We know Thanksgiving can be rough in a gluten-filled world of stuffing, pie, and dinner rolls. But it can also be a good way to convince your relatives that you are not weird followers of Gwyneth Paltrow, but rather excellent chefs with more interesting alternatives to contribute to the holiday (that just happen to be gluten-free).
Janna likes to laugh in the face of tradition by serving Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Brunch instead of dinner. It started a few years back with her hospital schedule making dinner with the family impossible. Turns out, people really love brunch, so she keeps it going.
To be clear, most of these great recipes came from wonderful bloggers, to whom we give all the credit and the thanks.
Red Velvet Waffles (with almond flour!) from
A Beautiful Mess
Red Velvet Waffles, make 4-5
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons almond flour (we like Mama's brand Almond Mix)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring
In a bowl combine the dry ingredients (the first seven listed above) and whisk to incorporate. Now add in the remaining ingredients and stir until just combined. Allow the batter to rest for 20 minutes. Follow your particular waffle iron directions and make waffles.
Superfood Kale Salad from
The First Mess
the everyday superfood salad recipe
serves: 4-6
notes: I throw some ground coriander in with the seeds, but any spice you’re into would be great. This salad can definitely hang for a few hours if you keep the blueberry dressing off until you’re ready to serve. And a note on the blueberry dressing: the flavour isn’t like a liquified pie filling with ginger. There’s a fresh and tart quality to it. If you want more a more pronounced blueberry-ness, I would suggest cooking the berries down in a saucepan with the maple syrup for a bit before you blend up the dressing.
salad ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, leaves chopped kinda small
1 broccoli branch/segment, florets finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper (I used Himalayan pink salt–any old salt is fine)
1 small beet (red or golden or striped), thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 ripe avocado, peeled + sliced
1-2 sprigs of basil, chopped
handful of blueberries
blueberry ginger dressing ingredients:
heaped 1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled + chopped
2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
big splash of water
salt + pepper
1/4 cup oil (grapeseed or extra virgin olive oil)
omega seed sprinkle ingredients:handful sunflower seeds
handful pumpkin seeds
1-2 tbsp flax seeds
1-2 tbsp chia seeds
1-2 tbsp hemp seeds
handful of puffed quinoa (or puffed millet, brown rice etc)
pinch of ground coriander
pinch of salt
In a large bowl, massage the kale and chopped broccoli with the lime juice, salt and pepper. Keep massaging until the leaves seem a bit more tender. Taste a leaf for seasoning, adjust and set aside. Chop and prep all of the other salad ingredients and set aside.
Make the dressing: combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until you have a creamy and unified mixture. Check for seasoning and sweetness, adjust and set aside.
In a medium sauté pan, combine all of the omega seed sprinkle ingredients over medium heat. Stir them around here and there until they smell toasty and the coriander is a bit more prominent. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Arrange the massaged kale and broccoli on your serving plate. Top the greens with the beets, carrots, avocado, chopped basil, and blueberries. Season the whole thing with salt and pepper again. Stir up the dressing (it should have thickened a bit) and drizzle it all over the top and garnish the salad with the omega seed sprinkle. Serve it up!
Carrot, Ginger, Orange Soup with White Bean Puree from
Vitamix Website
So you can make this on Variable 1 setting in a Vitamix, or you can cook it at a simmer for 10-15 min and then stick the damn thing in a food processor like everyone else.
Ingredients (for 5 people)
- 1 pound (454 g) carrots, chopped
- 2 medium onions, peeled, sliced
- 2-inch-(2.5 cm) cube of fresh ginger root or 2 1/2 teaspoons Ginger Paste (See Recipe)
- 2 Tablespoons (30 g) reduced fat butter spread ( I prefer real butter!)
- 6 cups (960 ml) vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 3 oranges, peeled, halved
- 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) piece orange peel
- 1 14 oz can Great Northern White Beans
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Directions:
- Sautee your chopped carrots, onions, ginger and orange peel in butter until onions go translucent. Now add your broth and simmer, or stick it in the Vitamix at the point. If you simmer, don't forget to blend to a velvet puree in the food processor before serving.
Chai Tea
This is a recipe I got from some friends running the Pole Pole Restaurant in Bodh Gaya, India.
The amount of sugar you use is completely up to you. The type of milk you use is completely up to you, but we recommend more fat whenever possible. Hemp seems to be a good non-dairy substitute.
Note: you know you are doing it right if a tiny brown skin forms over the top of your chai!
Ingredients (for 2-3 people):
3 - 4 Tea Spoons/good loose black tea (Darjeeling)
A chunk of dry ginger (or fresh ginger if dry isn't handy)
3 - 4 cardmom pods, crushed
3 Cloves
Small piece of cinnamon
A Tsp of Fennel seeds
1 or 2 whole black peppercorns
1/2 a bayleaf (optional)
Sugar to taste
Milk (atleast Vitamin D, low fat won't do)
Brewing:
Bring 2 cups of water to boil (microwave or otherwise). Add all the ingredients and boil again for about 15 seconds. Let stand for a minute.Warm milk in a pot.
Filter tea into cups.
Add milk and sugar.
Wild Mushroom Quiche
Another one that Janna just makes up every time. The important part is the gluten free crust recipe from
A Little Insanity. And some tasty mushrooms. You can soak dried ones for 30 min, or use fresh. We like a mix of chantrelles, wood ears, and Lobsters. Add some thyme and black pepper, plenty of butter to sautee your shrooms with, and you can let this simple dish do the talking.
Brussel sprouts with Bacon, Dates, and Ras al Hanout
This recipe was adapted from something I had at a restaurant once, and so the measurements on spices are pretty much taste-as-you-go. xoxo, Janna
1 lb of brussel sprouts, halved
5-10 dates, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup chopped and roasted pecans
5-6 strips thick cut bacon, chopped to lardoons
Olive oil
Ras-al-Hanout ( a moroccan spice blend meaning "Best of the Shop")
Roast your pecans, we like to use a frying pan on top of the stove at medium heat, with lots of agitating the dry nuts in the pan until they get good and brown.
Chop your bacon into 1/2 inch pieces
Mix all your ingredients and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. We usually use 2 tablespoons of the Ras-al-Hanout, and toss with that.
Pour it into a casserole dish, and bake for 25-35 min on 350F in your oven. We'd be more specific, but we have a really crappy oven over here in Janna's "test kitchen".
