Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Whether you celebrate it or not, it’s always nice to acknowledge what we’re grateful for and if you’re like me, seize the occasion to single-handedly prepare a feast that leaves you exhausted, but satisfied.
Growing up, my family didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional way, mostly because we thought turkeys were too big for three people. That didn’t stop 10-year-old me from wanting to feast on mashed potatoes and cornbread, so we got one of those restaurant dinners with a little bit of everything just for me.
This year, I figured I had enough time and cooking experience to attempt to throw the whole thing together myself, so that’s what I did. As a beginner who has never cooked a meal this big or any of the typical Thanksgiving dishes, I’d say it was fairly successful (but definitely with some bumps), so here’s a summary of how I approached it and a rundown of what I made!
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The Game Plan
Step 1: Have a general idea of what to make. I decided I wanted a salad, a bunch of roasted vegetables, stuffing (just plain – not for a turkey), a pumpkin pie, a drink, and a couple of other dishes.
Step 2: Make a long list of potential recipes and eventually narrow it down. I took inspiration from a few favorite Instagram accounts and blogs and adapted the recipes I found!
Step 3: Make the cornbread a day early. (I also tried to make some roasted sweet potatoes a day early, but my family and I finished those way too quickly.)
Step 4: Start at noon on Thanksgiving day. The plan was to have everything ready by 7, and it was ready by 8, so close enough.
Step 5: Start with anything that doesn’t require the oven: prep the veggies, toss the salad, make the salad dressing, etc.
Step 6: Once something is in the oven, prep more baking sheets or work on something on the stove.
Step 7: Get the pie in the oven and sit down… 8 hours later.
The Eats
My spread was missing a few major classics, but that wasn’t a problem because there was plenty of other stuff to eat – especially because I overestimated the amount of food I should make. And of course, everything was full of veggies, packed with healthy fats, and refined-sugar-free!
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Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Salad
A harvest-themed kale salad with a light orange cinnamon dressing.
Salad
5 cups lacinato kale
½ a pomegranate
½ cup kalamata olives
butternut squash (roasted in turmeric, olive oil, garlic, and salt for ~ 20 min at 350 F)
¼ cup feta cheese
Dressing
⅓ cup orange juice
1.5 tbsp olive oil
¾ tbsp maple syrup
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
pinch of pepper
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Roasted Fall Veggies
1. Brussels sprouts roasted in olive oil, cayenne, red chili, garlic, salt, and pepper (35 min at 375 F)
2. Sweet potatoes roasted in olive oil, cayenne, paprika, red chili, salt, and pepper – sweet with a spicy kick (20-25 min at 400 F)
3. Asparagus and carrots roasted in sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic, and salt (20 min at 425 F)
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Jalapeño Cornbread Stuffing
For the cornbread: I followed Hummus Sapien’s recipe, but used an egg instead of flaxseeds, butter instead of coconut oil, and baked them as muffins.
For the stuffing: The cornbread muffins tasted great on their own, but I used 8/12 of them in this stuffing! I followed Ambitious Kitchen’s recipe.
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Green Bean Casserole
Green beans, mushrooms, and crispy onions in a creamy sauce of whole wheat pastry flour and vegetable broth. I followed Ambitious Kitchen’s recipe.
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Pumpkin Risotto
Brown rice simmered in pumpkin, vegetable broth, herbs, and spices. This one was the biggest challenge since I had to figure out how to make risotto with cooked rice, but I’d say it ended up working out!
Pumpkin Risotto
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 1/2 large onion chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 2.5 cups vegetable broth
- 7.5 oz (1/2 can) pumpkin puree
- 1 cup sliced kale or chard
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp fresh sage
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans
- 1 tsp cayenne optional
- 1 tsp paprika optional
Instructions
- Cook the rice.
- In a large skillet, saute the onions and carrots over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the onions start to brown.
- Add 1 cup vegetable broth to skillet and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
- Use a blender to blend the vegetable mixture with the pumpkin puree and ½ cup of vegetable broth.
- Add the blended mixture back to the skillet, add the rice, and add one cup of vegetable broth. Stir in greens and nutritional yeast. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in thyme and sage. Garnish with pecans.
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Pumpkin Pie
A light, creamy pumpkin pie with a nutty pecan-oat-almond crust and no refined sugar.
Pie Crust:
Also a challenge – I had to significantly adapt the recipe I was using because the crust was too liquid-like and similar to nut butter when I tried to pre-bake it the first time. That being said, this crust may have been the best part of the pie – even though it looks burnt!
Ingredients
1.5c chopped pecans
1.25c oats
1/2c almond flour
2 tbsp coconut sugar
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
Directions
1. Toast the pecans and oats on a baking sheet for 10-15 min at 350 F.
2. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until it stays together, but is not too liquid-like.
3. Mold the crust onto your pie pan.
4. Pre-bake the crust for 20-25 min at 350 F.
Filling
And for one last time, I used Ambitious Kitchen’s recipe and topped the whole thing with yogurt!
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Apple-Pomegranate-Orange Cider
Ingredients
5 apples
½ an orange
½ a pomegranate
5 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp maple syrup
Slow cooked on high for 4.5-5 hours and separated the resulting liquid from the solids.
If someone were to ask me if spending a whole day on this was worth it, I’m not sure what I would say. It was nice to share the meal with my friends and family, but I was so tired by the end that everything tasted better the second day rather than the day of. Although I can now say that I’ve cooked a six-course meal, I don’t think I’ll be doing it very frequently!
