While the Thanksgiving turkey is usually the show stopper, it would be pretty boring without an amazing supporting cast (aka side dishes). It is always a struggle to find yummy side dish recipes that are healthy. I’ll be the first to admit, for the holidays I loosen up a little and some not so good for you things sneak in, but I try and save those up for the things that really count… like pie. Here are some of my favorite recipes that I think you’ll love and will help keep you on track.
Turkeys kind of have a mind of their own as far as when they are done. Some take forever and others surprise you and are done early, so I like to have something for folks to nibble on while I’m cooking dinner. I had an amazing Cranberry Corn Salsa eating out one time and fell in love with. Here is my version:
Cranberry Corn Salsa
Ingredients:
1/2 small sweet onion diced fine
2 large jalapeno diced fine (seeds removed)
1 T olive oil
1lb fresh cranberries
1 t salt
1 cup cider vinegar
1 ½ cups honey
Pinch cayenne
2 – 10-ounce cans white shoe peg corn
1 drop doTERRA Wild Orange essential oil
1 drop doTERRA Lemon essential oil
Juice from one lime (or 2 T) [Yes you can add a drop of lime essential oil but you need the acid from the juice too.]
1/2 cup cilantro chopped fine
Cooking Directions
Heat olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat and add onions. Cook until softened.
Add cranberries, cook and stir for 5 minutes; add jalapeno, vinegar, honey, cayenne, and corn and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened, about 7 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice, cilantro and essential oils.
Serve with corn tortilla chips.
Most of us grew up with marshmallow topped sweet potatoes or yams. My family loved them, but I’ve never been a fan so I avoided sweet potatoes my whole live until I found one this recipe when I started doing my Candida diet. It is so yummy you won’t believe there isn’t sugar in it.
Kicked Up Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
4 sweet potatoes or yams. (I prefer yams. They are the dark ones).
4 teaspoons butter, divided equally
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
Wash sweet potatoes and prick with a fork.
Microwave potatoes for about 5-7 minutes or until soft OR bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until soft. (I bake them).
Mix spices together and set aside.
Make a slit in the potato just as you would for a regular baked potato.
Insert 1 tsp butter into each and sprinkle with the spice mix.
Fluff sweet potato to mix in butter and spices with fork.
Feel free to adjust the amount of spices and butter to your liking.
However, me being me I like to substitute the cinnamon and butter with a compound Cinnamon Butter I keep in my freezer for this and anything else I’d like to have Cinnamon Sugar on.
But what about the pie???? We can’t live without the pie. You are right, I can’t live without the pie either, but I’m not really a baker. I can do it, but it is an exact science so I tend to use other people’s recipes. So this Thanksgiving the Pumpkin Pie recipe I’m dying to try is shared by the amazing Prairie Homestead Blogger, Jill Winger: Prairie Homestead Pumpkin Pie Recipe of course in my usual tradition I’m going to substitute her pie spice for some essential oils: 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 2 drops doTERRA Clove essential oil, 2 drops doTERRA Ginger essential oil, 3 drops doTERRA Cinnamon essential oil. It is a combo I’ve used before in pumpkin pie with great results. I think it is going to be amazing!
Note: All essential oils aren’t created equally. Especially for internal use check the label to see if it is safe. Personally I only use doTERRA essential oils. Why?…Essential Oil Grades
If you’d like to know more about what products I use please send me a message below.
