Christmas dinner is one of the highlights of the holiday celebration. Sitting around the table, catching up with loved ones, and eating traditional foods that you only get once a year. When kids think of Christmas, they generally think of gifts but when adults think of Christmas, they usually think about sitting around the dinner table catching up with loved ones and eating their favorite holiday foods.
While this is amazing for the actual dinner, the pre-meal preparations are usually hectic and stressful. While the good news is that eating paleo means that you have your choice of Christmas meats, the bad news is that eating paleo can sometimes mean that even more planning has to go into Christmas dinner.
Yes, vegetables and sweet potatoes are paleo and are an easy staple to your Christmas meal, but some traditional Christmas recipes will need some tweaking to keep them paleo. This is not saying that it can’t be done, most dishes can be turned into a paleo dish, this is just saying that it will take a bit of pre-planning to turn your paleo dinner dreams into a reality.
For example, traditional stuffing is not paleo. Most of these recipes use traditional bread, a huge no-no in the paleo world. But an easy solution to this is to do a recipe search for paleo stuffing that doesn’t include bread or see if paleo bread would be a good substitute for your recipe.
Biscuits are another staple of the holiday table. By using almond or coconut flour as a substitute for traditional flour, you can make a paleo-friendly version of almost any biscuit recipe. There are also many paleo-friendly biscuit recipes online. Simply add some grass-fed butter to your table and give your loved ones a healthier version of this traditional side dish. The other great thing about biscuits is that you can add some paleo gravy to them and have a great breakfast for the day after Christmas.
Green bean casserole is another Christmas favorite. While it will usually take a bit longer to prepare a paleo version of this dish, it is usually well worth it. Traditional green bean casseroles are made with premade soup and the crunchy onion topping can contain grain. Making this dish paleo means that you will have to make the soup and the crunchy topping from scratch. The good news is that you can usually make the soup a day or two before your big meal and store it until you are ready for it.
Planning for Christmas dinner can be a stressful time, especially if this is your first year eating paleo. The key is to plan ahead and look for paleo-friendly options for your favorite recipes. This way, your loved ones will not feel deprived of their Christmas traditions, and you will know that you are showing the people that you love the healthier versions of their traditional holiday favorites.
