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Holiday Meal Planning & Recipes

By Mary McDougall

This time of year, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays frighten many people who eat a healthy diet. They wonder how to socialize with friends and/or how to prepare a meal at home that will please their guests. These two days are supposed to be the largest feasts of the year. Yet in fact, both dinners are the healthiest, most vegetarian-like, most McDougall-like meals people eat all year long.

Traditionally, these holiday dinners consist of mashed white potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, a bread stuffing, butternut and acorn squash, cranberries, and a variety of green vegetables, including Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, and green beans. For dessert, pumpkin pie ends the feast. That’s a cornucopia of starches and vegetables. The turkey served is the leanest of all common meats. The truth is that every other dinner consumed by Westerners all year long is far richer in fat, cholesterol, salt and sugar than is eaten at these two traditional festivals.

Therefore, if you are a healthy eater you will find Thanksgiving and Christmas the two most comfortable times of the year to socialize with all of your family and friends. I have laid out the menu, shopping list, and time schedule so that you will be able to more easily prepare a successful meal.

The starred (★) items are ones I suggest for a basic meal plan, and then add as many more dishes as you feel your Thanksgiving dinner needs to fit your celebration.

MENU:

• Creamy Pumpkin Soup
• Mary’s Caesar Salad
• Holiday Stuffed Pumpkin ★
• Mashed Potatoes ★
• Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Creamy Golden Gravy ★
• Rich Brown Gravy
• Whole Wheat & Sourdough Rolls with Elephant Garlic Spread
• Cranberry Sauce ★
• Spicy Green Beans With Shallots, Garlic, And Ginger ★
• Brussels Sprouts with Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing
• Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Cream Sauce ★
• Wicked Chocolate Pie

SHOPPING TIPS:

Shop for the non-perishable items about a week ahead of time. These are the canned and packaged products, such as vegetable broth, canned pumpkin, flour, silken tofu and any dried herbs and spices that you may need. Potatoes, sweet potatoes and garlic can be purchased ahead of time as long as you have a cool place to store them. Choose the menu items that you want to include for your Thanksgiving feast, then look through the recipes. Check over this shopping list as you go through the recipes, and make sure you also have the pantry items available. Shop for your perishable items no more than 2 days before the holiday, if possible.

SHOPPING LIST

The following shopping lists are for the complete menu above. You will have to adjust the items needed depending on what you plan to prepare.

CANNED AND PACKAGED PRODUCTS

These may be purchased ahead of time and stored in your pantry or refrigerator.

6-7 boxes (32 ounces) vegetable broth
2 cans (15-16 ounces each) pumpkin
1 jar (12 ounces) applesauce
3 containers (32 ounces) non-dairy milk
1 jar (8 ounces) pure maple syrup
5 packages (12.3 ounces each) Firm Silken Tofu
2 cups (16 ounces) non-dairy chocolate chips
1 bag (16 ounces) Sucanat
16 ounces dried, pitted prunes
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen raspberries
1 cup unsalted roasted cashews
1 cup sliced almonds
1 container (32 ounces) orange juice
1 jar (4 ounces) capers

FRESH INGREDIENTS

The first nine ingredients may be purchased ahead of time. Buy the fresh vegetables and bread products the day before, if possible.

4 onions
1 bunch celery
1 head garlic
2 heads elephant garlic
5 pounds potatoes
3 pounds yams or sweet potatoes
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 small pumpkin (to serve the soup in-optional)
1 medium-large pumpkin
Bagged organic baby greens
2 pounds green beans
2 pounds Brussels sprouts
1 large loaf whole wheat bread
6-8 whole wheat or sourdough rolls

PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED

These are used in several of the recipes and are things that you probably already have in your pantry. Check over this list and purchase anything that you don’t have.

Tabasco sauce
Curry powder
Soy sauce (at least 1 cup)
Tahini
Vanilla
Whole wheat flour
Unbleached white flour
Brown rice flour
Cornstarch
Salt
Black pepper
Golden brown sugar
Sugar
Dijon mustard
Pumpkin pie spice
Cinnamon
Ground ginger
Ground cloves
Parsley flakes
Sage
Marjoram
Thyme
Bay leaves
Poultry seasoning
Rosemary
Parmesan cheese substitute
Lemon juice

TIME SCHEDULE

1 week ahead:

Shop for non-perishable items and some of the perishable foods listed above.
Order rolls from bakery.

3 days ahead:

Make salad dressings.
Make cranberry sauce.

2 days ahead:

Shop for vegetables and whole wheat bread.
Make Creamy Pumpkin Soup.
Bake sweet potatoes or yams and prepare Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
Make Elephant Garlic Spread.
Make Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing.
Make the raspberry sauce and the almond topping for the chocolate pie.

1 day ahead:

Pick up the pre-ordered rolls.
Make the pumpkin pie and vanilla sauce.
Make the chocolate pie.
Trim the green beans and Brussels sprouts.
Make the Golden Gravy.
Partially make the brown gravy.
Cube the bread and allow to sit out overnight

Thanksgiving (Morning):

Peel potatoes and place in cold water to cover.
Clean out pumpkins.
Make stuffing mixture and stuff pumpkin.

Thanksgiving (Afternoon):

Take sweet potatoes and soup out of refrigerator.
Place pumpkin in oven and bake as directed.
Cook potatoes and mash.
Wash vegetables and cook.
Finish brown gravy and slowly reheat Golden Gravy.
Reheat mashed sweet potatoes.
Finish soup and heat.
Place baby greens in bowl. Serve with dressings.
Heat rolls and garlic spread.
Don’t forget the cranberry sauce.

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