This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

Seven tips for using visualization to plan your holiday eating

Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., author of Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why, has a marvelous idea to combat overindulging during the holidays – visualization.

Here are his seven tips on how to use visualization to help you with holiday eating:

1. Close your eyes and really picture the situation clearly.
2. Ask yourself whether what's being offered is going to be something that supports you in what you're doing or takes you off course.
3. Decide what you wish to allow yourself to indulge in -- if anything -- and when you decide to do it, indulge in it with gusto.
4. Make the choice and take the action.
5. Don't arrive hungry. A cup of soup or vegetable juice before arriving at a big event will help keep you in charge of your own actions.
6. Remember that stress leads to stress eating. Stress management is a critical part of managing weight gain during the holiday season.
7. If you do indulge, for goodness' sake enjoy it!

I like his philosophy behind indulging. If you do decide to indulge, do it consciously, guilt free, and make it worth your while. (Have a taste of a wonderful cheese or fine chocolate, not a Big Mac.)

Dr. Bowden goes into more detail about how to plan for holiday eating through visualization below.

The day of reckoning - Happy (gluten free) Thanksgiving!

Well T-Day is here. I made all the sweet potato and pumpkin pies yesterday, the only challenge coming from the gluten free pie crust mix. I used The Gluten-Free Pantry’s Perfect Pie Crust Mix, which makes two pie crusts. Unfortunately, the crust was too dry even with 12 tablespoons of butter (!) and a little additional water. In a panic, I added a few tablespoons of Spectrum Naturals Organic Shortening, which helped. The crust was still a bit crumbly, but rolled out O.K. The crust did split in places even though I pierced it and lined it with aluminum foil and beans while baking. Still, it worked and I have two gorgeous pies.

I was very impressed with Pamela's Products Wheat-Free Amazing Bread Mix that I used to make bread for the stuffing. It cooked up very well, and was moist and really tasty. The crust was delicious, too. I almost felt bad about cutting it up and toasting it to make stuffing.

Hope today’s cooking adventures are going well for you. Now I’m off to get the turkey ready to go into the smoker and the Thanksgiving potato dishes and stuffing into the crockpots.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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Thanksgiving pie recipes for a healthy sweet potato pie and traditional, not so healthy pumpkin pie

Here’s another Thanksgiving holiday recipe from Jonny Bowden’s Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why.

Since my daughter is allergic to tree nuts and my mother-in-law is on a gluten-free diet, I’ll be using a GF pie crust mix instead of making the almond-oat crust.

I’ll also be substituting cow’s milk for the almond milk and foregoing the pecan topping. Instead, I’ll just drizzle some agave nectar or maple syrup on top.

Sweet Potato Pie with Almond-Oat Crust
Serves: 8
Prep Time: 20-25 minutes Cook Time: about 50 minutes

Ingredients:

Pie Filling

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes (5-6 medium), peeled and cut into 1½" pieces
• 2 eggs
• ¼ c agave nectar
• ¼ c almond milk
• ¼ c melted Natucol or Earth Balance (non-hydrogenated vegetable spread) or butter
• 3 T orange juice, about ½ orange, squeezed
• 1 t vanilla, or ½ t vanilla and ½ t orange extract
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• ¼ t ground cloves
• Or omit single spices and use 1 ½ t pumpkin pie spice

Pie Crust

• 2/3 C whole oats, ground into flour in food processor
• 2/3 C almonds, ground into fine meal in food processor
• 2/3 C whole wheat pastry flour
• ¼ C almond or grapeseed oil
• ¼ C agave nectar
• ¼ C water

Pie Topping

• 1 C raw pecan halves or toasted sliced almonds
• 2 T brown rice syrup
• 1 T agave nectar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling water and boil until very soft, about 10-12 minutes.
3. While potatoes are boiling, place 2 eggs in a mixer and beat well.
   When potatoes are soft, drain well and add to the mixing bowl.
4. Add agave, almond milk, spread or butter, orange juice, extract(s) and spices and mix until light and fluffy ~ all lumps removed.
5. To make the pie crust, add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine.
6. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl and pour into the dry.
7. Mix until well combined. Batter will be sticky.
8. Oil a 10" deep-dish pie plate and spread crust mixture evenly onto plate with oiled fingers.
9. Lay out pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and place nuts and pie crust into preheated oven.
10. Bake for 5 minutes and start checking pecans, being careful not to scorch them. Remove after 5-8 minutes or when lightly toasted.
11. Remove crust after 10 minutes.
12. Combine the brown rice and agave nectar in a small bowl and add the hot nuts, tossing to thoroughly coat.
13. Spoon potato mixture gently into crust and arrange the nuts on top of the filling.
14. Bake about 30-35 minutes or until crust is lightly brown at edges.
15. Cool pie for at least 20 minutes before serving.

More Thanksgiving sides - pomegranate cranberry sauce and roasted Brussels sprouts

Dave Grotto’s book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life features this recipe by Chef Kyle Shadix, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who has an M.S. in nutrition.

Pomegranate-Cranberry Sauce
Recent studies link pomegranate juice to lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol and blood pressure.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (or 16 fluid ounces) 100% pomegranate juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 12-ounce bag (about 3 cups) of fresh or frozen cranberries
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 11-ounce can of mandarin oranges, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring pomegranate juice and sugar to a boil.
2. Add cranberries and simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries just pop, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Stir in zest, orange segments and pomegranate seeds, if using.
4. Chill for 24 hours.
5. Serve with turkey or chicken.

If you are diabetic, you may want to use Stevia instead of sugar. For those wanting something more “wholesome” than white sugar try organic cane sugar, maple syrup or Agave Nectar. I’m not sure how using these substitutes will cook up, so you’ll need to experiment. I’ll be using the organic cane sugar I get at Costco.

Too scared to smoke your turkey this Thanksgiving? Cheater BBQ to the rescue!

Maybe you want to smoke your turkey this year but you don’t want to go out and buy a smoker and can’t find one to borrow. Or maybe you think it’s just too darn cold to cook outside this time of year.

This is where Mindy Merrell and R.B. Quinn, authors of the book, Cheater BBQ: Barbecue Anytime, Anywhere, in Any Weather, can help. If you like to barbeque, but want to eliminate the hassle and fuss, you need to get this cookbook.

Cheater BBQ is the first cookbook to bring the outdoor grilling pit into the weeknight kitchen using little more than a slow cooker or an oven, a roll of foil, a few everyday ingredients, and some all-natural liquid smoke. The recipes cover smoky barbecue classics: pulled pork, chicken, ribs, brisket, rubs, and regional sauces, sides like Boston Crocked Beans, Loaded Cornbread, as well as drinks and desserts.

It would also make an excellent holiday or birthday gift for any barbeque or grilling enthusiast, especially those apartment dwellers who don’t have a patio or backyard to grill in.

Now how about a smoked Thanksgiving turkey done in a bag in the oven?

Tips for smoking, smoking, grilling and frying Thanksgiving turkeys

This year I’m making Dr. Bowden’s Citrus-Stuffed Herbed Turkey, but we’ll be smoking it. We smoked our turkey last year using Alton Brown's Honey Brined Smoked Turkey recipe. It was the best turkey I’ve ever made according to my husband, and I’ve made some fancy Thanksgiving turkeys over the years. (The stock I made from that turkey had a smoky flavor to it. I used it in a batch of Butternut Squash Soup, which turned out really well, too.)

Even though we’re experienced meat, rib and fish smokers, smoking your turkey the first time can be a little daunting. Last year, my husband was convinced that the turkey would take all day to cook. It actually took less than three hours.

If you’re a first time turkey griller, smoker or fryer, here are some tips from the Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association (HPBA).

Thanksgiving side dishes with a little help from BlogHer and my crockpot

Well, I thought my Thanksgiving menu was set. Then I opened up the latest enewsletter from BlogHer and I saw this post from my friend, Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen, Make-Ahead or Crockpot Recipes Can Help with Timing for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Thanksgiving dishes in the crockpot. Oh joy, something I haven’t done before! Many of the dishes were by my friend, Stephanie at The Year of Crockpotting. (Gosh, I’m doing a lot of name dropping here, but I do know Kalyn and Stephanie, having met both of them at BlogHer conferences.)

Gluten free stuffing recipes

Besides doing crockpot recipes, Stephanie does gluten free ones! Since my mother-in-law is coming next week, I’ve been trying to find a good GF recipe for her and settled on using a gluten free bread mix to substitute for the bread. She has two: Crockpot Cornbread Stuffing and Perfect Homemade Crockpot Stuffing. I’m going to use the second one and add some venison Italian sausage to it. I have yet to find a truly healthy stuffing recipes, unfortunately, so might as well go all out and make it as yummy as possible.

Butterball winners and Thanksgiving meal plans

What a bunch of turkeys – not! Here are the winners in my Win a Butterball turkey for Thanksgiving contest:

• Shannon of Charming Bitch
• Jen S.
• Yvonne of The Low Carb Band-It
• Kimberly of Cooking with Kimberly
• Deborah W.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I’ll be posting my Thanksgiving menu here in the upcoming days. (Click here to see previous years’ Thanksgiving recipes.)

I’m trying to plan a mostly healthy Thanksgiving using two books – Dr. Bowden’s Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why and Dave Grotto’s 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life with a little help from Bon Appetit and O magazines.

For the turkey, I’ll be making Dr. Bowden’s Citrus-Stuffed Herbed Turkey, but we’ll be smoking it. (I’m saving my “practically cooks itself” Butterball turkey for Christmas.) As for the rest, stay tuned!

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Have a healthy, lean Thanksgiving - some tips from the food and diet experts

Just a reminder that my Win a Butterball turkey for Thanksgiving contest ends tomorrow night at midnight. (That’s November 18, 2008 at midnight MT.)

Holiday season is a challenging time for dieters or for anyone who is just trying to eat healthfully. I’m a great believer that an occasional indulgence is good for the soul, if not the waistline. However, for many people it’s hard to get back on the “lean and healthy bandwagon” after a holiday slip up.

With this in mind, I’ve been collecting tips on how to have a healthy Thanksgiving from various experts. Here are a few.

Win a Butterball turkey for Thanksgiving

Last year the Denver Post dining critic Tucker Shaw held a blind tasting of turkeys to find out if there were any differences between supermarket brands and the more expensive natural varieties. He had two Johnson & Wales University students cook up six turkeys, then had a panel of food writers, family members, chefs and colleagues rate the birds. (You can see the full article at Turkey taste test.)

The winner? Butterball turkey!

Jorge de la Torre, dean of education at Johnson & Wales University who oversaw the taste test, said for inexperienced cooks going with a Butterball turkey is a safe bet. That’s because they’re in effect pre-brined and have more fat than the natural birds.

Thanks to the folks at Butterball, you can see if their turkeys are as good as they claim by entering my contest below to win one of five Butterball turkey gift checks good for one Butterball Turkey!

If you don’t eat turkey or are planning to go organic this Thanksgiving, enter anyway. If you win, donate the turkey to your local food bank or a family in need.