Holiday Adjustments...

       The holiday season brings with it, recipes of family favorites both old and new. But when you are trying to avoid that certain ingredient because of wanting to be healthier or for dietary reasons, it can leave you feeling confused.
        One of my favorite pie's is pumpkin whether it's for Thanksgiving or Christmas ( I'll take one for both ) and having to avoid gluten and dairy, I have to say I hadn't been as eager to make it as much as I once did... Until I learned to "adjust" my ingredient and realizing it was just as good as I remember. The more you exchange ingredients the more your palate becomes accustom to the taste. A lot of times the difference is so subtle that you don't even notice. Below is my mothers Pumpkin Pie recipe I grew up making every year. I only made a few minor "adjustments" with the ingredients and I was a little too happy with the results, as you can see from the last couple of pieces left in the pie pan.

Mom's Pumpkin Pie ( original recipe)

1 1/2 cup pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

11/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

3 beaten eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 - 6oz can ( 2/3 cup) evaporated milk

 1- 9 in pie shell

Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices. Blend in eggs, milk, and evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until knife is clean.

* my "adjustments"

~ 1/2 cup of organic coconut sugar ( which makes it a bit darker in color)

~ no nutmeg

~ 2 cups of organic coconut milk in a can ( used a little less because when exchanging non dairy milk for regular milk, it sets up better is you use a little less

~ And a store bought pie crust... because there is nothing wrong with making life easier!

This is the store bought crust I purchased at Earthfare. When we took our first bites - almost right out of the oven the crust seemed a bit tough. But the next day it actually softened with the moisture from the filling.

The pie looked beautiful going in the oven and it tasted SO good when it came out ~ as you can see from what is left! I have another pumpkin recipe that I altered over on my website http://wholefood-living.com/recipe.html check it out. Can you tell I LOVE everything pumpkin!

If you would like some help making Holiday Adjustments to your recipes or just some "adjustments" to your everyday meals...

Contact me at: http://wholefood-living.com/contact.html

Food Traditions and there Benefits…

Traditions: the handing down of statements, beliefs, customs, etc. from generation to generation, by word of mouth or by practise.

         As my children are getting older I find myself looking back and remembering all the ways we chose to stay connected as a family, and one of those ways, was through food. We used traditions passed down from our families when we were growing up and created new ones.

          Every Friday is pizza night and on the rare occasion when we are not available to have it, we find ourselves craving pizza. Saturday morning is biscuit’s ( anyway you want them) , and Saturday dinner consists of hamburgers or hotdogs. And our Sunday is called “syrupy sunday” because we have something that needs syrup, pancakes, waffles, or french toast. Holidays can lend themselves to traditions too. For Christmas we decorate a homemade gingerbread house and give friends homemade goodies and meals as gifts. Our New Year eve use to be making dinner of all finger foods, but we ended up nibbling so much during the making and baking, that we weren’t really hungry when it was time to eat. But it was fun every year coming up with new and exciting things to make. We have since found this wonderful French bakery http://www.ameliesfrenchbakery.com/ that has become our New Years eve tradition.

          Food traditions do have benefits, and here are a few to tempt your palate.

1.) They create warm and lasting memories. As the children get older, they too look back and remember all the great times that a gathering of family, friends and food offered.

2.) It connects people together and provides a way to pass on stories of other past generations even if they’re not exactly from your family. The stories can be about food from your own or other cultures and the meaning behind them.

3.) From a cooking and planning perspective, it’s nice to not have to plan and think about what will be for that meal. I always know that Friday is pizza night!

4.) It provides consistency and knowing. Life can leave you feeling uncertain sometimes, whether it’s your job, relationships, money,  whatever it may be. But you and your children know for sure what to expect with whatever tradition you choose.

Don’t be afraid to change and experiment with ideas. As life marches on, flow with it and remember, just because the tradition is not kept forever doesn’t mean it has lost it’s original intent. Play with the concept and see what benefits it offers you!


~ visit me at http://wholefood-living.com/index.html