The Thanksgiving Edition
Three Thanksgiving menus for a blood sugar friendly meal
How is it that Thanksgiving is nearly upon us?! I have had a few conversations with family and friends this week about how quickly November flies by, and all of a sudden it seems like the calendar and to-do list somehow doubles overnight.
As we enter this season of celebration, I know it can also feel a little overwhelming, especially if you typically follow a low-carb lifestyle or you eat for blood sugar balance.
I’m so grateful to partner with the lovely Beth Bollinger this year to bring you a special collection of three different Thanksgiving menus.
Beth’s newsletter is an incredible resource for anyone looking to cook, bake, and enjoy recipes that support metabolic health. Her creative recipes inspire me to try new techniques and ingredients in the kitchen. We both believe that the holidays don’t have to be a time to dip into unhealthy eating habits, which is why we’ve compiled the best of our holiday recipes into one resource for you.
Each menu offers something for everyone— from classic staples of the Thanksgiving table to non-traditional recipes fit for any special gathering:
Traditional Thanksgiving (all your favorites, reimagined)
Elevated Thanksgiving (featuring a brand new recipe for mini Beef Wellington, pictured below!)
Seafood Celebration (a lighter, elegant alternative).
Use one for Thanksgiving, another for Christmas or a special occasion, and use the third for New Year’s Eve. As Beth puts it, “all three menus prove that holiday feasting can be both delicious and supportive of your metabolic health.” I couldn’t agree more.
The menus are available at the end of this newsletter to paid subscribers as a way to say “thank you” for your continued support, which I am so grateful for. I hope you enjoy our collection of over 30 recipes, delivered in a printable e-book so you can easily refer back to them year after year.
Along with the menus, I also wanted to share some helpful tips that will take a little of the stress off of the day, and set you up for success, whether you’re making one dish or all of the dishes on the menu.
Cooking and prep tips
Start with a plan, then work backward from Thanksgiving Day! Note what can be made 3-4 days ahead, 1-2 days ahead, and what must be made the day of.
Batch-prep ingredients. Take a look at the recipes you’ll be making and batch prep whenever you can! That means chop all of the onions you’ll need, all of the celery, and all of the herbs at the same time. Store them in separate containers, everything labeled by dish (e.g. “onions for stuffing”).
Set aside all of your serving dishes and utensils and label them with post-its the night before. That way, you know which bowl or platter to reach for in that hurried, final stretch before dinner is served. I do this whenever I have a big food photography shoot, too, as it eliminates last-minute decision-making, helps me think through everything I need, and also allows for a more creative and cohesive tablescape.
Blood sugar tips from Beth
Beth has a couple of wonderful tips on extra ways to keep blood sugar in check:
The Resistant Starch Potato Trick: If you love mashed or roasted potatoes, here’s a simple way to make them more blood sugar–friendly: after cooking, let them cool completely, then reheat before serving. Cooling allows some of the starch to convert into resistant starch, which acts more like fiber in your body — meaning it has a gentler impact on blood sugar.
When I bring home a bag of potatoes, I boil the whole bag, let them cool, and store them in the refrigerator. My kids love “smashed” potatoes — just smash them with the bottom of a glass, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in a 400°F oven until browned and crispy.
This trick works with sweet potatoes too — to a slightly lesser degree, but still worth doing!
Pro tip: Make your potatoes a day or two ahead. You’ll save time on Thanksgiving and support steadier blood sugar.
Move a Little After the Meal
Suggest a family walk! One of the simplest, most effective ways to keep blood sugar stable after a big meal is to move your body. A short 10–15 minute walk after dinner, tidying up the kitchen, or even a friendly round of backyard football helps your muscles use up circulating glucose — keeping post-meal spikes in check.Small, mindful choices like these make a big difference — and let you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal while feeling your best.
There’s something so special about sharing a meal with the people you love most. I hope these menus help you find that holiday indulgence and supporting metabolic health can happen simultaneously.
I won’t be hosting Thanksgiving for the first year in a while, but I do plan to cook a few of the traditional dishes (and desserts!) in this menu, as I do every year. I’m looking forward to a fun “Momsgiving” dinner hosted by our church this week, and slowly pulling back a little bit in our homeschool routine as we approach the week of Thanksgiving.
I still plan to pop into your inbox with my standard weekly dinner recipe every Thursday until then, but let me take a minute to say how immensely grateful I am for your continued support.
In all of the hustle of November so far, I have almost forgotten this month also marks an anniversary. Six years ago, as a self-taught cook and baker, I set out to create a food blog for anyone looking to make blood sugar friendly, ketogenic diet friendly, and low-carb recipes. While Stem and Spoon has always been my big focus, I created this newsletter in the last couple of years as an offshoot— a place where I could dip more into other topics and recipes that go hand-in-hand, and return to my roots as a writer. It has been a refreshing and rewarding endeavor, and it wouldn’t be possible without you.
Thank you for reading, for cooking recipes from the newsletter and the blog, for sharing your feedback and experiences. It all means the world to me and truly is what makes this work so fulfilling. ♥️
Enjoy your Sunday, and perusing through all the Thanksgiving goodness in the menus below.
