Healthing it up a bit

When it comes to Thanksgiving...I'm a big traditionalist.  Same menu every year, always followed by the Cowboys game.  Light breakfast to leave plenty of room for the usual suspects.  Roasted turkey, cornbread dressing, green bean casserole...I mean, it just wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving if we had it any other way.  But this year we opted to change things up just a little bit in the interest of maintaining the health kick currently going on (rather successfully, I might add) in the Bryan home.

In lieu of our usual sweet potatoes swimming in their sweet syrup and topped off with marshmallows, we did a medley of roasted root vegetables.  I rediscovered that I still don't like turnips, and rutabegas were a totally new thing for all of us - they were...different.  Kinda crunchy, almost like an apple.  But tastier than turnips!

We added another green veggie to the table in lieu of the mashed potatoes that sometimes show up - browned brussel sprouts with orange and toasted walnuts.  The orange was a total experiment, but the general consensus here was one of "mmm, that's pretty good" - you know, for a vegetable.

And while I do love the cranberry sauce from a can with its perfect rings and the "splooq!" sound it makes when it finally releases, we did our own this year with fresh cranberries and Granny Smith apples and a little cinnamon and sugar - YUM.

Don't worry, I've also had two pieces of pie today - pumpkin AND coconut cream.  But we've got the Wii back out, and I'm sure I'll burn off some calories.  At least enough to take care of...well...the butter on my roll.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  It's wonderful to be home with my family.