First of Four Thanksgivings

Tonight was the first of four Thanksgiving meals I will be enjoying. After making a big bowl of stuffing, Ryan and I headed over to our gym for a Thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving Meal Numero Uno

The food was fantastic! The sweet potato casserole was by far the best thing goin’! All the brown sugar and pecans made it taste like an indulgent dessert.

For dessert we shared a big plate of cinnamon cake with streusel topping and German chocolate cake. Then we channeled our third stomachs and picked up Sadie to get a pumpkin milkshake from McDonald’s. 🙂 Hey, they won’t be around much longer!

Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

In my latest Examiner article I’ve compiled a list of five low-calorie dessert recipes featuring pumpkin that would make a delicious addition to any Thanksgiving feast!

(Picture from Hungry-Girl.com)

These recipes are creative and use ingredients like Fiber One cereal, fat-free whipped topping and fat-free cream cheese to keep calories low but flavor high! Click here to check ’em out. No dessert has more than 230 calories per serving.

Enjoy your Friday night!

From Dinner to Lunch

Leftovers from last night’s chicken tacos translated perfectly into a lunchtime taco salad.

Taco Salad

I used spinach and shredded iceberg lettuce as the base and topped it with ground chicken, black beans, salsa and a crunched up hard shell taco.

Yummy Lunch

Hooray for Old Bay!

Today I was contacted by Dan from Old Bay who learned through the ol’ blog how much I LOVE Old Bay. It’s a delicious seasoning that I personally adore on any shrimp or seafood dish. Dan informed me of a neat contest where Facebook Fans of Old Bay could win some pretty neat prizes.

From Old Bay:

This year, OLD BAY wants to zest up your holidays and is offering all fans on their Facebook page an opportunity to win the ultimate Holi-Bay gift basket ($140 value) packed with tons of products, a $25 gift card and OLD BAY t-shirts, cups, tattoos and samples for you to share with your family and friends.

Celebrate the Holi-Bays Contest:

• November 19^th through December 25^th, OLD BAY wants to hear from its Facebook fans* on how they use their favorite spice blend during the holidays – it could be whipping up an OLD BAY recipe, sprinkling it on a holiday favorite, using it as a holiday decoration or giving it as a gift.
• To enter the contest, post a photo showing how you zest up your holidays using OLD BAY – (Entries are limited to one photo posting per week).
• Each post will be voted on by the amount of “likes” it receives from fellow Facebook fan members.
• The photo post with the most “likes” will receive an  “Ultimate Holi-Bay Gift Basket” ($140 value) that includes:

o   A $25 gift card, a steamer pot and fryer, tons of OLD BAY products, 5 sample packs of OLD BAY for you to share with friends and family, as well as some items for the ultimate OLD BAY fan – branded t-shirts, cups, temporary tattoos, and an inner tube for sledding (or relaxing in the water for those who live in warm weather all year round)! Please see image below.

• One winner will be announced each week, starting the week of November 30^th.
• We will mail out all gift baskets upon receiving each winner’s address information.

*You must be a Facebook member and fan of OLD BAY’s Facebook page to enter contest

I absolutely love how they’re referring to the holidays as the Holi-Bays. I always appreciate a little creativity from the marketing department!

My Insides Are Burning

Have you ever taken such a huge gulp of a hot beverage that it seems like you can honestly feel the liquid travel down your body?

That happened to me twice this morning. I think it’s because the free coffee I picked up from the gym was so tasty. Who can resist gulping Barnie’s hazelnut coffee mixed with cinnamon butter cookie coffee? Not me, apparently.

As a result, my insides are on fi-ah!

Breakfast

Breakfast was on the cooler side. I enjoyed a cup of Chobani Greek yogurt topped with a cup of Cheerios. Nice and simple.

Easy 'n' Creamy

Friday's Breakfast

I like to put my Greek yogurt in the freezer for 30 – 45 min. before I eat it. I think it makes it thicker and even creamier. Two good things in my book!

Healthy Thanksgiving Desserts

Yesterday when I posted my latest Examiner article about which desserts pack a major calorie punch on Thanksgiving, I started Googling healthy recipes for Thanksgiving desserts.

I love the Hungry Girl Web site for the creative recipes and healthier spins on high calorie dishes. I printed out two recipes I’d like to make for Thanksgiving this year:

Vanilla Creme Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pump It Up Pumpkin Pie

(In case you missed it, click here to read my latest Examiner article. )

Four Thanksgivings???

Tonight my gym is hosting a healthy Thanksgiving dinner. Ryan and I are thinking about attending and that would mean I will be experiencing four Thanksgiving meals this year.

1. Tonight:  Gym Thanksgiving dinner

2. Sunday: Thanksgiving potluck party with friends

3. Monday: Work potluck Thanksgiving lunch

4. Thursday: Actual Thanksgiving dinner

If I post pictures of myself and you notice I’m sporting a beak and a gobbler it’s because I’ve officially turned into a turkey.

Actually, chances are if I’d turn into anything it would either be a big bowl of stuffing or a slice of pumpkin pie.

If you were to morph into a Thanksgiving dish, what would you turn into?

(P.S. Is the the text showing up really small for you guys today? Anyone with WordPress know how to fix this???)