With Thanksgiving right around the corner you may be trying to plan what to make for your soiree or bring to a friend’s get together. Today there are many different types of diets that need to be accounted for when you are hosting a party. As daunting that may seem, vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan lifestyles are a great excuse to try a new recipe! If you are a guest and have a special diet, let the host know and offer to bring a dish for everyone to share! This way you have something you know you can eat and offers the other guests a dish that they may have never tried. Here are a few options to bring or make for your Thanksgiving feast!
Appetizer
Smoked Salmon Crostini: Gluten-Free
What You’ll Need to Make it:
1/2 cup chopped fennel bulb
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound cold-smoked salmon, cut into thin strips
48 (1/2-inch-thick) slices gluten-free French bread baguette (about 1 1/2 pounds), toasted
1/2 cup light garlic-and-herbs spreadable cheese
Dill sprigs (optional)
What You Need to Do:
1. Combine first 8 ingredients; cover and chill at least 1 hour.
2. Spread each toast slice with 1/2 teaspoon cheese
3. Top each toast slice with 1 tablespoon salmon mixture. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.
Holiday Soup for the Soul: Vegan
What You Need to Make it:
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup red quinoa, uncooked
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 vegetable bouillon cube (not low sodium)
6 cups water, boiled
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1.5-2 cups cooked black beans (about one 15oz can)
1 tsp good-quality curry powder
Pinch or two of cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 cups baby spinach leaves, well rinsed and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pinch of saffron threads (optional, but tasted amazing)
What You Need to Do:
1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the chopped sweet onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the chopped carrots, chopped zucchini, and minced garlic, and continue to sauté for about 5-7 minutes.
2. Place your bouillon cube into a medium sized bowl. Boil 6 cups of water and pour over the bouillon cube. Stir well to dissolve. Add bouillon mixture, tomatoes, red quinoa, black beans, and spices + seasonings. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Add the roughly chopped spinach, stir well, and cover. Simmer on low for about 15-35 minutes. The longer you cook it the more the flavours will develop. Taste test and adjust seasonings if necessary. I also have a feeling this soup will be even better the next day! Garnish with nuts of choice if preferred.
Makes about 8-10 cups.
Main Dishes and Sides
Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings: Vegetarian & Gluten-Free
*This dish can easily go vegan with some simple swaps!
You Need To Make It:
Cooking spray
1/2 c. quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
1 c. vegetable broth
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 apple, cored and diced
1/2 c. shredded sharp, aged or smoked cheddar cheese
1/4 c. dried cranberries
2 tbsp. chopped sage
2 tbsp. chopped walnuts
salt + pepper to taste
1 egg, whisked
3 small acorn or sweet dumpling squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices (remove seeds & guts)
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. maple syrup
What You Need To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray or oil and place squash rings on sheets.
2. Cook quinoa in broth according to package directions. Cool slightly.
3. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion. Cook about 10 minutes, or until onion is just beginning to brown. Add apple and cook about 5 minutes more, until apple is softened. Allow to cool slightly.
4. Combine quinoa, apple and onion mixture, cheese, cranberries, sage, and walnuts in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in egg.
5. In a small bowl, combine butter and maple syrup. Brush tops and insides of squash rings with butter mixture; season with salt and pepper.Stuff quinoa filling into the center of each squash ring, pressing down to fit as much stuffing as possible without overflowing. Spray centers of squash rings with oil or cooking spray. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and squash is tender.
Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters: Vegan
makes 6-7 small round fritters
What You Need to Make:
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree (canned)
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 tsp garlic granules
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
a few dashes of pepper, cayenne and salt to taste
optional: 1-2 tsp flour to assist in binding if needed
1 cup panko bread crumbs for coating
1/4 – 1/2 cup safflower oil for frying
What You Need to Do:
1. Add the chickpeas and pumpkin to a large mixing bowl. With a large fork or potato masher, mash the beans until at least 75% of them have been mashed together with the pumpkin.
2. Add in the spices, apple cider, hemp seeds and optional flour. Fold together until a moist mixture forms.
3. Preheat a few tablespoons of safflower oil in a large skillet.
4. When the oil is hot, for the mixture into golf ball sized balls and roll in your panko crumbs until well covered – pat down into flatter cakes and place int he hot oil – carefully.
5. Continue until the pan is full – leave about an inch space between each cake for easier flipping. Cook on each side only about 1-2 minutes – or until toasty brown. Try not to burn, although a bit of crisping is nice.
6. Transfer cooked fritters to a paper towel to cool. Serve in about 5 minutes after cooling a bit.
Store in the fridge and reheat in the oven if desired. You can freeze as well. However, these fritters are best hot off the skillet!
Desserts:
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Dessert: Gluten-Free
What You Need to Make it:
1/2 of this pie crust recipe
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
scant 2/3 cup light corn syrup or rice syrup
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tbsp. bourbon
1 2/3 cups chopped pecans, lightly toasted
3/4 cup good quality chocolate chips
What You Need to Do:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Make your pie crust and set it in the fridge to chill while you make the filling.
2. Place pecans in a dry pan and toast over medium heat until you begin to smell them. Shut off heat and set aside to cool.
3. Mix together eggs, sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup, butter, and bourbon in a large bowl until combined.
4. Fold in pecans and chocolate chips to filling mix.
5. Pour filling into chilled pie crust and bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is golden and puffy but still a bit jiggly in the middle.
6. Let cool completely before slicing.
Swirled Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie: Vegan
What You Need to Make it:
1 pack vanilla vegan pudding
*Dr. Oetker brand
1 1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup soy creamer
3 Tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
dash of salt
2 Tbsp Vegenaise
1/4 cup vegan sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1 1/2 containers soy cream cheese (about 12 oz.)
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw Brazil nuts
1 tsp cinnamon spice blend (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)
1 dash cayenne
1 can organic pumpkin puree (16 oz.)
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
One pre-made vegan graham crust
What You Need to Do:
1. Gather ingredients. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place a small pot on stove top. Turn heat to med-high. Add: soy milk, soy creamer, pudding mix and salt. Stir briskly until pudding mix is well-dissolved in pan.
2. Next, carefully stir in the arrowroot powder. Try not to let it clump.
3. The mixture should be thickening and reducing by now. Continue stirring briskly so that it does not burn. You may want to turn the heat down to medium. Now add in the cream cheese, Vegenaise and sugar. Stir until the cream cheese is melted into the mixture and the filling is bubbling and thickened.
4. Remove from heat and pour into a blender. Let cool for a few seconds and proceed blending with extreme caution. *hot liquids tend to steam and can explode in a blender* Begin blending. Add in chopped cashews and chopped Brazil nuts and blend until perfectly smooth. This white mixture is your Vanilla Nut Cream portion of your filling.
5. Pour about 8 ounces of the white filling out into a separate container. (I just use an empty cream cheese container. Set aside.
6. To the blender, add in the maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon spice blend and cayenne. (the one dash of cayenne adds a bit of mellow heat, but you can remove if you are sensitive to spiciness.) Blend until smooth.
7. Pour the pumpkin blended mix into your crust. Fill about 3/4 of the way to the top of the crust. (Leave room for the white filling.)
8. Next pour in the entire side container of the Vanilla Nut Cream white filling mix. Pour directly into the center of the pie and allow to disperse in a center-based circle. By placing the white in the center of the pie-you will ensure that their first bit is of that white creamy cheesecake-then they will move onto more pumpkin as they eat. Take your toothpick and start making swirls in the pie until it looks pretty and gently swirled. Over swirling will create a clumpy look so stop when it looks right. (This process is my preference, you can pour and swirl as you like though. Creativity encouraged!)
9. Lastly, add a few whole cashews and pecans to the ring of the crust.
10. If you have leftover filling you can either bake in separate oven-safe mini cups (you could use muffin tins) or simply pour into dessert cups and place in fridge to harden as a “raw” version of this dessert. (If you do raw ‘extra cups’, be sure and use shallow cups so that the filling hardens properly.) Place in the oven to bake at 375 for 35 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to fridge to cool for at least a few hours.
12. Serve chilled. Add some cool creamy rice whip on top.
These are just a few of many great recipes out there for special diets during the holidays. We hope this helps anyone who was struggling to find that special diet dish to make or inspires you to try something different! Happy Thanksgiving to all our collegiettes!