How was everybody’s Thankgiving day (for those who celebrate)? Mine was a lot of fun, as always. I worried a bit about my ugly apple pie that I made for the dinner, but otherwise it was a nice day to just relax and enjoy some time with the fam. My sister in law, as always, did a great job with dinner! One day I hope to host my own Thanksgiving gathering

The day was so relaxing that my only exercise was mashing potatoes

Actually it was hard work! My mom’s exercise was playing with baby Colby…

She wouldn’t leave the little guy! I think someone wants grandchildren, but she’ll have to wait a while for that. Hope she got her fix

Justin helped us really get into the spirit of Turkey day!

And then there was food, lots of food!

APPETIZERS

I had 2 little buffalo chicken in puff pastry guys, 1 piece of smoked gouda and a bunch of fresh carrots. The carrots were the perfect thing to munch on while we were all just hanging out before dinner time! Speaking of dinner…

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Before:

After:

Turkey (duh). I’m always surprised at how perfect it looks!

Sweet potato casserole (with brown sugar, pecans and cranberries) – as always, one of my favorites! It’s like dessert for dinner, and you guys know I’m all about that

Cheese & broccoli casserole

My sister in law made a special one for me, sans onions

Same with the stuffing, these stuffing muffins were made for me without onions… love the presentation!

Cranberry sauce with dried cherries

Mashed potatoes (professionally mashed )

Something here is not like the others… my mother in law made a Russian beet salad with walnuts, apples, garlic and light mayo. I LOVED it! This is actually what comfort food is for me.

My plate ( + some green beans that came out minutes later)

Crescent roll that I kind of ate out of habit.

Nothing (except for the green beans) was healthy so I tried a tiny bit of everything (minus the mashed potatoes, I know what mashed potatoes taste like) and kept the portions small. Surprisingly, I was very satisfied after finishing this plate. I grabbed a tiny bit more of the beet salad for seconds. That’s it!

Oh, of course I also enjoyed a few glasses of wine with dinner

DESSERTS

Oh yeah, this is what I live for, people. Desserts!! I was so excited for this spread because every single thing sounded amazing. Let’s start with my ugly apple pie… I followed this recipe from Cooking Light for caramel apple pie (you know I had to make the healthier version!).

Making this thing was such a project! My crust dough was too crumbly after the first step but I saved it by adding another tablespoon of water and letting it do it’s thing in the fridge for 15 minutes. Then it was too small for my pie plate. I spent a while stretching it, but as you can see above, those little dough pieces I added, just ended up falling off. Finally, the top wouldn’t brown! I cooked it for so much longer than the recipe called for (like 25 minutes longer!) but it was just looking soggy and bluh. At the end, I covered the crust and broiled the top for a few minutes. This resulted in slightly burnt apples. *Sigh.* A looker it was not…

… but it did taste really good!! Everyone seemed to enjoy it (including myself). My nephew even said I had to make it again next year and this kid doesn’t lie (5-year olds definitely tell it like it is). Not a complete failure I guess! I’ll keep working on my pie crust skills!

SIL also made a yummy pecan pie

A chocolate pudding pie (I didn’t try it)

Purchased an awesome pumpkin cheesecake from Costco…

And my mom made one of my favorite cakes – the black poodle (because it looks like curly hair on a poodle’s head)

Creamy filling, raisins, walnuts, chocolate ganache… what more can you ask for?! Thanks, mom!!

The whole spread:

My plate:

Again, I was proud for tiny portions of everything. I had all the intentions of going back for seconds and doubling this, but was satisfied with just this (whoa, is this intuitive eating actually starting to work?!!). After a few hours of chatting, I went back for a slice of mom’s black poodle cake. It was exactly what I wanted and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

And that’s my Thanksgiving 2009 recap. I read through last year’s recap and noted slight differences in my thinking this year. Last year I was counting calories. I made a conscious decision to enjoy the day’s eats but not go overboard last year, just like this year. It did seem to be a little harder for me last year. I appears that although I probably ate nearly the same amounts on both occasions, my experience mentally was a little different.  Last year, I think taking a break from calorie counting, my instinct was to eat as much as possible since it was “allowed” but I fought it.  This year it was completely effortless.  I didn’t try to “be good” and didn’t fight the urge to go back for more. I listened to my body, and it told me exactly what I wanted and in what portions. I guess I am growing!! Hey, that’s something to be thankful for!

A few more family pics for the road… my mom and I. See the resemblance?

The whole family (minus my dad… he’s back from Israel tomorrow)

Adam and I

I hope you had a wonderful day. Anyone out there doing crazy shopping on Black Friday? Go out there and support the economy, will ya?! I’ve been doing my part for months!!

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