When reminiscing about the holidays it’s a challenge for me not to instantly think of food…and playing cards, because that’s what my family did for decades and generations. Our meal traditions have stayed consistent over the years, with perhaps each of my siblings and I adding in a dish or two of our own. Thanksgiving and Christmas are usually very similar in aesthetics:
- Oven roasted or smoked turkey
- Green bean casserole
- Homemade stuffing (my job as a child was to break the stale bread)
- Mom’s whipped potatoes
- Butter rolls
- Cranberry relish
- Pecan & Pumpkin Pies
- And, my all time favorite—Apple Dumplings baked in a rich, cinnamon caramel sauce (le sigh)
Over the years of spending countless holidays away from my family in Texas I have shared these special moments with many of our friends. The one thing that has changed is the conversation around the food.
You see, growing up we feasted…without guilt and with a whole lot of grace and thanks for the foods before us. But yet, as we’ve become a food & guilt driven society I have found that people often spend the meal talking about how they’ve “lightened things up” or how, “I better run tomorrow,” etc. For me this deflects from the day and the meaning of the holiday. We are giving thanks as a family, and coming together to celebrate with our grandest feast made with love! There’s no skimping during these meals for me…ever. I can’t fathom Jesus lightening up his last meal! Plus, I don’t mess with the classics, I believe in passing them down!
Now, of course as a culinary dietitian I have made some modifications based off my culinary trainings and sheer love of food:
- Smoked turkey
- Fresh sweet potato casserole with pecan streusel
- Fresh green beans with bacon and red onions topped with a shallot & red wine vinaigrette
- Sausage & chestnut stuffing with Parmesan
- Beer bread or fresh baked rolls
- Cranberry relish
- Pecan and Pumpkin pies
- And, of course the incredible apple dumplings!!!
You see, I modify by using fresh over canned and adding (what I consider) a hint of sophistication to our traditional meal. And we always start our meal giving thanks–what are you thankful for? There’s always something new each year to give grace to, and I love hearing & sharing these moments.
What I challenge each of you to do is to give up the talk of food guilting/shaming around the table. Here’s a great post, written by DancesWithFat Blogger: https://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/combating-holiday-weight-shame/ What we also call, “Fat Talk.” You see, fat talk has nothing to do with your weight, nor size…see what it’s all about: http://www.operationbeautiful.com/release-form/how-to-become-fat-talk-free/
Now, because this is Recipe Redux, and I do embrace healthy meals I will share with you my Mammy’s (Great Grandma who was a centenarian) Turkey Vegetable Soup…we had this meal every year I can remember, and always the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas. Always such wisdom in our great-grandparents, no? Maybe she knew we’d need a good, hearty, fibrous meal to get our guts on straight after our decadent celebrations!
Mammy’s Turkey Vegetable Soup
Servings–A large slow cooker or stock pot
- 1 turkey carcass
- Water
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Turkey meat, just put in how much you’d like (about 3 cups)
- 1 frozen bag each: corn, lima beans, & green beans
- 3 potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
- 1/2 green cabbage, thinly sliced
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Clean your carcass of meat and skin, but don’t fret if you have some still left on. Place carcass in a slow cooker, cover with water and cook over night or for 2-4 hours on high (6+ hours on low). If you are using a soup pot, bring the pot to a boil and allow to simmer for 2 hours.
- Remove carcass.
- Add carrots, onions, celery, diced tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt and turkey meat to the turkey broth. If using a soup pot: Bring pot to a boil over medium high heat, then drop the temperature to a low simmer for 1 hour. If using a slow cooker: cook on high for 3 hours.
- Next, add in corn, lima beans, green beans, and potatoes and cook for 30 minutes.
- Last, add in the cabbage and cook for 30 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper as desired or per each bowl, then serve.
Possible additions: fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, basil), Parmesan cheese, cubed sweet potatoes instead of potatoes), or fresh lemon zest.
As you can see, there’s no need to lighten this recipe up–just add in more vegetables! My touch to my Mammy’s is that I use purple cabbage–love that pop of color! Here’s some of our other holiday meal shots:
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