Falling in Love with Real Food… again.

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I love food. And vegetables bring me oodles of joy!

Why? Because vegetables love me back. Sitting down and munching on a big bowl of goodness like these Braised Fennel Turnips & White Beans leaves me feeling rejuvenated and restored in ways that processed food could never.

But, it wasn’t always this way and today I want to come clean as I share my story of starting with goodness, abandoning it and then returning to the love. Continue reading

Loving up Alton Brown Live!

Alton Brown Greely

Can you see me?

Fine. I don’t see me, either, but I am in there somewhere waving, because Alton Brown was taking my photo (and um… I suppose about 2,000 other people too) right before I spent the next few hours laughing until I had little tears in my eyes and my cheeks hurt from smiling.

Just last week, my dear friend and collaborator Dr. Kaycie Rosen Grigel contacted me after hearing that our favorite celeb chef was heading to Greely. After a few arrangements we had a couple of the final seats in the packed house. Wednesday night, we sat in the warm theater after dashing from her car in -15 degree weather. Mind numbingly cold. Actually, teeth-numbing. And also any-piece-of-flesh-exposed-numbing. Maybe that was why my cheeks hurt… Continue reading

Super Bowl Food!

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The Broncos and the Seahawks!?

I didn’t see that coming. I lived in Washington for the first 21 years of my life and the Seahawks were not exactly the team to watch in my house. Admittedly, we are more of a college bowl family. Which is complicated by the fact that most of us attended rival schools: University of Washington (my alma mater), Washington State University (my brother & mom attended), Stanford (my dad), UCLA (brother-in-law), and Berkley (my Opa & Godfather).

With about five+ years of living in Colorado, getting into Bronco fever is certainly easy with all of the orange & blue love around here lately. My nephew announced he was uncertain who to support now as he has family in both states. Since more of my family is from Washington, I gave him permission to root for the Seahawks, if so desired. Continue reading

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When my younger sister and I lived down the street from each other in San Luis Obispo, her and her roommates had figured out a successful way to share all of the food in the house. A feat, that I am not sure I ever managed until living with my husband.

The best part was they all loved big fabulous salads. I would come over for a mid-week brunch of sorts. My favorite days would involve a post-yoga mimosa (it is about balance, right?!) and then containers of chopped or shredded veggies, cooked beans, toasted nuts or seeds, cheese (of course!) and a dressing would come out on to the countertops. Moments later we were each happily munching on salads.

Here are a few of my favorite strategies for my own salad bars at home in the winter months:

  1. Of course, keep with the season. This time of year, florets such as cauliflower and broccoli are perfect to break and crumble into bite size pieces.
  2. Shred up roots: carrots, beets (in lots of colors!), parsnips, salad turnips, radishes, and sweet potatoes (our favorite!)
  3. Thinly slice fennel or onions for extra flavor.
  4. Pomegranate seeds store nicely as well
  5. For apples, it is best to slice these just prior to serving. If you want to keep apples from browning spritz them with a bit of lemon-water.
  6. Avocados are easy enough to find this time of year. Slice them to order just as you would apples.
  7. Grapefruits and oranges of many colors are easy to peel and cut just before tossing the salad, but they can also be cut in advance easily.
  8. Nuts: sliced almonds, crumbled walnuts, cashews, pecans, macadamia or even hazelnuts
  9. Seeds: toasted pumpkin & sunflower, chia, cooked quinoa, sesames, or ground flax
  10. Beans: Soak & Sprout or Cook- chickpea/garbanzo, lentils, black, red, white, kidney beans and more
  11. Pair the salad with shreds of dark leafy greens such as kale, collards, or chard OR you can also find easy pre-washed baby greens. Lately, we have been eating a lot of baby kale.

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Here is my quick & easy Vinaigrette that will serve 2-3 people.

1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon vinegar (balsamic, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar, etc.)
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a big salad bowl, whisk together the honey, dijon and vinegar. Once evenly combined, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking wildly. The idea is to emulsify the oil in with the base to create an almost creamy consistency.

Season with salt and pepper. Add your own salad ingredients as desired.

Every once in a while I feel a bit more dressing is needed. At that point, I will just splash the salad with the vinegar and then drizzle on a nice glug of olive oil. A bit more salt and pepper may be needed too.

What are your favorite ways to get salad on the dinner table quickly?

Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well,

Chef Lilly

Warming up, not Detoxing down

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The highs of the holiday season, whether the stress was positive or negative, leaves most of us with a bit of a let down. Or maybe in my case it is really just a sugar crash after I realize my Christmas Cookie tin is empty.

As we commit to a renewed year of health, success or whatever your heart desires, I find this post-holiday time is a bit like climbing a mountain after dancing your way into a deep valley. While the holidays are a whirlwind of fun, I sometimes wish I was starting the trek up to all of my higher goals with the person who I was back in September.

Alas, here I am, my body a little more tired and my mind a bit more relaxed, but dare I say slightly unmotivated. With the enthusiasm of resolutions around me, I enjoy picking up on the excitement. Although, as in last year’s case, I gave myself a bit of grace, let go of my usual intensity and instead simply survived until I surrendered.

I didn’t mention food in that previous post, but it certainly, as always, was a big factor in what did and did not happen in my life. When I consider the meal plans I am sharing in January, I think about how many of you will wonder where the smoothies and juicing recipes are that will help throw you into all of your diet resolutions.

Let me share something I have learned from my dear friend Naturopathic Doctor Kaycie Rosen Grigel. January, despite its post-holiday gluttony, is a terrible time to detox.

I can hear you frantically wondering what I am talking about as you look at advertisements, posts and pins for all of the get-your-body-back diets that promise to help you drink & shrink into pre-holiday figures.

Now, it is not that I am against a good detox. Dr. Grigel has actually helped me with a detox that was an incredible experience and I honestly cannot wait to do it again. (I will even go so far as to say: stay tuned!) The reason to avoid a detox this time of year is actually more reflective of the rhythms of the season.

Even when I lived in mostly sunny & hot Tucson, January and February made me want to curl up, snuggle with a buddy and fill my body with warming, comforting foods. Although, please do not take me for an indoor only soul as I love to ski, snowshoe, read near a fire after sunset and dance outdoors whenever possible, too.

Regardless of my activities, only occasionally do I crave a cold, sweet (or even subtly sweet) liquid during the winter.
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I completely respect that a smoothie or fresh juice may be all you want to drink right now and I imagine if you crave them you know exactly what to throw in your blender or juicer. But, I implore you to step outside (as I so often ask my daughter to do on days when she refuses a jacket) and consider your natural place in this world. A chilly participant who needs to refuel for a season of staying inside cozy or playing outside while breathing in the crisp air.

Maybe this new year skipping the detox trend in January and opting for foods that truly refuel will give you the body and spirit you desire for 2014.

Of course, I also want to feel refreshed and rejuvenated after the gluttonous holiday season and my best strategies are with steamy vegetable packed soups, bone-broths and cups of my favorite herbal infusions and teas.

Lilly’s Table meal plans this month are full of plant focused warm-inspiring real food. A beloved recipe that can be made vegan or chicken broth based is the nourishing Hearty Miso Soup. One slurp and your body will be thankful.

I did sneak in a smoothie for this week’s meal plan as I didn’t want to disappoint- since ’tis the smoothie season, but it is a simple Banana Nut Smoothie which is protein packed with any nut butter of your choice. Perfect for those days (chilly or not) when you are craving ice cream! I am clearly still having a few post-Holiday sugar cravings. 😉

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May you find comfort in everything nature has in store for you this month.

In delicious health,

Chef Lilly

Rescue your Resolutions with Meal Planning!

Peach Bellini

Oh, New Years resolutions.

It certainly is the hottest love-hate topic of the past couple of weeks and just in case you are considering slipping off the wagon, I want to offer a hand. I know the years I have loved and (mostly) fulfilled my resolutions was because I had the support I needed to get me through.

I am here to offer that support. Oh yes, you may be surprised at how many different resolutions meal planning will rescue from the fate of being forgotten. I found a list of the most common resolutions and I am excited to make my case.

Let’s start with an easy one… 

1. Want to lose weight and get fit? 

Simply arm yourself with a meal plan, good quality ingredients and seasonal recipes. This will keep you from making poor choices when you are hungry, cranky and staring at a fridge that has no answers. After you have saved all of that time with Lilly’s Table meal planning, you will have more time to work out and get fit!

Yay, get in shape girl or guy or erhhh… next resolution, please.

2. Want to learn something new? 

While the recipes in Lilly’s Table are simple and straight forward, I can guarantee you will learn new recipes, flavors and insights every week.

3. Spend more time with family?

Dinner time is an ideal time to gather with your family. When you come together around a home cooked meal that daily occasion is even brighter and healthier for everyone. But, getting to the table is a challenge, if you are not prepared. So, get on board and start meal planning.

4. Get out of debt and save money? 

Skip spending money at restaurants by eating at home. Stop eating processed foods (which totally cost more!) and cook simple, unprocessed food from scratch. The $3 per week meal plans from Lilly’s Table are less than the cost of beverages for just a couple of people dining out, just one day per week.
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Yes. You will save money. Eat at home cooked at home = saving money.

5. Be less stressed?

Signing up for Lilly’s Table means you are committed to meal planning, which will give you more time (less stress!) and by eating more balanced real foods you will feel better physically (also, less stress!)

6. Quit Smoking? 

Darn it! You got me on this one. While I am totally tempted to argue you will enjoy food more because smoking messes with your taste buds and that alone should be incentive, I will do something better! Sign up for Sharon Muir’s Quit Smoking Today program and you will successful meet your goal. After you quit smoking through her program, let me know and I may just have a special Lilly’s Table membership waiting for you, too!

7. What else?

There are certainly many more variations on the resolution theme and in my experience saving time will help with ALL of them. So, you are in luck! Because…

Meal planning saves you time cooking dinner!
Lilly’s Table saves you time meal planning!

Tada! And now that you are thoroughly convinced that your life will be forever improved and your New Year’s resolutions will be a breeze, let me sweeten the deal by offering you a discount!

Jump in with both feet for an entire year of service for only $60! Yup, I said it… half off for a very limited time. So, do not hesitate! Let me just break that down, that is less than $1.50 per meal plan.

Make all of your New Years resolutions finally come true with Lilly’s Table!

With joy,

Lilly
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Juliette holding her baby brother, Zed.

One year ago, I was sitting, uncomfortably pregnant in a casino parking garage, with our sleeping daughter in her carseat as my husband went to see if there was any room in the inn. I attempted to distract myself from the chilly weather by staring blankly at a New Year’s resolution to do list.

Prior to that day we had celebrated Christmas in Tahoe with my whole big family and it was joy-packed. But, leaving that vacation left me a bit lost.

In years past, I felt so excited about all of the possibilities the New Year grants and yet 2013 seemed too confusing and overwhelming to make any plans.

Beyond knowing we were welcoming a child in the summer, we were waiting to find out about my husband’s long list of job applications. After flying out for an interview in Colorado, we were anticipating hearing if he had beat out hundreds of others applying for the fellowship.

Packing up my house, leaving an incredible community of like-minded friends & food lovers and attempting to run Lilly’s Table in between, left me somewhat sad and defeated.

There were possibilities to look forward to, but I was too distracted by my sadness & confusion to truly dive into the happiness.

As I stared at the New Year to-do list, I wrote down how much I hated resolutions and feeling smug I vowed to simply ‘survive’ the year.

Yes. I allowed my full drama queen to come out.

But, that notion of ‘just survive’ stuck with me this past year better than any other resolution I have ever set. For better or worse, I struggled to grow past it.

Thankfully, life had magic in store for me.

That move to Colorado did happen. And we were welcomed with wide-open loving arms of friends who we dearly missed. Then, we found ourselves in a confusing housing market. This lead to a decision to buy our first home, with the help of a small investment I made years ago and my gracious parents. This was something we figured wouldn’t happen for many more years and we are overwhelmed with gratitude.

Next, we welcomed our son Zedekiah. This was a highlight for sure.

His birth was as uncomplicated and beautiful as one could hope for. He arrived hours after I picked my Mom up from the airport. We brought him home to meet both grandmothers when he was nearly five hours old.

As an additional blessing, he was born in the exact room and tub as his sister despite the fact that we had moved away from Colorado and had an incredible two year adventure elsewhere.

I remember the moments before he was about to join our world, I felt intense contractions that brought up flashes of the past nine months before my eyes like a nauseating movie spinning around my head. And with his arrival, all of that frustration seemed to melt as I looked at his sweetness and love.

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Just try avoiding happiness with this guy around.

It is known to rejuvenate male reproductive system and aided in the development of the division of obstetrics and gynecology and despite all this they denied to conduct a research into themselves. cialis india price And for this, you need to have a sildenafil 100mg tab this healthy and happy sexual life. Just massage the oil in spherical motions and then end up by rubbing the horn of the anus and close to your penis base. no prescription levitra There are many males in the universe who have problem keeping or maintaining erections during the time of intercourse with purchase generic viagra partner. He brought joy during a time in my life that felt so deeply uncertain. As I prepared for his birth, I was mostly anxious that life would be even more drowning in poopy diapers, sleepless nights and the many needs of an infant, not to mention the toddler.

While my to do list  and busy-ness surrounding the needs of a young baby has increased, his happiness is contagious and I am left grateful.

More joys have happened, too. My daughter started pre-school and we watched her confidence and independence blossom. My husband received that exciting fellowship and is enjoying his work. My mother-in-law has joined us and as I type she is reading stories to my children, which not only gives them special grandma love, but her help allows me to write this and to work on a job I adore: Lilly’s Table.

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Picnic on our new front lawn. Everyday moments bringing bliss to each of us.

My list of gratitudes through the big and not-so-big moments this year ended up being fairly endless despite my efforts to simply survive. Not everything was shiny & peachy, but the presence of those challenges made the bright spots more dazzling.

As this year closes, another “s” word keeps popping up in my mind: SURRENDER. And it is a word that feels so delicious and empowering. Especially, when I consider surrendering to joy and diving as deeply into that as my soul allows.

I write all of this for those who may be hesitating about what the year could bring. Especially, if this is a time when setting goals seems a recipe for failure as life has other plans for you.

If you are tempted to live your life simply surviving, if you only feel defenseless against your circumstances, I send you love and peace. And above all empathy. I also encourage you to surrender: To joy. To love. To everything that leaves you grateful.

In this past year, I dove a bit deeper into the work of Brene Brown an incredible shame researcher who I have followed for the past several years. I want to close with her inspiring quote about twinkle lights:

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Juliette & Xerxes putting up the twinkle lights

I think the beauty of twinkle lights is the perfect metaphor for joy.

Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments- often ordinary moments.

Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy because we’re too busy chasing down the extraordinary moments. Other times we’re so afraid of the dark that we don’t dare let ourselves enjoy the light.

A joyful life is not a floodlight of joy. That would eventually become unbearable.

I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude and inspiration.                                   -Brene Brown

What about this past year has filled you with gratitude? What were the joys? Let us celebrate 2013 together as we bid this year farewell.

With love,

Chef Lilly

Three Cheers for Fruitcake! (Gluten Free)

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Please welcome Dr. Kaycie Rosen Grigel from Golden Holistic Medicine and her beautiful Gluten-Free Fruitcake.

 

I know, fruitcake has a bad repuation in this country:  It can bring up images of dry, hard, dense bricks filled with objects that used to be fruit but were replaced by neon erasers.  However, my husband’s Canadian family insists upon fruitcake as a delicious holiday treat and so I went looking for a recipe that used real fruit, nuts, spices, plenty of booze, and nothing unidentifiable.  Thanks to Alton Brown, I was able to modify his recipe to be moist, filled with a delicious array of rum-soaked natural dried fruits, crystallized ginger, and toasted pecans and hazelnuts. Because the cake part is really just there to hold all that deliciousness together, it makes little difference that it is gluten-free.  I usually make mine a few weeks ahead (which, according to the Canadians, makes it way better), but it is still pretty magnificent if you eat it the same day.

 Gluten Free Fruitcake–

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Thanks to Alton Brown for the inspiration for the recipe

½ c currants
1 ¼ c raisins
1 c. golden raisins
1 c. dried apricots, chopped
½ c dried cranberries
⅓ c. crystallized ginger
zest of one lemon
zest of one orange
1 1/2 c. spiced rum
1 c. sugar
5 oz butter
1 c apple juice
¼ tsp cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 c. brown rice flour
¼ c white rice flour
½ c cornmeal
1 tsp Xanthum gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, halved
about 2 Tbsp grand marnier

Directions:

Combine Fruits, ginger, and zests.  Add rum and macerate at least 8 hours or warm over low heat in a medium saucepan 1-2 hours.  Add sugar, butter, apple juice and spices.  Bring to a boil, stirring often, then reduce to a simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool 15 minutes or more.

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients, then sift into fruit mixture.  Stir until integrated, then stir in eggs one at a time, then fold in nuts.  Spoon into 2 buttered nonstick loaf pans.  bake 50-70 minutes, checking for doneness every 10 minutes by inserting toothpick.  Remove cake from oven and baste with grand marnier.  Allow to cool completely before turning out from pan.  When cool, wrap thoroughly.  Check every few days to make sure it is moist, but this cake can sit for several months before eating.

T-Day Pumpkin Pie

I am overflowing not only with delicious, scrumptious food, but I am feeling pretty darn grateful for all that I have these days. I wrote most of this post in between cooking, but here is finally…  just the tip of my gratitudes…

1. You
I hope you do not find this cheesy, since most of us have not yet sat together and for a cup of deliciousness and I have yet to cook you dinner, but please, know… I want to. Because you allow me to work on my computer, with my son curled up, baby snoring in my arms and do what I wanted to do since I was a little girl: write. And cook, too.

2. My parents and siblings
Becoming a parent, makes you more deeply grateful and indebted for your own great Mom & Dad. I was blessed with hard-working, creative parents who lead with love & by example. They grew as much food as possible and were the source of my love of cooking.

3. Siblings
I also was blessed with two sisters, a brother, a couple of fab brother-in-laws and niblings (my brother recently enlightened me about this term) who wholeheartedly support me and my mission. They each can make me deeply belly laugh, they all give great hugs and are quick to offer support when I need it. You cannot ask for a better family. I miss them!

4. Movement
I grew up as a dancer. It clearly shaped much of my motivation and who I am today. It also led me to later fall in love with yoga. Which then led me to find this path that I am on today. Yoga is also the reason I met my husband. Lately, I have been combining the power of dance & yoga into a magical movement called Qoya taught by my dear friend Rochelle. Because we are all wise, wild and free.

4. My partner and husband Xerxes
He is not just my husband and the father to these two little pipsqueaks we call our children, but he is my number one go-to for pretty much everything. I never realized this is what love meant until I met him. I am truly blessed. And he is a solar powered super hero, too. But that is another story, for another day.

5. Juliette & Zedekiah
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My children, my sweet little loves. Now, loving your own children is a whole other adventure of love, devotion and delight. You know how living in the moment leads us to peace, happiness, joy? Observe and participate in a child’s world. We often feel determined to teach our children to the determent of failing to learn from them. They are masters of living in and for the moment. They are joy. They are teaching me so much.

6. Colorado & Arizona friends… and beyond
From my childhood through today, I have spent more time living away from family than near. This has taught me to find friends who bring you into their lives just like family. During the transition of this past year we were made stronger with the support of two different communities in two different states. We were also given love & support from family and friends beyond these communities. You all know who you are… and thank you so very much!

7. My mom-in-law
First, I am blessed to call her my friend. She raised Xerxes on her own and recently moved from Philly for the first time to be closer to her grandkids. Lulu as we call her, has been a critical part of this time in our lives. She spends time with our daughter so I can work. And she is a dishwashing whirlwind, which is a luxury for anyone who cooks mostly everything from scratch. Overall, she has lightened the load that so many new parents face when raising little ones. We are certainly lucky she is part of our lives.

8. Cooking
As I write this, I actually keep fighting the urge to run into the kitchen. It is my office, my happy place. My place to meditate. Creativity to me is a critical part of my daily life and cooking allows me to be creative and to nourish my family. Two for one special! And right now, with Thanksgiving it is full of goodness!

9. Real, Good, Unaltered, Unprocessed Food that will Change the WORLD!
When I met Xerxes, I remember him saying he wanted to ‘save the world through renewable energy’. Honestly, the cynic in me was fighting the eye roll, but my heart went pitter-patter and we kept dating. As I got to know him I realized this is a critical part of all human desire… to contribute, to change, to impact. And now, I too want to change the world! There is truly a way to eat that is good for our bodies and healthy for the planet. Not only is eating real, unprocessed food more delightful, but it is a powerful feeling to know that cooking from scratch can go beyond your own kitchen to impact the entire planet.

Please tell me a bit more about yourself through your gratitudes… what are you thankful for today?

Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well,

Lilly

Naked or MarshmallowsMy senior year of college, we found out a few of our friends were not going home for Thanksgiving. It seemed a crime for them to not enjoy a turkey feast, so we decided to have a pre-holiday meal altogether. There were about 20+ of us in our circle of friends and I went to task finding out everyone’s must-have T-day dishes.

Since I was a vegetarian at the time, I had no interest in cooking the turkey, but a couple of friends signed up for that job. So, other than the mashers, which arrived fluffy with beautiful red skins throughout, I made the rest of the meal.

I remember a few items being requested that I had never actually made before such as Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows and Creamed Corn, but they were requested and thus I worked on figuring out how to make them. Please note, this was long enough ago that the internet was not swarming with information, so many phone calls later I figured it all out.

While the college crowd was thrilled, I found myself pleased and grateful for my incredible friends, but not completely satisfied with the canned food-centric feast I had prepared. The years of Thanksgivings that followed became an unraveling of that meal.

Thanksgiving can be as simple or as complicated as you like, but I also see no excuse to eat processed food. Not just because I prefer the flavor of real food, but most sides are easier to prepare than most of us believe.

Here are a few ways to create an unprocessed, easy as pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving:

1. Fresh not Canned Sweet Potatoes (aka Yams)

The last time I opened a can of sweet potatoes (possibly that day back in college), I was amazed by the slightly syrupy, super starchy, lacking in flavor nuggets that were inside. No wonder you need marshmallows! Oh, and yes, they were called yams, (except they are not actually yams unless they are white, not sweet and all starch) but that is another story for another day.

The can-free, tastier, easier method: Scrub your sweet potato, prick all over with a paring knife, and toss in the oven alongside whatever is cooking. A temperature between 325-425 will be sufficient to roast them. Once you can squeeze the sweet potato and it feels soft, about 25-60 minutes depending on a number of factors such as the sweet potato’s size and the oven temperature, then it is ready. Chill it outside or in the fridge until it is cool enough to handle them and then peel off the skin. They will be crazy sweet from roasting and can be chopped or smashed from this point forward to be used with your favorite flavors or toppings.

What is your favorite sweet potato topping? We do this Streusel Topped Sweet Potato at home, but do you prefer Marshmallows?

2. Green Bean possibilities beyond the tins

Since the Green Bean Casserole is such a classic, try this simple enough version including my own homemade creamy mushroom sauce and crispy, oven baked onion strips. While I love dairy, I found myself wanting to explore the vegan possibility and recently created this Creamy Cauliflower Green Bean Casserole.

Typically though, I keep it simple with steamed green beans, maybe a squirt of lemon, a generous dollop of butter and toasty almonds, aka Green Bean Almandine.

3. Veggie Time

Turkey’s don’t make people sleepy. Turkey’s starchy buddies exhaust us.

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Chopped Kale & Pomegranate Salad
Creamy Roasted Potato & Apple Salad
Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Florets

But, you can also make it crazy simple with your favorite salad mix, a crumble of dry cheese (maybe blue or feta?), pecans or other toasted nuts, and generous splash of a good quality balsamic and olive oil. This Balsamic Dressing recipe is what I use when my balsamic is not rich and aged. Follow the season’s abundance- it will not let you down!

IMG_18884. Skip the Pre-made Gravy

Here is the deal. If you are already making a turkey, the gravy is simple to make delicious and amazing. You have all of the ingredients, most likely. Flour (all-purpose or gluten-free rice flour both work) and butter (or your fat of choice- ghee? bacon? olive oil?) are critical. A box of good quality chicken broth is about as ‘processed’ as I would go if you want to cut corners. We make homemade broth at our house after roasting chicken or turkey wings and I try to always have some available before Turkey day. Here is my gravy recipe and I will keep it up and available to you until after T-day this year. If you have never made it before, this is your year. Grab a whisk and let’s make a delicious gravy.

If you have vegetarian guests, this vegan Mushroom Gravy will satisfy your entire crowd. I say this as a non-mushroom eater. They are pretty much my least favorite veg, but this gravy surprisingly makes me happy.

5. Stuffing? 

I know Pepperidge Farm and Stove Top sold us all a long time ago with their ‘easy’ take on stuffing. But, your favorite bakery fresh bread chopped into pieces and dried out will give you all that love without the processed ingredients. You can also go crazy with any combination of carb-rich bread: whole-grain, studded with dried fruits, pumpernickel, gingerbread, cornbread, panettone, and more! Here is my recipe for drying out the cubes yourself, but really it is quite simple. If you do it a few days before you won’t even need an oven. 😉

Gluten-free? There are certainly lots of possibilities these days for that, but last year I did this Herb Polenta Stuffing and it kind of rocked. This year the Roasted Root + Polenta Stuffing is rocking my world.

Your turn! How do you un-process Thanksgiving? Or are there a few dishes you prefer to have out of a box or can, otherwise it just doesn’t taste like turkey day.

Comment below and let me know!

Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well!

In gratitude,

Lilly