Thanksgiving was an absolute success, so I want to thank my family for making it such a wonderfully delicious day! This year I planned our Thanksgiving menu and tried my very best to focus on incorporating healthier options without completely missing out on the yummy traditional foods. Both my mom and my sister are excellent cooks, so each and every dish was fantastic!!

Thanksgiving Menu Breakdown:
– Turkey…of course! (very simply prepared)
– Gravy
– My grandmother’s stuffing
– Maple roasted root vegetables
– Brussel sprout hash (soooo good!)
– Parmesan green beans with red bell peppers

– Brown sugar cornbread rolls
– Cranberry/orange relish (reduced sugar version)
– Curry butternut squash soup (vegetable broth based)

– Pumpkin cheesecake (courtesy of my baby sister)

– 3 apple tarts with vanilla bean gelato

Needless to say I happily enjoyed each and every item (aside from the stuffing…not my favorite, yes I know that’s strange) and was left feeling pleasantly plump, but not too stuffed. I think it was beneficial to my family that we integrated more vegetable sides that were not cooked in butter or cream and had minimal cheese and added salt. I also believe the focus of the meal should be more on sampling everything, versus gorging on a few things. Fun fact: my sister and I made the cornbread rolls using chia seeds rather than eggs (they contain awesome omega fatty acids) and they still turned out great in both taste and texture. Overall I give this year an A+!