Paleo Energizing Cranberry Smoothie (AIP)

AIP Pear Crumble (inspired by Mickey Trescott)

The Spunky Coconut’s Salted Pecan Pie (Find recipe here)

My AIP Spiced Pumpkin Pie (Find recipe here)

AIP Stuffed Mushrooms

AIP Sweet and Sour Glazed Meatballs

Candied Spiced Nuts (Recipe coming soon)    I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was a blessed day!  Spending mine in Nashville with close friends and family was truly just that.  Though it was hard getting there, the outcome was definitely worth it.  Breaking one’s coping schedule to do something different can be hard, scary, and not always pain-free, but overall, pushing the envelope every now and then is needed (whether suffering from a chronic illness or not).  Finding which time to do this however, is key, as you never want to do so much as to set your health back.  Therefore, though my body is still very fragile, and daily symptoms still quite debilitating, I managed (through God’s strength alone) to put all personal preferences aside, hop on a plane (well, sort of) , and finally make it down to my second home in Tennessee.  I have always had some sort of bond with the state, maybe due to my older brother thriving in College there, which makes leaving almost harder than arriving.  I am glad to get home, get back on my treatment routine, hopefully make forward steps in healing (with a few, inevitable steps backward as always), and God willing, go back to Nashville stronger and in even better health.  For now, I will take home the lessons learned from traveling in sticky situations, cherish the amazing fellowship with new and old friends and family members, and be joyful in the fact that my second home will be ready and waiting for me when God says “ready, set, go!”       My AIP, date sweetened Cranberry Sauce   Our Thanksgiving feast was the largest my family has put on in many years.  Excited, my father decided he wanted to deep fry our turkey.  Since we wanted to do it right, we used coconut oil. Surprisingly, the bird was done faster than expected, however, the end result was still delicious.  Above I have included some of the recipes that I created, along with previously posted ones.  We also served PaleOmg’s chipotle deviled eggs, The Paleo Mom’s prosciutto wrapped melon-grape sticks, Sustainable Dish’s zucchini pinwheels, and many other sweet and savory plates.  It was a Thanksgiving to remember for certain.   Though almost everyone added a dollop of cranberry sauce to their plate, there always tends to be leftovers.  Therefore, I decided to create a nourishing smoothie to utilize this tangy sauce. Great as part of your breakfast, lunch, or snack, this creamy drink will leave you feeling refreshed and “energized” (quite the opposite of an typical Thanksgiving feast).  Please enjoy!

Cranberry Energizer Smoothie 
Print Recipe
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup homemade cranberry sauce 
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
• 1 ripe pear
• 1 ripe avocado
• 3 medjool dates
• 7 ice cubes
• Pinch of salt

Process

• Using a high speed blender, add cranberry sauce, ginger, pear, avocado, dates, and salt and blend until mostly chopped up.
• Add ice cubes and blend until thick like a milkshake.
• Pour into two serving glasses and dollop with an extra tsp of cranberry sauce and enjoy.