Happy Thanksgiving! I know it's been awhile since I've posted, and I kind of left this blog hanging in the middle of a September Whole30. I've still been eating well, but I have been busy. It's a terrible excuse, I know, but I've been running lots in anticipation of my half marathon (I can't believe it'll be next week!). I've also been focusing on classes, volunteering, and my other blog. I was, however, very lucky to get both Thanksgiving Sunday and Monday off so I decided to treat myself to an awesome day of food.
I spent the holiday alone because my boyfriend went to visit family. I'm okay with that though, sometimes I don't mind solitude. I got to go for a long run yesterday and come home to spend the afternoon cleaning (that's actually a perfect day off for me). Today, I cooked.
This was my breakfast. I've posted the pancakes here before, but this time I added about 1.5 tablespoons of pumpkin purée and topped them with almond butter and pecans. I also had a few slices of bacon on the side. For my coffee, I made pumpkin spice syrup* and topped it with frothed almond milk.
*I modified the linked recipe by cutting it in half and subbing honey for the sugar.
Lunch was a smoked sausage and romaine salad with roasted potatoes. With all the running I've been doing lately I've started bringing potatoes back into my diet once or twice a week.
The main event! I had ham (which I love and have only ever had for special occasions - usually Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter). It was topped with locally made, organic maple smoked mustard. I also had a half chicken breast, lightly seasoned and roasted. With it I had this cranberry agrodolce (after making this you'll never want regular cranberry sauce again...I could eat this with a spoon). I also matchsticked a sweet potato, tossed it in salt, pepper, and olive oil, and cooked it in my panini press. Finally, I had some kale fried in bacon fat and topped with salt & pepper, and a squeeze of lemon (gotta have greens, right?)
Dessert! I first spotted this recipe on The Clothes Make The Girl a month or two ago while browsing and I knew I had to try it. I wondered whether a recipe with no flour of any kind would actually become cake, but it came together so easily and is dense and moist. I switched the frosting for cream cheese blended with maple syrup and bourbon. I love pumpkin and cream cheese together and since I have no lactose issues, I went for it. The bourbon is a perfect compliment to the pumpkin and pecans.
Happy Thanksgiving!
