• Xmas Menu & Recipe Ideas

Xmas Menu & Recipe Ideas

Most of these recipes are from Deb's DietNet website or her recipe blog, but some are from other people's blogs and we may not have tested them.

I may post new ideas to my recipe blog or my Pinterest Festive recipes board, even if I don't have time to try them out or post them here, so check in periodically.

Mostly these recipes are suitable for GAPS, SCD, gluten free and in many cases dairy free diets (but do your own due diligence). But we believe that "special" food should taste good, so family members not on special diets might not even notice they're different. Make sure you test the recipe before Xmas Day, so you can tweak to suit your own tastes.

Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) - Some of these recipes might work for you, but better to check out The Paleo Mom's Holiday Recipe summary.

Keto - Mostly the recipes below are not keto, but I found two keto Xmas selections for you - 22 recipes for a very keto Xmas and Fat for weight loss's keto Xmas

Choose 2-3 from each group and you've got a feast!

Breakfast

If your main meal is at lunchtime, you'll want something light, but still sustaining, such as:

• Christmas morning cranberry orange muffins
  ~ Nigella Lawson original recipe
  ~ coconut flour version
  ~ almond flour version
  - or here is a keto cranberry muffin
• This gingerbread souffle looks fun
  
• A festive-y smoothie (maybe with gelatin hydrolysate for extra protein) - Deb has a blog post here, with a few for you to choose from
  

If your main Christmas meal is in the evening, you may want a more substantial breakfast, so you're not as tempted by the "treats" your family and friends lay out in front of you.

• I like smoked salmon WITH cheesy scrambled eggs, or pancakes and sour / fermented cream PLUS fruit salad and yoghurt / cream
• This Apple Bacon Pecan Butternut hash looks interesting and is GAPS friendly

Starters

• Chilled soup
  
• Marinated fish kebabs - these could also be a main course
• Xmas tree shaped cheese board
  
• Avocado devilled eggs
  
• A trio of dips:
  ~ Guacamole (for the green)
  ~ Beetroot dip (for the red)
  ~ Chicken liver pate
  
• To go with the dips:
  ~ Cheesy Christmas Star crackers (from almonds) 
  ~ Nut crackers (without cheese)
  ~ Regular crackers of your choice
  ~ Raw veges sticks or chunks, eg: carrot, capsicum, celery, cauli

Mains

• Stuffed leg of lamb (In Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, P344). This has a pecan stuffing and no starch, so is suitable for GAPS.
• Roast turkey with millet and cranberry stuffing (gluten free, but not GAPS).
• For GAPsters, or if you can't be faffed making stuffing, make cranberry sauce instead.
• Curried chicken or turkey salad

If you're catering for a lacto-ovo vegetarian, these dishes are delicious and everybody else will like them too:

• Nut roast
  
• Spinach roulade, filled with chopped tomatoes and white cheese
• This recipe for Stuffed Pumpkin with Ginger Tomato Sauce by Nigella is vegetarian, gluten free but not starch free.
• Or go the whole hog (so to speak) and try Nadia Lim's Vegetarian or Vegan Christmas Roast with Cranberry, Sage and Cashew Nut Stuffing Balls and Tomato Onion Gravy
  

Vegetables

• For the GAPsters - Twice baked pumpkin
  
• For the non-GAPsters - roast potatoes or kumera, or potato / kumera salad.
• This recipe for Roasted Citrus Thyme Carrots looks lovely - especially if you have access to heritage carrots
• Raw vege platter - chunks of cos lettuce, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber, grated carrot, fresh green pea pods. Serve with a bowl of homemade mayo.
• Sauerkraut salad
  

Desserts

• Deb's Xmas cake (GF or GAPS versions)
• This Xmas cake is GF, GAPS, Paleo, Raw, vegan
• Xmas mince pies - look for something GF and low in added sugar.
• Or these homemade ones are GF, GAPS, Paleo, Raw, vegan
• A fresh fruit platter or rainbow kebabs or fruit Xmas tree or this other fruit Xmas tree or watermelon cake
  
• Real fruit jelly or mousse
  
• If you're using raw cream for the first time, here are some tips on whipping it (read these well ahead of time)
• For a decadent looking but whole food dessert, check out these two chocolate cheesecake / mousse recipes
  
• White Christmas Slice or Chocolate Xmas Bark
• Choc peppermint fudge - for keto, use lakanto maple syrup
• For gingerbread men or cookies made with almond flour, try my low carb/keto version.
  
• Or try these almond flour Xmas star cookies 
  
• Festive gummies
  
• Some keto Xmas cookies from Hungry For Inspiration: Keto Pecan Snowball Cookies and scroll down the page for links to other Xmas cookies
• If you're keto, there are plenty of options using lakanto or erythritol. This Keto sugar cream pie sounds like a great Xmas treat.
• And if you can't go past pav, here's a keto, sugar-free pavlova recipe
  
  

Drinks

For kids / non-drinkers:

• Punch made from organic fruit juice and sparkling water. Optional: add some kombucha.
• A splash of kombucha topped up with sparkling or soda water is very refreshing
• Or try some coconut water with sparkling water added, or turned into kefir.
• Herb teas make nice iced teas, and can also be topped up with sparkling water.
• Water kefir (not suitable for GAPS)

For the adults:

• Cider
  
• Preservative free wine
• Sangria - there is no std recipe but here's one to give you some ideas