Well let me tell you, there's nothing quite so thrilling as peeing in the woods to make a Turkey Trot memorable. Thanks, gents, for making your arrival known to me before we became much better acquainted!
I set a goal going into the 15k Trot of 1:33, and by my watch I finished at 1:33:16. Not bad considering I spent about a minute and a half de-tangling myself from a sticker bush and finding a nice big oak tree to pee behind around mile three! I don't know what this thing is with having to go during races, but I am so over it. Not cool, bladder. It was funny the first time but we're not doing that again. Please make a note of it.
Thank you.
Anyway, Thanksgiving was a low-key affair for me. As you know, I am not a big fan of the eating holidays; they're just mine fields for overdoing it in the name of sentimentality. So I kept all of my Turkey Tips in mind and made it a really healthy day: a nice long run and lots of clean eats including a big Thanksgiving salad full of spinach, turkey, unsweetened dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts. I planned on making my healthy pumpkin pie, but decided to skip it. My husband doesn't really care for pie, I could live without it, and I didn't want a whole pie sitting around, so I considered it a sign from the Turkey Gods that I just was not meant to gain a pound this Thanksgiving. Thank you, Turkey Gods! I was rewarded with a nice calorie deficit this morning according to my GoWear Fit. A deficit of 29 calories, but hey I am so counting that as a victory. Take THAT Thanksgiving!
And now Christmas is rushing towards us like a steam engine. That means it's time to kick things into high gear! Over the next month, I'll be here with tips, workouts, recipes, and more to help make your holiday a healthy one. Starting off - my Black Friday workout at Boot Camps to Go.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Now wake up! Naptime is over!
The holidays are here!
Wait! There is still time to be healthy on Thanksgiving!
Here's how:
1. Exercise, fool! Many many many cities in this great country host Turkey Trots every Thanksgiving morning, and I am willing to bet good money that they are still taking registrations. Starting the day off with a run, or even just a brisk walk, is a great way to kickstart your metabolism plus put you in a healthy mood. Exercise helps you eat less and feel happier about it, just sayin'. You can find a turkey trot near you!
2. Slim down your favorites. Look, I love sweet potato casserole just as much as you do. But I love feeling healthy and strong all day long more than the 10 seconds it takes to eat it. Even if you're not a sadist like me, you can at least slim down your holiday favorites with some simple substitutions. My friend Tiffany at The Gracious Pantry has some great holiday recipes that will make you feel like you're splurging without actually doing it. Check them out!
3. Remember the REAL reason for Thanksgiving. My friend Ellen sent this article to me the other day because she knew I would dig it - it's not only chock full of my favorite historical demographic - naughty Puritans - but it's also about how Thanksgiving was intended to be a day of meditation and reverence, not gluttony and consumerism. Its a nice reminder to make family the focus of the day, not a personal challenge to eat everything you passed up the other 10 months of the year.
My Thanksgiving day plans? The Turkey Trot 15k, making mimosas and some whole-wheat clean eating cinnamon rolls for breakfast, watching the parade and complaining about all of the product placement, baking my healthy pumpkin pie (recipe below) with my munchkin, and having a delicious Thanksgiving-themed salad full of spinach, home-dried (AKA unsweetened) cranberries, toasted walnuts, and yes, TURKEY. Then a whole lotta rest so I can be ready for my post-Thanksgiving workout at Boot Camps to Go.
And now for the recipe...keep in mind I cook for fuel (which is to say I am not a chef!)
Healthy Heather's Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 8 ounces almond milk
• 3 egg whites
• 1 ½ cups crushed whole wheat graham cracker crumbs (I use Mi-Del)
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• pumpkin pie spice
• 2 egg whites, for the crust
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Make graham cracker crust: combine 1 ½ cups crushed whole wheat graham crackers with about 2 tbsp melted butter and press into a greased pie plate. To make to crust less soggy, brush egg whites over it and bake at 350°F for about 5 minutes before adding the pie filling.
3. Mix pumpkin, milk, and egg whites until smooth.
4. Add the pumpkin pie spice
5. Pour into crust and spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 45 minutes (may vary depending on ovens).
Have a WONFERFUL Thanksgiving...see you soon!
