My husband and I are taking it upon ourselves to have a "Paleo-ish/Primal-style" Thanksgiving this year.
On the menu:
Mushroom Sausage Stuffing (mushrooms, caramelized onions, sweet Italian turkey sausage, white wine, a tiny bit of organic unsalted butter, fresh tarragon), roast turkey, roasted butternut squash (just some fresh butternut squash cubes from Costco, tossed with a bit of melted coconut oil and sprinkled with cinnamon - baked in the oven), roasted asparagus with garlic and pine nuts, unsweetened (no sugar and no fake sweetener) cranberry sauce. I've got fresh blackberries, blueberries, raspberries for dessert. Might make a coconut milk custard of sorts to layer with, we'll see. Also contemplating making a non-sweet pumpkin "pie" type thing, also no sugar and the crust would be made with roasted and crushed up pecans or maybe almond meal. We'll also make gravy from the turkey drippings, along with chicken broth, organic/gluten-free cornstarch (cornstarch isn't perfectly Paleo, but what the heck) etc.
How am I managing? Well, buying some cinnamon-scented pine cones today from Whole Foods today went a long way toward alleviating the cravings. The house smells like a faintly cinnamon-scented *forest*.
I am proud of us for doing it anyway - despite the holidays, despite the winter, despite some ongoing stress. We'll still have a lovely meal - just that it won't involve marshmallows, chocolate, or rolls.
That said, I am contemplating one splurge - it's mashed yams that are baked in hollowed-out navel orange cups. Boil up some yams, drain and then add some unsalted butter, ground cloves and nutmeg, a dash of Grand Marnier - mash ...meanwhile, scoop out the flesh from some navel orange halves, and fill with the yam mash. Top with a pecan halves, and bake in the oven. You can save a tiny bit of the juice from the oranges and add that to the yam mash too.
I made it through Halloween ...which was a lot worse, because I *love* chocolate stuff, and of course, I'd bought all kinds of chocolate bars and candy to hand out. Somehow, and don't ask me how - I made it without touching any of it. Sent the leftover chocolate with my husband to work the next morning. Out of sight, out of mind helps a whole lot.
This really is a tough time of year for this stuff, isn't it? I'm intentionally trying to come up with a really nice Thanksgiving meal for us that doesn't involve a ton of sugar or grains. Oh, we'll probably have some wine, and I might make those mashed yam orange cups...but that's the worst of it.
I think you should send that cheesecake sampler tray to work with your husband tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'm horrible with having sweets around the house.
Hang in there, and try to ignore the cheesecake.
