Lean mean Thanksgiving

We were late cooking our Thanksgiving Day meal because we were out of town on the real holiday enjoying social times with my nephew and his family. But today, we outdid ourselves on our own Holiday meal. We made it lean and mean, although let's be honest, there is a substantial amount of butter in the dressing. It *is* a holiday, you know. But this is what we had.

Turkey with dressing. I found a multi-grain cranberry stuffing mix made by Mrs. Cubberley, more well known for her croutons. I added pecans, and some sauteed celery and onions, a cup of chicken stock, and butter. I also added a teaspoon of sage, although the mix had some in it, there's never enough. They should put that on my tombstone.....Theres Never Enough Sage, RIP Robin Odach.

We had big plump asparagus we found at Costco. I skinned the bottoms, sprayed it with pam and roasted it with a little parmesan sprinkles and sea salt. I did make gravy from the drippings, but I only used 2 T. of flour and a little water, so it was more like a sauce than the usual congealed mess all over the plate. That was the brunt of dinner.

I made Paul a sweet potato pie from Alton Brown's recipe. It was low fat. I steamed 3 sweet potatos that were chunked up, added 3/4 cup of brown sugar, pumpkin spices and a cup of yogurt. It looks very good and really doesn't contain any fat except for whatever is in the crust.

Since January 5th I've sustained a 3 pound weight loss per month. It may be the slowest diet on earth but it's a weight loss that will stay put because I've learned a new way to eat over the past year. By my scales at home I've lost 34 pounds, but my doctor only credits me with 32 because she won't give me credit for 2 pounds of clothing. Well.... she's a skinny little thing, what does she know?

So what was your favorite lean mean dish this Thanksgiving?

Roasted Vegetables

Eating healthy for a sustainable period takes practice. The problem is, no matter what the diet – low glycemic (like me), Weight Watchers or low-calorie – we develop certain “go to” foods and tend to eat them over and over. There are ways to keep those foods fresh tasting and unique. Roasted veggies fit almost any diet, and most of us can sling a little olive oil, sea salt and/or balsamic vinegar together to make them even better. But here’s a nice little recipe for a vegetable sprinkle you can make up, and then use about a teaspoon of it on squash, asparagus, beets or whatever you happen to be roasting.

This recipe can be found on the internet but it was originally published by Fine Cooking Magazine in November of 2007. You can mix it into a sprinkler container and have enough for several trays of veggies. Last night on Alton Brown’s “Good Eats”, he made a sprinkler jar out of a regular jar with 2 lids, one for covering, and one with holes in it for sprinkling. He used his for making dry rubs for meats, but I think you could adapt it. Or just use an old salt shaker.

2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
½ tsp. chile powder
½ tsp. sweet paprika
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Pinch of cloves

Although the veggie sprinkle was originally designed for squash, I think it’ll work for sweet potatoes, beets and carrots, too. When I make roasted asparagus, I tend to use lemon zest, sea salt and sometimes a sprinkle of garlic. Invent your own sprinkle and come tell us about it!