Today, while being our first Thanksgiving in our "new to us" Georgia home, has been a little surreal for all of us. The challenges of a larger dinner is one that needs some planning ahead, organization, and usually purchasing things ahead to ensure you have all of your ingredients on hand. This year has been much the same, but different.
In years past, we have always purchased the largest turkey we can find so we can enjoy leftovers for a while. This year I started by getting a smaller turkey because we have a smaller wall oven instead of a full size free standing oven. Then we found a discount store with some pretty good prices, so my husband said we could handle a larger turkey--in one of the large roasters that we have. I couldn't resist telling him, "Only if you do NOT peak!" LOL He has this habit of wanting to peek at "Tom" while he's cooking. I time it so that Tom is done and there is no need for peeking. LOL So, we took Tom out of his frozen lair on Sunday in preparation for his grand appearance as "Guest of Honor" today.
As with every other holiday for every other year, the planning continued. There was just one thing that was thrown in to the mix. In October, just a day or so after my "intake" appointment at my new Dr's office, I decided to begin (again)
Trim Healthy Mama (THM) lifestyle program in earnest. I just felt so "icky" for the past year and needed to do something for myself to feel better. I was having some serious anemia, surgery, then moving, living in a motel for almost a whole week and getting settled, and still getting settled. But, it was time. I knew it. It was confirmed a week later after my results came back with an enlarged heart, higher triglycerides (doubled from the time before), and fasting blood sugar that was the highest it has ever been in spite of my A1C only rising just a smidge. By the time I received the results, I had already lost 5 pounds, so it is all good!
All that said, I started looking at Thanksgiving thinking, loathing in some cases, the foods that inevitably would be made for my family. Don't get me wrong, I love baking. I love making things for my family. However, knowing that both my husband and I (and possibly 2 of our 3 kids) would need to drop some weight, I needed to be the one to take action. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make home made marshmallows, or the pecan custard pie that I wanted to make. BUT! I will be ordering those ingredients soon and I'll be able to make those things for my family without a worry or concern about their health.
As I planned, I consulted my husband with each dish I wanted to make. He specifically asked for mashed potatoes and promised that he wouldn't go crazy because he likes my mashed potatoes. I started preparing the cheese bread THM style on Monday.
I made a double batch and added thyme, sage, and a smidge of garlic powder because we like garlic. I didn't have room in my refrigerator for it, so I put it in the freezer until last night. I took it out, dried it in the oven a little more, added sausage, onion, celery, butter, chicken broth, sage, thyme, salt, pepper, and (that's right!) garlic. Tom was thoroughly stuffed with the mixture and it was good! It was satisfying and filling! My hubby put him in his honorary roaster and while he was gone, I added a loving note on the tin foil, "No Peaking!" just for him. LOL He honored my loving request and when it was time to unearth Tom, he was "popped", moist and yummy. :)
While Tom got happy and yummy in the roaster, I made 2 pumpkin pies that were THM recipes. After I put them in the oven and did some clean up, I gave the job of peeling and boiling the sweet potatoes to my youngest, the green bean casserole to my daughter, and the peeling and boiling of the white potatoes to my oldest. While all of that was happening, I started smelling some smoke. "HOLY MOLY Bat man!" I went in to the kitchen, opened the oven and out it rolled! I was thinking my THM pies were "toast", but I took them out and finished baking them in the toaster oven for the remainder of their time. In the mean time, everyone got the fans in the windows to pull the smoke out. I thought to myself, "I sure hope the neighbors don't call 911 when they see the smoke rolling out the window! Wow!" So, we spent some time out in the sun on the back porch while the house cleared out and just looked around, talked, and enjoyed the 72 degree day in shorts and tank tops. (Go figure!)
When we sat down to dinner, I sat there quietly hoping that everyone would like the wee bit of the change made. It wasn't a major change, just one that took out 2 more insulin spiking carbs and replace them with healthy satisfying fats. I think it was a success. I think the pumpkin pies, next time I'm going to add the same amount of spices from the Amish cookbook that we have in lieu of the one we used. We like flavor, so those spices were missed, in my opinion, at least for me.
What would I like to do next year? I want to make my own cranberry sauce. I'd like to do that without sugar, and a bunch of other pies as well as making "Radish Toes" instead of potatoes. :D I'll have to experiment. :)
Now we begin looking forward to celebrating the Christmas Season. I love Christmas. It is my favorite season. I love decorating, baking, having friends over, caroling, singing in church, looking at Christmas lights with my hubby and kids, watching old Christmas movies, and some new. I love "Silent Night", I love tradition, candle lighting and everything else. I do not like, however, the commercialization of this most precious and holy time of year. I do not participate in the commercialization--Black Friday or Cyber Monday. I just get simple gifts for my family. We do not go to extravagance which we do not think the celebration is all about, but about the ultimate love of a Holy God who came down to live among us. In trying to keep things simple, we do not go to malls and stay away from stores as much as possible around those peak hours where people will be there to Christmas shop. We shop to get needs taken care of.
Ok, enough of my soap box....
How was your Thanksgiving? Did you do anything different this year? Did you serve the same traditional things your family has served in years past?
God Bless,
