Two of my Favorite Paleo Holiday Recipes

I love the holidays! One of my favorite things about the holidays is the chance to use some of my favorite dairy-free, low carb alternative recipes for traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner standby's. My two favorites are my Cauliflower Garlic Mashed "Potatoes" and my Cashew Cream Green Bean Casserole. I use my Vitamix blender quite heavily in both these recipes, and really recommend investing in one if you are interested in making soups, sauces, and dressings from scratch. I use two stoneware cookie sheets like this one from Haeger to bake the cauliflower. I also use a large casserole dish with a lid to bake the Cashew Cream Green Bean Casserole.

Without further ado, here are my recipes!

Cauliflower Garlic Mashed "Potatoes"

Ingredients:

2 heads of organic cauliflower

1/2 teaspoon organic granulated garlic (Bought at Vitamin Cottage: Natural Grocers in Bulk Herbs)

1/2 teaspoon Redmond's Real Salt Sea Salt

8 Tablespoons pure coconut oil or Ghee

Implements:

1stoneware cookie sheet

Vitamix blender

Instructions:

Coarsely chop 2 heads of couliflower, discarding the greens. Soak in large bowl for 15 minutes. Lay out on the large stoneware cookie sheet and bake in oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. When done, remove from oven and place cauliflower in Vitamix.

Add granulated garlic, salt, oil or Ghee and pulse the blender, using the blender stuffing tool generously until desired mashed consistency is reached. Place in large casserole dish to keep warm in the oven until time to serve.

Note:

I always make two batches of this recipe and mix the separate batches in the casserole dish to make enough for Thanksgiving with the extended family. In that case, I would cut up four heads of cauliflower and use two stoneware cookie sheets to bake all four heads at the same time. Then, I use the cauliflower from one cookie sheet at a time to make two batches in the Vitamix, which I then mix together well in the casserole dish.

Cashew Cream Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh organic green beans

4 large portobello mushrooms

4 cups organic raw cashews

4 cups water

1/2 to 1/4 onion, chopped (optional)

1 teaspoon Real Salt

Implements:

1 large casserole dish

Vitamix blender

Iron saute pan for the optional sautéed onions

Instructions:

1. Cashew Cream of Mushroom Soup

Place 4 cups organic raw cashews into Vitamix. Add 4 cups water. Coarsely chop 2 1/2 portobello mushrooms and place in blender. Finely chop remaining 1 1/2 mushrooms and set aside. Set the Vitamix on the "soup" setting and let it run until done with the cycle.

2. Green Bean Casserole

Saute 1/4 to 1/2 finely chopped onion in the iron pan while the Vitamix "soup" cycle is on. (This is an optional step) You may saute the onions in coconut oil or my Ghee.

Place two pounds of green beans in a large casserole dish. Add sautéed onions if desired. Pour Cashew Cream of Mushroom Soup over the green beans and onions. Cover casserole dish with lid and cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

Note:

This quantity is intended for holiday dinners with extended family present. For everyday, I would halve the recipe, or maybe even third or quarter it.

Warning:

These recipes contain nuts, garlic, and onions. They contain no dairy unless you decide to use Ghee, and are low carbohydrate and grain-free.

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