A Very (Sorta) Paleo Thanksgiving!

Hello all, So it has been a few weeks since thanksgiving, I know, but I thought I'd share with you my fully gluten and dairy free experience! I want to warn you all though... there was some startch involved... BUT it was for a good cause! A pumpkin pie! (because really, what is thanksgiving without the pie!)

Luckily having convinced the family of the benefits of going gluten free, I was delighted to find gluten-free stuffing, gravy and pie crust mix all awaiting in Ottawa upon arrival. We hit the grocery store to get a few more items for the table, and got started!

Joined by my sister, in from lennoxville, and her roommate Lauren, we had a good bit of girl time in the kitchen, drinking our gluten free beer and some wine, and just generally being in a festive mood.

We started with cranberry sauce, which is usually packed with all kinds of poisonous white sugar, and emptied a pack of cranberries into a saucepan with a cup of fresh orange juice for sweetness. Then, adding about 1/4 cup of maple syrup, and stirring until all the berries popped, the sauce was ready! This was delicious, tart and sweet at the same time, and went perfectly with our farm fresh bird.

To add some green to the meal, I grabbed a few brussel sprouts, the oft misunderstood cruciferous veggie that really was delicious! With olive oil, garlic salt and sesame seeds, I tossed the steamed and halved sprouts and set them in a serving dish.

With dessert on the brain, my Mom and I started figuring out the dough for our pie crust. This was harrrrd. It crumbled and stuck, and really should have been chilled before we tried to handle it, but ah well, the lesson was learned. It turned out well regardless though, and we were pleased with the end result!
The filling was made up of pureed pumpkin, cloves, cinnamon, eggs and a bit of honey, and it was amazing!! It is super simple to search a recipe online for a paleo pie filling, so google away!

The leftover crust we made into stars and set on top, and they were deliciously crispy at the end! Everyone else had theirs with whipped cream, but for us paleo people, the starch is enough of a cheat!

Such a healthy, happy and awesome homecoming! Great times had by all!

Sesame Nori Chips and Good Old-Fashioned Meatloaf

In the mood for a salty snack, I trolled the web for some awesome paleo chip replacements, and noticing my remaining nori sheets, I settled on this one!
Sprinkle the sheets with water, and fold them in half to get a thicker final chip. Cutting them with kitchen shears, I spread them out on a baking sheet. At 375 celsius, and watching them carefully, I put the pan in the oven after spraying the strips with Pam Olive Oil and sprinkling garlic salt and sesame on them.
These were realllllly good! I sushi-fied them with pickled ginger and wasabi on the side, YUM!

For dinner, I decided to make a dish that used to make me groan: Meatloaf. The term really just used to imply boring and tasteless meat gunk, I'm not sure why as my mom never made anything that wasn't delicious, but I was intrigued by the idea of making it myself. To bind the dish together, instead of bread crumbs or flour (baddddd bad gluten and starch!), I used an egg and some mushrooms, and I'm not sure why, but it held together beautifully, even staying together outside the dish!


Preheating to 375, I combined my extra lean ground beef, garlic, onion, mushrooms, egg, black pepper, sea salt and oregano. Cooking it uncovered, I put it in the oven for 15 minutes while I prepared a glaze for the top.

This consisted of some soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic, chives, diced tomatoe juice and pepper, I combined it all in a bowl and took my meatloaf out again, spreading it over the top before letting it cook another 45 minutes. I wish this had been thicker, so some paleo ketchup (if you've got a recipe for it) would've been a good addition. The top did come out nice and golden browned though, thanks in part to the onions that carmelized!

This had me in meals for at least... ummm, a day. It was so darned good that I went back for more and had it for lunch AAAAND dinner. SO AWESOME. With some steamed broccoli on the side, this was a really great combination!

Talk to you all soon, hope I stay strong! The success of this diet doesn't mean that I can just go back to eating crap all the time, though I have to remember my cheat meals!