We all know the eatin' holiday is Thursday. Oh sure you want to pretend it's about being thankful but we all know that comes a close second to that comforting scent of holidays past wafting through the air. I used to do 2 plates back in the day. When we started this weight loss adventure, we said we would eat one plate of anything we wanted in moderation and only if we were truly hungry would we have more. I haven't been able to put more than a plate away since which just tells me we were eating it because it was there. We still watch it on that day but ain't no way I'm missing my grandma's noodles! Life is meant to be enjoyed. I intend to savor every bite of the things I love.
These are the things that will be on my plate, *my* turkey because I make it good! (herbs and shallots under the skin), a normal sized scoop of mashed potatoes, grandma's homemade noodles on top, my stuffing (which is actually healthy and awesome!), green beans, a brown and serve roll and 2 crackers with a tablespoon of cheeseball. For dessert, I'm making my Light Pumpkin Pie Cups like I do every year. (I can't stand store bought pie which is what we end up with if I don't bring our own.) We'll have a healthy breakfast and water to drink throughout the day. After the meal, the ladies will sit at the table looking through ads making their Black Friday lists (not this lady, I'm done with my Christmas shopping and leave Black Friday to the nutbags. We'll see how many nutbags read my blog) and the men will watch football while trying not to go into a tryptophan induced nap. Eventually someone will say they're leaving and if it's too early there will be more merriment and more desserts then someone else will say they're leaving and that is the cue when everyone will suddenly get up at the same time and clear out. We come home and plug in the pre-strung Christmas lights and if I'm feeling ambitious, we bring up the Christmas decorations so we can get going early the next day with decorating for Christmas.
What will be on your Thanksgiving plate and do you have any traditions you do every year? I'm always interested to see what the staples and rituals are for others!
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I also avoid black Friday. I figure "Black Friday"..."Black Plague" - there's a reason for the similarity. I'm not even started with my Christmas shopping, but I won't be starting on Friday.
ReplyDeleteMy "little" Thanksgiving at home will be easy. Turkey, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, home-made rolls and some kind of veggie with pie to be determined later. My SIL is hosting the "big" meal on Saturday though so I'll have to watch pretty closely what I put on my plate there and there is no way to plan ahead because I have no idea what will be on the table.
My family is long distance so I will have a quiet day. I was supposed to work on Friday but found out 10 days ago that I now have the day off. I like that; I hadn't planned anything so now I have a long stretch of time to do things that frequently get put off (both productive and non-productive.) For that, I will be Thankful!
ReplyDeleteAnd no shopping for me!! I can't deal with THE MALL any day of the year!!
We'll get together to talk and eat and maybe watch a holiday movie together. I'm cooking the bulk of the meal and while I won't go nuts with the fat and sodium they'll both be present. I don't do seconds anymore either. It's nice to feel good after eating instead of being so full you're afraid to cough. Before bed I might grab a small bowl and put a few of my favorite savories in it to nibble on before bed.
ReplyDeleteNo way I'd go shopping on black Friday. I also have my shopping done so no need to fight the crazies anyway. We will have turkey, my high protein mashed potatoes (made with greek yogurt), my mom's stuffing (the best), plain green beans, my apple crisp and my sis-in-law is bringing pumpkin pie. I plan a one plate day as well--wish I had some of your granny's noodles--YUM!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe're dining out for the big meal, and while I'm sure the restaurant would be all too happy to sell me a second helping, it's just not something one does. Plus, as long as I have a serving of dessert, I'm happy to call it done!
ReplyDeleteMy "rule" for home-based holiday meals is to allow myself 'seconds' of any food I want that I only eat at holidays. In my family, that's sweet potato casserole and/or mashed potatoes.
No thanksgiving dinner here thankfully, so Thursday I'm having spaghetti ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm a nutbag...there, whew - had to get that out of the way! LOL
ReplyDeleteWe will be having Thanksgiving breakfast of bacon, eggs, lil smokies, homefries, cinnamon rolls - okay that all sounds HORRIBLE! LOL To do a little better with it I will use a small plate and have some potatoes, ham instead of bacon, 1 egg, and 1 cinnamon roll. No lil smokies for me! No bacon for me! I will behave...
Then for dinner we will have turkey, mashed taters and gravy, green bean casserole, rolls, stuffing, and yams. I will definitely keep portions down to a minimum, but like you - I'm not going to give up time-honored traditions.
But I WILL be running a 5k in the morning before the eating begins and WILL be running a good couple of miles on Saturday. :-)
No crazy Friday shopping. We will be breaking out the Christmas decor and start the Christmas music. (my rule is one holiday at a time, thus no Christmas music until after thanksgiving). Drives my daughter nuts, but I think its a worthwhile lesson. She just thinks I'm crazy right now.
ReplyDeleteFor dinner, I usually have one plate with smaller portions and I leave room for pecan pie. Since we have two places to go Thursday and I don't have to cook we will go for a five mile hike in the morning before the food. And will be working out Friday morning before decorating.
Oh, and tons of water to flush it all out of my system.
I have been one of the nutbags in the past (and finished most Christmas shopping in a matter of three hours), but I have most shopping done already and haven't seen anything that makes me want to join in the fray on Friday. We are having Thanksgiving at our daughter's, so not a lot of control on how things are prepared there. I'm not worried, though, as I've been at this long enough to know (a) portion control makes almost any food an option, (b) most of the things that will be served are reasonably healthy, and (c) one day of minor indulgence does not undo the rest of the week if paired with exercise. Oh, and I'm running a half marathon on Sunday, so I'm really not worried about doing damage that day.
ReplyDeleteI do not do Black Friday. No sale prices could get me into that craziness. I realized years ago that piling my plate with carbs and smothering it all with gravy just makes me sick afterwards. Well, it was actually making me sick but that's another story. So I first decided to pick 1 carb I wanted to leave the rest alone. Course now I can't have any of them but we are going to 'try' a very expensive box of gluten free stuffing this year. I stay away from potatoes and rolls that day. Turkey, veggie, fruit, little stuffing and I'm good. And I do a pumpkin custard with no crust for dessert. Love that stuff!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to read everyone's traditions! Also glad I'm not the only person that doesn't do Black Friday! I'm okay with paying a little more to avoid the chaos and rudeness of the day. I rather like putting up Christmas decorations while watching mall parking updates on tv! :)
ReplyDelete