Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of the Day: Finalize Your Feast

If you’re hosting, now’s your chance to double check you’ve got plenty of  of veggies on offer for your holiday table to compliment the star of the show, whether it’s a traditional wild turkey or goose, or something a bit more off the beaten path, such as pheasant as I described last week in the latest article I wrote for Dr. Cordain’s site. The more variety you have on offer, the higher your success rate will be in terms of pleasing all the guests at the table, from the pickiest adult to the most finicky child. And the more color that graces your table, the more lovely the presentation will be. Looking for last minute ideas?

• Go local (whatever grows near you is inherently going to taste better than something that’s been picked before it was ripe, waxed, chilled and shipped thousands of miles)
• Go seasonal (what better way to be ‘seasonal’?)
• Go colorful (the visual as well as the olfactory component are equally important components of the dining experience, after all)

So long as you have your main theme set for the big feast, you can be a bit flexible with what you’re serving on the side, as long as the category of ‘fresh veggies’ is checked off once, twice, three times and maybe more. Worried about prep?

• Saute it (what doesn’t taste delicious in garlic and oil?)
• Steam it (a great option to serve as simple side to not steal the show from other flavorful dishes on offer)
• Serve it raw (take about easy, peasy and perfect to nibble on, prior to the main event!)

Bottom line- there’s no wrong answer here, and your chances of making a ‘mistake’ are slim to none when it comes to cooking (versus baking) for two key reasons.    In my opinion, there are two things that would render a meal beyond repair:   over salting or burning

• Since we don’t cook with salt on a True Paleo regime, the risk of over-salting is non existent
• There does exist the chance of burning, but if you cook at a lower temp, which you’re doing anyway, especially if cooking with olive oil, that risk goes down significantly and further, by keeping a close eye, the risk is reduced even more…so, in other words, don’t stress about it.

Focus on quality, freshness and let the flavors speak for themselves as you round out the holiday table with the best your neck of the woods has to offer!