Our Summer Gatherings Bundle is 50% OFF! | One-Click Chops & Ribs - Shop Now >>

Wholesome Thanksgiving: Recipes & Recommendations

written by

Meg Peery

posted on

October 24, 2025

As days grow shorter and temperatures chillier, bright fall colors remind us that celebration is on its way! Read on for nourishing & nutrient-dense recipes to delight your tribe as you gather to give thanks.

Look for the πŸ₯‚ icon signifying recipes that can be made ahead.
All items listed below can be found in the Wholesome Thanksgiving section of the online store.
Please note that some items are not available for shipping.

APPETIZERS:

πŸ₯‚ Dinner Roll Crostini - make with gluten-free dinner rolls and serve with spreadable cheese, toasted nuts, & dried cranberries

Crostini.png

πŸ₯‚ Festive Cheese Board - include dried and fresh fruits, raw milk cheese, & J&L Green Farm pastured Canadian bacon slices cut into quarters

Cheese-board.png

πŸ₯‚ Pumpkin Bisque with Homemade Croutons - make bisque with pastured lard or grass-fed butter, pastured chicken broth or turkey broth, and raw wildflower honey (instead of brown sugar); croutons from gluten-free bread and pastured lard or grass-fed butter 

bisque.png


MAIN COURSE:

J&L Green Farm Whole Pastured Turkey, Turkey Combo, or 2lb Skin-On Breastfind our defrosting, brining, and cooking suggestions for pastured turkey here.

Turkey-(2).png

J&L Green Farm Smoked Holiday Ham or Canadian Bacon Slicesglaze with our farm's 100% pure black walnut syrupraw wildflower honey, or local maple syrup; find our cooking & glazing suggestions here.

Smoked-Ham-GC.jpg
Pork-Smoked-Canadian-Bacon-black.jpg

Our Absolute FAVORITE Kitchen Knife - you need a knife you LOVE in your kitchen! This is our all-time FAVORITE knife for effortless poultry processing, meat carving, and all-purpose kitchen use.

Knife-+-Sharpener.jpg


SIDES:

πŸ₯‚ Green Bean Casserole - make with pastured chicken broth or turkey broth, pastured lard, and pastured eggs. Make-ahead instructions are included in the recipe.  

GB-casserole-(1).png

Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls - serve with grass-fed butter

rolls.png

Gluten-Free Traditional Stuffing - make with gluten-free artisan bread, pastured chicken broth or turkey broth, and pastured eggs

stuffing.png

πŸ₯‚ Homemade cranberry sauce - sweeten with raw wildflower honey

cran-sauce.png

Pastured Giblet Gravy - make with pastured giblets (neck, heart & liver are included inside your turkey, purchase gizzards separately), pastured lard, and pastured chicken broth or turkey broth

Gravy.png


DESSERT:

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding - make with gluten-free bread and pastured eggs

bread-pudding.png

Roasted Pear and Pecan Crumble - make with gluten-free chocolate chip cookies from Γ‰ban's Bakehouse

pear-pecan-crumble.png

 πŸ₯‚ Homemade Pie Crust - make with pastured lard for incredible flakiness...and the healthy fats, vitamins, and essential nutrients that make pastured pork lard one of the world's top 10 nutritious foods (really!)

pie-crust.png

πŸ₯‚ Gluten-Free Cookie Platter - gluten-free chocolate chip cookies from Γ‰ban's Bakehouse

cookies.png

πŸ₯‚ Hot Apple Cider - sweeten with raw wildflower honey, and use local cider or Simply Apple brand juice (in the refrigerated section of the grocery store) for best results

cider.png

More from the blog

Family Friendly Weeknight Bolognese

If you're like me, family dinners are important.  It feels like there are a million different responsibilities these days, and it's easy to get so busy that there doesn't seem to be time to sit down as a family and enjoy a filling, nutritious meal - much less cook one! The more I learn about the food industry, the more committed I become to making my family's food from scratch as much as possible. So then the challenge becomes finding recipes that fit my criteria...  For a meal to be a winner in my book, here's what it needs to be: easy to make with very few separate stepseasy flexibility for dietary needs of individual family memberscustomizable for personal tasteeasy to swap ingredients to a) make it seem like a different dish sometimes and b) use what I have on handbe overall inexpensive (since I have a growing family of 6)have no "weird" ingredients or crazy spices. (In other words, it has to be "kid approved") Now. A quick browse on Pinterest might yield hundreds of recipes that mostly match those criteria, but as soon as I click the mouth-watering picture and actually read the recipe, my stomach churns at all the pre-packaged, ingredient-laden, seed-oil-filled "conveniences" that cook used. 😞 My meals also must be nutritionally dense and use no mystery ingredients or seed oils. Since I created this family-friendly weeknight Bolognese recipe that actually meets all of these requirements, I thought I'd share, because you may be "in the same boat" searching for recipes like this for your family, too.  Hannah's Family Friendly Weeknight Bolognese Ingredients: 16 oz dry pasta (For extra kid-friendliness, I usually choose penne or rotini) 1 pound ground beef 1 pound ground pork sausage (My go-to is breakfast sausage, but you can use any flavor. It does need to be pork sausage because of the fat content.) 2 whole carrots (diced) 1 small onion (diced) 1 1/2 tsp salt (I only use REAL salt) 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp EACH dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley (substitute with 1 Tablespoon of fresh herbs when able. 😊) 4-8 garlic cloves (diced) - depending on size and preference 16-32 oz pasta sauce or tomato sauce - based on preference (I use my home-canned tomato sauce, but any will do) 1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream (again, depending on preference) Steps: Cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente and set aside. Cook and crumble meats together in a large saucepanIn the meat pan, add vegetables and spices/herbs and cook until tenderAdd tomato sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes to infuse flavorsStir in milk (or cream) and cook until warmStir sauce into cooked pasta and serve immediately with parmesan Recommended sides:  Green salad or caprese (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper) Sauteed kale or Swiss chard Roasted green beans, squash & zucchini, or asparagus Garlic toast Let me know if you try this dish, what you changed, and how you liked it! There are endless substitutions and changes that make this meal so so easy to keep in the back of your mind and just use whatever you have on hand. And its so easy that even kids can help with prep (which I love to have my kiddos do).