You Can Always Lose a Little More

Thanksgiving came around quick this year, almost sneaking up on a girl.  Thank goodness my retail job company was not one that felt the need to open at midnight or worse on Thanksgiving day.  Funny how you find yourself being more grateful for the lesser gifts, like a holiday off where before it was a given.  Now I think back to past four day holiday weekend stretches and it feels like a dream. Never one to plan ahead, I just got the one day off to celebrate the holiday this year.  That's fine except when you realize all the work it takes to make a T-day meal.

But this year it was to be a bigger challenge.  We're on a temporary no fat, no sugar, no dairy diet of sorts.  I made the turkey skin on which did add fat but we didn't eat the skin, although I allowed myself a small taste while carving that musta covered about half that bird! 

I made roasted acorn squash stuffed with wild rice mushroom stuffing.  It didn't rock my boat but P liked it a great deal and it looked real Purdy.  He gutted that whole sucker.

Then I did a roasted root vegetable mash with carrots, sweet potato and added poblano peppers, garlic and some fat free yogurt for creaminess. 

 You guessed it, roasted brussel sprouts glazed with balsamic vinegar.

I stuffed these giant mushroom caps with chopped sautéed mushroom stems, green onions, garlic and walnuts.  The giblet gravy was made with whole wheat flour (which doesn't thicken much by the way) defatted (sob!) fresh turkey stock and more mushrooms.  To replace the cranberry relish, I just pounded out some seeds from a fresh pomegranate and they were super refreshing with the turkey. 

After eating I was kind of depressed because I really missed the buttery mashed potatoes and the rich fatty gravy, all the bready stuffing and rolls.  But I realized things could be a LOT worse.  That is no joke.  As you get older you not only see but pay more attention to the hardships of others. It could be a lot worse and I am grateful for so many things. Maybe being more grateful for less is the new thing.  It works and it's cheaper!