Making Holiday Traditions that Work for Your Family
How to Discover Meaningful Traditions for Your Family
Open up any magazine at this time of year, watch TV, or search the web for holiday traditions, and you’ll find many activities that you can do with your family each year as a holiday tradition. As moms and dads, I think we feel pressure to make memories in a meaningful way, which makes us try to recreate what we see other families doing. But, the most treasured traditions can often come about without any planning.
As I wrote in my Halloween traditions post, every family needs a “thing.” These annual traditions are a fun way to not only create memories to look back on fondly, they can hopefully give you something to look forward to! Rather than adopt another family’s (or TV/Magazine/Internet) idea for a tradition, look for activities that already resonate with your family’s interests. Consider things that you already enjoy doing together and see if there’s a way to give it a holiday twist. If you all enjoy running, look for a holiday morning 5K to do together. If your family is into games, see if you can find certain games that you can do each holiday. Your tradition may involve nature, fitness, traveling somewhere on a day trip. Whatever it is, it should be something that speaks to your family’s unique personality and style.
Our annual Christmas tradition was born out of watching a certain holiday movie each year and noticing that it had a bit of a food theme.
For our family, food and movies are a big part of our lives. We love going to the movies, watching them at home, and talking about them afterwards. We have even gone to the symphony to watch a movie while the orchestra played the movie score live. And, we enjoy having a good meal together, usually at home given all of our food sensitivities. When we can, we try to do have dinner and a movie. So, if we are watching a movie set in a certain place, like Mexico or Japan, we will try to prepare a food that matches the setting of the movie we are watching. It felt pretty natural that we would combine these two favorite activities into a holiday tradition.
“A Christmas Story” Dinner
We love to watch the cult classic, “A Christmas Story,” each holiday. There is something about the antics of a little boy, desperate to receive a gift that none of the grown-ups in his life thinks he should have, that is both funny and heartwarming. In the movie, the boy’s family often gathers around the table and twice they eat a particular dinner. We own the DVD (as we haven’t been able to find it on Blu-Ray) and before watching it, we will make our version of that same meal that appears in the movie. (#Ad)
Honestly, the whole reason we even tried this meal was out of sheer curiosity. The meal consists of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, which is a very common paring. But, the vegetable dish that rounds out the meal was the odd one out for us- braised red cabbage. But, after watching the mostly fictional (the narrator based the story on his own life) Parker family eat this meal and ask for seconds, we decided to try it.
The meatloaf recipe is based on a “prize-winning Quaker Oats” meatloaf recipe I had found online. Instead of bread or breadcrumbs, old-fashioned rolled oats are added. They keep the meatloaf incredibly moist while giving it some structure. You will not miss the bread in this recipe, and I promise that it does not make the meatloaf taste like oatmeal! To keep your meatloaf gluten-free, I highly recommend the old-fashioned rolled oats by Bob’s Red Mill- (#Ad)
Table of Contents
Gluten-Free Meatloaf with Glaze
Notes
The glaze is purely optional and adapted from one I found in a crockpot cookbook.
Although not traditionally Paleo, many who eat Paleo include oats in their diets.
Ingredients
- 3 Lbs ground meat- your choice (can be beef, veal, pork, turkey, or chicken- I recommend a mix of 2 or more and do not recommend lamb).
- 2 Large Eggs
- ½ yellow onion- grated or pureed in a food processor
- 3-4 garlic cloves- pressed or pureed.
- ¾ Cup Ketchup- divided (¼ cup and ½ cup) (You can use paleo-friendly varieties of ketchup for this)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or 2 tsp Coconut Aminos mixed with 1 tsp Fish Sauce for paleo)
- 1 Cup Gluten Free Rolled Oats (not quick cooking)
- ½ Tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard
- Pinch of Cloves
- Pinch of Nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350⁰
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground meat with eggs, pureed onions and garlic, ¼ cup ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Add in rolled oats and carefully mix until combined.
- On a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet, carefully move mounds of meatloaf mixture onto the pan and shape into a flat, even loaf, about 1 ½” thick.
- Bake at 350⁰ for 45 minutes. Check with a meat thermometer to ensure that the meatloaf has reached 160⁰. If not, put it back for another 10 minutes and check again. (This is particularly important if your mixture contains ground poultry meat)
- Mix together the remaining ½ Cup ketchup with brown mustard, spices, and sugar. Spread evenly over the top of the meatloaf, and return to oven so glaze can set- another 5 minutes or so.
The mashed potatoes are made with a method I’ve used for years– adding the potato cooking water to reduce the amount of dairy or calorie-laden liquids. I then add ghee or butter and greek yogurt to make it richer. If you want to keep the recipe more Whole30-friendly, omit the greek yogurt or consider replacing it with plain coconut yogurt.
Easy Gluten-Free Mashed Potatoes
Notes
Although some cooks will recommend using white pepper to keep the color of the potatoes consistent, I find that the white pepper can add a strong flavor that we do not enjoy as much as some good black pepper. Use whatever pepper you enjoy most!
Ingredients
- 3 Lbs Russet Potatoes, washed.
- 1-2 Tbsp Butter to taste
- 1-2 Tbsp Sour Cream/Greek Yogurt, to taste
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Peel and remove the eyes of the mashed potatoes. Cut potatoes into ½ inch slices, rather than thicker cubes or chunks.
- Place potatoes into a pot and fill with cold water, cover the potatoes with water, about 1 inch above the potatoes.
- Place pot over high heat. Once potatoes come to a boil, boil for about 15 minutes. Check with a fork to make sure the potatoes are tender.
- Before draining potatoes, reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid. Drain potatoes into colander and place immediately back in the pot.
- With a potato masher, gently mash potatoes until large lumps are gone and potatoes are fluffy. Add butter, sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. Add potato cooking water to create the desired consistency (make it as thick or smooth as you like). Adjust seasonings as desired and enjoy!
Finally, the braised cabbage. Growing up in the northeast US, and now living in the south, it was a mystery to me that they would pair red cabbage with a traditional meatloaf dinner. But, that’s because I didn’t grow up in the mid-west where, especially at the time the movie was set (1930s-1940s), it was a staple side dish. Given that cabbage is a winter vegetable, it just makes sense to serve it with mashed potatoes and meatloaf for a comforting cold-weather meal. And, the color is so purple-red, it really seems Christmas-y!
Paleo Christmas Story Sweet and Sour Cabbage
Notes
There are so many versions of this recipe that use lots of different ingredients. Many call for adding red wine to the list of liquids. Others start the recipe with bacon and cook the cabbage in the bacon fat. Many call for adding sliced onions. In addition to the spices listed in this recipe, some recipes also add caraway seeds. The list goes on. Add what you think will complement the cabbage and apples that are the hallmarks of this sweet and sour dish.
The way I made this dish a bit more paleo-friendly was by simply making a few substitutes. Coconut sugar replaces the usual brown sugar. The apple cider vinegar replaces the traditional distilled vinegar.
Ingredients
- 1 Medium-Large Red Cabbage
- 2 Apples
- ¼ Cup Water
- ¼ Cup Apple Cider (Or Apple Juice)
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
- ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Tbsp Ghee (or Grassfed butter, if you can have it)
- Salt and pepper to Taste
Instructions
- Using a food processor, use the thin slicing blade to create shredded cabbage.
- Peel and core apples. Cut into a small dice or shred with the cabbage.
- In a large pot set over medium heat, add Water and Cider. Toss in Shredded cabbage and apples. Mix to combine.
- Turn and toss the cabbage in the liquid. After the cabbage begins to wilt down, add sugar, vinegar, and spices. Mix carefully. Nestle in the bay leaf, lower the heat to medium low and cook for at least 30 minutes or until cabbage is soft.
- Before serving, add in ghee or butter and season with salt and pepper.
These are the recipes we make when we watch Ralphie and his pals as prepare for the holidays. What are some of your family’s annual holiday traditions? Leave a comment below.
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