I love Thanksgiving because it’s the one day of the year were it is socially acceptable to eat a lot of delicious food. And who doesn’t love that? Plus, in my household, Thanksgiving is our favorite because we love cooking! My mom and I put together a unique and delicious meal every year. We always make everything from scratch (I mean everything). As my dietary needs have changed over the years, we cook to accommodate and that makes it all the more fun. I always love a challenge in the kitchen.
Anyway, butternut squash is not only a classic winter staple but a must as some part of the Thanksgiving meal. So here is SIMPLE butternut squash recipe that no one will be able to resist when you are sitting around the table on Thanksgiving. You can easily sub out pumpkin in this dish, but I promise butternut squash gives you the perfect sweetness needed in this recipe.
allergy friendly paleo and pumpkin seed butternut squash
This is a delicious and easy side dish that is perfect for part of a holiday meal or just a weeknight dinner!
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Easy, fall, Simple, winter
Servings 4servings
Author Victoria Faling
Ingredients
1large butternut squashpeeled and chopped into cubes
2Tbspextra virgin olive oil
8fresh sage leavesfinely chopped
1/4cuppumpkin seeds
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F.
Mix butternut squash and sage leaves with the olive oil and spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 min.
Remove from oven and mix in the pumpkin seeds. Bake for another 10-20 minutes until butternut squash is easily pierced with a fork and pumpkin seeds and sage are fragrant and golden.
allergy friendly paleo and pumpkin seed butternut squashallergy friendly paleo and pumpkin seed butternut squash
A (Lyme) friend of mine introduced me to Kohlrabi the other month. I’d seen it in the store before but had never tried it. She eased me into the process of what it was, what it tasted it like, and how to “deal” with it. And now I’m obsessed.
I personally think kohlrabi tastes like a milder version of jicama, not quite as sweet. I’ve enjoyed snacking on it raw or in salads along with cooking it. This recipe makes for a super yummy, uber simple, soul-warming side as the months get colder.
This would also make a totally appropriate Thanksgiving side if you doubled or quadrupled the recipe (depending on number of guests). Get ready, over the the next 3 weeks I’ll be bringing you all Thanksgiving worthy dishes!
Cinnamon Kohlrabi
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
2 kohlrabi, peeled and chopped into cubes
1-2 tbs. EVOO
3 tbs. coconut aminos
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Heat 1 tbs. of EVOO in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the kohlrabi and saute for about 5 minutes until it begins to soften.
Add the coconut aminos, cinnamon, and ginger. Cook for 5-10 minutes until soft and easily pierced with a fork. Add more olive oil during the cooking process if kohlrabi begins to stick to the pan.
These delicious chicken skewers are marinated in robust herbs like ginger and turmeric for anti-inflammatory benefits and gut health. Filled with flavor, this allergy friendly chicken dish is completely AIP, dairy free, and nightshade free. You truly can enjoy delicious food while healing your body!
This recipe was inspired by Living Loving Paleo’s Chicken Satay recipe. I just modified it to fit my dietary restrictions.
To make this chicken satay, you’ll marinate chicken in a blend of coconut milk and delicious spices for several hours. When ready to cook, you can use your oven (no fancy grills or air fryers needed). It’s a very simple chicken recipe that still packs a flavor punch.
How to Serve
I love serving these chicken skewers over a bed of greens which fresh chopped veggies like cucumber and tomatoes. They also pair perfectly with rice and a side salad. This recipe is a great meal prep recipe so you have a protein prepped to add to lunches or dinners.
These delicious chicken skewers are marinated in robust spices and creamy coconut milk. Completely gluten free and dairy free, you can enjoy chicken in an exciting way that is also allergy friendly!
1lbschicken breastspounded to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
1/2cupfull fat coconut milk
2heaping Tbspcilantrochopped
2tspfresh grated ginger root
1/2tspturmeric
1/4tspsaffron
1/2tspsea salt
Skewersmetal or wooden
Instructions
Mix all ingredients together in a plastic bag and marinate the chicken for 2-12 hours in the fridge.
If you are using wooden skewers, about 30-60 minutes before you are ready to cook the chicken, soak the skewers in water.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire cooling rack on top. Weave chicken onto skewers and place on the wire rack.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until chicken is almost done. Broil on high for about 5-10 minutes until chicken is done.
I enjoy eating this over a salad but you can make any type of peanut sauce to go with it, as well.
By now you all should know that granola is up there on my list of favorite foods. It’s almost at the number one slot but I’d have to say that (if I could eat anything) number 1 is definitely saltines with peanut butter. Yes, you read that right. Delicious, salty gluten smothered in the beloved peanut butter that I’m allergic to.
Anyway, back to the granola. Since I eat a paleo diet, I obviously don’t eat traditional sugar and grain-laden granola. I get tired of nut and seed only granolas, they are so heavy and fat (yeah yeah yeah paleo-ers love fat but I just can’t stand high amounts at once!). I’m always looking for creative ways to switch up granola and what to make the base out of (read: substitute for oats). And of course, I like to keep my granola refined-sugar free.
I have a variety of delicious and fun granola recipes on the blog and you can search them either by clicking the recipe tab at the top of my website or by searching “granola” in the box to the right. But, let’s get on to THIS granola recipe that utilizes an ingredient that has fast become one of my favorites: plantains!
Paleo Plantain Granola
Makes about 4 cups
Ingredients:
1 ripe plantain
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Peel and slice the plantain into about 1/8 inch thick slices. You can carefully use a knife to do this or use a mandolin. Take each slice and cut into quarters.
Toss the plantain slices in 1 tbs. of the coconut oil and spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 min until plantain just begins to get crisp (should still be slightly soft and chewy).
While plantain is cooking, mix all remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Once plantain is done, remove from oven and decrease temperature to 325 F.
Mix the plantain pieces into the bowl with the remaining ingredients. Evenly spread granola back onto the same parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and mix the granola on the tray then return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes or until granola is slightly browned and crunchy. Watch granola during the last 5 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Let cool (at least slightly, I know the temptation to eat it right away is strong) to allow everything to crunch up nicely before serving over ice cream, with fresh almond or coconut milk, and/or topped with your favorite fresh or frozen fruit.
This recipe may be one of my favorite quick and delicious meals I’ve ever made. It takes about 30 minutes total to make this dish and it seriously resembles the real thing w/o nasty or inflammatory ingredients. Add this to your meal plan for the next week, you won’t be sorry!
You can easily use a full pound of ground turkey to make this dish heartier and last longer. I knew I wanted to meal prep for two meals and I prefer to keep my veggie intake SUPER high so I only used a 1/2 lbs.
Ginger is one of my favorite ingredients and flavors. I put it in just about everything (from my green juice to my smoothies to my dinners to my desserts). Ginger has a host of healing advantages, digestive aids, and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Coconut aminos have fast become one of my favorite condiments to add to dishes or use and mix into sauces. It’s a great substitute for soy sauce because it is gluten free and doesn’t contain soy (an inflammatory, highly processed food). Coconut aminos are sweeter then soy sauce but the flavor profile is similar, so just add an extra pinch of salt to your dish.
AIP Not-Cauliflower Fried “Rice”
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 black radish (or daikon)
1 medium celeriac root
1 tbs. olive oil
2 large carrots, chopped
3/4 cup frozen green peas
1/2 lbs. ground turkey
3 tbs. coconut aminos
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Peel and chop your radish and celeriac into large chunks. Pulse in the food processor until you get a rice-like consistency.
Heat 1 tbs. olive oil in a large saucepan. Add your “rice” and cook for 5 min, stirring occasionally. Add more oil as needed.
While rice is cooking, cook your ground turkey in a separate frying pan, making sure to crumble turkey well.
After your rice has been cooking for 5 min, add your carrots and cook for another 5 min. Then add the peas and cook for 2 more minutes.
At this point your turkey should be almost cooked, add it to the veggie mixture along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well and cook for another 3-5 minutes until turkey is fully cooked.
I haven’t had any desire to blog recently (in case you hadn’t noticed). It’s nothing against you all, I just haven’t been in the space to want to do it. I plan to honor that instead of forcing myself to write, get a post up every week, and end up throwing out half-assed content onto the internet. I’ll be posting recipes on occasion when I feel like cooking and measuring and sharing, but they’ll be quick posts with just the recipe for now. I hope you can bare with me until I get my groove back ;).
Also, in case you didn’t know, I’m not vegan anymore. I returned to a paleo diet and plan to write a post on that someday. For now, if you want to know more about why I made this decision, you can check out the brief details in this Instagram post from a few weeks back.
If you aren’t following me on Instagram, I suggest you do so. I’ve remained active there and post short recipes. So if you are missing me, you can find me expressing my passion on a different social media outlet for now.
Also, I’d love to know what you all want to see on the blog. Just recipes? More updates on Lyme? Weekly, monthly, quarterly updates on Lyme treatment? Let me know in the comments.
Crockpot Anti-Inflammatory Meatballs and Greens
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 lbs. ground meat (lamb is one of the most anti-inflammatory and gut healing, but I used a mix of turkey and beef in this recipe)
1 heaping tablespoon fresh grated ginger root (about a 2 inch knob)
1 tsp. ground turmeric powder
1/2 large bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. pink himalayan sea salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper (omit if AIP/low-fodmap. Pepper is used to activate the effects of turmeric in the body, although I do not consume pepper at this time)
1 bunch of kale
1 bunch of rainbow chard
1/4 cup coconut aminos
2 tbs. of white sesame seeds, divided (omit if AIP)
Combine all ingredients from the meat to the pepper in a bowl and mix well. Form into 16 meatballs and place evenly along the bottom of the crockpot.
Cook meatballs for 3-4 hours on low.
While meatballs are cooking, de-rib your kale and chop or tear into large pieces. Repeat with the chard, but no need to de-rib, eat those stems!
When the meatballs have about 30 minutes left to cook, push them to one side of the crockpot then add the greens, coconut aminos, and 1 tbs. of the sesame seeds to the cleared side of the crockpot. Mix well.
Once cooked, plate the greens and top with remaining sesame seeds (more if desired) and then the meatballs.
Hi! I'm Victoria. I was diagnosed with Lyme in 2012 and have been on a healing journey ever since. I love helping others on their road to healing through allergy friendly recipes, exercise, and overall well-being.
