November and December is the toughest time of year for us Low Carbers! Holiday meals can be daunting even when not going low carb.
I actually spent time going over the holiday food menus to see what I COULD eat and what I needed to adjust to be able to eat satisfyingly.
In our family, we eat turkey and ham for Thanksgiving and beef for Christmas. I know everyone’s traditions are different, but that is ours. We have a few side dish adjustments depending upon the main dish.
Here is the usual menu for Thanksgiving:
- Turkey
- Ham
- Dressing
- Mashed Potatoes
- Green Beans
- Squash Casserole
- Spinach Casserole
- Peas
- Cranberry Relish
- Gravy
- Rolls
- Pumpkin Pie
Here is the adjusted menu for Thanksgiving:
- Turkey
- Ham
- Dressing – made with low carb almond flour “cornbread”
- Mashed Cauliflower
- Green Beans
- Squash Casserole – using crushed pork rinds for the cracker topping. No one noticed!
- Spinach Casserole – using crushed pork rinds for the cracker topping. No one noticed!
- Peas – we avoided but kept for others.
- Cranberry Relish – we did two versions one with sugar for others and a low carb version with Truvia.
- Gravy – we did regular gravy for others and had a recipe to do a low carb version.
- Rolls – we avoided, but could have made low carb bread.
- Pumpkin Pie – we did two versions one for others and a low carb version.
Now on to Christmas….
Here is the usual menu for Christmas:
- Rib Roast
- Yorkshire Pudding
- Mashed Potatoes
- Green Beans
- Broccoli Casserole
- Carrots
- Cranberry relish
- Gravy
- Rolls
- Pecan Pie
Here is the adjusted menu for Christmas:
- Rib Roast
- Yorkshire Pudding – made with soy flour recipe instead.
- Mashed Cauliflower
- Green Beans
- Broccoli Casserole – make with crushed pork rinds for Cheezit topping.
- Carrots – We went ahead and kept this even though it is a little higher carb, but will use Truvia brown sugar to glaze them.
- Cranberry relish – we will do a low carb version with Truvia.
- Gravy – we will do regular gravy for others and have a recipe to do a low carb version.
- Rolls – we will avoid, but we can make low carb bread.
- Pecan Pie – we can use a low carb syrup version of this with a almond flour crust.
I also had plenty of holiday savory and “sweet” nuts on hand for nibbles. We had the usual cheese and pork rinds on hand as well.
For those who are candy addicts like I can be at times (especially around the holidays) every store has a sugar free section of their candy aisle. There are some pretty good selections including Bob’s sugar free peppermints. Russell Stover‘s has a great selection and they are changing all over to Stevia based products now that taste better and don’t give as much gastrointestinal upset that other sugar substitutes can give when you accidentally over do it. (Come on… sometimes you just can’t stop at one piece!) If you see a Russell Stover Outlet on your interstate travels, DO stop in!
It isn’t as bad as one might think when living low carb. The possibilities are rather endless what you can do! It is gathering or adjusting the recipes that takes time. Hopefully I’ve gathered some on this site that are helpful. Other sites have some great recipes too! Too, Jennifer Eloff, George Stella and Dana Carpender‘s cookbooks are terrific!
You can do this! If I can… YOU can!
