Minute On Your Lips, Forever on your Hips

I always seem to overindulge this time of year. When my mother asked if I wanted to participate in Dr. Fuhrman's holiday challenge this year I decided (after a lot of hesitation) to go ahead and do it. It started on Monday and I decided to post what I eat over on a blog that my mom and I use for just such occasions called As the Lettuce Spins. Yes, my mom let me name the blog, she should have known better...

Since my holiday focus has been completely introspective, I received a much needed kick in the pants after reading a post over at our friend's blog Stroked to Life. She talks about holding her newborn nephew and realizing that things could have been completely different for her after she had her stroke. In Kendra's words, "I feel so grateful to have another holiday season to celebrate with my family and friends. I can’t imagine not being with them nor can I imagine what it would be like to not have one of them with me."

Her whole post was great. That is the right perspective.

Now, I would like to preface this next comment by saying that all of my thoughts do not come from watching television. You probably don't believe this due to my mention of TV shows in my last couple posts, but it's true! Okay, so this week the History Chanel had a show on about the real story of Thanksgiving. I didn't watch the whole thing, but on the show someone mentioned that Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday because it is not too religious and it combines two of America's best-known traits: gluttony and sentiment. Now, who doesn't love a little gluttony and sentiment now and again?

I tried very hard to take the sentiment and avoid the gluttony this year. Andrew woke up at five this morning and got me up to see the sunrise. It was beautiful. The picture below doesn't do it justice. The sky changed from pinks to oranges within a very short time and was a beautiful way to start our day. I am very thankful to have such a sweet husband. He loves to joke around a lot, but he is very romantic too. He is probably more of a romantic than I am. Unfortunately that is not hard, I suck at romantic gestures.

This was one of the least stressful Thanksgivings food wise. Everything went smoothly and a lot was prepared in advance. Andrew and I were put in charge of the mashed potatoes. I love mashed potatoes. If I could take a bath in mashed potatoes I would. Too bad that is frowned upon. 

There were actually things I could eat, even with my healthy challenge. When my mom first told me about Dr. Fuhrman's challenge I thought about his book Eat to Live and imagined a very strict regimen. I thought we would be eating vegan. Luckily that is not the case. Andrew and I don't eat tons of meat normally, but I like it on occasion. Of course eating vegan wouldn't be the worst thing. As long as you eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and get some quality plant protein in the form of beans, nuts, seeds, and several different grains, I think it can be a very healthy eating choice. Good thing I like all of those things.

The relish tray at Thanksgiving dinner had one of my (many) favorite vegetables on it, sugar snap peas. I love just chowing down on these for a snack. One of the highlights of the meal, however, came in the form a non-traditional Thanksgiving side... roasted butternut squash. Andrew's sister April made it and it was ridiculously good. Sometimes the simplest dishes are the best. I always try to make things too complex.

There will be no black friday dashes (poor fools) and the meal is done. The dishes are cleared and now is the best part. The family is hanging out, playing games and enjoying just being together. This is a perfect holiday.