Christmas Dinner...what are you having/making/bringing?

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Here's our menu, prepared with love and sweat by me for my family and extended family:

Here's my list:

Drinks
Pinot Noir

Drinks from the liquor cabinet

Sweet Tea

Appetizers
Fresh veggie crudite tray with toasted pine nut hummus

Goat cheese stuffed dates

Various cheeses platter w/crackers and chutney

Main Meal
Fresh turkey with giblet gravy

Carrots, celery, mushrooms cooked with the turkey (I love them this way)

Citrus spiked cranberry sauce

Sweet potato casserole with brown sugar, oats, and marshmallow fluff

Sauteed green beans

Roasted Delicata Squash with honey drizzle (honey from Yucatan jungle)

Homemade yeast rolls w/butter

Dessert
Carrot and coconut cake layer cake with cream cheese frosting

Coffee/tea
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Replies

  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    My mom and MIL handle the bulk of things for their respective parties (separate days), so I don't do a lot of cooking, but I do generally do some things.

    At my MIL's, it's tradition to have a lasagna, so I'll be bringing shredded zucchini and maybe some sliced meat of some sort to use as "noodles" to make a smaller lasagna (she'll be making extra of the rest of the filling).

    My mom is planning brunch (and maybe dinner). They have far less food options to work with usually (due to income level), so I will likely end up eating higher carb there, but I might see about making an egg dish that works for both me and my sister, since a lot of the stuff at brunch contains wheat and/or dairy and she can't really tolerate either.
  • Sajyana
    Sajyana Posts: 518 Member
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    I do all the cooking which allows me to control what is on offer.

    Living in Australia our regular Christmas day food centres around the BBQ and pool so we'll probably be having what we usually cook:
    • Christmas Eve is a roast dinner. Either turkey or pork with vegetables.
    • Christmas day main meal is steak, sausages and herbed prawns cooked on the BBQ and served with salads.
    • We traditionally have a pavlova for dessert but this year I'll make a low carb cheesecake with strawberries, blueberries and cream.
    • Breakfast is always pan fried ham off the bone and eggs.
    • My big extravagance will be some champagne.

    So I'll be sitting sweet and still enjoying fabulous food.
  • CJ0821
    CJ0821 Posts: 51 Member
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    I do the cooking as well. So far we are having ham and wine... not sure what else yet! I can't decide what to make. The fam is growing tired of my broccoli and cauliflower recipes. Maybe some green beans, I may make the boys some sweet potatoes. I don't like sweet potatoes and if there are going to be carbs on the table, they need to be the ones I do not prefer! I am curious what else others make as sides. Usually, Christmas was a repeat of Thanksgiving in our family, but since I am LC now.... I'm not going back! :smiley: Merry Christmas Everyone!
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    I'm usually the cook, and dialling it back big time this year so I can simply enjoy the day :smile: Last year I boned and rolled the turkey myself, and made things so much easier, especially on the day itself. Will do some sides, and a dessert probably, but in for suggestions, and no set menu yet, aside from a double-turkey breast flattened, brined, stuffed with a sausage, herb and onion stuffing, roasted, and joined by a couple of roasted drumsticks and turkey thighs. Oh, and cranberry sauce :smile:
  • marye2021
    marye2021 Posts: 225 Member
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    Prime Rib, Ham and smoked turkey breast as meats

    Sides: Green peas, Mashed potatoes, carrots and creamed corn.

    Dessert pecan pie, homemade apple tartlets.

    lots of my sister's homemade yeast rolls AND bread pudding.

    I however will be eating most of the meats and I am bringing mashed cauliflower! And my dessert will be some super dark chocolate!

    I've got goals and I don't want to be derailed again!
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Well it is only the two of us. I am planning on a Pork Roast, mashed potatoes gravy and stuffing and some small veggie for hubby. And the pork roast, broccoli with a cheese sauce for me. Maybe some cream cheese stuffed celery and deviled eggs. Since hubby has had his tummy re-plumbed because of his whipple surgery for the PC some of the things I used to make for him are off the menu. He just can not digest them. It is weird having to cook low fat for him and high fat for me. At least he is here with me eating. Thank you Lord.
  • Sajyana
    Sajyana Posts: 518 Member
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    CJ0821 wrote: »
    The fam is growing tired of my broccoli and cauliflower recipes. /quote]

    Try mushrooms and asparagus. You could:

    Stuff mushrooms with cream cheese & bacon, sprinkle cheese on top & bake.
    Cook either in butter.
    Serve either with hollandaise sauce (seriously easy to make).
    Wrap bacon around the asparagus and oven bake.

    Yummmmmm
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I'm coordinating the cooking this year. The fan has requested turkey, so I'm buying a big breast (no one eats a lot of turkey). Then I'm making no sugar added candied yams and cranberry sauce.
    We're also having stuffing (not made by me), brussels, and peas for sure.
    And a pumpkin pie, and a nice wine. Beyond that, who knows.

    I plan to have a bit of everything, but not much of the stuffing, as I know it will give my tummy an ache.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I found this awesome looking cinnamon bread recipe that I'm going to combine with this Primal Eggnog recipe to make eggnog french toast!

    I also plan on making sausage gravy, which I modified from my mom's recipe (it's a basic one that was originally sausage, flour, milk, and spices) to be gluten and dairy free (swap out the milk for almond or coconut milk and the flour for coconut flour and tapioca starch or arrowroot powder) and I think the biscuits from this recipe.

    This is all, of course, if I have time and can hijack enough of the kitchen from my mom on Thursday! :smiley:
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,954 Member
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    We go over to the in-laws for Christmas. I call them the Carb-a-Lots. For a reason. Sodas, desserts, potatoes and bread all the time.

    They have giant subs and desserts on Christmas. The whole family, which is large, even cousins stop by for them. They ARE good. So I'll probably roll myself some cold cut/cheese roll-ups and/or have some meatballs with minimal sauce and melted cheese. They usually do meatball subs too. I'm thinking about making some lower carb peanutbutter/choc chip cookies for me. but I'm keto so...I'm just not sure how worth it it would be. I'm planning a few hour cheat on my birthday (New Year's Day). I'm not sure I want to jerk myself around like that. We'll see.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    baconslave wrote: »
    We go over to the in-laws for Christmas. I call them the Carb-a-Lots. For a reason. Sodas, desserts, potatoes and bread all the time.

    They have giant subs and desserts on Christmas. The whole family, which is large, even cousins stop by for them. They ARE good. So I'll probably roll myself some cold cut/cheese roll-ups and/or have some meatballs with minimal sauce and melted cheese. They usually do meatball subs too. I'm thinking about making some lower carb peanutbutter/choc chip cookies for me. but I'm keto so...I'm just not sure how worth it it would be. I'm planning a few hour cheat on my birthday (New Year's Day). I'm not sure I want to jerk myself around like that. We'll see.

    Good luck, they sound a lot like my in-laws. Despite the rampant Diabetes and resulting complications, there is no shortage of candy, sugary cereals, chips, cookies, and more. My MIL and her mom, between them, made an angel food cake, two pies, and twelve dozen frosted cookies for Christmas (granted, the cookies were for our Christmas and a few other parties, but just for what was sitting out at ours, there were easily close to two dozen). And, MIL's mom ordered three more pies from her other grandson's fundraiser, which she served at our Christmas last weekend. That doesn't include the fruit, sugared applesauce, bread, and pasta for the main meal. But the coleslaw and deviled eggs use Splenda, so it's okay! :weary: (I can only hope grandma reads the copy of Primal Blueprint I loaned her and takes the stuff to heart.)

    I love them dearly, but spending time up there has become increasingly less enjoyable as I feel like I'm constantly set up to fail ("oh, we know she tries not to eat bread, but let's go to a pizza/pancake/bread based restaurant, anyway, because the more general/accommodating restaurant didn't live up to our impossibly high standards once, ten years ago and we refuse to go back!"). :frowning: :wtf:
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Baconsalve. Maybe you can find some yummy LCHF cheat foods. My favorite right now is dipping brazil nuts in whipped cream. I have not done it in a few days I am out of the brazil nuts but it is super good. I just saw a recipe of green deviled eggs made with avocado added into the egg yolk mixture. Yum. Being I am fairly new at all of this again I find some of the super yummy things I could not eat because too much high fat are now allowed and are almost like desert. But the biggest craving I am having now is vegetables. I blew my dinner last night by just eating the Brussels sprouts and they were so good it is ok with me if it knocked me out of line. I was still under my 20 carbs but 8 carbs in one food was pretty high. I just could not get a bite of meat past my lips last night.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Baconsalve. Maybe you can find some yummy LCHF cheat foods. My favorite right now is dipping brazil nuts in whipped cream. I have not done it in a few days I am out of the brazil nuts but it is super good. I just saw a recipe of green deviled eggs made with avocado added into the egg yolk mixture. Yum. Being I am fairly new at all of this again I find some of the super yummy things I could not eat because too much high fat are now allowed and are almost like desert. But the biggest craving I am having now is vegetables. I blew my dinner last night by just eating the Brussels sprouts and they were so good it is ok with me if it knocked me out of line. I was still under my 20 carbs but 8 carbs in one food was pretty high. I just could not get a bite of meat past my lips last night.

    Green deviled eggs? Fabulous idea. I love learning new ideas for avocados.
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    They looked really good. OH MY these even have Bacon in them. Green eggs and ham.
    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/avocado-deviled-eggs/

    Of course we would use full fat mayo.

    I am not sure hubby can eat avocado yet. Maybe it is time to try again. I will make just a few for him to try and the rest for me to eat. LOL
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,954 Member
    Options
    Baconsalve. Maybe you can find some yummy LCHF cheat foods. My favorite right now is dipping brazil nuts in whipped cream. I have not done it in a few days I am out of the brazil nuts but it is super good. I just saw a recipe of green deviled eggs made with avocado added into the egg yolk mixture. Yum. Being I am fairly new at all of this again I find some of the super yummy things I could not eat because too much high fat are now allowed and are almost like desert. But the biggest craving I am having now is vegetables. I blew my dinner last night by just eating the Brussels sprouts and they were so good it is ok with me if it knocked me out of line. I was still under my 20 carbs but 8 carbs in one food was pretty high. I just could not get a bite of meat past my lips last night.

    Deviled eggs sans avocado is what I usually bring and I'm bringing them to the Christmas Eve shindig at a different relative's. I will try the avocado next time. They are always a hit and I doubt they'll be any left over for the next day. They'll go nicely with the pizza, chips, cookies, and sodas on Christmas Eve. Sigh...I'm thinking about making myself candied pecans though. Cinnamon, butter, stevia, and yummy pecans. And I might bring a dip for some pork rinds.
    I'm used to their nonsense.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,954 Member
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    Dragonwolf wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    We go over to the in-laws for Christmas. I call them the Carb-a-Lots. For a reason. Sodas, desserts, potatoes and bread all the time.

    They have giant subs and desserts on Christmas. The whole family, which is large, even cousins stop by for them. They ARE good. So I'll probably roll myself some cold cut/cheese roll-ups and/or have some meatballs with minimal sauce and melted cheese. They usually do meatball subs too. I'm thinking about making some lower carb peanutbutter/choc chip cookies for me. but I'm keto so...I'm just not sure how worth it it would be. I'm planning a few hour cheat on my birthday (New Year's Day). I'm not sure I want to jerk myself around like that. We'll see.

    Good luck, they sound a lot like my in-laws. Despite the rampant Diabetes and resulting complications, there is no shortage of candy, sugary cereals, chips, cookies, and more. My MIL and her mom, between them, made an angel food cake, two pies, and twelve dozen frosted cookies for Christmas (granted, the cookies were for our Christmas and a few other parties, but just for what was sitting out at ours, there were easily close to two dozen). And, MIL's mom ordered three more pies from her other grandson's fundraiser, which she served at our Christmas last weekend. That doesn't include the fruit, sugared applesauce, bread, and pasta for the main meal. But the coleslaw and deviled eggs use Splenda, so it's okay! :weary: (I can only hope grandma reads the copy of Primal Blueprint I loaned her and takes the stuff to heart.)

    I love them dearly, but spending time up there has become increasingly less enjoyable as I feel like I'm constantly set up to fail ("oh, we know she tries not to eat bread, but let's go to a pizza/pancake/bread based restaurant, anyway, because the more general/accommodating restaurant didn't live up to our impossibly high standards once, ten years ago and we refuse to go back!"). :frowning: :wtf:

    I feel you. My MIL's blood work came back with a high fasting glucose. Hubs and I tried to tell her she should watch it but she won't hear it. At least mine will pick a place where I can find at least something I can eat. Even if it's just a salad.
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Some times it is kind of hard not having family. Believe me I had my issues with holiday get together. Too much alcohol and anger.UGH I am almost happy to say it is just us for Christmas and all holidays. We like it that way and do whatever we want. Our old tradition was to go get the broasted chicken and those big thick potatoes. joe joes or some thing like that. We would eat on this for at least two days. I am not sure if that store broasted chicken has too much flour in the coating or? Would be wonderful if it did not and we could continue the tradition. It is not fun if you can not eat the crunchy skin.

    I was adopted and found my birth family years ago. It turns out my half brother and sister and nephew all have diabetes. My brother is bad with foot sores. Their Dad and many in his family also had diabetes. My Mom's side of the family does not have it. My birth father had serious heart condition but I never heard anything about diabetes. BUT at my weight I certainly could have been headed for type 2. Scary.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    Some times it is kind of hard not having family. Believe me I had my issues with holiday get together. Too much alcohol and anger.UGH I am almost happy to say it is just us for Christmas and all holidays. We like it that way and do whatever we want. Our old tradition was to go get the broasted chicken and those big thick potatoes. joe joes or some thing like that. We would eat on this for at least two days. I am not sure if that store broasted chicken has too much flour in the coating or? Would be wonderful if it did not and we could continue the tradition. It is not fun if you can not eat the crunchy skin.

    I was adopted and found my birth family years ago. It turns out my half brother and sister and nephew all have diabetes. My brother is bad with foot sores. Their Dad and many in his family also had diabetes. My Mom's side of the family does not have it. My birth father had serious heart condition but I never heard anything about diabetes. BUT at my weight I certainly could have been headed for type 2. Scary.

    You don't need flour to have a nice, crispy chicken skin!

    Try this recipe. It's stupid easy and fantastic. You will never want to eat chicken any other way!

    Yeah, Diabetes is in part of my family, too, and my stepdad's mom died of Alzheimer's and Diabetes complications. Such a horrible way to go. :frowning: I've got PCOS and my insulin runs high normal, though my blood sugar is still pretty good, but my last doctor agreed that if I couldn't get it turned around somehow, it's only a matter of time before it's officially Diabetes. No thanks. Not if I can help it.
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    I agree to keep the diabetes at bay for as long as you can.

    I will give that chicken recipe a try. Certainly looks simple enough. Thank you!!
  • dalia_mariaa
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    The in-laws are handling most of the dinner this year, and there will certainly be things like rice, bread, and potatoes on the table. I just stick with salad, protein (usually they have chicken and roast beef), sweet potatoes if they have it again (they're plain); otherwise, I put a tiny bit of rice (1/4 cup).

    Ditto here on the diabetes thing. My mom has it, her mom and ALL seven of her mom's siblings had it, my younger and slender brother is pre-diabetic (go figure), a few cousins and uncles on my mom's side have it...ETC. Think I'm either pre-diabetic or diabetic...gonna get tested very soon.

    Low carb is the way for me.