Happy November, Everyone! Now that Halloween and Hurricane Sandy are out of the way, we can begin our preparations for the upcoming holidays. (Hopefully everyone who reads this blog is safe, warm, dry, and currently has power!) For the next few weeks, I would like to accomplish several goals: gather recipes for all my Thanksgiving dishes, assign tasks to various family members so we all pitch in with the cooking this year, and clean up my diet so that I can relish the Thanksgiving feast absolutely guilt-free. (If you are thinking I am always eating perfectly clean, think again!)
I have already borrowed several books from the library in my search for recipes that are festive and yet healthy. I honestly don't think these terms need to be contradictory! If you enjoy eating all types of foods, and not just highly refined versions of those foods, I'm sure you can combine some into a fabulous feast that will be filled with nutrition as well as great taste.
One substitution I am already considering for my own Thanksgiving table is ditching the corn souffle and adding a succotash. Both dishes involve corn, but the corn souffle recipe I have been using for years is not the healthiest. It involves boxed corn bread mix and canned creamed corn, if you can believe I would ever purchase such products! The succotash will be a mixture of beautiful, bright colors and will lend more of a fresh, crunchy texture to the meal. Plus, succotash is a Native American dish and totally traditional for this holiday! And it doesn't take up precious oven space to prepare. Win, win, win!
I know Mr. Balancing Act will be happy to prepare the mashed potatoes. And as this is a last minute dish, it will be a huge help to me to have someone else in charge of that. I won't give him a recipe or any suggestions about HOW to do it, as these are not always appreciated. And it is good practice for me to let go of controlling every little detail.
My older daughter will be arriving back from college at the last minute, so we will have to discuss dishes and recipes beforehand. She is very interested in cooking and I'm sure she will be a huge help this year. My younger one, not so much.
In the coming weeks, I will be posting recipes that I plan to make this year. Some might be old favorites that I have been using forever. Others will be brand new to me and therefore untested. Usually I hold off on posting any recipe until I have actually tried it, but I am not very interested in baking a series of pumpkin pies before the holiday arrives. So I will apologize in advance for any clunkers! My search is for recipes that sound appealing, are fairly traditional, and contain less sugar and refined flour than what I have made in the past. Also, I always lean toward easy recipes with fewer steps as you know how lazy I am!
I would love to hear your ideas, suggestions, questions, and comments. I hope that you join me in this quest for a delicious yet nutritious Thanksgiving, but even if you don't, I wish you the best holiday season ever.
I have already borrowed several books from the library in my search for recipes that are festive and yet healthy. I honestly don't think these terms need to be contradictory! If you enjoy eating all types of foods, and not just highly refined versions of those foods, I'm sure you can combine some into a fabulous feast that will be filled with nutrition as well as great taste.
One substitution I am already considering for my own Thanksgiving table is ditching the corn souffle and adding a succotash. Both dishes involve corn, but the corn souffle recipe I have been using for years is not the healthiest. It involves boxed corn bread mix and canned creamed corn, if you can believe I would ever purchase such products! The succotash will be a mixture of beautiful, bright colors and will lend more of a fresh, crunchy texture to the meal. Plus, succotash is a Native American dish and totally traditional for this holiday! And it doesn't take up precious oven space to prepare. Win, win, win!
I know Mr. Balancing Act will be happy to prepare the mashed potatoes. And as this is a last minute dish, it will be a huge help to me to have someone else in charge of that. I won't give him a recipe or any suggestions about HOW to do it, as these are not always appreciated. And it is good practice for me to let go of controlling every little detail.
My older daughter will be arriving back from college at the last minute, so we will have to discuss dishes and recipes beforehand. She is very interested in cooking and I'm sure she will be a huge help this year. My younger one, not so much.
In the coming weeks, I will be posting recipes that I plan to make this year. Some might be old favorites that I have been using forever. Others will be brand new to me and therefore untested. Usually I hold off on posting any recipe until I have actually tried it, but I am not very interested in baking a series of pumpkin pies before the holiday arrives. So I will apologize in advance for any clunkers! My search is for recipes that sound appealing, are fairly traditional, and contain less sugar and refined flour than what I have made in the past. Also, I always lean toward easy recipes with fewer steps as you know how lazy I am!
I would love to hear your ideas, suggestions, questions, and comments. I hope that you join me in this quest for a delicious yet nutritious Thanksgiving, but even if you don't, I wish you the best holiday season ever.
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