paleo thanksgiving party

Sunday night, CrossFit Addiction kicked off the holiday season with a Paleo Thanksgiving/Tacky Christmas Sweater party. James and I got back in town from a weekend trip to see his family in Augusta just in time to unload the car, change and head out the door for the party.


James was gracious enough to purchase tacky sweaters for us at Goodwill. His Bill Cosby sweater would have been perfect with a turtleneck--or even better, a dickie! My sweater, as beautiful as it was, would have put me over the edge since I've been having random hot flashes lately. So I chose to adorn it on my shoulders. Still effective--still tacky.

We were worried that we might not have enough food, but everyone chipped in and brought a dish. James purchased a 14 lb ham, and I made a paleo version of pumpkin crisp (see recipe at bottom of post).

I'm in love with a certain pumpkin crisp recipe I first tasted two years ago. Lately, I've made an adapated version that is gluten-free, but not paleo. But this Thanksgiving party called for only paleo foods, so I did my best to adjust it and it turned out pretty well, though there's always room for improvement.

Paleo Pumpkin Crisp

Ingredients:

• 15 oz can pure pumpkin
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup palm sugar, divided
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 stick melted butter

Optional Topping:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softenened
• 1/3 cup maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Blend pumpkin, milk, eggs, 1 cup sugar and cinnamon, then pour into 13x9 pan. 

3. In separate small bowl, stir together coconut flour, almond meal, 1/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.

4. Sprinkle dry mixture evenly over pumpkin mixture. 

5. Sprinkle nuts on top of dry mixture. 

6. Drizzle melted butter evenly over nuts. 

7. Cover pan with tin foil (since coconut flour burns easily) and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes.

8. You can choose to top each serving with a dollop of cream cheese topping, if desired. Simply blend the cream cheese with maple syrup until smooth. Add in coconut milk if you want it thinner.

paleo thanksgiving potluck

Like my mom, Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite holiday of the year. I think it's a combination of perfect weather, a spectacular outdoor color pallet, home-cooked food and time with family.

To bring to end the second week of our 20 Day Paleo Challenge, we celebrated with a Paleo Thanksgiving Potluck at our place. James was in charge of the bird, which he rubbed with 21 Salute Seasoning from Trader Joe's.

Amanda brought some delicious asparagus with slivered almonds.

Convinced he couldn't make anything paleo, I assigned broccoli to Bair, who showed up with a fresh bag full from Publix, which I cooked for him.

Annie, who showed up a little too late for the buffet spread picture (below), made fantastic brussel sprouts, which we made everybody sample, even if they were convinced they didn't like them.

JZ, who had to work late and didn't have time to make his self-proclaimed awesome cauliflower mash, donated a watermelon to the feast.

And I made warm cinnamon apples in a crockpot and pumpkin pie with coconut topping for dessert.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

Crust Ingredients

• 2 cups almond meal
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon 

Pie Filling Ingredients

• 1.5 cans pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp stevia
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Coconut Topping Ingredients:

• 2 cans coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
• 1 tsp stevia
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven. James had the turkey on 325 degrees in the oven, so that's what I had to use to cook the crust. You could probably set the temperature higher, just be sure to keep a close eye on your crust.

2. Combine all crust ingredients in small bowl and stir until texture is even.

3. Grease your pie dish, dump in your crust dough and spread evenly with your fingers so that crust extends over edge.

4. Just like a normal pie, cut along edge of dish with a knife to remove excess for a finished look.

5. Pop it in the oven for 15 minutes. If you notice that the bottom is rising or bubbling up as it's cooking, simply poke a few knife holes in the bottom to let the air out. I would suggest covering with tin foil for this part, as the very edge of my crust ended up a little burnt.

6. Meanwhile, fill medium mixing bowl with all pie filling ingredients.

7. Beat at low speed for 2 minutes.

8. When crust has cooked, fill with pie filling.

9. Turn oven to 350 and bake for roughly 45 minutes. Be sure to check your pie along the way, as each oven cooks differently. You can tell yours is done when the middle of the pie stabilizes and is no longer jiggly.

10. While pie is cooking, remove coconut milk from fridge and open with can opener, being careful not to shake up cans. Skim off the thickest top 2 to 3 inches with a spoon, and place in mixing bowl.

11. Add in stevia and vanilla, and beat with mixer for 1 minute.

12. Place bowl in freezer, and stir every 10 minutes or so until it reaches desired consistency.

Top pie with coconut topping and enjoy!