My family is suffering from a post-holiday food hangover. Fortunately, this year, I was able to substitute some healthy and yummy recipe makeovers for the standard holiday fare, helping us avoid that dreaded “I’m as bloated and rancid week-old stuffed sausage” feeling that we all know and loathe.

Sadly, I couldn’t find a recipe for my favorite sweet potato casserole which is an absolute must-have item at any good Thanksgiving or Christmas meal. So what follows is the original recipe and my own revision along with a few pics of the finished product.

I must admit that I’ve made and served the original recipe over the years. Each time, the original has garnered rave reviews. But beware – it is frankly unhealthy – chocked full of fat, sugar and animal products. If those ingredients work for you and your family, go for it. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. But understand, I’ve served the revamped version to family and friends over the last few years. Vegetarians, Vegan and omnivores alike love it, and most are unaware of its vegan status.

You can even “tweak” the revamp recipe to accommodate Paleo/Cross Fit types. You would just want to use two whole, beaten eggs (as in original recipe) or 3 whole egg whites instead of egg replacer. Then replace the flour and rolled oats with ½ cup each almond (or other nut) flour and coconut flour. Hard core Paleo types would also appreciate you using extra-virgin coconut oil in place of butter or margarine. Your call. Coconut has a very recognizable flavor. I love it. Some people detest coconut, so just be mindful of your audience. ☺

Original Recipe Sweet Potato Casserole
Recipe makes ~6 (1-cup) servings
For Souffle:
• 4 cups sweet potato, cubed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Topping:
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Transfer mixture to a 9×13” baking dish. In medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

Sweet Potato Soufflé Updated
This recipe makes ~8-10 servings
For Souffle:
• 4 large (or 5 medium) sweet potato, peeled and roughly cut into 6-8 chunks
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 Tbsp. vegan egg replacer, mixed with ¼ cup filtered water
• 2 Tbsp. flax seed meal
• ½ tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. vegan butter-replacement (I prefer Earth Balance sticks), softened
• 2/3 – ¾ cup almond, coconut, rice or soy milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice mixture (I like McCormick’s brand)
• 1 small box sugar-free vanilla pudding mix (unprepared)

For Topping:
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose gluten-free flour mix
• ½ cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/3 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. vegan butter-replacement (like Earth Balance)
• ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• ½ tsp. maple, butter or butternut flavoring
• Dash almond, coconut, rice or soy milk
• McCormick’s Kettle Corn flavored popcorn salt

Directions
Place peeled and cut sweet potatoes in a large saucepan with enough water to cover. Cook , covered over medium high heat until tender. While sweet potatoes cook, lightly spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray I like Pam Coconut Oil spray). Pour pumpkin into prepared casserole dish. Mix together egg replacer, water and flax seeds in a large (2-cup measure cup). Set aside and allow mixture to thicken (about 5-10 minutes). When the egg replacer/flax seed mixture has become thick, stir in the milk, flavorings and pudding mix.

When sweet potatoes are soft to fork, drain and pour hot potatoes into casserole dish with pumpkin. Preheat oven to 375(F). Add butter to hot sweet potato and pumpkin mixture. Using a potato masher or pastry cutter, mash sweet potatoes and pumpkin together until smooth. Sprinkle the mixture with salt and stir to combine. Next add the milk mixture and stir thoroughly to combine. You may add more milk if the consistency is too thick.

In medium bowl, stir together the sugar, oats, chia seeds and flour. When combined, sprinkle mixture with flavorings. Stir to combine. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Lastly, stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture. Then lightly sprinkle prepared soufflé with popcorn salt. Next, cover casserole with tin foil. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes.

After casserole has been baking for 40 minutes, remove casserole from oven and take off the tin foil. Then return to oven and bake 20 more minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

PREP TIME: 
30 minutes
COOKING TIME: 
60 minutes
READY IN
: 1 ½ hours
SERVINGS: About 6 servings, original recipe. About 8-10 servings for Revamp.

A couple of shots of the revised recipe as served during this year’s holiday celebrations.

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This recipe will fool your omnivorous friends and family!

I cherish memories of holidays past. Among my favorite memories are Thanksgiving Reunion celebrations spent with grandmother’s extended family. Every year dozens of people would gather at a lovely campground outside of Gainesville, FL (my hometown) and each family brought one or more dishes. My cousins and I had a great time exploring and playing. There were tons of things to do at this place – horseback riding, canoeing and even a zoo right on site.

But the best part of all was the amazing foods. My grandmother’s family can really cook…and bake…and eat! Since even as a kid, I never liked meat, I avoided some of the offerings (like sausage and squash casserole, anything with beef, etc.). But I always loved stuffing, or dressing depending on geographic region of origin.

Now, as an adult vegan, I wanted to find ways of revamping my cherished childhood indulgences. I’m very satisfied with this stuffing recipe, and my mother and husband (both non-veg) have given it rave reviews as well. Listed first below is the original (full-fat, full of animal-protein) recipe. My updated recipe follows. I’ll also attach a photo of the ready to serve recipe shortly.
ORIGINAL Recipe: Makes 10 servings

1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
1 pound ground turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1cooked turkey liver, finely chopped
3/4 cup turkey stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

REVISED Recipe: Makes at least 10 servings
(hint: tastes even better on days 2 & 3)

1 ½ loaves gluten free whole grain bread, cubed
1 roll vegan Gimme Lean sausage
½ large sweet onion, chopped
1 cup celery, diced (I like tons of celery in mine but it’s up to your tastes)
2-3 organic sweet apples peeled [or not I prefer mine with peel] and diced
½ cup dried sweetened cranberries
2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup pecans OR walnuts, chopped
1 – 1 ½ cups vegetable stock (to taste)
1-2 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread

Optional Add-ins:
12 ounces sliced portabella mushrooms. If using, be sure to brown mushrooms first to avoid overly wet stuffing/dressing
May use golden raisins or currants instead of cranberries if preferred
1 bag dried, peeled chestnuts, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ teaspoons dried rosemary
You can also replace up to ½ loaf of bread with cooked wild rice. (Makes a nice final texture)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. (NOTE since I used gluten free bread, which tends to be drier, I just cubed the bread and left in a bowl in refrigerator overnight.) Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
2.Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons butter spread. Crumble Gimme Lean sausage into pan and add diced onion and mushrooms is using.
3. Cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery and spices as desired. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
NOTE: I really like sweet and salty flavors so I add some extra salt here, up to 1 teaspoon depending on the brand and saltiness of broth you are using.
4. Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl.
5. Allow mixture to sit/rest while peeling and/or dicing apples.
6. Add chopped apples, dried cranberries to sausage and bread mixture. Stir to combine.
6. Drizzle with stock and mix lightly. Stir in pecans or walnuts. Mix well.
NOTE: I like to add enough broth for the mixture to remain just a bit soupy after stirring to combine. The I allow the mixture to rest again for moisture absorption. Allow me to judge if more broth is needed.

Bake for 45 min to 1 hour covered in 350 oven. Then remove foil or cover and brown for 10 min at same temperature. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Please post you own experiences making one of these recipes and your family’s response. Enjoy!