Happy early Thanksgiving

My aunt and uncle are in town from New York, so we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving Dinner early in our family.   We had a dinner for 28 yesterday afternoon with a huge spread of food with a ton of leftovers. So, Happy Early Thanksgiving to all!

And the big question --- how'd I do with eating at Thanksgiving dinner?  

No bad but also not good either.  

I started my day with a trip to the lab for a quick blood draw which required fasting ... so I didn't actually start my day with my normal protein shake and breakfast.  By the time I got done at the lab and hit the grocery store, it was 11:00 a.m.   I added a scoop of protein to some coffee and got busy cooking.  

The day was mostly a grazing fest.  Once appetizers were put out around 2:00 I didn't really stop eating.  Mom made some chocolate fondu with many delicious dippables and I ate too much of this.  Luckily there was also a cheese and meat tray, so I ate healthy stuff too.

I was pretty picky with what went on my plate for dinner and chose the high protein stuff (turkey and ham, baked beans and polish sausage) with a couple healthy side dishes (cole slaw, deviled egg, green beans) and a couple things I should have avoided (banana bread).   After about 3 bites I looked up across the table at my brother and said, "I'm full."  LOL!    I did manage to eat a few more bites, but not much.

It took a while to get things cleaned up and dessert out, so by that time I was no longer "full" and nibbled on a few things.  I made some pumpkin fluff (I'll post the recipe later) and nibbled on that too much.  Mom also made my favorite cheeseball, so I snacked on cheese and crackers too (I'll post that recipe too).  

I didn't overstuff myself throughout the day, but I did graze a lot more than I should have.  I avoided the super sweet stuff like pies, monkey bread and the sweet potatoes (loaded with brown sugar) -- so it could have been worse by far.  I think I've gotten to a point where I'm more conscious about the food choices I make and balancing the good with the bad during special occasions.  

After the family left, I headed to Frankenmuth to the coffeehouse where they had some live music lined up.  I had a SF FF Decaf Vanilla Latte and relaxed for a little while.  

Overall it was a very good Thanksgiving.  I hope you and your family enjoy your celebration this coming week.

~Pam