Last Updated on September 17, 2018 by Patricia Carter

SUMMARY:   Openers Thanksgiving Day are actually all day long in our home.  Friends and family stop in knowing a culinary taste dream awaits them.  Incredibly though, my openers are simple with many made way ahead of time and pulled from the freezer a day or two ahead.   That is the only way to go because, well… it is too much fun celebrating with my guests then being creative in the kitchen!  Here’s my roundup!  You will find the recipe links below, or if the recipes have not yet posted, I printed the instructions below.  The Holiday Board on my Pinterest has these plus even more greats if you want other variety!  Hoping you enjoy My Healing Diet Holiday Appetizers Roundup!   Happy holidays!

1. Artisanal Irish Soda Bread – I’ll have to take pics this Thanksgiving because I don’t have any!  You can press the loaf flat using unbleached parchment paper.  Also, mini loaf pans (lined with unbleached parchment paper) worked great!  Bake ~15 minutes at 325F convection bake.  There were NO problems with over browning (see below).  This Artisanal Bread is wonderful to use as an appetizer at all holiday meals, it is always welcome at parties and gatherings, and it makes a great Artisanal hostess gift.  TIPS:

   

   

   

   

   • Make sure to use this tweak for SCD/GAPS/PALEO.   Always substitute honey (or maple syrup if you follow the UMass IBD-AID diet) instead of agave nectar.  Actually, all of you should follow this tweak because well…  NO one should be eating agave.  It is too loaded with fructose, and that is a hard to digest FODMAP for everyone.
   • Cut the dough in half.  Keep one plain, and toss 1/4 cup raisins in the other half.  Two ridic addictive delic appetizers for the effort of one!  I butt them together, bake,  and plate them that way!
   • Watch the oven temperature to prevent over browning.  I have a convection oven and find that reducing the oven temp to 325F is absolutely necessary to prevent over browning of this bread. If you have a regular oven, watch closely to see if you need to reduce the temp to prevent over browning.
2. Baked Rosemary, Almond Flour & Butternut Squash Gnocchi (SCD/GAPS/PALEO) (see Comment Section for the recipe if link fails (as well as an alternate recipe using almond flour and coconut flour)) with my Favorite Pizza Sauce (SCD/GAPS/PALEO) (recipe below).

   

   

   

   

   Favorite Pizza Sauce: 15 oz jar tomato sauce (or 5 fresh tomatoes – see below for How-Tos) + 2 tsp oregano + 1 1/2 tsp garlic granules + 1 tsp paprika + 1/2 Tbsp basil + 1/2 tsp onion granules. 1/2 tsp honey (opt).  Mix all ingredients in a small pan.  Simmer ~20min to thicken a bit.  Freeze excess.  Instead of canned tomatoes, you can use 5 fresh tomatoes.  Just core and cube them.  You’ll need to simmer the sauce a bit longer, ~30min, to reduce the liquid.  Stir more often as it thickens to prevent burning.  Use an immersion blender to whip the sauce smooth.  Add the spices at the end. 

3. Herbed Coconut Flour Pizza Crust (SCD/GAPS/PALEO) (recipe below) with Favorite Pizza Sauce (SCD/GAPS/PALEO) (see above for this recipe):   Make all ahead of time and freeze.  Thanksgiving Day, thaw, make pizza appetizers.

   

   

   

   3 eggs + 1 clove garlic, minced + 1 cup coconut milk (see recipe below) + 1/2 cup coconut flour (measure and then sift) + 1/2 tsp baking soda + 1 tsp each oregano & basil. Beat eggs. Mix in milk & garlic. Add remaining ingredients. It should be a batter consistency; if thin add more coconut flour.  I typically add 2 Tbsp more coconut flour.  Drop ~3/4 cup scoop batter for larger shells, use less for smaller shells, on parchment paper lined baking sheets.  Flatten into a very thin circle — about ~8 to 10″ diameter for the larger shells).  Bake 325F convection oven, 10 min or till able to lift off paper & flip. Bake 5 min more.

   • Tip to make coconut milk:  Just whip immersion blend 2 heaping Tbsp coconut butter into 1 cup warm filtered water.  Let it rest about 20 min to thicken just a tad. ( Ordinarily I use 2 Tbsp for 3/4 cup filtered water.)
4. Cauliflower Tots (SCD/GAPS/PALEO) with  Favorite Pizza Sauce (see above for this recipe):  I’ll have to take pics this Thanksgiving because I don’t have any!  The Cauliflower Tots are a great party appetizer.  If I make them for dinner, they never see the table since the kidos love them and eat them right out of the oven!  Best… they are EASY to make. PALEO/PRIMAL/SCD/GAPS with these tweaks: Use finely shredded Parmesan cheese instead of breadcrumbs. These work great with full fat Colby Jack cheese or cheddar. Sprinkle sea salt on top. Always use a parchment lined baking sheet instead of cooking spray to bake these.
5. Soaked and Dehydrated Nuts. (SCD/GAPS/PALEO)

   

   

6. Soaked and Dehydrated Apples. (SCD/GAPS/PALEO)

   

7. Date Nut Bread. (SCD/GAPS/PALEO)

   

   

8. Grapes, carrots, red/orange peppers, and what ever else happens to be in my crispers!  Here’s a post with all these creations!
9. DELICIOUS HOMEMADE DIJON MUSTARD for dipping! (SCD/GAPS/PALEO)  I’ll have to take pics this Thanksgiving because I don’t have any!  SCD Tweaks: 2 cups dry white wine-Chardonnay, 1 lg onion chop, 3 garlic cloves mince, 1 cup ground mustard powder (4 oz of Penzy’s dry mustard powder), 3 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp grapeseed or avocado oil, 2 tsp salt. I prefer grapeseed or avocado oil here so as to not oxidize the fragile fatty EVOO PUFAs.  Optional:  Add a few drops of McIlhenny Co Tabasco (this is SCD legal). TIP: ALWAYS DOUBLE THIS RECIPE TO NOT RUN OUT; IT’S FLAVORS AGE 2-8 WEEKS IN FRIDGE.
10. Plantain Chips.  DIY or homemade.  Green plantains are not SCD legal, but ripe plantains are SCD legal.  I use the green plantains always because that is what we prefer, but they do sell ripe plantain chips — they make for a very sweet tasting chip.  1 green plantain, 1 tsp extra virgin coconut oil, melted, ½ tsp sea salt or more to your liking.  Toss the plantain slices with the melted coconut oil, lay single layer on parchment lined baking sheet, and sprinkle with the salt. Bake 350F for 20-25 minutes.  Flip midway to ensure crisping.  Others use a cast iron skillet and fry the chips instead of baking them in an oven.  Try both ways and find your preference!

    

    

11. Family Cow Swiss Cheese.  or Kerry Gold Dubliner cheese.  and wonderful Olive, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and provolone, muenster, or asiago  Skewers.  (SCD/GAPS/PALEO)  See the many SCD/GAPS lactose-free cheese choices in the below slide.  Add SCD Dijon Mustard!

    

    

    

    

Here’s a post for all these great Holiday Tray ideas!

What is special about The Family Cow Cheeses?  It is truly PA Artisan made: It is one of a kind. made in small batches, by hand.  They are a Living Whole Food. A slight puffing-up of the shrink wrap is normal (especially in the aged cheese) and not to be feared. In fact it is a good sign. It’s proof that it’s truly living food. It is breathing!  Attention Vegetarians: We use vegetable rennet for the starter enzymes instead of the more common animal rennet.

Made from 100% Organic Raw Milk from our own grass-fed Jersey herd. It is not just raw. It is not just grass-fed. It is not just organic. It is all three plus local and artisan too!

All the natural Enzymes are still living! The milk is never heated past 103 degrees during the cheese making process. They are truly raw cheeses. This low temperature preserves all the natural enzymes. Many so-called ‘raw’ cheeses are actually heated to 160 degrees! Just shy of the legal definition of pasteurization, yea right, but not exactly raw either!

Our Baby Swiss is very Creamy: Swiss is usually made from skim milk. (If you slice it thin and hold it up to the light it looks translucent) Ours is made from full-fat jersey milk just like the rest of our cheese. The difference is remarkable.

Some of the non-SCD/GAPS/PALEO appetizers are:

1. DIY Wheat Thins. 

   

   

   1 1/4 cups sprouted whole wheat flour,
   1 1/2 Tbsp cane sugar, 1/2 tsp sea salt (more to sprinkle over the top), 1/4 tsp paprika, 4 Tbsp COLD Kerry Gold butter,  1/4 cup water, 1/4 tsp vanilla.  In a bowl combine flour, sugar, salt and paprika.  Using cheese grater, grate the butter into the mixture. Immediately toss the mixture a bit to break up clumps.  Mix together water and vanilla; pour into cheese mixture.  Stir to combine; the mixture should clump together.  If it does not, add a bit more water.  Divide into two balls.  Roll out between two parchment paper sheets to desired thickness.  Cut into squares,  Sprinkle salt over top. Bake 375F convection oven, 8 to 10 min until browned and crisp.

2. Luke’s Sausage Balls. Combine 1 lb of butcher grade clean sausage, 2 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded, the Homemade Clean Version of Bisquick from below, 1/4 tsp garlic granules, and sauteed vegetables (saute in butter or coconut oil: 1/4 cup each chopped onion and celery).  Make 1 inch diameter balls.  You can freeze balls at this point single layered between parchment paper.  Or you can bake them and then freeze them.  Bake at:  350F for 25 to 30 min until lightly browned and cooked through.
   • To make Homemade Clean Version of Bisquick:  Combine with a pastry blender 1 cup sprouted wheat flour + 1/2 tsp baking powder +1/2 tsp sea salt.  Sift this mixture 3 times.  Using a pastry blender add 2 1/2 Tbsp Spectrum Organics non-hydrolyzed shortening or butter and cut until you have a crumb mixture.

That’s about it for this years Thanksgiving Holiday Appetizers Roundup!  

Hope you find something to try, and as always, if you are local, you already know, but… I’ll see you Thursday!

Happy Holidays!

Last updated: September 17, 2018 at 8:30 am to add mini pizza image. Prior update, Dec 20, 2017, added recipe for Baked Rosemary, Almond Flour & Butternut Squash Gnocchi (and another version using coconut flour and almond flour) in Comment Section should link fail, 3 Artisan Bread pics, one Date and Nut Bread pic, and a new “Recipe: Holiday” tag.  Nov 23, 2016 update added pics for Artisan Irish Soda Bread (small loaves) and Wheat Thins.