Thanksgiving 2013 Menu

This year our Thanksgiving will be a much needed low-key, super mellow family day.  And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17 HCSB

Our menu:

Alton's Roast Turkey 

see recipe below

Stuffing Stuffed Acorn Squash

Traditional Cranberry Sauce

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

 Bacon Garlic Green Beans

Mom's Pumpkin Pie

Apple Crumble

Good Eats Roast Turkey with minor modifications:

Photo: Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 14-16 lb frozen organic, free range turkey

For the brine:

•  1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 gallon bone broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 sage leaves
• melted butter

Directions - 2 to 3 days before roasting:

1. Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38˚F.
2. Combine the bone broth, salt, coconut sugar, allspice berries, and ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil.  Remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
3. The night before combine the brine, water, and ice in a 5-gallon bucket.  Place the thawed turkey (innards removed) breast side down in brine.  If necessary. weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in a cool area for 8 - 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Directions - day of:

1. Preheat oven to 500˚F.  Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water.  Discard the brine.
2. Place the bird on a roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage.  Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with melted butter.
4. Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500˚F for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and cover breasts with a double layer of foil.  Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350˚F.  Set the thermometer alarm to 161˚F.  A 14-16 lb bird should require a total of 2- 2/12 hours of roasting.  
5. Let turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving.

Eat This!

Before we stumbled upon Dave Asprey, The Bulletproof Executive, we complained a lot about not feeling well, being unhappy with our body weight, and (especially the kids) our tummies hurting.  Today, we don't hear that kind of complaining.  

These infographics are directly from Dave's blog, The Bulletproof Executive.  If you enter your email address, you get free access to his toolbox, including the diet, these infographics, and shopping lists.

We still eat like this because it makes sense to us and we've seen significant changes in our physical appearance and how we feel on the inside. 

We're still working through what the best things are for us to eat as individuals. Because we are all different, what works for you may not work for me.  For instance, I can't eat raw almonds, unless they are skinned.  So, even though it is in the green section of what to eat, I need to stay away. 

We're pretty serious about this.  This is our new food pyramid. It's working for our family. 

Now, it doesn't mean you won't see me at a graduation party eating tacos, rice, beans, and red vines.  Or that I won't enjoy a glass of wine.  Or that I won't have a slice or two of churro cheesecake at the birthday party and the next day at the potluck.  I'm not a saint and you shouldn't judge.

 

What it does mean is that for the most part, we make better eating choices today than we did a few months ago and we feel and look better for it. 

 

Come on, try it with us!  Let me know what you decide and how it changes your life. 

Roast Chicken With Carmelized Shallots & Kale

I adapted this recipe from David Lebovitz.  It was super yummy and incredibly easy!  My family gave the meal 2 thumbs up. I give it 2 thumbs up as a lunch and after school snack the next day.  

• Put salted, grass-fed butter in a hot skillet that can be transferred to the oven.
• Add 4 shallots, peeled and chopped, 1 T coconut aminos (a soy free soy sauce - my new favorite food find), and 3 T apple cider vinegar.
• Add your chicken pieces.  I used two giant breast and 4 drumsticks.  Make sure your chicken* is pastured.  I found mine at Sprouts.
• Coat the pieces in the sauce and stick in the 425º oven, skin side up, for about 20 min depending on the size of your pieces.  If you don't have a skillet that can go into the oven, transfer your chicken and sauce into a glass baking dish.
• Flip the pieces, add a chunk of butter to the sauce, coat the pieces, and put the pan back in the oven for about 25 more min.
• Remove pan from oven and chicken pieces from pan.  Add another chunk of butter and fresh, organic kale, chopped roughly to the sauce.  Toss to moisten and slightly wilt the kale.  Add salt to taste.
• Pour the sauce and kale over the chicken and enjoy!

*Chicken is high in unhealthy polyunsaturated fats that oxidize easily during cooking and promote oxidative stress inside the body, making chicken low on the scale of protein choices.  Chicken and turkey should be eaten sparingly.

You Gotta Start Somewhere

Me, October 2011

The health of our families is important to all of us.  My family is learning to eat food for good health and striving for fresh, organic, whole foods.  What we're doing is working for us and I want to share our findings with you.

 

2012 started off with a cleanse.  We ate fruit, vegetables, and plant-based fats for a week then slowly over 3 more weeks added legumes, gluten-free grains, and seafood.  I thought it was a good, healthy move.  Then I chose to continue with no meat.  After 5 weeks I was so sick I couldn't even take my favorite yoga classes.  I was weak and tired and overall yucky.  Then there was my husband who at this point had started bulletproofing his diet.  He was losing weight and his body shape was changing.  Still my head said, "he's a heart attack waiting to happen and I'm making better healthy choices".  Clearly, I was wrong.

Me, end of May 2012

When I first joined Brad on his eating plan I needed to learn what my boundaries were so I could create nutritious after school snacks and healthy meals for dinner.  I was very overwhelmed with all the new information.  I was looking for something or someone to tell me what to eat.  I needed recipes and fresh ideas.  

I truly felt set free when I realized there was an outline on how to eat:  

• Bulletproof Coffee in the morning
• Healthy fats and proteins when I'm hungry
• Healthy fats, proteins, and organic veggies for dinner

I could work within these boundaries but there were still so many questions.  What about fruit?  What about brown rice?  What about nuts? What about... Aren't these things supposed to be good for you?  We've been trained all our lives to eat the food pyramid.  But I'm here to encourage you to set those notions aside and try something different.   

Dave Asprey's site, The Bulletproof Executive, offers 14 steps to eating more healthy.  Change is tough so start out doing what you can.  But as Dave says, "the more you do, the better it works.  However, you'll be healthier and stronger by making even the smallest changes."

1. Eliminate sugar including fruit juices and sports drinks that contain high fructose corn syrup, honey, and agave.

2. Replace the sugar calories with healthy fats such as grass-fed butter, ghee, and MCT or coconut oil.

3. Eliminate gluten including bread, cereal, and pasta.  Do not make the mistake of resorting to gluten free junk food, which can be almost as bad.

4. Remove grains, grain derived oils, and vegetable oils such as corn, soy, and canola.  Also remove unstable polyunsaturated oils such as walnut, flax, and peanut oil.

5. Eliminate all synthetic additives, colorings, and flavorings.  This includes aspartame, MSG, dyes, and artificial flavorings.

6. Eat significant amounts of pastured, grass-fed meat from big ruminant animals such as beef, lamb, and bison.  Pair this with low-mercury fish, eggs, and shellfish.

7. Eliminate legumes such as peanuts, beans, and lentils.  If you must have your beans, soak, sprout (or ferment), and cook them.

8. Remove all processed, homogenized, and pasteurized dairy.  High fat items can be pasteurized, but they should be grass-fed.  Full fat, raw, whole dairy from grass-fed cows is okay for most people.

9. Switch to grass-fed meat and wild caught seafood.  Eat pastured eggs and some pork, chickens, turkeys, and ducks.

10. Switch to organic fruits and vegetables.  This is more important for some plants than others.  You can check out the What's On My Food website for details about pesticides.

11. Cook your food gently, if at all.  Incorporate water into your cooking whenever possible and use low temperatures.  Do not fry or use a microwave.

12. Limit fruit consumption to 1-2 servings per day.  Favor low fructose containing fruits like berries and lemons over watermelon and apples.

13. Add spices and other flavorings.  Favor herb based spices such as thyme and rosemary over powders. Use high quality ones, recently opened.

14. Enjoy your food.