HERE IT IS! The first and the biggest diet-busting day of the Fall/Winter season: Thanksgiving.  Can you feast and Fast on the same day? YES you can.  Since this is an all-American feast day, we’ll start with a red, white, and blue breakfast.  Then, drink a lot of water and do not eat lunch: hold out for dinner. Dining away from home? You can still have some control over what you eat. We were invited to friends’ house for the feast and I’ll show you what I ate while gaining only a few tenths of a pound. And that included the chocolate pecan pie for dessert!                                                                                                              Go easy on the alcohol: current health recommendations are for 1-2 glasses per day for women; 2-3 for men. Where is it written that Thanksgiving means drunkenness?  Maybe you’ll be better able to diffuse the discussion of politics at the table…..

Red White and Blue   295 calories   1.4 g fat   3.8 g fiber  20 g protein   45 g carbs   504 mg Calcium   PG GF if using GF bread      Ricotta is higher in protein and Calcium than cottage cheese, but you could substitute that if you wish.

½ cup fat-free ricotta                                                                                                                                              ¼ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen [if frozen, keep frozen until ready to use]                                      1/4 cup sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen [after slicing, put into a strainer to let the juices drain]                                                                                                                                                                                1 slice of 70-calorie multi-grain bread [Nature’s Own] cut into a star or turkey! with the largest cookie cutter that will fit the bread                                                                                                                                      large pinch of cinnamon sugar                                                                                                                             blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water                                                                                  5-6 oz fruit smoothie, green smoothie or natural apple cider                                                    

Cut your slice of bread with the star cookie cutter, freezing the scraps for use in Crab Cakes or Stuffed Clams or Crab-Stuffed Flounder. Sprinkle the bread with a small pinch of cinnamon sugar and toast it. Measure the ricotta onto your plate. Put the fruit on top. [I do not recommend stirring the fruit into the cheese, since it will ‘stain’ the cheese.] Top with a small pinch of cinnamon sugar and plate with the toast. Pour the hot beverage and the smoothie. Huzzah!

Dinner with Friends:  calories unknown                                                                                                                              What’s on the plate?  After surveying the buffet, I skipped the boiled potatoes and dinner rolls and opted instead for all the home-grown veggies of offer: [clockwise from 9 o’clock] beets, yellow beans, carrots, mashed turnips, and local-cranberry relish. There’s the turkey. And there’s the hostess’ special stuffing from her mother’s recipe, with gravy. Had seconds on the turkey, too!  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.