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This post is an installment in our 52 Health Hinges series. Remember, “Small hinges swing big doors.”

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is almost here?

Fall in Minnesota can go two ways; 1) crisp, beautiful fall days, or 2) full-fledged winter with multiple feet of snow.

This year our fall has been beautiful, which always makes me feel like I’m getting away with something.

Anyway – back to Thanksgiving.

We’ve been covering some deep topics in this Hinges series lately, so this week I want to lighten it up and talk about what I’m planning for Thanksgiving dinner.

Dinner menu:

• Roasted Turkey (saving the bones to make healing bone broth!)
• Brussels sprouts
• Squash
• Sauteed collard greens with garlic (recipe below)
• Gluten-free pumpkin and pecan pies, purchased from my local co-op

Are you wondering what to have on hand for snacks? Indulge without sending your blood sugar on a wild ride. All of the below are approved by my toddlers, too. 

Try:

• Trail mix of almonds, cashews, pistachios, and tart cherries
• Pumpkin seeds
• Dates
• Prunes
• Turkey or grassfed beef sticks
• Gluten-free crackers with pepper jam
• Hummus and vegetables

Other tips to make your holiday healthy and happy:

• Get help! I enlist the help of everyone; they’re either assigned a cooking task or the important task of keeping the kids busy so I don’t have to! (Having a chef for a brother doesn’t hurt, either).
• Figure out what can be made ahead of time. With the above, I can make the squash the day before, start the turkey in the morning, and can chop the Brussels sprouts ahead of time. That means that at crunch time, we’re only dealing with baking the sprouts and sautéing the greens.
• Remember that eating your pie after your meal – with fat and protein – helps to dampen the blood sugar spike to keep you on an even keel.
• If the thought of cooking is too much, find someone to do the cooking for you! There are plenty of restaurants or grocery stores that do the cooking; all you need to do is pick it up.
• It’s also nice to enjoy a nice holiday meal at a restaurant. Not all restaurants are open, and some are open just for lunch or just for dinner, so do your homework ahead of time and make a reservation. This year we’ll be eating lunch at my home, but will go out for our evening meal.
• There’s no one right way to celebrate. Enjoy yourself, relax as much as possible, and let yourself off the hook. Nobody cares if you house is a mess or if you burn the Brussels sprouts. Be kind to yourself.

Collard Greens Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches collard greens
• 3-6 cloves of garlic (use based on your liking)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup water

Method:

1. Wash collard greens and cut out the thick stalk.
2. Chop leave into large pieces.
3. Mince the garlic.
4. Using a saute pan, melt ghee over medium heat.
5. Once the ghee has melted, add the minced garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the collard greens and salt and stir.
7. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
8. Add the water to steam the collards. Cover.
9. The collards are done when they’re tender.

Next week I’ll share my recipe using your leftover turkey. Hint: it will use that bone broth I mentioned earlier…