What did I love most? Simply put, the simplicity of the food and its preparation. Clean eating is all about taking fresh, whole foods, adding minimal ingredients, and creating something healthy and delicious.  And my gosh, that food was awesome.

I loved that I had a plan that was easy to follow.  Meal planning and creating a vision makes all the difference in the finished product.  By getting clear early on about what I was making, there were no last minute emergencies.

I loved that nothing was elaborate. I made fresh, healthy and delicious cranberry sauce in 15 minutes. I loved that my healthy dessert, spiced pumpkin mousse, took all of about 15 minutes to make as well (and man is it tasty, yum!). 

It felt easy, it felt doable and there wasn’t even a hint of feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks.  In fact, I was in a clean eating cooking groove, thoroughly enjoying the process of being in the kitchen and feeling inspired by listening to my favorite music (Pat Metheny).

I will say that part of the reason that it felt doable is that I happily followed the advice of Clean Eating Magazine in planning the meal out in advance.  I read through the suggestions of making things 1, 2 or even 3 days in advance.  Frankly, the days in advance thing didn’t happen, despite my best intentions, given some other priorities, but I did shop early (for me that was Sunday, a vast improvement over the day before Thanksgiving).  I started cooking on Wednesday afternoon, but after a solid 3 hours under my belt, I declared myself in excellent shape — cranberry sauce and pumpkin mousse made, sweet potatoes prepared and ready for roasting the next day and the green beans prepared through the first step — blanching.  We roasted our locally grown turkey in our rotisserie which made that part of the meal super easy.

I seriously don’t remember preparing a Thanksgiving dinner that seemed so fun and full of joy.  Part of it was definitely the anticipation of having friends and family join us and partake in the bounty of healthy food.  The fact that Bruce and I were debuting our new dining room table that has a much larger capacity added to the fun too — I loved creating a beautiful and seasonal centerpiece that created a lovely ambiance (see above).

You know what else? I was so organized that I even had a timetable of what needed to get done on Thursday which made for a relaxing day. No rushing around, just happily getting busy in the kitchen with some simple tasks.  We even had time for a visit with our friend Marjorie (pictured here), in the hospital before everyone started to arrive.

Clean, healthy Thanksgiving meal + family and close friends + tranquil and relaxed atmosphere =a day of joy and numerous reasons to be thankful.

What about you? How was your Thanksgiving? What clean eating dishes did you prepare? What was the highlight for you?

One of my favorite things to make is turkey chili. I love it because it’s so easy yet flavorful. I’ve been making the recipe here for several years and I still love it.  I think the red wine gives it a fantastic flavor.  Since my husband Bruce isn’t big on spicy foods, I tend to use a less spice than I would if just making it for myself. Either way, it’s delicious and all about clean eating with fresh ingredients and no processed foods.  Think low fat, high fiber and flavorful!

Southwestern Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I loved Eden Organic brand, no-salt added variety)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes)
1 cup red wine
3 cups cooked turkey, diced
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute pepper, onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.

2. Add beans, tomatoes, wine, turkey, chili powder, cilantro, crushed red pepper and salt.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

This recipe is so quick and as you can see, you can whip it up in no time! A simple way to practice clean eating, use up some of your leftovers and create a new dish with interesting flavors that family and friends can enjoy over the weekend.

What’s your favorite way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers? What exciting dishes do you have up your sleeve that you’re just itching to make?

I already have planned out a super simple turkey soup and I’m also making a delicious, super easy turkey chili that only requires a few ingredients. When I went to the store on Sunday, I picked up the things I’ll need to make my post-holiday dishes that are all focused on clean eating.

In fact, there are several compelling reasons to plan ahead for post-Thanksgiving treats.  Here are just a few:

1. When I have the ingredients already on hand, it makes meal preparation so much easier
2. It ensures I actually use the leftovers for other dishes and don’t waste any food
3. It gives turkey a fresh spin. There are only so many days I can eat leftover turkey in its original form.  Creating something new makes it so much more interesting
4. Planning ahead relieves the pressure of having to go out on Black Friday.  I’m usually content to stay home and avoid the crowds and when I have what I need, the pressure isn’t on to be out and about.
5. I have clean and healthy food for the next several days.  The great thing about cooking for Thanksgiving is that you have a bounty of food from which to make healthy leftovers that usually involve minimal steps. In about 30 minutes I can whip up a simple dish.
6. You save lots of money! Who needs to be eating out after you’ve just cooked up a storm? Plan a few meals with leftovers BEFORE Thanksgiving and your bank account will be thanking you for the money saved
7. It’s a great reason to invite friends and family over. Have a games night or watch some sports and have your friends help eat up the leftovers (so they don’t all end up on your waistline).

Most importantly, however, creating a day after Thanksgiving plan ensures that you will continue on the clean eating path. Ever have one of these holidays where you start overeating and indulging in almost everything in sight and next thing you know your pants are a bit tight and you can’t seem to help yourself? I sure have been there in years past but not anymore. But with an intention of creating a clean eating Thanksgiving meal, the leftovers are simply an extention of that initial effort.

To me, the beauty of the holidays is in spending time with family and friends. While food is a part of that equation, I never like it to supercede the powerful connections and fun with the people who are important in my life.  I love the idea of making some clean eating, post-holiday dishes that I can share with others.

What’s in your post-Thanksgiving meal plan? What can you plan ahead for now? Who will you invite over to help share in the bounty? What will you do to practice clean eating once the holiday is over? Do tell!

And back when I was in my 20s and 30s, it wasn’t such an issue to eat like that — no serious repercussions. But as I’ve gotten older and my body has changed, that Thanksgiving overindulgence that used to seem so great can easily signal the start of some serious holiday weight gain. And when all is said and done after the holidays, returning to a healthy diet, losing weight and feeling your best is never as easy as it seems.

So how can you enjoy Thanksgiving without feeling heavy and bloated the next day, let alone somewhat guilty? With a little forethought it’s not hard at all. Take a listen to this week’s audio tip for three simple steps to help you thoroughly enjoy Thanksgiving without the guilt of total overindulgence and to ease you into the holiday social scene with an eye to maintaining your weight.

What will you do this year to be mindful about Thanksgiving eating yet really enjoying your food. Share you thoughts below.

So this year he got inspired at Thanksgiving and decided to give the turkey a whirl and oh how fabulous it was.  Imagine not having to stand over the hot oven basting the turkey every so often. He simply prepared it, put it in and checked its progress periodically (needless to say, the “set it and forget it” is seriously a myth). How was it? Moist, juicy and delicious. And with out all the messy clean up. Plus it freed up the oven up for preparing some other things. It’s like the Easy Button for turkeys!

What’s your favorite way to prepare turkey? And by the way, what did you do with the leftovers?