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A Banquet of Consequences

“Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.” Robert Louis Stevenson

Holiday Meal Ideas from Have Yourself a Healthy Little Holiday

Let me tell you about my typical holiday meal. The recipes in bold print are included in my Kindle book, Have Yourself a Healthy Little Holiday available from Amazon.com Kindle store.

I like to begin the meal with a salad like my Vegetable Salad or a light soup such as Simple Sweet Potato Soup to help keep from loading up on the less healthy food later in the meal.
I cook the turkey in a healthy way without adding extra fat by stuffing the cavity with butter or frying it. I season the bird well and bake in the oven. I do not stuff the bird but make my Corn Bead Dressing in a separate pan.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce is always on our holiday table. If you can boil water, you can do this. You can control what goes into it by making it yourself, including what you use for a sweetener.
Lightly steamed fresh green beans with sliced almonds and a good squeeze of lemon juice make people forget “that casserole.”
I leave the “candy” out of the yams and serve fresh sweet potatoes. There are many ways to do this. First there is baked. You can fancy them up a bit by making them “twice baked” either sweet or savory by what you add to them. You can mash them. You can cook them with apples and spice them up with cinnamon and nutmeg. Our favorite is my Orange Spice Sweet Potatoes.
Serve a healthy relish tray. This was always included in the holiday meal when I was growing up and is still the best part of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for me. Include lots of raw fresh veggies and fruit with a few of your favorite pickles and olives if desired. If you want dip, consider making one without cream cheese or sour cream. This may be done using white beans or mashed cauliflower or try my Spicy Chickpea Dip.
Did someone say dessert? Bob always asks for my Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake for special occasions, but I also have other dessert recipes for you to try.

Have Yourself a Healthy Little Holiday includes more information on celebrating a healthier holiday season with more recipes (including holiday goodies and an egg-free/dairy-free nog), ways of celebrating without food, tips for making a healthier holiday dessert and gluten-free baking, giving holiday food gifts, choosing a gluten-free turkey, ways to enjoy the holiday dinner with food restrictions and a couple of craft projects thrown in just for fun. Don’t forget to buy your copy today from Amazon.com/Kindle.

Waiting for the Blooming of Flowers

“You’re frustrated because you keep waiting for the blooming of flowers of which you have yet to sow the seeds.” — Steve Maraboli

Change Your Choices

“You’ll never change your life until you change your choices.” —Nishan Panwar

You Reap What You Sow, Not Something Else

“You reap what you sow, not something else, but that. An act of love makes the soul more loving. A deed of humbleness deepens humbleness. The thing reaped is the very thing sown, multiplied a hundred fold. You have sown a seed of life, you reap life everlasting.” — Frederick William Robertson

You Reap What You Sow, Now Something Else

Giving and Receiving

When I pull into the outer edge of the Super Center parking lot there is often someone with a sign requesting help. I do not give cash, but I do try to help with an immediate need if I can. Today I felt led to stop and talk to the man — to hear his story. When I left I said I was going to go up to the store and would bring him back something to eat. When I handed him the bag I said “I got you a beef sandwich and a bottle of lemonade.” He grinned ear to ear and said thank you. I also told him what I knew of local resources that could give him the kind of help he needed to get off the streets. We blessed each other and I went on to do my shopping.

When I got to the checkout I told the clerk I was going to need help getting the 40 pound box of kitty litter in my car. She then said “and light bags double bagged?” The question shocked me. My mind started racing. She thinks I’m a weak little old lady came to my thoughts. But who wouldn’t like lighter bags, double bagged? So I said yes, thank you.

The helper came and we headed out to the car. I told him all I really needed was for him to put the kitty litter in the car. He said the he would put everything in the car for me and take the cart back to the store with him.

After I spent about half a minute (well maybe a tad longer) feeling sorry for myself because the people at the Super Center think I’m a frail little old lady I realized they were just being nice. Yeah, that still happens in this world. I am blessed to live in an area and shop in a store where people still care about each other. I should be as grateful for the people who offer help to me as I am for the opportunity to help others.

So don’t be so quick to refuse help that is offered with a pure heart. You don’t want to deprive others of that good feeling you get when you help someone. So the next time someone does something thoughtful or helpful for you SMILE and say Thank You and Bless You.