Spectacular Sides For Thanksgiving

Hello Friends!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  It’s hard to believe that it’s less than a week away.  We know it’s a spectacular time of year to be with family and friends and of course the start of indulgence season!  Although the Organic Housewives households will partake in the festivities big time what we do is pick and choose and make healthier options available at the table.   By making some simple substitutions you will be able to avoid the “holiday ten” (the ten pounds we seem to gain between November 1st and January 1st), stay more on track with your health goals but most important ENJOY the holidays.

Many of our friends think that we are total tea-totalers, steamed veggie eaters and workout fiends.  That isn’t the case.  However we do respect the difficulty in trying to reverse the weight gain and make a lot of healthy choices so that our indulgences hopefully don’t show up on our waistlines.  Since many of you will be starting your Thanksgiving shopping this weekend we thought we would put out some healthy options for side dishes that are delicious and easy to prepare.  We know better than to even touch the main attraction of the turkey. 🙂

Most of sides can be made ahead and served room temperature or warmed before serving.

Sauteed Green Beans and Shallots

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh green beans trimmed or haricot verts
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large shallots sliced thin (will look like small rings)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
• 1/4 cup of toasted or slivered almonds for garnish

Directions

1. In a large saucepan or shallow pot steam green beans for 5-6 minutes in 1-inch of boiling water, covered. Drain beans and return pan to heat.
2. lower heat to medium-high and add olive oil to the pan until hot.  Then add shallots  Saute shallots for 5-6 minutes until crispy.  Be careful as they go from brown to burned easily!  Add drained green beans to pan with shallots, season beans with a little salt and then lightly toss before transferring to a serving plate.
3. Garnish green beans with toasted slivered or sliced almonds.

Cauliflower Gratin

Ingredients

• 4  cups cauliflower florets (about one medium head of cauliflower)
• 1 ½ Tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons of almond meal
• 1 Tablespoon of nutritional yeast (non-vegans can sub parmesan cheese)
• ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper – optional

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or 8 by 12-inch baking pan with parchment paper or lightly oil baking sheet.
2. Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and dry ingredients and place on pan making sure to leave a little space between florets.
3. Bake for 10 minutes and toss florets.  Bake for 10-15 minutes more checking for desired doneness.

The key is having the florets chopped into bite-sized pieces.  The good news is cauliflower florets break apart easily so paring them down to a nice size that will fit on fork is easy to do.

Oven Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half through the core
• 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix the olive oil, vinegar and minced garlic together.  Place the halved brussel sprouts in the mixture and toss lightly together until all sprouts are coated.
3. Place the Brussels sprouts on a sheet pan, including some of the loose leaves, which get crispy when they’re roasted.  Spread the sprouts out in a single layer and season with salt and pepper.
4. Roast the Brussels sprouts for 20 to 30 minutes, until they’re tender and nicely browned. Toss once during roasting.
5. Remove from the oven and serve.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  We are so thankful for your interest and support in making healthier choices for you and your families.  The encouragement, praise and success stories continue to motivate and inspire us to do greater things in our lives as well!

Love and hugs,

Donna and Daniela