updated November 24, 2025
Thanksgiving is so close … are you feeling ready?
If you’ve been with me for a while, you know the holidays are one of my absolute favorite times to get into the kitchen and play. I spend the whole day cooking with real, whole-food ingredients — and I swear, every year I’m reminded how much better clean, organic, intentionally-made dishes taste compared to the heavy, processed versions many of us grew up with. (Canned cream-of-mushroom? Not at this table!)
But I also know that for many of you, this season can feel a little … tricky. You’re making big, meaningful changes to the way you nourish your body, and suddenly the holidays — with all their traditions and temptations — can feel a bit overwhelming.
So this year, I wanted to make things a little easier on you.
I’m sharing my full holiday menu — full of whole-food, organic, real-ingredient recipes that honor your body and taste absolutely incredible. You’ll find grain-free, dairy-free, vegan, and (of course!) gluten-free dishes, so everyone at your table can enjoy something delicious.
And even if you’re not hosting, you can absolutely bring one of these dishes with you so you know you’ll have something nourishing and satisfying to enjoy. My top picks to impress any crowd? The Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cinnamon Icing or the Grain-free “Cornbread” Stuffing with Sausage … both are true showstoppers.
However you’re celebrating this year, I hope it’s filled with joy, connection, and really good food. And if you try any of these recipes, come back and tell me! I love seeing what you create.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Place a rack in the upper third of oven and preheat to 375F. Scatter sweet potato and garlic across a parchment-lined baking sheet, generously drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Roast, tossing halfway through, until garlic is golden brown and sweet potato is tender and browned in a few spots, 40–45 minutes.
Let vegetables cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor or blender and purée until smooth. Add tahini, salt, and squeeze in juice from lime; pulse to incorporate. With motor running, gradually add 1 cup water. Mixture should be the consistency of hummus; add a little more water if needed. Taste and add salt if needed. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Hummus can be made up to 3 days ahead of time.
Turkey ingredients:
Herbed Butter ingredients:
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Lift turkey out of the brine, rinse with cold water and dry with paper towels. Slide a small rubber spatula between the skin and the meat to separate them. Insert half of the herbed butter mixture under the skin and spread evenly. Rub the remaining butter mixture on the outside of the skin and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and thyme leaves. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity.
Stuff the cavity with two halves of an orange, ½ lemon, 3 cloves garlic, bunches of parsley, thyme, rosemary, and sage, and 2 slices of onion. Stuff the neck cavity with 2 cloves garlic and ½ lemon. Stuff sage leaves and 2 cloves garlic underneath skin of breast. Tie the legs together with cooking twine and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey. Place cut carrots, rest of onion, 4 cloves of garlic, and remaining herbs and orange in the bottom of a large roasting dish. Toss with coconut oil/butter and salt. Add 1 cup bone broth. Set turkey on top.
Place turkey in oven for 10 minutes, then without opening the door, turn down the temperature to 325F and roast for 30 minutes more. Baste with juices from the bottom of the pan every 15 minutes, roasting for a total of nearly 3 hours, or until the juices run clear when turkey is cut between the leg and the thigh (until internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165F.)
The turkey should be loosely covered with foil for part of the cooking time to help retain moisture. The foil should be removed for the last 45 minutes or so of cooking so the skin can be beautifully browned and crisp by the time the turkey is done. If juices run low, baste with turkey bone broth.
Remove from oven and cover with aluminum foil to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Reserve drippings and onions for gravy, if desired.
Roasting Times At 350F
Begin to check for doneness 30 minutes before the suggested cooking time.
Pastured birds often cook a little faster than conventional turkeys, so monitor closely with a meat thermometer. The thickest part of the thigh should reach 165F.
Loaf ingredients:
Glaze ingredients:
* use ½ teaspoon of tamarind paste, a teaspoon of molasses, vinegar and ½ teaspoon ground mustard to make soy-free
Instructions:
Combine lentils, bay leaf, and water in a pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Wash the quinoa, add to the pan, partially cover and continue to cook until both are very tender and easily mashed (you want to slightly overcook the lentils). Stir after 10 minutes so they don’t stick to the pan. Total 10 to 15 mins. Drain any excess water, remove bay leaf and transfer to a bowl.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, cook for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add celery, carrots, thyme, oregano, and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes or until veggies are tender. Add raisins and mix. Cook for 2 minutes. Take off heat.
Add the cooked veggies and flax meal to the bowl and mix in. Mash the mixture using a potato masher or hands, so that at least half the lentils and quinoa get well mashed (you still want some whole lentils). Add in the sauces, tahini, nutritional yeast, fennel seeds and mix well. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add more sauces, herbs, and salt if needed.
Add breadcrumbs or coarsely ground oats and mix in. To check if the mixture is the right consistency, make a burger patty. If the mixture is too sticky or pasty, add more breadcrumbs. If it is too crumbly and doesn’t stick easily, add some wet ingredients or a flax egg.
Prepare the loaf pan with parchment-lined with parchment edges over the pan. Press the mixture into the pan. Pack well and even it out. Make the glaze and spread over the top of the loaf.
Cover the loaf with foil and bake at 375F for 25 to 30 minutes. Bake uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes. Then let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes:
To make the loaf less crumbly, cook the lentils really well, and then mash.
Larger veggies or lentils in the mixture will make the loaf crumbly.
Use finely chopped veggies.
Add only enough breadcrumbs to make the mixture like a soft somewhat wet dough and not dry.
Salad ingredients:
Dressing ingredients:
Instructions:
In a large salad bowl, toss together spinach, pistachios and cherries. In a jar, combine olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, mustard and shake well. Drizzle dressing over salad. Toss and serve.
Cornbread ingredients:
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375F and adjust rack to middle position of oven. Put butter/ghee in cast iron skillet. Place in the oven while you prepare the batter. Whisk almond flour, coconut flour baking powder, sea salt, baking soda, and coconut sugar together in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, maple syrup, and coconut yogurt/buttermilk together.
Remove the skillet from the oven, make sure the entire bottom and sides are coated with oil and then pour the remaining oil in the batter. Pour wet mixture into flour mixture and gently fold all ingredients together. Pour cornbread batter into the baking dish and spread out evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
Stuffing ingredients:
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F and adjust rack to middle position. Cook pork over medium heat in a large skillet, using the back of a wooden spoon to break the pork into small pieces. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a large bowl. Melt butter along with any leftover fat from the ground pork in the skillet. Add onion, celery, carrots, and apple. Cook, stirring frequently until onions are just turning translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in sage, parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture into the bowl with the pork. Add dried and cubed cornbread to vegetable and pork mixture. Whisk chicken stock and eggs in a medium bowl. Pour over cornbread mixture and gently toss until all ingredients are wet. Pour into an 11 x 17″ baking dish. Bake uncovered until hot and crusty, for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve.
Ingredients:
* to make non-dairy buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of non-dairy milk of choice. Stir well and wait 10 minutes until incorporating into recipe.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Put ghee or butter in a 9-10″ cast-iron skillet and place on middle rack in oven until melted. In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, almond meal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. In batches, alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk until well combined. Stir in pecans. When ghee or butter has melted in skillet, carefully remove from oven. Making sure skillet is evenly coated, pour excess oil into batter. Mix until evenly incorporated. Pour batter into skillet and place skillet on middle oven rack. Bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cornbread to cool in skillet for at least 10 minutes, then invert and cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Cut squash in half and with a spoon, remove pulp and seeds. In a 9 x 13″ baking dish place squash cut-side down. Pour ¼-inch boiling water into baking dish. Place dish in oven and bake squash for 30 minutes at 350F. In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries, cinnamon and butter to make stuffing. Remove squash from the oven after 30 minutes. Turn halves over and stuff the center of each squash half with apple mixture. Return to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or longer) until squash and apples are tender.
Pumpkin Cake Bar ingredients:
Cinnamon Icing ingredients:
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium-sized bowl, add all the cake ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Pour into an 8×8″ oven-safe baking dish, or, if it’s more appealing, I suspect you could squeeze 12 cupcakes out of this recipe if you use a muffin tin. Bake until completely cooked through, about 30 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and use either your mixing blade attachment or a whisk to beat the ingredients until fluffy.
Once the cake has cooled, cut it into 9 squares and remove from the pan.
Now … if the cake isn’t completely, 100%, no-doubt-in-your-mind cool, you are not allowed to proceed. I’m telling you, if your cake isn’t cool, the icing will just slide right off into a pile of goop and all will be wasted.
Use a small spatula or a spoon and drizzle the frosting over the top of the — COOL — cake. Store in the fridge. The icing will harden, just let it come to room temperature if you like it soft.
Filling ingredients:
Filling instructions:
Place pumpkin on a plate and set aside. In a medium pot, melt coconut milk fat and coconut oil until liquefied. Stir in pumpkin and maple syrup until mixture is very warm. Transfer mixture to a Vitamix and puree on high speed until very smooth. Blend in vanilla, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Transfer mixture into your chosen pie crust. Refrigerate for 2 hours to set. Serve.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Place flour and salt in a food processor and pulse briefly. Add coconut oil and egg and pulse until mixture forms a ball; add spices. Press dough into a 9″ glass pie dish. Fill with pumpkin pie filling. Bake at 350F for 8-12 minutes.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
In a food processor combine arrowroot, coconut flour, and salt. Pulse in shortening and maple syrup until dough forms. Press dough into a 9″ glass pie dish. Fill with pumpkin pie filling. Bake at 350F for 13-18 minutes, until golden. Cool and serve.
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