple of reasons. I actually love how I feel eating the way I do! I have not had things like grains & gluten in many years so I truly don’t want to test the waters with indulging in such foods and take the risk of not feeling well the rest of the day or worse, feeling yucky for a handful of days! There’s too much to do the day after Thanksgiving, right??? It’s Black Friday after all! So while we usually have our dinner at my sister-in-laws house, I come with 3 or 4 sides that are paleo friendly so I know I can stack my plate just like everyone else AND hopefully share foods that will help others in my family know, that eating foods without all the “crap” (for lack of a better word), doesn’t have to be boring and/or tasteless.
I am in no way judging those who decide to use this day (and holiday season) as a “cheat day” or just be less restrictive as they normally would throughout the year. We all play by our own rules & needs. I just know that I can eat a super tasty Thanksgiving meal without throwing in the towel, so to speak.
All that said, I decided to change up a few of the sides that I’m taking along to our family dinner this year. I usually make a cauliflower mash but instead of a cauli-mash, I’ll be taking a parsnip mash! I decided to use cauliflower in a different way by making up this “stuffing”. It’s kind of like a cauli-rice with veggies. I added spicy sausage too ….and of course this can be any protein of choice if you choose to add some meat to the dish. It’s super tasty and definitely gets in all kinds of veggies so you can feel super good about putting a pile of this on your plate!
However you choose to spend your day and fuel your body, I hope you all enjoy your day with lots of love and laughter!
- 16 oz. cauliflower crumbles/rice
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1/4 cup ghee, brown butter or grassfed butter
- 2 tbsp rosemary, chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tbsp ground sage
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- Optional: 1/2 lb. ground sausage (or preferred protein)*
- In a large pan or stock pot, warm/melt ghee.
- Add carrots, celery, onions and heat through, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
- Add in your cauliflower crumbles, mushrooms, chicken stock and seasonings. Mix well to incorporate and heat through. Cover and keep on low for another 10 minutes.
- In another pan, brown your ground protein of choice. Drain and add to the "stuffing", stirring to combine. Keep on low heat, allowing all flavors to meld together for an additional 5 minutes.
- Enjoy!
- *In this particular photo, I added spicy sausage links that I diced up. It was suggested by my hubby and delish! The protein additions are suggestions.....always tweak to your own likings
