Thanksgiving 2.0 + link to giveaway

November 29

I woke up feeling like balllls again, but that was probably due to the fact that I only got 6 hours of sleep, even after popping 2 melatonins before bed. I felt progressively better as the day went on though. Progressssss. *fingers crossed* *knock on wood* *all that stuff*

-bowl of oatmeal with raisins, strawberries, a splash of milk, pinch or two of brown sugar (as you know I've been craving this, but it was SO bland *tear*)
-one slice of ham
-coffee
-water

those few strawberries cost $1.50!


-big bite of cream cheese and chocolate chip danish



-2 glasses of red wine (the one I get for Thanksgiving every year and only then for some reason, I guess it makes it more special? Even though it's only like $22. It's Saintsbury Pinot Noir)
-thanksgiving plate (spinach artichoke dip with gluten free chips, turkey, cranberry apple cider sauce, homemade gravy, sour cream & onion mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with caramelized banana slices on top, green bean casserole with homemade caramelized onions, most of a gluten free cheddar biscuit)
-1 small glass of pomegranate kiwi juice mixed with sparkling water




the girls dressed up :)
streeeeech. so cute!

It was my first turkey and gravy! I always make ALL the other stuff, but not this year, baby. All really was allllll. My Dad was going to do the turkey, but was running late for his bowling league + I had to be responsible for basting and all that while he was gone anyway, so I did the vast majority. Can I get a HOLLA? Too much? Sorry. *composes self* The gravy did take 3 tries, but the third time was the charm, indeed. I'd never made any sauce/gravy like that before, not from scratch anyway, so I was new to the whole roux thang. The first batch I didn't use enough flour. Down the drain it went. The second batch came out PERFECTLY, however...it tasted like ASS. Rachael Ray, what were you thinking, girl? It was apple cider gravy, which, sounds good in theory, but don't make that mistake! It was kinda sour or tart or bitter or sharp or...you get the point. Some unpleasant word. It was just....weird. But when I stuck to the plain old roux, broth, a lil turkey drippings, and seasonings? Daaaaamn the man, I am GOOD. :)

Even though I slightly overate, I didn't feel sick and horrible this time. Improvement!

-sparkling water with lemon juice

-small slice of (80ish%) sugar-free pumpkin pie with a gingerbread cookie gluten free crust (not sugar free) and homemade cinnamon maple whipped cream
-big glass of water



Probably one of my best ever pumpkin pies (and I usually make good pumpkin pies, let's inflate my ego even more), even though it only had a little brown sugar and maple syrup in it (mostly stevia with a liiitle xylitol) and I thought the batter tasted slightly gross/bitter/mediocre, but it cooked up into perfection. I gotta stop tooting my own horn, but c'mon now, what a meal. Haha :). The whipped cream I made for Thursday's feast was great, but this one was even better too.

The only thing I did sort of screw up was one of my usual fave's, the spinach artichoke dip. We didn't have the correct seasoning, so I substituted with onion dip stuff. Yeah, not so much. My Mom and Dad still thought it was pretty good, but it's not the saaaaame. Oh well.

I am done eating for the nite, sans a cuppa tea I plan to go make while I make my brother's damn deviled eggs he won't stop bugging me about LOL. I usually make them every Thanksgiving for an appetizer, but I didn't, and apparently didn't realize they were so coveted :-P. (ok I'm back before I posted this, drinking my FAVE gingerbread tea, which I hid because it's not gluten free, but let's get real, most of my meal wasn't in some small way or another, so I'll get over it. I feel fine *knock on wood again and all that*)

But before I go....

Even though I REALLY hope *I* win (hehe), you should all go check out the contest Danica is hosting to give away a sparkling water maker! HERE. WOOHOO. Good luck!

xo,
Amanda

November 28

November 28

-apple
-water



-1.5 bananas
-water



I woke up feeling both still full & a little hungry again. I decided to have fruit every half hour or so, but after the banana(s) felt like crap. Headache and stomachache. Booo. I kinda woke up that way, but it's stayed the same/gotten a little worse instead of better. Lame-o.

-glass of water with apple cider vinegar
-3 tylenols

Tried to settle my stomach/head. Worked a lil. But only for a lil. Eh, it's something.

-green tea with honey



I went downstairs to make peppermint tea to try and settle my stomach further and then I made green tea instead. Only AFTER I dropped in the tea bag did I remember why I went down for tea in the first place. No short term memory, I guess lol.

-small handful of cashews (roasted, unsalted)



-one small red potato cut up and drizzled with salt-free greek seasoning and olive oil & broiled for like 5-10 min eaten w/ a lil organic (aka no high fructose corn syrup--yess!) ketchup
one little potato makes an awful lot when you cut it up!

-scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (forgot cookie dough has gluten in it...doh, but vanilla-based ice cream's usually help my stomach calm down)
-small root beer
-salad with grilled chicken and ranch dressing
-a few french fries




We tried to go see The Blindside @ the movie grill, so we could have dinner there too, but it was sold out. Bummer. We went to a Cinemark theatre instead, which was playing the movie every hour, and ate at their lil crappy mini restaurant thing (well, they took too long, so we ate it during the movie, but close enough). I was looking forward to salad at the grill, but luckily they had salad here too. It was kind of a cop out salad, I assume it was the lettuce meant for burgers topped with some chopped tomato, a lil semi-melted shredded cheese and grilled chicken. Tasted pretty good, although initially they forgot my dressing and when I went back for it I almost wished I'd just stuck to lemon juice packets instead, as it was pretty crappy ranch, but it got the job done. As you can see I was craving potatoes, so in order NOT to order fries I ate my homemade wannabe fries right beforehand, but both my parents food came with fries, so I had to steal some, of course! I'm usually not a potato person, maybe I needed the potassium? With all the banana-age + fries, it makes sense. *ponders* BTW, the Blindside is SUCH a good movie. One of the best mainstream movies I've seen all year, even if it is predictable. It still warms the heart :-P.

-pumpkin pie
-water



Me and my sugar addiction, I'll tell ya...

Still not feeling great, but could be worse.

xo,
Amanda

Turkey Day (y mas)

November 26

-egg white frittata with a tomato sauce and a littleeeee side of fruit (a few grapes + a bite or two of honeydew)
-coffee x 2 or 3
-water
-small grapefruit juice





I REALLY wanted oatmeal (with bananas!), but apparently even tho they serve breakfast all day, some items, including the oatmeal are over at noon. We got there at 11:40, but were not seated until 12:20. LAME. That's the whole reason I went there! My breakfast was delish at least, but gave me a stomachache. I took a pepcid and was ok, thankfully. It was one of those pains where it could go either way: be quick and no big deal or get really bad. Yay for the former. Phew.

-typical thanksgivingness (picked at appetizers aka cheese plate, caprese salad, and spinach dip + 1 plate of food)
-2 glasses red wine






apple cider cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges and cointreau


Then I felt horribly sick from being WAY. TOO. FULL. and I went on a 20-25 minute walk around the block.

yay Christmas lights

I don't think I even ate that much, but I did eat off of a dinner sized plate and usually at home I eat off salad sized plates, so it was probably nearly double what I'm used to, oops. I did leave most of the mashed potatoes if that helps LOL.

-about 1/2 a glass of chardonnay
-a few bites of cheesecake (brownie and pumpkin) and a bite of pumpkin pie





My cheesecake and maple syrup-cinnamon whipped cream were HUGE hits. Yeaaaaah! IDK if anyone but me tried the pie. It was alright, not my best, but it worked. Then again I was still a bit sickly (theme of this post? or thanksgiving in general? lol), so maybe I just didn't really even properly taste it?

Then I came home (we had Thanksgiving at my aunt's) and ate a littttle more (a lil more turkey w/ cran sauce, a bite or two of stuffing, and a bite or two of sweet potatoes) and got SICKly full again. Whyyyyyy do I do these things?

I tried to remedy it, again, and went on treadmill this time (walked slooow @ 2mph) for 45 minutes, totaling my walking today to over 2 miles. Not bad. I was stuck watching bowling with my Dad while I walked, but what can ya do? :)

I was truly planning to do all gluten free, but I did have a smalllll portion of the stuffing just because it was there and I wanted to know what it tasted like. I think that's all though. I don't even like stuffing, so that was dumb, but my aunt's was pretty good. Oh yeah and two bites of the brownie cheesecake and one or two fried onions on top of the green bean casserole. I fail. But could have been WAY. WAY. worse.

I'm just glad Thanksgiving part 2 at my house is scheduled for Sunday and not tomorrow. I need a couple days to recover :).

my parents & lil Kendyll, of course

QUESTION OF THE DAY: what's your favorite thanksgiving food item? As a self proclaimed semi-foodie I am ashamed to admit, but mine is green bean casserole, fo' sho'. And I totally mean the kind made from canned green beans and condensed soup. Normally I avoid that kind of thing like the plague, but together? *angels sing* Ahhhh, heaven.

November 27

-roasted chicken (white meat)
-mashed potatoes and gravy
-yeast roll (must. stop.)
-half serving of baked beans
-lots of water
-water with emergen-c



My body is so tired of carbs and protein (poultry overload). My feelings from last nite have not changed: I need to go on a fruit and veggie overload for a couple days. Well, a day anyway, and then resume Monday. Sunday is kinda out since it's Turkey Day again. But I just feel so perma-full. Even when I'm hungry I still have that heavy, full feeling in the pit of my stomach. Blargh. I wonder if the small amounts of gluten are to blame? I knew I shouldn't have had the roll, but they gave it to me and they used to be my fave rolls EVAR, so I thought one wouldn't hurt for old times sake. Too bad it wasn't even good anymore. I should have stopped after a bite or two, but live and learn (and then get loves? jay kay). It seems like I complain when I eat aything though, so maybe gluten just has a bad rep. Still undecided at this point.

-iced tea

My Mom and I went to pay our last ever T-Mobile bill (Yeahhhh!!) and she had to go to the bathroom SO BADLY and the guy there wouldn't let her use hers, so she RAN over to a nearby mexican restaurant lol. She made me order a drink so she didn't seem rude for just using their restroom and leaving lol.

-2 vodka sodas
-small carribean salad with grilled shrimp (lettuce, mandarin oranges, pineapple, and 4 pieces of shrimp, kind of lame and sparse for being $9, but kinda good. I'd probably get it again. Maybe. it's the only salad there not covered in cheese, fried meats, etc.)
-5-10 or so chips with queso



My adopted sister, who I haven't seen in probably 8-10 years, came into town with her husband and we had dinner with them last nite. She was a manager at Chili's for years and years (she's an art teacher now), but for some reason the first restaurant that came to mind for my Dad to suggest we eat at was...Chili's. LOL. Her and her husband didn't eat though, so I guess they didn't have to be sick of it lol. I wasn't hungry either, but ordered the salad to scrounge up a few enzymes. Of course, AFTER I ate I started to get hungry. Isn't it weird when that happens randomly? Or is that just to me? Anyway, so I ate a few chips and then made myself stop. I felt like I could have eaten an entire entree AGAIN though. What?

-2 small slices of pumpkin cheesecake
-1 small slice of pumpkin pie
-glass of organic skim milk
-water



Once at home I tore into the desserts, natch. Of course, THEN I was sickly full and hurting, so I walked on the treadmill for 50 minutes. This time I switched back and forth between 2mph, 2.5, and 3. And my Dad had fallen asleep the previous nite, so he watched the SAME bowling show AGAIN and fell asleep again. I have the players scores memorized :-P. It was a match (is that what they're called in bowling? lol) from 1995 and spoiler, Norm Duke wins, LOL.

Still SO. FULL. even the next morning, as I'm posting this. Yeeesh. But walking does help.

xo,
Amanda

Thanksgiving Eve

November 25

I didn't eat 'til 7:30 pm (I know, I know) and then felt so sick from not eating. But after that I was all good again.

-2 servings pom light tea



-gluten free turkey/nuefchatel/cran sandwich
-enviga green tea (yeah I'm dumb I didn't need caffeine so late. I am WIRED even after taking 2 antihistimines, ugg)




-tastes of my desserts for tomorrow

-small portion of brown rice pasta leftovers with lean turkey meat (yeah, I'm gonna turn into a turkey soon)
-1 homemade vegan pumpkin and white chocolate chip ball




I spent FOUR hours baking. It better all be phenom. All the tastes I had seemed to lean that way *fingers crossed* I put a caramelized topping to my pumpkin cheesecake and accidentally left it in ONE minute too long and the pecans burned a little on top, but I picked all those off and it seems perfect again. Here's hoping!

Have a great holiday, lovies!

xo,
Amanda

Tiiired. Long Day.

November 24

-chicken nachos with lots of lettuce and tomato
-iced tea
-water

My friend and I went to the movie grill & nachos sounded pretty good even at 11:40am, what can I say? Excuses, excuses, I know. It was either that or grilled chicken tenders with fries. Both had their pluses and minuses.

-tall nonfat caramel brulee latte (tasty!)
-looooots of water (one with emergen-c)

-2 mini oatmeal cookies (gf, of course)



I bought a kind bar at starbucks, but never got around to eating it. I hadn't eaten in 8+ hours by this point and couldn't bare to wait 25 more minutes for dinner to finish without dipping into something...why not cookies? :)

-2 lean turkey tacos with 2% cheese, sour cream, salsa, and lots of lettuce
-spanish rice with a little sour cream
-lots of water



-fudge (prob equaled about 1 piece total? maybe 1.5)
-vanilla caramel tea with a few drops of stevia




-water
-breathing tea with honey

Back to coughing my lungs up again. Just when I thought I was better...

xo,
Amanda

Back On Track (again....)

November 23

-the leftover 2/3 omelet from yesterday
-the rest of the potatoes w/ ketchup (I ate a couple before I took the pic, shh)
-about 80% of a small organic braeburn apple
-jasmine green tea with a little honey






-a few pumpkin seeds



-turkey/neufchatel cheese/cranberry sauce sandwhich on gluten free white bread



I bought the same gf bread as last time, but white instead of multigrain. As with most breads, I prefer the multigrain, but I just wanted to check out the options and it's tasty enough that I'd buy it again. I just wish it was yeast-free as well, but knowing there is delish gluten free bread out there is good enough for now!

-a harpoon hard cider
-1 liter of smartwater




The only ingredient in the cider is fermented apple juice, but it tasted more like a 50-50 blend of beer and hard cider. Kinda weird, but I liked it.

-brown rice pasta with lean turkey meat and mushroom organic pasta sauce
-side salad (organic spring mix, organic grape tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese, black pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil)
-the rest of the smartwater




-a few pieces of chocolate covered marzipan
-1 huckleberry chocolate truffle



-a sample of the pieces of fudge my brother brought me from his trip

I don't know what's up with the sudden chocolate obsession.

Pretty healthy all in all and nice and mostly balanced, but I'm still feeling like a fatty. Gotta start exercising or something. Tired of this!

My friend and I are going to see New Moon tomorrow. Neither of us have read the books, but we saw the first movie together because we were bored and nothing else was on, so I had to know what happened next, natch. She wanted to go to the 11:40 (yes, am) showing, so that's an alarm setting kind of day for me-haha. Better get to bed soon. I hope I get tired in the next hour, oy.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What's your favorite breakfast food? I'm undecided, I love breakfast. I'd say a tie between nutella and banana crepes, cashew butter oatmeal, and egg white omelets with spinach. Lox bagels may be in that mix too, though I don't think I could eat them every day.

xo,
Amanda