A Dietitian Approved Thanksgiving Menu With #MartinsFoods

Every Thanksgiving, we come together over a table full of delicious food, drinks and laughter. Traditionally, we cook up decadent dishes like sweet potato casserole and stuffing, but this year we thought it would be fun if we came up with a few new traditional dishes, with a healthy twist! Read on for our full, Dietitian approved Thanksgiving menu.

It’s never too early to plan, so we decided to throw a little pre-thanksgiving family dinner this past weekend, to try out our new recipes. We took a trip to Martin’s to grab all of our essentials! Martin’s has a great produce section, full of fresh fruits and veggies that are always so well organized, which we love. We not only grabbed all of our fresh veggies, quinoa, fruits and herbs, we also picked up a Nature’s Promise Turkey to be the centerpiece of our meal. Martin’s is also currently offering an additional savings opportunity for new online shoppers. Sign up here to receive $5.00 off your next online purchase! Who doesn’t love a little savings, especially around the holidays.

Once we got home, we got to work on our menu:

HERB CRUSTED TURKEY

INGREDIENTS
1 Nature’s Promise Whole Turkey
1 onion
1 carrot
salt and pepper
2 tbsp fresh thyme (minced)
2 tbsp fresh rosemary (minced)
2 tbsp fresh parsley (minced)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Remove the neck and giblets and wash your turkey with cold water, then pat dry.
3. Season the cavity with salt and pepper and place the onion and carrot inside.
4. Mix your fresh herbs together with salt and pepper (to taste) and rub the herbs on the turkey.
5. Place the turkey in a roasting pan with aluminum foil tented over it.
6. Roast the turkey for 3 1/2 – 4 hours or to when the internal temperature reaches 170 degree. Baste the turkey with its juices every hour during the cooking process.
7. Let the turkey rest for 20-30 minutes and remove the carrot and onion and slice it up!

Now, the sides.

SWEET POTATOES WITH GOAT CHEESE & CRANBERRIES

INGREDIENTS
6 cups peeled & cubed sweet potato
16 oz coconut water
1 Tbsp coconut milk
½ tsp nutmeg
2 oz goat cheese
¼ cup dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS
1. To a large pot, add sweet potatoes and coconut water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork (about 15-20 minutes).
2. Drain potatoes and set aside half of the remaining liquid.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add nutmeg and mash potatoes with potato masher.
4. Add coconut milk and leftover liquid then whip with a hand mixer until smooth.
5. Transfer to serving dish then top with goat cheese and cranberries.

STEAMED GREEN BEANS WITH ALMOND MEAL & SAGE CRUMB TOPPING

INGREDIENTS
½ pound green beans
½ almond meal
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ clove garlic, minced
½ tsp dried sage

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In small frying pan head olive oil and garlic. Once oil is bubbling, turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes to infuse flavor then spoon out garlic pieces.
3. Add almond meal and sage to pan and stir to coat evenly with olive oil.
4. Spread out onto foil covered baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle over freshly steamed green beans and serve.

CAULIFLOWER & QUINOA STUFFING

INGREDIENTS
½ cauliflower head
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced.
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
½ cup uncooked rinsed quinoa
8 oz (1 cup) unsalted vegetable broth
1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp sage
1 Tbsp thyme
1 Tbsp rosemary
1 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. In small pot bring quinoa and broth to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until liquid absorbed and tender.
2. While quinoa is cooking, chop cauliflower up into pieces then in blender/food processor, 1/2 cup at a time, and pulse to quiona/rice size.
3. In large frying pan, warm 1 Tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion and celery, cooking for 5 minutes.
4. Add cauliflower and cook for 10 minutes or until cooked and celery is tender. Simultaneously in a separate pan, heat ½ tsp of olive oil and cook mushrooms until browned.
5. Stir in mushrooms, spices and quinoa to cooked cauliflower mixture, then continue to cook for 2 minutes.
6. Transfer stuffing to serving dish and enjoy!

SPICED APPLES & PEARS

INGREDIENTS
3 apples, peeled and sliced
2 pears, peeled and sliced
½ cup walnuts
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp honey
3 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In large mixing bowl toss apples, pears and walnuts with lemon juice, honey and cinnamon.
3. Transfer to 9 inch pie pan or baking dish of equivalent size.
4. Bake for 30 minutes.

Our healthy pre-thanksgiving was a big hit! So, this year, try adding a few healthy swaps to your Thanksgiving table and grab everything you need at #MartinsFoods!

– Brooke & Erica