Okay Ladies and Gents...it's time to think about Thanksgiving

[mission to lose]

My extended Family and I have recently given up cooking for most holidays and opted for a wonderful restaurant in the area for 2 holidays a year. They have one of the largest buffets I have ever seen.

Some of the food is pasta based salads and dishes, great fruit, and breads, all typical holiday fare, and wonderful desserts. But they also will have lettuce salads, turkey, salmon, veggies, beef, chicken, lamb, cold shrimp, (I plan to bring my homemade cocktail sauce). They also serve real butter, not some "spread".

I will have plenty to eat, and plenty of good choices, although I may be "a little" nostalgic for some of the food from previous Thanksgiving meals. But I know I will be able to enjoy all the great foods I can eat without more than just a glance at those "other foods".

And we will also go back to Mom's house afterward to more desserts. This time home made! I will make a crustless low carb, sugarless cheesecake, and possibly a second dessert if I find a good recipe.

=Yes, this is supposed to be a cooked turkey

[meow]

Sugar free cranberry relish: 2 bags fresh,raw cranberries, 2 oranges, including the peel. A dash of allspice and grind in a food processor to the texture you like. I know some who put celery in it. It's not for induction, but for OWL or Pre-M.

Pumpkin pie, you can substitute Splenda for the sugar, 1:1 ratio. Pour and bake it into custard dishes instead of a pie. Add an extra egg for a lighter, more souffle type dessert.

Even when I was not doing Atkins, I always saved my calories for actual Thanksgiving food. I didn't get the mashed potatoes, corn or green beans or rolls, because you can eat those any time. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries and pumpkin pie. And sweet potatoes, if they are fresh-baked.

This year, I'll do the same as I did the first year I started--turkey, green beans, a bite of stuffing with a drop of gravy, fresh cranberries and the pumpkin with splenda and no crust. The stuffing/gravy is totally off-plan, but my MIL makes traditional, browned cream gravy that is fabulous, so I have a tiny portion anyway. She is 80, and the 2 of us do all the cooking for 20. It's the one real indulgence of the day! We always go for a long walk ( a mile at least) after we eat, so at least it starts metabolizing right away.

eta: that last part sure sounds like a feeble attempt to justify cheating. So be it.