So this was my first attempt at replacing a lot of traditional foods with my healthier alternatives. Since a lot of my food was sort of "Fall"-ish, I thought it would fit in well.
Reduced fat croissants (instead of regular giant ones, cornbread, or rolls). Verdict: Tasty and easy! Was able to eat only 1 at each meal and feel satisfied (and I am a bread freak!).
Spinach casserole (instead of a green bean casserole or something with lots of cream or butter). Verdict: added a nice touch to the traditional foods.
Giant turkey meatballs (instead of a pain-in-the-butt real turkey process). Verdict: I had them with honey BBQ sauce so it was a little different with the rest of the food, but worked out great and were tasty. Also 1000 times easier than cooking a real turkey. Someone in my huge family usually makes meatballs anyway so it wasn't that strange.
Boxed instant sour cream mashed potatoes (lol I will never make mashed potatoes from scratch - to my husband and I these taste awesome. In the past I would get some from Boston Market lol, but this way was easy and I could use lowfat margarine and milk and keep the portion small). Verdict: Awesome & easy. I love mashed potatoes and was happy with just a spoonful portion.
Boxed instant stuffing - whole wheat (again, will never make this from scratch, and I am crazy for stuffing). Verdict: This is the one healthy food I thought sucked and actually wouldn't eat any more - and I can stomach some pretty foul tasting stuff. Husband, on the other hand, thought it was great so he ate it all, and I used the backup box I got with normal stuffing and kept my portions small, lol. Good.
Wanted to make my famous banana bread since that sounded good for the season, but went with pumpkin bread instead. It was such a perfect touch - even if I cheated and used the quick bread box kind. When I actually try the recipe from scratch I'll letcha know!
Was going to have butternut squash but wound up not being able to cook it. I still think it would go nicely with the rest of the holiday meal, but even the easy route took some help cooking from my awesome sister, so I bailed on the squash.
Was also going to have acorn squash instead of pie, since skipping pie on this holiday is hard for me, and it's hard to make a healthy version of it - still working on that. But again, didn't get a chance to cook it. Figure I'll cook it now and let you all know how it turns out since I've never done it, lol. Learned that I could live without pie - or a sweet substitute - after all.
For a few years now I've been watching my portions on this holiday, even when I was eating all the normal traditional food, and I always felt great after the meal while everyone else had stomach aches and felt guilty. I always take a walk after the dinner and feel incredible. Hope you all enjoyed - no matter what your family set out, and spent some great time with wonderful people. I know I did.
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