Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Getting Ready For Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is having a lovely (short) week so far! I had such a fun morning today :) I started to get ready for Thanksgiving today and I love being able to get into the kitchen and blast a fun poppy playlist and have a little dance party while I work. And that is exactly what I did. It was so fun!

I decided to make a fun little surprise for my brother. He tried chocolate covered potato chips at the Chocolate Trade Show a few weeks ago and loved them. I decided to surprise him by dipping some chips to bring on Thanksgiving. He does a lot for me so I thought it would be a fun treat for him. Can't wait to surprise him!


Check out how awesome they look!


I hope he likes them! I'm sure Delilah will have to taste them too ;)

I had a little extra chocolate melted so rather than waste it I dipped a few of my Candy Cane Joe Joe's in it. They are now in my freezer for safe keeping ;)



All I wanted for breakfast was clementines so I peeled up 4 and had a pile of citrus awesomeness. So good, exactly what I wanted!


For lunch I am currently working on a plate of roasted brussels sprouts, roasted cauliflower, some stuffed grape leaves and a pickle. SO good!



For dinner I'm bringing this spinach salad I bought from Trader Joe's. It is a spinach salad with quinoa, carrots, dried cranberries (which I'll pick out because it is all sweetened and sugary), chickpeas, edamame, pumpkin seeds and grape tomatoes. It comes with a carrot, ginger dressing. There is a little sugar in it but I really think the amount in negligible so I'm debating if I'll bring my own dressing or not.

I decided that Thanksgiving will be the end of my cleanse. I'm going to continue to eat clean, but a little added sweeteners (like maple syrup or agave) are fine in small amounts. I'm really happy with how I did and I feel great and I plan on continuing to eat this way, but I don't want to start (or re-start really) a pattern of being obsessive about things like maple syrup in every bite of food I eat. This is meant to make me healthier as a person, and also to help me have a healthy relationship with food. Time will tell I guess.

Hope you all have a great day! Can't wait til Thursday.

14 comments:

  1. You are such a sweet sister! I bet your brother will love the chocolate covered chips. I've never had Candy Cane Joe Joe's, but I just saw them over at FF's. Chocolate covered ones sound right down my alley!

    I love Celmentines. They are so easy to peel and the fact that they are small make them fun to eat...ha

    Your lunch looks good and dinner sounds like it's going to be good as well.

    I see nothing wrong with adding a little sweetener into your diet. You eat so healthy anyway. I'm trying my best to clean mine up. I thought about doing a cleanse after Thanksgiving. Hmmmm...decisions...decisions. :)

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  2. What a lovely treat for him! I'm curious- how do the chips not go soggy?
    I was wondering if your detox was going to end with the holidays- I hope you enjoy yourself but don't go too overboard!

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  3. Wow, that is some talent! I've never dipped anything in chocolate, minus my spoon, of course.

    I don't know why I don't care for clementines, could be the smaller seeds? Of the citrus family I enjoy oranges, grapefruits, and limes (with something else). Lemons (with something else) on occasion.

    Great job on the veg intake! My day has not been as good.

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  4. Michelle - I hope he likes them! The Joe Joe's are amazing, they are my Kryptonite! It will definitely test my willpower. Clementines are THE BEST! I agree, a little sweetener (natural) will not be a big deal. it's all about balance. Keep me posted if you decide to do a cleanse!

    Claire - Oh I definitely won't go overboard :) For me it is really just important to maintain balance. Not only in what I actually eat, but how I think about food. It is really bad to obsess about every single thing you eat so I really want to be able to have a healthy view of it :) And I have no idea how they don't get soggy! I'll let you know if they do when he tries them.

    Ingrid - Lol, dipping is the least complex thing I can think of. You can totally do it. It takes patience more than anything. My clementines don't have seeds? I can't get into grapefruits but I'm an orange fiend. And thanks!

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  5. Did you make the stuffed grape vine leaves yourself? I love those!

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  6. vegansmarties - I haven't made homemade ones yet. It is definitely on my list of things to try though!

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  7. Chocolate-covered chips? Man. That's so exciting.

    Ever since I went to Portland this summer, my attitude toward food has been more lenient. Well...it's always been fairly lenient. But I figure every now and then, you just need a vegan doughnut. :)

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  8. I love chocolate with potato chips! Soo delicious! What a great surprise. I must get some Clementines soon...your breakfast just looks so refreshing.

    Have a great Thanksgiving!

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  9. Greg has been dying for potato chips all day, haha. I've got to show him these. You are obviously a way better sister than I am a girlfriend! They look like they came out great.
    The clementines look gorgeous as well. So fresh and juicy! Actually all of your food looks awesome today.
    Enjoy thanksgiving, and its sweetness :)

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  10. Did you say what brand pickles you've been eating? They look really crisp and fresh.

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  11. Allysia - Thanks, I think they are exciting too! I tend to lean more towards extremes...when I'm strict with my diet I'm strict and when I'm lenient I'm REALLY lenient which is why I'm trying to start good habits and maintain balance.

    Rose - Clementines are SOOOOO good, I had 2 more today :X Happy Thanksgiving!

    FF - Haha I doubt that but I try! Yesterday was a pretty good food day and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!!

    Shen - I get mine out of the barrel at a store near me. They are always fresh and amazing and I'm really picky about pickles. I only like half sours and they brighter the better!

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  12. You did the cleanse for a pretty long time! Like you, I can get obsessive, but I've gotten so much better lately about it.

    Those chips look really good. I've never had chocolate covered ones. The few times that I do eat potato chips, I like to dip them in applesauce.

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  13. It's hard for me to find a balance with being healthy/being obsessive/enjoying life/losing weight. I don't know if I've ever heard of chocolate covered potato chips! I think my 6 year old's eyes will pop out if I show him this pic. My husband and I were just talking last night about grape leaves. I've seen them around on blogs so much lately with everyone talking about how they loved them. We both remember trying them probably ten years ago and not liking them, but I guess I need to give them another shot.

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  14. Molly - Yeah I lasted 3 of the 4 weeks I intended and I'm fine with that. I'm still going to eat clean but I'm not going to be so restrictive with it. He loved the chips! I've never heard of eating them with applesauce. I rarely eat potato chips and havent in a long time, but today I was craving starch and potatoes like crazy! Didn't indulge though.

    Jenny - Finding that balance is so hard! It is something that I work toward and hopefully someday I'll find it. I think tastes change over time. I would NEVER have eaten hummus and falafel and stuffed grape leaves and brussels sprouts 10 years ago but now they are some of my favs! Maybe you'll like em?!

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