Coping with Thanksgiving

Ok. So, I'm pretty sure that the early settlers devised a master plan when they sat down with the Native Americans and created a little national holiday called Thanksgiving. That plan; to keep Candice fat until the end of her days. Those settlers brought food, watched football and went to sleep at 4pm. Also, I don't appreciate the fact that its so close to Jesus' birthday. You know wherever there's a birthday, there's cake... or pie... or ham.

This year, I'm trying to keep things a little healthier than in years past. I will be making half of the dishes to be served this year and I am looking to reduce fat and calories wherever I can, if at all possible. You see, the half of the menu my mom is making will be laden with butter and wonderful, delicious, goodness. The recipe I just printed for her: Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake. Seriously, I love Paula Deen. She's a good Christian southern woman, but I don't know how much longer she'll be with us if she eats half the stuff she makes on that show. With all of the carbs and sugars on this Thx-giving menu, Chuck will be on the floor having a diabetic seizure. I'll keep a spoon handy.

So, these are the items on my menu this year and how I'm attempting to do some damage control:

Red Skin Garlic Mashed Potatoes - I'll be using buttermilk and using as little light margarine as possible.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese - reduced fat cheeses only, whole wheat farfalle and a saltine crust

Sweet Potato Casserole - I am going to try this recipe.

Dad's Birthday Cinnamon Streusel Bundt Cake - It's my Dad's 50th birthday tomorrow! He's needs some meat on his bones so I'll leave this one alone.

Mom's menu doesn't exercise any restraint at all and obviously, she has a sweet tooth:

Rotisserie Chicken - not really a menu item as it's store-bought but hey, she's buying it. Meijer has some REALLY tasty rotisserie chicken.

Dressing and gravy- homestyle

Roasted potatoes - the kids prefer these over the mashed

Pudding Pies - my little brother will be making these. Graham cracker crust, Jell-o pudding mix and whipped cream. Simple and delicious.

The occassional vegetable - in a butter sauce no doubt.

Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake - Yeah.

From-scratch cookies - undoubtedly, she will double the chips called for in the recipe. A bag of chocolate and a bag of butterscotch... but she always makes me a few with JUST chocolate chips.

So things are basically traditional but I have no doubt that I'll eat a lot more than I should. All I can do is try to call on my will power to push me away from the plate. I won't have the turkey to knock me out early. Dammit.

Deuces

Candice K.

252 lbs. (weigh-in tomorrow)