Got a Turkey Day strategy?

[honeybunch]

Mine, like when I'm on vacation, is to exercise more that week...just plan on it, schedule it. By that I mean, fit in more cardio. My "Y" is open turkey day, and I always go & work out.

Ordinarily, I allow myself one "pig-out" day per week, but next week I'll have two, so I compensate with more exercise, NOT with less eating! I rejoice in these holiday feasts, and indulge, indulge, indulge! Anyone who stands in my way in front of the buffet table will be run over!

Anyone else like to share their strategies?

 

[susan p]

the veggie tray

<center><font size="1" color="#ff0000">LAST EDITED ON Nov-18-99 AT 01:51PM (EST)</font></center>

I love raw veggies even without dip, so I pre-fatigue my tummy with those before the Big Meal workout, then use them again for cool-down afterward. Christmas is far worse because the candy season lasts from Thanksgiving day till after New Years! And I am a serious fudge addict. But I am figuring out low far substitutions that are still holiday-ish, and figuring on a couple of big binges as well, since after all it IS the holidays! Plus my kids are young enough that we can do about anything and call it a tradition! Heck, if we want to make orange juice slushies on Christmas Eve a tradition, we can! The kids will ALWAYS think of orange juice slushies instead of eggnog when they think of Christmas Eve. Of course, once they get married there may be some trouble. . . I can see their puzzled husbands now. . .

"we ALWAYS had orange juice slushies on Christmas eve!"
"WHAT??? What does orange juice have to do with Christmas?"
"It's the TRADITION!"
"well whose dumb tradition is THAT? WE never did that!!"
"well WE did and that's what we're going to do!"
"your family is so weird"
"THEY ARE NOT!!"
and on and on. . .

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Turkey Day!

T-U-R-K-E-Y D-A-Y TRANSLATION!!!

T...Thank Goodness its only one day!

U...Uncontrollable cravings!

R...Rest and Relaxation(yawn,burp,yawn

)

K...Keep the food comin'

E...Early to bed, early to rise, cook like heck,
and make more pies!!!

Y...Yummy cider!


D...Double, more like triple portions(all day
day long)!

A...Apple pie ala mode

Y...Yes,(yawn), you can roll me away from the
table now!

Oh, I'm getting sooooo excited!!! Gobble, gobble!

 

[Lezly]

I'm going to modify a tradition

Years ago my husband and I -- both veggies -- started our own Thanksgiving tradition of stuffed shells with salad and garlic bread followed with apple pie. This year I've really gotten into tofu. I've never really like tofu in the past, but I've picked up some good recipes over the past few months and a better brand of tofu. (It actually started here at Cathe's with a Chocolate Tofu Pudding recipe!)

This year I'm going to put together a tofu sampler. Stuffed shells with tofu instead of ricotta; baked acorn squash with garlic custard, using tofu instead of eggs; and the grand finale will be tofu pumpkin pie! and of course salad & bread.

That should provide me with enough soy isoflavones for a week! A strange combination maybe, but we're a little strange. Although not as strange as that family that has orange juice slushies for Christmas Eve!!

hee hee

And post dinner dog walk, which will be extra long since neither of us has to work that day. (Maybe even two dog walks?!)

 

[kathryn]

can I come? ;-)

<center><font size="1" color="#ff0000">LAST EDITED ON Nov-18-99 AT 06:43PM (EST)</font></center>

Lezly, Sounds good to me!! (And tofu works really well in place of ricotta, but only if you get the "tub" packaged tofu and NOT the asceptically packaged tofu). A few weeks ago, I modified a lasagne recipe that I found (no cooking noodles beforehand!) and used tofu that I spiced with italian seasonings---it was yummy! (And probably only the second lasagna I've made in my life--but not the last!). (you could also put some Nasoya dressing on your salad, or sprinkle in a few soy nuts---and how about some Chai made with green tea and soy milk? Just in case you're not sure you're getting enough soy ) Happy Thanksgiving! (to turkeys as well)!

 

[Heather Y]

Too cute Cathe!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who plans on overdoing it Thursday. I may have to plan an early workout to partially make up for the day - Interval Max, Body Max, or MIC. Then I won't feel as guilty!

 

[Lezly]

Kathryn, need some tofu advice

When do you use one kind of tofu over another? For the choco pudding, I've been using Mori Nu in the asceptic package -- it's nice and smooth. I was going to use that for my T-day feast, but you mention I should stick to the tub stuff for lasagne/shells.

The pumpkin pie recipe I want to try is a MoriNu recipe. Any tofu advice would be appreciated!

Also, I tried the Nasoya dressing for the first time a few weeks ago -- yum! I love the 1000 Island!

Oh darn! Do we really have to wait a full week till Thanksgiving or can we start now?

 

[sabella]

the pumpkin pie

I'm not Kathryn, but I would definately vote aseptically packaged tofu for the pumpkin pie. I did that last year and it was wonderful. It seems like anything "creamy", like pies, works best with the MoriNu, and pretty much anything else works best with varying firmness's of the stuff in a tub. But I await word from Kathyrn on this issue, too, since I'm never quite sure on some recipes.

Karen

 

[Brenda F.]

Thanksgiving

I have to say I'm a bit nervous about Thanksgiving this year. We usually don't travel and my workout schedule is easy to fit in - especially with 4 days off!

This year we are going to visit relatives leaving on Wednesday and returning on Sunday. The relatives aren't the working out type so I don't think I'll be able to work off all those yummy calories there.

My current plan of attack is to work out really hard through Wednesday, then enjoy 4 days of relaxation and rejuvenation and get right back at it on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

[JudySP]

T-Day strategy and recipe please Susan

Cathe - loved your breakdown of Thanksgiving Day - too funny.

I'm not sure if this year's strategy will be easier or not. Last year, I had 23 relatives at my house; cooked all day the day before and of course the day of. No time to exercise and by the time they all left, I literally couldn't get out of the chair I finally sunk into. I could barely walk the next day, let alone exercise. But I just didn't eat as much on T-Day 'cause I was too darn busy! I gave away lots of leftovers but not all the stuffing and desserts

This year, T-day is in Connecticut but I'm helping my cousin out a lot and will be cooking all Wednesday. Stll, I plan on making the early part of the week heavy on the aerobics (still not lifting - re-habing my RC). I plan on exercising Wed morning before the cooking marathon but I don't think I'll be able to do anything on Thursday morning - too much traveling (we're getting there early to help). Oh, but I plan on taking some raw veggies and water with me in the car. Tony will just have to stop at a rest stop if necessary (what, again???)

Now, Susan, please tell me how you make the OJ slushies!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

[kay]

Thanksgiving strategy?

Is taping my mouth shut an option? Actually I had a partial resistance pumpkin pie episode already. Hubby defrosted two of his pumpkin pies he made earlier & out of those two pies I only ate ONE piece!(for breakfast with coffee, YUM!)
My Thanksgiving Day will start with the annual YMCA Turkey Trot. No, I'm not running just watching our youngest(17 & 21) two run & wishing I could. I hope I'll be so inspired by those lean sweating bodies that I won't go home & pig out on all the goodies. My aerobic/weight workout will be hefty that turkey(my apologies to all vegans) into & out of the oven, mashing potatoes & trying to make lowfat lumpless gravy. Barneydog walking will increase after he eats all the turkey skin & goodies during the turkey carving. He positions himself so carefully & catches all his tidbits before they hit the floor.
Sounds like everyone has a plan. Here's to a healthy & happy Thanksgiving! Gotta go buy more fresh veggies!
Kay
P.S. I'd be interested in hearing more about the use of soy & meatless recipes. Anyone have a favorite cookbook? I must admit when it comes to soy I am clueless & this menopausal momma could really use some. TIA

 

[kathryn]

tofu

Lezly, I use the asceptic packaged tofu when needing a smooth base for something (pudding, pie, soup, dips, etc,). I buy the water packed tofu for stir frying (using cooking sherry with a bit of oil instead of a lot of oil), broiling, scrambled tofu---anything that needs more texture to it (for example, I've found that using the asceptic stuff for scrambled tofu makes it more like cooked egg whites in consistency).

 

[Lezly]

Thanks!

I'll let you know how the tofu feast turns out.

 

[Lezly]

more on tofu

I sent away for some free recipes from MoriNu. Send a SASE to Morinu, PO Box 6160, Torrance, CA 90504. The packet also included an order form for some Soy cookbooks, but I don't know how good those are. You might check your library, and perhaps Kathryn has some suggestions. Also, you can visit MoriNu online at www.morinu.com

 

[susan p]

orange juice slushies

Hi Judy! I got this recipe from our craniofacial team when my DD2 was on a high calorie diet post-op (which she's actually STILL on, bless her tiny little heart!) These were a way to pour the calories in! But you can make them low-fat too.

Original High Calorie Version:
freeze OJ in ice cube trays
put 1 doz OJ cubes and 1 c OJ and 4 BIG scoops of vanilla ice cream (did you know that Breyer's French Vanilla is THE fattiest and highest calorie available?? --not that I'm recommending that!!) in the food processor and process lightly, enough to mix but still have a slushie texture rather than being pureed into a liquid. These taste like old-fashioned dreamsicles. (nobody here would probably want to, but you can actually throw in a pkg of dry Carnation Instant Breakfast to add some extra nutrition)

And the one I make for ME:
skip the ice cream, just puree the some frozen OJ cubes with just enough liquid OJ to make a slushy texture. Or you can add in 8 oz nonfat yogurt and about 1/4 c of white sugar if you want the dreamsiclier taste that your kids have! (but yours will be runnier)

susan p

 

[JudySP]

Wow - sounds great

although I don't dare bring Breyer's into the house - my husband would be on it like a magnet! Hey, at least the OJ slushies have more vitamin C then eggnog!

 

[kathryn]

re: starting now

Seems to me it's always a good idea to test out recipes before you use them (even if you've used them before, the ambient temperature, or the allignment of the celestial bodies could possibly lead to varying results

) so I'd say go ahead and start!

 

[kathryn]

tofu recipes

One source for good tofu recipes is "The book of tofu". the original version (from the seventies) had lots of recipes for substitutions for animal products (french onion dip--that fooled even die hard dip lovers---mayonaise, etc). but was not too concerned about fat content. I think there is an updated version that's a bit lower in fat (if not, there is now tofu out that is lower in fat--my favorite brand, but I can't remember the name! In a yellow-topped water container, also now in a "shrink-wrapped" version). I have scads of recipe books--though I usually don't use them much any more---so I'll look and see which ones have the best soy recipes. I can give you one of my recipes for scrambled tofu (get ready, I've got a strange sense of recipe writing!): Saute (in oil or in my favorite, a combo of cooking sherry and a wee bit of oil) chopped onions and peppers (no quantities in my recipes! go with what feels good to you---called "intuitive cooking")until soft. Crumble tofu (not the asceptic--which "mushes" rather than crumbles, but the other kind) into the mix and continue sautéing until tofu gets a bit tan (not really brown. Aseceptically packaged tofu never "tans", another reason--besides texture-- it's not good for this recipe). When the tofu seems o.k. to you, sprinkle on enough nutritional yeast to lightly cover it (maybe about a tablespoon--more or less--for a full container of tofu. I just go until the tofu is somewhat uniformely light yellow after the nut yeast is stirred in). Then add a pinch of tumeric and salt and pepper to taste. Voilà!--either a yummy batch of scrambled tofu or the basis for further experiments! (I think this recipe started with one from one of Neal Barnard's books).

 

[kathryn]

soy recipes

Kay, Here's some more info on soy and tofu recipes. dixiediner.com has a variety of soy-based products, as well as cookbooks. Some of their products (the "ready made, just add water and cook") are a bit pricey, but their "meatNOT" texturized soy protein is good to use in place of hamburger, chicken, turkey, etc. I use the "chickenNOT" filet style instead of chicken in Green Giant meal maker combos (forget what they're called, some of the more recent ones have added chicken or beef stock to them, which really ticks me off. I loved being able to grab a package of frozen vegies and sauce, add soaked "chicken not", bake, and have a meal).
Here are some cookbooks that have quite a few soy recipes in, as well as other good meatless recipes (usually vegan, as that's what I do): "The compasionate Cook" from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). A vegan cookbook with ots of yummy, quick recipes, including over 25 tofu recipes (Broccoli Vegetable Quiche, Dark Chocolate Mousse, k.d. lang's Indonesian Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing, Tofu FCacciatore, etc, etc. stop me, I'm getting hungry!). "Lean, Luscious and Meatless". A vegetarian cookbook focusing on low fat foods. (Nice spiral binding so it lays flat!). It contains over 23 tofu recipes (Chocolate-Raspberry tofu trifle, Croquettes with Currant-Spice Sauce; Dinner loaf; Shanghai Grilled, etc.)
Vegetarian Times magazine has come out with several cookbooks, including "Vegetarian Times Cookbook", with over 50 tofu recipes (cheesecake, brochettes with vegetables, mushroom stroganoff, stuffed peppers, etc.); and "Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook" (with about 20 tofu recipes: Tofu with fermented black beans and ginger; relish; etc.)
There are books that focus only on Tofu, but the one that I have--"Tofu Cookery" by Louise Hagler--seems extra high in fat (created by someone who lives in a commune where everyone participates in heavy physical work, and probably burns a lot of calories!). This should give you a good start!. You can also find more books in the order section of Vegetarian Times magazine (which also has new recipes every month), both recipe books and more general "how to" books. I'm off to eat something!!
Kathryn

 

[tvan_horn]

My Plan of Attack!

Like most of you, an early workout on Thursday will hopefully get my day off to a good start. I am going to run a 5K that morning. That will give me a little room for pumpkin pie!!

When I get home from the race around 10 a.m., I am going to have a bowl of oatmeal or cream of wheat. I figure this will make me feel full for quite some time and will help me resist some of the temptations that will present themselves later in the day.

I will probably gorge myself on all of the goodies anyway, but atleast I have a plan.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tina