From our homes to yours, we wish you a healthy and happy holiday season!
Enjoy the following recipes!
COVID compliant Holiday Turkey: Turkey for 6 and under
From Jamie Oliver – Dr. Marika Geis’ Kitchen guru
Ingredients
- 4 kg higher-welfare turkey
- 250 g stuffing, (from meat stuffing recipe: see below)
- 250 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 bunch lemon thyme, (30g)
- 2 clementines
- olive oil
Method
GET AHEAD
- Check the main turkey cavity for the bag of giblets; if they’re in there, remove and tip them into your roasting tray, discarding the bag. The added flavour they’ll give your gravy will be incredible – trust me.
- Peel the onions, wash the carrots and roughly chop with the celery or the leek tops, then add to the tray with the unpeeled garlic cloves.
- Place the stuffing in the neck cavity, then pull the skin back over it and tuck it under the bird. You’ll get a good contrast between the soft, juicy stuffing here inside the turkey, and the crispier stuff you can bake separately in a dish.
- Place the softened butter on a board and press down with your hands. Pick over 3 sprigs of thyme, finely zest ½ a clementine and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and scrunch all together to make your flavoured butter.
- Halve the clementines and place in the main turkey cavity with the remaining thyme – not filling it too full allows hot air to circulate, cooking the bird from the inside out and from the outside in.
- Get your turkey and use a spatula to work your way between the skin and the meat. Start at the side of the cavity just above the leg and work gently up towards the breastbone and towards the back so you create a large cavity. Pick up your butter and push it into the cavity you’ve created. Use your hands to push it through the skin right to the back so it coats the breast meat as evenly as possible. Do the same on the other side.
- Drizzle the turkey all over with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and generously sprinkle from all sides with salt and pepper.
- Cover the turkey snugly with tin foil and place it on top of the trivet in the tray.ON THE DAY
- Take your turkey out of the fridge 1 hour before it’s due to go in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
- You want to cook a higher-welfare bird for 25 to 30 minutes per kg and a standard bird is 35 to 40 minutes per kg. For a 4kg bird, pop it in the oven for 1 hour 40 minutes, basting several times with all the lovely juices in the tray and covering with foil when beautifully golden brown.
- The simplest way to check it’s cooked is to stick a knife into the thickest part of the thigh – if the juices run clear, it’s done.
- Use heavy-duty tongs to lift up your bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the tray, then transfer the turkey to a platter and leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on. You can cover it with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel to keep warm, if you like.
- Skim away the fat from the turkey tray, save it in a jar, and leave to cool. When cold, transfer to the fridge for cooking with at a later date.CARVING THE TURKEY
- Once the turkey has rested, it’s time to carve. There are two ways you can do this.
– The first method is to remove the wings, slice the skin beside the legs, then pull out and chop the legs off. You can either slice or pull this brown meat – it’s so tasty. Keep it warm while you move on to the breast meat. Use the full length of the knife in a nice smooth action to slice through the breast meat, transferring it to a platter as you go.
– Alternatively, remove the leg as above, then feel where the backbone is and cut with the length of your knife all the way down beside it until you hit the carcass. You can then lift the whole breast off the bone. Remove to a board and slice. Enjoy!
Tips
“You must let your bird come up to room temperature after being in the fridge. It’ll give you more reliable cooking times, as well as juicier, more tender meat, as the bird isn’t shocked when it hits the heat of the oven.
Don’t be under the illusion that when you remove the turkey from the oven it stops cooking. The residual heat will continue to cook the bird, giving the juices time to travel back throughout the meat, meaning a juicier bird all round. Piping hot meat is not a clever thing – warm, juicy meat, hot gravy and hot plates is the holy grail.”

Best Rice Stuffing for the Holidays
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups water, divided
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
- ⅓ pound bacon
- 3 cups diced onions
- 3 cups diced celery
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
- 1 ¾ cups currants
- ¾ cup dried cherries
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- ½ ounce dried apricots
- 1 cup diced, unpeeled apples
- ½ cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
- 6 tablespoons dried mixed herbs
Method
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 1 1/2 cups water and the chicken broth to a boil. Stir in wild rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.
- Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Reserving drippings, drain bacon, crumble, and set aside.
- In the skillet with the reserved bacon drippings, sauté onions and celery with 1 tablespoon water. Cook until very soft, about 20 minutes.
- Stir remaining water, white rice, currants, cherries, cranberries, apricots, and apples into the wild rice. Continue cooking 20 minutes, or until wild rice and white rice are tender.
- In a large bowl, mix the bacon and the onion mixture into the rice mixture. Season with the Italian parsley and dried mixed herbs. Proceed to fill your turkey to capacity. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Casserole
Dr. Julie Zepp’s tried and true holiday side dish
Casserole Ingredients
- 4-5 boiled and drained sweet potatoes (3 cups when cooked and mashed)
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup organic butter
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk. (unsweetened almond, rice or oat)
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Topping Ingredients
- 1 cup ground nuts (I like to use pecans)
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup rice flour
Method
- Mix together the casserole ingredients and place in a casserole dish.
- Mix together the topping ingredients.
- Sprinkle the topping mixture on top of the casserole and bake for 30 minutes at 350C.

Winter Salad with Fennel and a Blood Orange Vinaigrette
From Nourishing Meals – A staple in Dr. Allison Ziegler’s home
Salad Ingredients
- ½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 8 cups)
- 1 large fennel bulb, sliced
- 2 large carrots, sliced diagonally then into strips
- 2 large carrots, sliced diagonally then into strips
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 blood oranges, peeled and segmented (or chopped), can replace with navel oranges
- ½ to 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ to 1 cup almonds, roasted and chopped
Dressing Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed blood or navel orange juice
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Method
- Place the red cabbage, fennel, carrots, red onion, blood oranges, and parsley into a large bowl. If you are planning on serving the salad right away then add the almonds too. If you would like to extend the salad over a few days then sprinkle the almonds over what you plan on serving (otherwise they get soft and lose their crunch when sitting in the dressing).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and toss together. Serve. Leftovers can be stored in a glass container in your refrigerator for about 3 days.

Festive Herbal Shrub Recipe
Dr. Brittany Wolfe’s specialty
If you’re a fan of kombucha and tart tonics, then you will love an herbal shrub. A shrub is essentially a fermented herbal-infused vinegar that is often mixed with soda water or champagne if you’re feeling festive! Think fizzy, healing and refreshing! It makes a great base for a delicious and herby mocktail. You can follow the recipe below or get creative and use what you have on hand.
You will need
- 1-quart mason jar with lid and ring
- Cheesecloth or thin, clean rag of breathable material (with fine holes)
- Wooden spoon or muddler
- Raw vinegar (apple cider vinegar – must be raw for fermentation)
- 1 cup of blueberries
- 1 tbsp fresh minced rosemary
- Parchment or wax paper
- ~1 tbsp of sugar or honey
Method
- Place all foods and herbs into a mason jar and muddle with a wooden spoon to release juices, oils and fragrances (and medicine!).
- Cover with raw vinegar of choice but leave 1-inch airspace remaining under rim.
- Make sure all ingredients are submerged under vinegar or else you will develop mold.
- Drape cheesecloth or other breathable cloth over mouth of jar, then screw on the ring portion of the lid only to keep cheesecloth in place.
- Leave jar out at room temperature overnight (~12 hours).
- Remove the cheese cloth and replace it with wax paper. This time screw both the lid and the ring portion over the wax paper. The wax paper is there to protect the metal from the vinegar.
- Leave your mixture out on your counter for about 3-5 days and give it a good shake every day. – Double check to make sure the solid stays below the liquid.
- After 3-5 days, strain off the fruit and herbs and store in a mason jar in the fridge. You can always add a little more sweetener if you like.
- Use about 2 oz of shrub with sparkling water or champagne!

Grain-free, Nut-free Chocolate Chip Cookies for Santa
From Oh She Glows – One of Dr. Michelle Sthamann’s favourites
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (63 g) natural smooth sunflower seed butter*
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (37.5 mL) coconut oil (room temp) or grapeseed oil**
Dry Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (54 g) raw sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons (30 g) cassava flour***
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) ground chia seed****
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup (50 g) dark chocolate squares
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl, add the wet ingredients (sunflower seed butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and oil) and stir until completely smooth.
- Place the sunflower seeds into a food processor and process for about 40 to 60 seconds until a fine meal forms. You want to process the seeds to as fine a meal as possible without them turning into butter!
- Add the dry ingredients (ground sunflower seeds, cassava flour, ground chia seeds, baking soda, and salt) to the wet mixture bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. The dough will be very sticky, but this is normal. Chop the chocolate, reserving one heaping tablespoon for later. Stir the remaining chopped chocolate into the dough until combined.
- Using a 2-tablespoon (30-mL) cookie scoop (or simply a spoon), scoop small mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet a few inches apart. There’s no need to flatten the mounds as they’ll spread out during baking. Now, using the chocolate you set aside, press a few chunks into each mound (this just helps the cookies look a bit more chocolaty when baked!).
- Bake for 10 to 11 minutes (I bake for 10 minutes) for a soft and tender cookie.
- Remove cookies from the oven and cool directly on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Using a spatula, gently transfer each cookie (they’ll be very fragile) to a cooling rack for another 10 to 15 minutes. The cookies will be crumbly until they are fully cooled, so it’s very important that you give them some time to firm on the rack (I know, it’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do!).
- Serve and enjoy! Cooled cookies will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 weeks. I love the delightful “snappy” texture these cookies get as the chocolate firms up from chilling!
Tips
* The sunflower seed butter should be 100% sunflower seeds without any added sugars or oils. I use Organic SunButter. Be sure to stir the sunflower seed butter before measuring and avoid using the dry/hard butter at the bottom of the jar. If using thicker seed butter, the cookies won’t spread as much when baking.
** If your coconut oil is hard as rock, you can melt it over very low heat and then cool before using. Avoid using warm coconut oil as it’ll melt the chocolate chips.
*** Cassava flour can be a bit tricky to locate. Your best bet is to buy from an online retailer (such as this one on Amazon) or a natural food store.
**** To make ground chia seed, add seeds to a high-speed blender or coffee grinder and blend/grind on high until a flour forms. An equal amount of ground flaxseed also works in place of chia, but it will yield a thicker cookie. I prefer using ground chia. Leftover ground seeds can be stored in the freezer in an airtight freezer bag for future use.