Hey there! Hope your day is going well for you on this beautiful day outside. Wait, no. It’s freezing and in the thirties here, which means any hopes of a run outside aren’t happening. I’m just not not quite ready to tackle that yet.
On a lighter note, I hope you’re ready to see some snow pictures soon because we already had our first snow fall this week!
Breakfast was a new one for me, but satisfying enough to share it with you. Three cheers for healthy carbs!
(Whole wheat English muffin topped with cider mill pumpkin butter – YUM – and a single serving of Bluberry Chobani Greek yogurt.)
That seemed to hold me through to lunch when I repeated yesterday’s combine whatever you’ve got in the vegetable drawer turkey salad from the refrigerator.
(Say that name three times fast!)
While it was great, my belly still wasn’t content until I also devoured a few big handfuls of Triscuits dipped in hummus. Ahhh, much better.
I had plans to create a workout to share with you today, but then I remembered it was Thursday and I need to get back into my normal routine of Thursday evening Fitness Pilates with our team trainer. Her hour long class at our gym provides the perfect type of sculpting I need for those little two piece, hip hugging costumes we get to wear in front of thousands of people. I always leave sore, feeling like a new person walking out of there every time!
With her permission, I would love to show you a series of core moves inspired by her classes sometime. Hopefully next week!
Thinking About a Healthier Thanksgiving
Today I realized we are already in mid-November. How the heck did we get here already? Seriously though.
Like last year, we are planning on having Scott’s dad and step-mom visit us for Thanksgiving which I am really excited about. The only downfall is that we are now also going to be responsible for cooking Thanksgiving Dinner. Last year’s spicy chili was a great substitute for the pressure, but I have a feeling we won’t be able to pull that off two years in a row.
I think it’s finally time to put on my big girl pants and attempt putting together a traditional Thanksgiving Day Dinner for us, turkey and all.
And by turkey and all, I mean Scott can handle the turkey and I can handle the sides.
Thinking about what to put on the menu has my head spinning. There’s just too many options. I want to include some staples I grew up on like cream corn, dressing, and green bean casserole, but I’m dying to make healthier substitutions I am not sure everyone will like.
Have you ever been in this spot before? I feel it every time I make a birthday cake or brownies. I prefer to substitute the oil and butter where other people might miss it. And since it is usually for someone else, I cave and just do it the normal way.
I have been pinning like crazy trying to find ideas and recipes that I could probably get away with. The frontrunners so far are stove top green beans, maple glazed carrots, a healthier sweet potato casserole, a healthier pumpkin pie (clearly a necessity) and and cranberry sauce.
I figured I could get away with making things like what I listed above as long as I threw a few traditional dishes in there as well like macaroni and cheese (mostly for Scott) and dressing.
Looking at the calendar, I have about a week and a half to figure it all out and need to start making a grocery list and plan of attack. I would love to hear your input or any of your suggestions!
Questions of the Day
• What are some of the side dishes you have to have at Thanksgiving?
• Have you ever attempted to make something healthier for your family/friends for a holiday? Has it ever backfired?
See you bright and early for tomorrow’s Friday Favorites link up! 😀
![[in our elementary school era] 🚌😭
Skyler did great walking into KINDERGARTEN with a big smile on his face this morning. I, however, was a bit of a mess on our walk home. 🥹
It’s wild how fast these 5 years with him have gone … 7 since we moved to NYC and into our apartment, dreaming of the day our kids would someday go to the *awesome* school right down our block. 🏫
That day is today, and I still don’t believe it — feeling allll of the emotions and thanking God for placing us here and for being able to trust His timing through the journey. 🫶🏼 #hbshinnyc
SO proud of you, SK - you are going to rock your first year at your “big boy school” - WE LOVE YOU !! 🩵👑](https://lifeinleggings.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
That salad looks really good! Love Chobani yogurt too. My fave is vanilla with blueberry granola. SO good!
Something I HAVE to have at Thanksgiving is my mom’s broccoli casserole. It’s stuff-your-face-until-you-feel-sick good.
Hope you’re having a great Thursday!
Mmm. My sister makes a great asparagus casserole and that made me think of it! Enjoy your family’s this year!
This is my first Thanksgiving away from home and I’m living in a dorm, so I’m still figuring out exactly how I’m going to have a Thanksgiving dinner. I’m thinking about buying veggie burgers for me and bison for Christian and making those, green beans, pumpkin pie and my mom’s stuffing recipe. So complicated!
Sounds like you’ve covered all the bases to me!
I always make my own food to bring because of my restrictions. So I made my famous gluten-free vegan stuffing, and gluten-free vegan crustless “pumpkin pie”. My family loves both…so do I! Haha!
I feel like I should just so happen to sneak a gluten-free something or other in… just to see if anyone notices. 😉
My take on Thanksgiving is that I don’t eat heavy, unhealthy meals on a regular basis, and I know that the people I will be with like to eat the traditionals with real butter, cream, sugar, etc. Balance for me means not feeling guilty for eating whatever I want on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but not gorging myself where I feel sick from eating too much. It also means giving away or making smaller portions of the less healthy stuff, and creating healthy meals out of the leftovers (turkey soup, salads, and sandwiches). I also make a point to eat only what I really really love, rather than to waste stomach room on things I’m not so hot on (yes to yeast rolls, no to green bean casserole:)
I usually go about it the same way. All of the regular food is there, but I try not to indulge to the point where I feel miserable. Totally agree on picking what is worth it! For me, it’s any form of sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie!
I am going to attempt to make vegan pumpkin pie this year…I hope it turns out okay! :/
I would love to attempt that. Maybe on the side of our regular one? I’ve been told to not mess with the pumpkin pie this year. 😉
I try to take a dairy free dessert with me to big family functions (due to my allergy) mostly so I’ll have something to eat. But the made from scratch (and love) dairy free option is always gobbled down by kids and parents alike. Success!
Love when that happens. You feel like you’ve earned a healthy cooking gold star when the kids approve!
I cook Thanksgiving dinner for my family every year and between the vegetarians, battling cholesterol, and low sodium diets it turns out to be a pretty healthy menu. I focus on veggies,and getting as many colors on the table as possible. It looks more inviting, and I know I’m hitting lots of healthy points.
Great tips! #eatarainbow 😉
Your Mother-in-Law here…For the past several years I have been brining my turkey the night before roasting. This makes a juice turkey plus adds a lot of flavor without the calories. The recipe comes from a “Good Eats” show with Alton Brown (Food Network). If you need a recipe for dressing, my family always makes my grandmother’s (which I am happy to share). Our family likes spicy food so we also make two pans, one spicy & another mild. Oh, just a heads up….We will have to have REAL mashed potatoes & Libby’s pumpkin pie (your Father-in-law doesn’t like anyone messing with his favorites on these two). Can’t wait to cook with you! It’s cold here now but I still have fresh herbs from my garden I can bring with me. See you soon!
Hi Kay!! We will for sure have to connect before you guys get here, I would love to hear more tips on cooking the turkey! I’m sure Scott would love to enjoy your grandmother’s dressing (or as close as I can get to it!) As you know, we love spicy too so I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem. Thanks for the heads up… I’m happy to accommodate everyone’s wants/needs, and I’m sure Scott feels the same way on those two. 😉 Can’t wait to see you guys!
Since I am vegan, I have a deal with my family. I will make all of the sides and desserts if they bring the meat, gravy, and any other meaty essentials they want. That way, I know that we are all eating a healthier thanksgiving meal.
That’s awesome! And kudos to you for putting the big meal together every year!
Ahhhh I was in this spot for Christmas last year. I just cooked for 4 people but it was at our house and I didn’t want to make everything “normal” and I didn’t want to make everything healthy. In the end we went with a bacon covered turkey (my boyfriend all the way), healthy sweet potato casserole which everyone loved, normal green bean casserole which everyone loved, healthy apple pie which was a hit, regular Pillsbury rolls, and healthy stuffing which was a DUD. I’ll never make healthier stuffing again! It didn’t turn out great. I think your plan of mixing healthier sides and regular sides is a great idea!
Mmm, that healthy sweet potato recipe sounds like a winner! Thanks for the heads up on the healthy stuffing fail. I’ll be sure to include regular dinner rolls!
They won’t, I guarantee it 😉
I’m always nervous to bring something healthy, especially dessert, since I think most people will notice the difference. I use whole wheat flour, no refined sugar, coconut oil, etc. I think they taste great, but I always worry people who are used to eating regular won’t like them.
That’s exactly how I feel. Maybe one of these days I will just bring two versions and see if people really notice that much of a difference!
I make things healthy a lot when I know family is coming to my house but never anything I’ve never made (and loved) before and I’ve definitely not been brave enough to bring those things anywhere else yet, lol. You’ll do great and I’m sure everything will taste amazing!!!