The Staple Low Pro Thanksgiving Recipes

Let's get real, when a big holiday rolls around the last thing on your mind is prepping low protein food. I have found that to be true and often cook high protein for everyone else and forget about myself. This is something I have been working on over the past two years and forcing myself to prep for. Therefore, for a holiday like Thanksgiving, I prepare almost all the low protein options a week or two ahead of time and then freeze it. This generally takes me a full eight hours to do it right. After spending that full day I am so thankful I just freed up the day for other preparations as it gets closer. I would not serve frozen/reheated food to my guests but for my purposes I do not notice the difference between reheated and fresh low pro food.

Below is my plate from Friendsgiving. This was a great excuse to get my butt in gear and prep all my Thanksgiving food for that day and freezer for the actual Thanksgiving.

Of course, I had to share my favorite holiday recipes with you all. They are nothing fancy but delicious and super low in phe. I look forward to these indulgent recipes all year. For big holidays, there is one certainty with PKU, don't be cheap with the butter! I've said this before and will say it again. This is the single most decadent food that can be enjoyed by one with PKU. Load it up!! Add more to stuffing, gravy, mashed yuca. Add it to everything!! Just because you have PKU, does not mean you shouldn't be stuffed full of delicious yumminess. There is no excuse to "cheat" or go off diet when these low protein options are available.

For these recipes I will try to keep it simple but also include the grams. It is super casual. Don't worry too much about the measurements unless you have to track very closely. This recipe is no-fail and will turn out no matter the proportions.

Disclaimer: I use the food processor for all these recipes. I have it out so it usually saves me a whole bunch of time. You can chop all your veggies, including garlic and onions and then pulverize your bread into crumbs (leave it a little chunky if you can). Work smarter, not harder my people.

Low Protein Stuffing

Each serving is 1/2 cup

Each serving has 16 mg of phe and 186 calories

2 Cambrooke artisan bread loafs (or 350 grams of any low pro bread)

1/2 chopped onion (3/4 cup or 120 grams)

1.5 sticks butter (162 grams)

3 stalks of celery (120 grams)

2 cloves garlic

1 cup vegetable broth

1 half packet of G. Washington dry broth

1 teas ground sage

1 teas fresh thyme

.5 tablespoon poultry seasoning

Chop onions, garlic and celery coarsely. Heat half the butter in skillet over medium-low heat and add vegetables. Chop or run bread through food processor. Be careful in the food processor to leave a little chunky. Add bread, vegetable broth and G. Washington broth to the skillet. Add poultry seasoning, ground sage and fresh thyme and mix well. Cook down on medium-low until broth is absorbed. Transfer to a baking dish. Top the mixture with the other half of the butter in chunks. Bake on 350 until golden and crispy.

Low Protein Gravy

Serving size is 2 tablespoons

Each serving has 13 mg of phe and 37 calories

55 grams butter (about 4 tbsp or .5 stick)

1 8-ounce package of mushrooms

90 grams chopped onion (about .5 onion)

2 cloves garlic

.25 cup wheat starch

2 cups vegetable broth

4 fluid ounces dry, red wine

1 tsp ground sage

.5 tbsp Trader Joe's onion salt (dehydrated onion flakes will work as well)

1 packet dry G. Washington seasoning & broth

Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onions, and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. Mix in wheat starch and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. It will be very thick and want to stick to the bottom; try and keep it from sticking too much. Add vegetable broth, red wine, and spices and stir together. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir constantly for 5-7 minutes, scraping the bottom as necessary, until gravy begins to thicken. Remove from heat and serve.

Yuca Mash

Serving size is 1/3 cup

Each serving has 45 mg of phe, 1.5 grams protein and 257 calories

*This is a very rich recipe so feel free to cut back on cream, which has more phe than the butter. It is also a large batch so feel free to cut in half. I like to freeze leftovers for fritters or hashbrowns.

800 grams yuca

1 cup heavy whipping cream (226 gm)

1 stick of butter

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon fresh, crushed rosemary

Pepper to taste

Peel the yuca and cook in instant pot (25 minutes on manual) or boil it. Meanwhile, blend the cream in blender on high until whipped (about five minutes). Add garlic, warm, diced yuca, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary. Mix until well-blended. I prefer it chunky. If you need less phe, add less cream. I do feel a half cup would suffice. Serve hot with vegan sour cream and green onions for garnish.