With holidays just around the corner, I want to share some tips to staying healthy and happy and some familiar Thanksgiving recipes with a new twist.
This time of year is laden with feasts of traditional dishes that invoke the spirit of home, familiar comforts, and the sweetness of rich desserts.
What happens when you leave all that sugar behind, set down the booze, and let go of cooking your holiday meals?
You start to feel more grounded and relaxed yet at the same time you might feel a little lonely. Our culture revolves around the importance of these celebrations and food has always brought people together. Even though many of our friends aren’t on the Primal Diet™, they kindly offer us the same courtesy, respect, and consideration that the majority of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegans are now afforded at the table.
This wasn’t always the case. It takes time, repetition, and culinary inspiration. As people become familiar with seeing your contributions to their meal it helps broaden perspectives and inspires them to try something new, because it’s delicious.
Whether you’re flying solo and starting to figure out how to navigate the Primal Diet™, letting go of social pressures and taking a break from the holiday’s for a while, or feeling curious about how to make some deliciously raw dishes that you can proudly contribute to Grandma’s buffet table, we’re here to support you.
Just say “No” this year to all the events.
Taking a break can be really helpful. It allows you to re-calibrate, it provides space for your healing and it encourages the development of your own sense of tradition and meaningful culture. It also gives you time to try out new things and build your confidence so you can show up authentically in the midst of family dynamics and cultural expectations.
A great way to sidestep social pressures and differing food choices is to skip the meal, eat at home before you go and arrive fashionably late while everyone is socializing and eating dessert.
When you do walk through the door holding a raw cherry cheesecake or persimmon pie that tastes just like pumpkin topped with raw whipped cream, you just might win some folks over with this raw food thing. Top it off with a rich and creamy homemade egg nog and you’ll have people begging for your recipes. Just let them know they will have to wait until you make it again next year. The joy of savoring the experience will be a wonderful gift as you cultivate new family traditions.
Desserts are a wonderful contribution to any holiday party or potluck. This is definitely a gateway that is most appealing for non-primal dieters. However, introducing raw meats needs more delicacy and attention to the presentation and flavoring.
For many years, I would host potlucks where I would prepare cooked foods for my guests and also offer raw dishes for them to try. I would cook up a huge turkey for everyone that was slathered in butter inside and out and stuffed with my family’s signature french meat stuffing. We would also cook up a smaller bird for ourselves that was rubbed with butter and spices then broiled on the outside so it was warm. When we sliced into the breast meat it was tender and juicy with the rosy colored flesh still vibrant. We got some raised eyebrows and I can imagine with each bite people were just waiting for us to fall over dead.
You can also be the drink person. Bring Gerolsteiner with lemons and lime. Make Primal Lemonade, sun-made herbal teas, cucumber water, and/or alcohol-free, raw eggnog. This will at least keep the kids from climbing the walls from all the typical sugar and caffeine drink options.
Click Here for Aajonus’ advice (Nov. 2000 Q&A workshop transcription) on how to attend the Thanksgiving Feast. You must become a member to access. Or, click here to purchase Collected Audio Recordings and listen to Aajonus share.
And, if you find yourself going out to eat for a holiday meal, read Aajonus’ Winter 2010 newsletter in advance. He advises avoiding ALL fast-food restaurants. Eat muscle meat from deep within the animal that are less likely to be sprayed with chemicals and fish wild-caught (not farmed, except oysters) deep from the ocean. Avoid MSG. Choose FRESH sliced tomato, avocado, peeled cucumber, onion, and garlic. Bring your own butter and/or cheese in decorative glass jars so they look nice and appropriate on the table.
We always bring in our own milk in a mason jar when you dine-out. We will ask the cook to prepare fresh guacamole so we can avoid MSG and added salt. When Phoenix orders, he lets the server know up front, that if it’s not “Blue” and if it’s salted or seasoned, he will be sending it back. When Gerolsteiner isn’t an option, we order warm water in a ceramic coffee mug and a LOT of lemons to neutralize the chemicals.
Watching us thrive helps to normalize the experience for others and gives them the courage to try Primal for themselves.
Now, coming up with some turkey recipes for Thanksgiving that are truly raw has been a challenge for me over the years.
It’s just not the same and I can’t pretend it is something it’s not. Let me know if
y’all have discovered a way to do this. Same thing for stuffing and attempting to make anything delicious out of raw pumpkin, I just don’t think it can be done.
Prove me wrong!
Primal Turkey
Over the past year, my love of turkey has grown and I have made our ceviche with it regularly. I actually prefer it over chicken these days. For other meals, I slice turkey like sashimi which gives it a wonderful texture and display. I’m pleased to report that last year’s turkey dish for our Thanksgiving potluck was a huge success! I arranged the sliced turkey out on a platter in a pleasing fashion. Next, I blended up savory spices such as sage, thyme and rosemary in a half pint mason jar. Once blended, I topped the jar off with raw cream and added a hint of red onion and a whisper of garlic into the mix. Then I set it in the fridge for a few hours before serving. An hour before mealtime, the platter of sliced turkey comes out of the fridge to warm up to room temperature and I carefully pour the savory cream sauce over the top in a beautiful display before serving. Adding a sprig of fresh rosemary tucked on the side for a touch of color as well as grinding whole peppercorn over the top could be a wonderful added touch for guests new to the Primal Diet™. It’s simple, easy to prepare, and delicious.
Add These Delicious Recipes Seamlessly to the Feast.
Pumpkin Pie
Aajonus came up with a brilliant alternative for pumpkin pie on P.140 in Recipe for Living Without Disease. If you haven’t tried it do yourself a favor and get some native or Japanese persimmons and give it a go. Our friends affectionately call this one “Persimmkin Pie” and Asa has requested I make one for his birthday this year. When celebrating special occasions, our family’s tradition is to serve up healthy and delicious raw pies. With each version I make, Phoenix says “It’s the best one yet!”. I’ve been improving the texture and taste and now find myself using little to no dates for the filling and add in more eggs and butter to create a custard.
Turkey Salad
I have made a tasty turkey salad that incorporates all the savory thanksgiving spices which gives it a wonderful seasonal flavor. I added a little bit of raw cranberry sauce, finely chopped celery and a dash of red onion and it was my best rendition so far.
Raw, Salt-Free Pickles, Krauts & Slaws
I also received a lot of positive feedback about the salt-free raw coleslaw and pickles I made for the Primal Diet™ Conference. The pickles were too spicy for Asa so I adjusted the recipe and added only a tiny amount of each spice, minus the peppercorns, so it works really well for kids.
Hybrid Thai Steak Salad Recipe
I shaved romaine lettuce onto a platter and then added a light layer of store bought organic sweet Thai Chili Sauce or Primal Spicy Thai Sauce p.81 (Recipe for Living Without Disease). Then I quickly seared a large steak which was cut into thinly sliced sections and layered across the bed of spicy lettuce with ground pepper and fresh cilantro sprinkled on top. As long as the first millimeter of flesh was seared on that steak no one batted an eye at eating it. As a matter of fact it was one of my most popular potluck dishes and was devoured rapidly with no chance of anyone being able to go back for seconds. I highly recommend this one for your friends not yet on the Primal Diet™. It was pretty much raw meat and everyone loved it!
To be honest, I’m not the best at following recipes.
I improvise and adjust ingredients based on my intuition, sense of smell, who I am making it for and the texture quality I am desiring. These recipes are offered as a guide and can be modified to suit your individual taste. I was recently asked where I purchased the organic vanilla powder I use in my pies and homemade ice cream. You can find it online from a company called Natural Zing. It’s pricey but lasts a long time so I feel it’s well worth the investment.
Tips to Stay Healthy & Connected to Life
In Temperate Zones, Eastern traditional cultures identified this time of year as the Vata season (or Air, or Metal). In the West, this was when communities would migrate to their Winter quarters and mingle with others, a time for weddings, and community celebrations. This is a time of the harvest, butchering, abundance, and sharing hearth and food with friends and loved ones.
For modern agricultural civilizations, Thanksgiving to Christmas (Winter Solstice) to the New Year is a time to celebrate the fruits of your labor and bring completion to the previous months of hard work.
Unfortunately, many of us arrive at January 1st feeling sluggish, sick, and guilty for eating all that pie.
How can you remain vibrant and alive during this exciting yet challenging time?
Here are some practical strategies that will bring you into the new year with clarity, purpose, equilibrium, and empowerment:
- Eat warm, moist, high fat and high protein live foods
- Minimize carb consumption
- Avoid sugar, salt, caffeine, and alcohol
- Practice good food combining- no fruit with meat
- Stay warm, wear layers, and stay out of the wind.
- Take Hot Baths regularly
- Get a massage and/or a coaching session
- Drink a cup of warm milk with honey before bedtime
- Sleep in and take naps
- Turn off electronics and electricity – use candlelight at night
- Listen to calming music
- Snuggle with people and pets by the fireplace
- Meditate and practice warm yin or restorative yoga
- Under-commit to holiday events
- Set a timer and leave events when you had planned
- Set up an escape plan in advance if events become stressful.
- In the midst of a difficult conversation (think politics and/or religion), don’t engage in the debate. Use our go-to response: “Oh, that’s a very interesting perspective. I can see how you might think that way.”
Breathe in Spirit, slow down, and celebrate!
Enjoy this season while you can, and take care of yourself in this time of transition.
For the next several weeks, we invite you to focus on recharging your battery, and to fill your cup with fun, connection, and warmth.
Most importantly relax, have fun, and verbalize your appreciation for the people and things in your life that you are grateful for.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the things we are doing wrong and how people and the world are going to hell in a hand-basket. While, this might be true, simultaneously, a beautiful new and natural world community is blossoming with amazing life and vitality and we want to recognize, appreciate, acknowledge, and cultivate this future into reality.
We are most grateful to you for being a part of this vision!
Eat Fat and Be Happy!
Avyanna