thankful round up

(source)

so, thanksgiving came late this year
and even later, is this thanksgiving related post
it's been a long week - deadlines, sick kiddos, Christmas shopping, personal struggles, etc
but despite all the delay, i wanted to share one last thanksgiving post
before moving on to more Christmas-y things
deal?

alright, so the first thing i wanted to share was our thanksgiving meal
this year, i made everything but the turkey (thanks mom!),
as well as some dirty rice and a couple pumpkin pies (thanks to my brother and sister in law)

given all the gluten-free / non-inflammatory food research i've done recently,
my portion of the meal was made a little differently this year
so this is what our final menu looked like:

i tried to choose menu items that were gluten / grain free and nutrient dense,
but not sacrifice on taste for my guinea pigs' --i mean, guests' sake
...aaaand most of the recipes were ones i'd never made before
needless to say, i was a bit nervous about how everything would turn out
but you know what?
the dishes worked out so well, and i was super proud to serve the meal to my family!


here are links to some of my favorites + any tweaks i made / comments:
roasted carrot mash
(roasted the carrots in avocado oil instead and subbed out the butter/ghee at the end for coconut oil)
gaps friendly gravy
(i NEVER caramelize anything [too much effort - hah] but this recipe, was worth it...and may have changed my mind on caramelizing!)
coconut "cornbread" muffins
(i totally over baked these + greased instead of lined the muffin tin, and undergreased at that so they came out dark and stuck-on...and they were still gobbled up!)
mulled apple cider
(k, to be honest, i originally made this just to make the house smell amazing, and it totally worked...with the added bonus of being super delicious!  
i cut the recipe in half, replaced the cinnamon sticks with 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and used 1 tsp cloves + 1 tsp allspice for my mulling spices)


alrightee, now that you've gotten a run-down of our meal,
how about a wrap up of my #novemberthanks?

1. for my man, who, despite the cold and fog, skipped out on watching his football to take me and the girls to the beach + a coffee shop breakfast date, complete with bird chasing.

2. to live in a country where i can enjoy the great outdoors and take photos in it, thanks in part to our veterans and their families who have given up so much to keep it that way.

3. for pretty packaging...and the chocolate that it holds

4. for homemade granola + the clear pictures that i can now get on my phone thanks to my hubs fixing it (along with all kinds of other things) for me, and with a smile on his face too!

5. for getting to live out dreams, like my sister and i having kids that would grow up together and be the best of friends - i'd say we're off to a great start

6. for the warmth and shelter of our home and vehicles, especially when the elements aren't so pretty

7. for nourishing food, and how it can help heal our bodies

8. for sunshine, and simple pleasures like trying out new coffeeshops

9. for skillet suppers...'nuf said

10. for mercies that are new every morning

11. for the beautiful seascape we have here on the pacific northwest

12. for coconut "cornbread" muffins, which are evidence of grace in a grain-free life!

13. for found baby dolls and favorite toys

14. for turkey, obviously the kiddos in my life, good food, the anticipation of a big family dinner and Jesus, the source of our joy, who makes all these things possible

and so, with hearts FULL of thanks, we move on to the Christmas season!